The car was good to me for the MOT, apart from the exhaust back box the advisories were sligth wear on track rod ends. Not expensive and something I'll get sorted later in the year (after I get a new VCU).
The garage was good to me too, I was going to drop it back on the monday to have the exhaust fixed but they got the parts in before the end of the work day Friday and got it fixed the same day...Result!
So that was cheaper than I expected, so I managed to buy a few extras I've been wanting to get the Hippo back to being complete.
When I bought it there were a few pieces of trim missing, silly things like seat belt covers and the pieces of plastic that cover the seat locking mechanism. Small things but once I noticed them they annoyed me for being missing. Once bought and installed the interior looks a whole lot better, I also bought the fixings to secure the targa roof bag to the rear seat (I won the bag on eBay a while ago but missed out on some fixings). Ironically, it's rapidly become Autumn in the UK so I don't imagine I'll be removing the roof until next year, but when I do, I'm all set.
Speaking of Autumn, it's at that awkward stage where it can be warm during the day but feels chilly at night. So, always being prepared (I never was a scout though) I ordered a luggage net from eBay and secured it to the roof of the hardback. This way I can stow a fleece out of the way in case I need it, and still carry the dogs without getting hair on my coat.
I also bought and fitted a small framed net to the rear door.
Still in the boot, after stripping the old van of the extras I had a covered 12V aux socket (a CBE item), and remembering the neat aux socket installs that LR offered as an extra, I set about the nearside rear trim panel with measuring stick and hole saw. I had to measure carefully to avoid the suspension turret and the support rod, but it's in now and looking good.
It's only mechanically fitted for now, I still need to wire it up but for that I'm thinking of adding a secondary fuse board (for some expansion options later).
Moving to the front, while I was digging around finding my CBE parts I uncovered one of my MUD curry hooks. I definately needed this as I nearly spilt my crispy chilli beef and chips driving home from the takeaway a couple days before. This was swiftly screwed to the side of the centre console.
And another van refugee, my trusty fire extinguisher. I followed the LR suggestion of where to install it, on the passenger side as it seemed the most logical compromise. Yes, having it on the drivers side would be more convenient but in this position it would limit access to the pedals, and if it came loose it might block them entirely. I may revisit this later, maybe fit another closer to me, but for now at least I have something...
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