Mignon - The Restoration of a 1979 Bedford Camper

Just been thinking about this. When you buy a house or stay in a hotel, you have no qualms about using the toilet facilities which have been used by countless other people.

However, there is something about a camping or portable toilet which just does not lend itself to second handed-ness. Call me old-fashioned, but giving someone a present of a second-hand porta-potty seems to fall short of the mark somewhere. Off to Ebay for a new, I say again.. new, replacement.

Mignon is currently parked on a slope and is sat back on her haunches, as it were. Huge gap between the front wheels and the body at the moment, and I happened to see this painted on the front chassis rails:

Now, the only people who would do this are students. The same little gits who attached football club stickers to the inside of the cab which need to be shot-blasted off. Would you want a second-hand toilet, as used by a bunch of people Mnon-ing their way around somewhere with dubious personal hygiene habits ?

I don't know what the 'Mnon Tour' was, and I probably don't want to know (although it as close to an abbreviation of Mignon as is possible without being freaky), but I *do* know, my father is not going to get a second-hand potty as a present.

My friends... to Ebay (again) !

(Edit: were people actually 'Mnon-ing' their way around Europe or is it 'MN on Tour' ? Anyway, whoever sprayed that needs a good kicking.)

Well, Classic Restorations popped in this afternoon with their truck/trailer combination. As it drove past our house, I could see the driver wince as he saw Mignon, and he also saw me wincing as I spied his trailer. A bit of a breakdown in communications.

You see, they were expecting something like this (as before, right click and 'view image' to see the full thingie) :

And you know what we've got ! Suffice to say, we've still got Mignon, but a cunning new plan is afoot. I felt sorry for the guy who came down from Perth, armed with the wrong info from his boss. Really nice guy; even though they got the 1st bit wrong, chatting to the driver (who had his own Bedford CF tales !), convinced me I've found the right company to do this. A bit of a misunderstanding, but they've promised to fix it tomorrow. Can't ask fairer than that.

Still... we took the opportunity to strip out all the soft furnishings for off-loading on my mother who will do something Black Watch-esque with the fabrics. I also had time to note how.... brown.... all the water pipes are. Ergh. And the water tank is too small. And I found an old mug in the shower. Ergh again.

Time to read CC's Guide to the Universe.

Nothing is ever easy !

Not much to report at the moment. The gentlemen from Classic Restorations in Perth are coming round to take Mignon away for a body-off, bare-metal restoration on Monday.

When I first came up with the idea for this, it was just going to be an affordable camper that I would do most of the work on. Now it's a full-blown restoration that will probably result in the nicest Bedford CF in the country, bare-metal respray, Waxoiled, full fibre-glass restoration on the shell.

Now... the camper won't be worth the money that has been spent on it when it is finished, so why bother ? For the same money I could probably have got a 10-year old campervan with a much more up-to-date interior, all mod-cons, hot and cold running beer from gold-plated taps with a pole-dancing corner at the back somewhere. Probably...

My father is a mad, eccentric loon who loves old things. He would not swap this for a Winnebago or (shudder) a caravan. That's why I've been going beserk on Ebay, laying waste to 'memorabilia' sellers' stock like William Wallace's sword to the English. Except, without the sword. What is memorabilia or a collectable item to most people is a proper, useable item to my Dad !

He has worked so hard, spending 30 years in the Army, often in very dangerous situations and roles. My father was no clerk or storesman... He still works hard and if anyone deserves something they have wanted all their life, it is him. So that is why I am spending too much money on a daft old van that, by all physical laws in the universe, should have been in the scrapyard 15 years ago.

Me ? I'd have the fitted, water-cooled PC, the 52-inch Plasma option and the Pole. You're missing out, Dad !

Somewhere where no-one should take their significant other. In a hotel in Orlando that is inside the biggest shopping mall in Florida. You step out of reception and into credit-card meltdown city. All 20 billion acres of it. You can buy a bag of sweets or a Lexus, depending on how generous your overdraft is feeling...

At a 2:1 dollars to pound exchange rate, it all looks very attractive. Some definite Mignon purchases here. I especially like the caravan shop where you can buy things like 'older doggie steps' to enable your arthritic pooch to climb into the van, or.. for $500, you can have a fully automatic halon fire extinguisher system. So when the chip pan gets a bit smokey, it will automatically discharge, extinguishing any potential fire hazard and suffocating all the people in the vicinity, or at the very least cause irreperable lung damage. Bargain.

I am toying with idea of buying a couple of Playstation 3s and selling them on Ebay to help fund the restoration, but Mrs. Magnox would frown and say something like 'oh, another one of your wild schemes'. Thing is, they're half-price compared to the UK.... very tempting. I have 2 more of these Florida trips, back to back.... and I just know I'm going to have to go for it on one of them.

So... anyone want a cheap Playstation ? Or a Lexus ?

Bag of sweets ?

Anyone...?