Bongo Fury

We got the bongo / freda in May and with the help of my folks have tinkered a wee bit.

Got long rails in so we could use the front seats and mid bench for sleeping.

My dad moved and improved the kitchen unit, making it fit nearer to the side panel and scribing it a bit and adding some height to the unit. The top was made narrower and a better shelf added inside.

We removed the remaining gull wing seat and dad made a storage box/ seat and we sprayed it silver.

The wind deflectors were murky so following a tip here, I got them cleaned tonight and they are great.

I had the windows tinted so we look coooool now.

Mum made me some fabs curtains and a cushion for the new box / seat.

Had a patch work quilt made too to spice things up

Rather than potter about with the curtain rails, magnets are used for the tailgate and good old net wire for the front cabin. I can keep the side curtains in situ but simply unhook the windscreen and store until night time. Cheap as chips and just as useful.

My old foam roll mats are begin cut to window size so we can place them between the glass and the pull down screens to keep some heat in.

The curtain fabric by the way is Japanese fabric with weird and wonderful sheep on. Loved it!

Here are some pics of before and after

Good job

Those seat covers could go in the "lairy bongos" thread

Like that staorage box a lot, and I've never seen clearer wind deflectors, what did you use to clean them?

magnets theres an idea I saw some-one with a VW who used them to fix a homemade awning to the outside -clearly never been to silvergale - hadnt thought of using them for inside -but could they affect the vehicle electrics or are they not strong enough to do that.

They would have to be from a power station before they are strong enough to affect the electrics. No worries there.

The magents are not too strong. We use them on the "pin board" in the kitchen. Think I got them off ebay a few years ago. Neodymium or something but not the mega heavy duty sort. My mum just stitched them into a wee strip of fabric so I can use that as a handle to lift them off. The rear curtain has 5 along the top sewn into the hem (is that the top bit as well as the bottom??) and I used 2 on the wee straps to piin on the edge.

As for the seat cover, that's the patchwork quilt a local woman made. she sells them at craft shows. I asked for a bright funky one and boy did she make me a bright funky one. It probably clashes with the sheep curtains but seeing as it's our bongo I'm nae caring much

The tip about the wind deflector things, like the other member here, I subscribed to one of the magazine and opted for the autoglym valet kit. The product used was the paint renovator. I applied with a microfibre cloth, giving it a good run inside and out, then used a clean bit of the cloth to rub off the residue. Job done.

My dad is a wizard with wood and if he had the right ply could have made a top notch conversion but I was more than happy with my wee box. I have a cushion for the top too also wrapped in sheep material. Mad I say

Good for you i think its Fab

Karen, I use magnets here and there too - particularly for attaching the fleece roof liner and some hooked magnets up there too for Isaac's string of night lights (awwww!)

I worry a little bit if I drop one that it will land in exactly the wrong place and do something weird to my electrics but I've lost a couple inside the Bongo over the last year or so and there doesn't appear to have been any harm done!!

I find these people a good source http://www.first4magnets.com/index.asp

our rear curtain is "magnetised" too. first real test this weekend.

Fab, like it.

thanks for that - off to order magnets.going hippy chic (or sad old lady) dont care which.

Sad old hippy chic fits better.

Like the front cab idea, did you just screw the eye rings into the roof lining?

takes one to know one (except chic)

The net wire has the wee hooks at the end. We bought the small aluminium (I think) metal bar that you use on guy ropes on your tent. About inch, inch and half long with a hole at each end. One end added to the screw for the sunvisor to hold in place and that leaves the other hole. The net wire then hooks into the hole. Left and right windows stays in place and curtain just pulled open but the windscreen curtain is removed. Easy

Ahhh............gotcha, what a great simple idea, cheers

Love the magnet idea, ive just got a couple to hold my skirt in place

It came from the Bongo Shop and has an elastic rope with a couple of clips on either end, sags like hell in the middle so a couple of decent magnets cure this