Picking up the Body and Other Goodies

Saturday 16th December 2018. I hired a Luton Van, making sure it had the correct internal dimensions (to carry a 1.9m x 3.9m MK4 body) and was assured it had just under 4m length and about 2.2m width. Phew!

I arranged with my brother in-law Peter to accompany me up to Grantham on the 4 hour trip and act as muscle and moral support.

Here is my first parts list:

Andy at GD had arranged to be in the factory for me and was there working away on other matters and the CNC machine was thrumming away. Andy, as ever, was a charming and helpful and together with one of his guys helped us load and secure the body, even wiping down a few underseal dabs that we had left on the car after lifting under the wheel arches. You can’t fault the service given.

The body is manageable with three blokes of average strength (one on the lighter front) but a fourth is really a sensible option, the body is in the region of 150kg, maybe a tad more with the bonnet and boot in place. The main problem is that the body fits quite snugly in the Luton with only a few inches outside the wheel arches so room for handling is at a premium. If you are the guy in the van be prepared to hop about a bit in the tiny spaces left.

Andy gave us some bubble wrap for the floor and polystyrene packaging to protect the nose and the wheel arches from the van walls. We then drew the body up to the front of the van with cargo straps laced between the door hinges and onto the packing rails at the side of the van. Then the body could not move back and forth; sideways movement was stopped with polystyrene wedged at the side of the rear arches packing-taped in place.

I also took a full copy of all the Build Manual files that are usually read on the DVD as I have no DVD or CD readers on any of my PC or Mac kit any more. Who does use CDs or DVDs? Now all content is either streamed or downloaded these days, at a pinch you use a USB drive if necessary. I prefer to play content direct from files I keep on my Dropbox or Plex account. I can open the manual’s web interface using the HTML link.

The drive home was another four hours, burger en-route, and then lots of grief trying to manoeuvre the long wheel base van into my drive, including a minor scrape on the gate posts. Aaargh! that was paid for with the excess, my otherwise excellent travel insurance didn’t cover use of vans. Basically it was a case of Colonel Bloodnok’s regimental oath. Open your wallets and say after me: “Help yourself”

At home I had arranged for my chum Andy, a strong lad, to pitch up to help me and Peter unload the body and parts. Andy and Peter were not only a great help in providing lifting power but also made very useful directions in the way in which we unloaded and transferred to the trolley. Only three blokes, in the dark, and we performed the unload and positioning in the garage without too much drama and no damage. My sincere thanks to Peter and Andy who made this exercise possible and even stayed to watch me leave through the gate posts to take the van back.