I'm so grateful my wife reached out to you and you agreed to do the conversion for us. The thought you put into it, the attention to detail and the high level of workmanship have been 2nd to none and we feel privileged you did the conversion for us. The difference in the usability of our Bongo is night and day and we couldn't have asked for more. You did a great job and we're still super happy and are looking forward to future adventures. As my wife told you, you made a dream come true. Thanks again!!
Great stuff! I love how this all came about with a casual enquiry from a subscriber & suddenly you're full on converting their Bongo for them! RUclips at it's best. I hope you gain many more subs out of this.
Hi James, was really cool to meet you both and chat Bongos! The seat is working out great and has already been stripped, welded and clad in wood :) hopefully you’ll have your Bongo ready to roll soon 🚐💨
We just stripped the back seats out of my Bongo yesterday: today I'm starting on the actual conversion. I'm a little bit scared that it's not gonna work out how I've planned it, but I wanted a layout that I can change around, depending on whether it's just me and the dogs or me and a companion and the dogs! I'm going to try and remember to document it, I should have started already with the van as I bought it, but there you go: my legendary memory (or lack thereof!) You've given me lots of inspiration, just a shame you can't give me some of your talent to go with it ;-)
Exciting times! Sounds like a good plan to have a layout you can change around depending on your needs. If you do document it and upload a video please let me know as I love checking out what other people do. Good luck and if I can be any help just ask away :)
Great stuff Ian nice one fella, great times ahead fella, your are going to be a bongo guru, the man we all go to with questions and projects Brilliant so happy with your help with me so far Brendan
Well done fella!! Just got myself a bongo, it's having a solar panel fitted and some of the electrics updated by James at Campervans 4 Fun i Macclesfield - he's been looking after the van since it was imported in 2011. I'm gonna do a few short(ish) trips around Shropshire/Herefordshire/Worcestershire to check everything out, then figure out what else needs doing, so might be in touch :)
It’s behind the kitchen unit. If you watch this video I did about the water system it’ll show you how I configured it - ruclips.net/video/bHyZlCg4xnY/видео.html Cheers!
First class conversion Ian. I've been doing some work on my van this week, changed aux belts and suspension control arms. Everytime I go underneath or look at the engine from the top I see this "scavenger fan", I'm ashamed to say, even after fiddling with cars for years, I've no idea what the purpose of this fan is. Is it something to do with the air con, or does it come on with the main rad fan to help cool the engine?
Thanks! Here's a response regarding the scavenger fan from the Mazda Facebook Group - "Because its mid-engined when stationery there is no where for the heat to go from the engine, the scavenger fan starts blowing when the engine compartment starts to get hot so blowing the hot air out." I hope that helps!
Great video , we’ve been watching your RUclips content.The wife and I are just starting to think about getting a smallish campervan, any advice would be gratefully appreciated & received. Thanks again
I love the Bongo, but I would also consider other vans as well that are more modern and need less maintenance. Having said that if you can find a good Bongo in good condition then they are a lot of fun. As ever it always boils down to budget. I think Bongo prices are currently quite high compared to what they used to be. If you've not been to a Bongo meet up then have a look on facebook at the groups as they often do meet ups where owners are more than willing to show you their vans to give you a good idea of space. Cheers 👍
Hi Ian, great work…really enjoying your videos. I am really interested in the storage box/seat you have created to fit behind the passenger seat. Can I ask, does the passenger seat slide fully back with it in place? Looking for a solution without forking out £350 to install the rotating seat. Look forward to hearing from you….
Hi Lee, the seat slides forwards and backwards as much as it used to. Now mine isn't in the van anymore I can't double check the full range. I'll remake mine soon though and confirm any questions you have. Please go to my 'About' page and drop me an email and I'll answer any questions you have. Thanks!!
just about to install a wood floor into my own bongo and watching this for tips! How did you secure the floor to the van? I've been trying to work out how everyone does it, but so far that step is seemingly glossed over. Does the floor just stay in place once all the trim is in? Thanks!
Oh no! I have toyed with selling mine a few times, but back out and take 5 mins to scold myself in my moment of madness!! maybe there's another Bongo on the horizon for you...
Yes, I’m currently doing another seat for my own van. You’ll need a bench seat that is a full back and not the split seat version, If you don’t have one of those they are often for sale in marketplace. You can drop me an email from the ‘About’ page on the RUclips channel and we can chat further. Cheers!
@@VantasticIdeas that's brilliant! I'm in the process of sourcing a bongo. I really like your conversion layout so you being willing to convert the rear bench gives me greater scope in vehicles.
@@davideast2632 That's great, at least you can check out what rear seats the bongo has got. One other thing to check is that there are seat rails that run from the front to the back and not the short ones with gul wing seats, otherwise it's another cost to get long rails fitted to use the bench seat to the rear of the van. Cheers!
Awesome work dude, your a pro 👍 using your vids as a guide. How did you get the floor to fit under the step and boot trim? As mine seems to be too high
This was a part that baffled me as well, it seems that you have to live with a slightly wonky angled step into the van. You can't have any battens under the plywood near the step just the plywood itself to reduce the angle, so you kind of slope the plywood towards the step if that makes sense? you can add a couple of extra screws through the step at the top into the plywood base to secure it if needed. For the rear trim there seems to be a couple of methods, one where you stop the floor before the trim and tuck the vinyl under the trim and clamp it down with the trim piece. Or you put the trim on top of the plywood base and add extra screws and drill through the trim piece to secure to the plywood (but making sure the door shuts fine first). Either method is fine I think as long as the back of the trim fits into the rubber gasket around the door it should be ok.
Both! The original AFT roofs are even taller so a lot more room up there. When our kids were little we could sleep 1 adult and 1 child (just) up there. We find it great for 1 person to have a comfortable sleep up there. Ours is an aftermarket roof so not quite as tall as the original roofs. Cheers!
The customer gave me some insulation to use, but not sure what it was. I’ve not really looked into sound or heat insulation much so I don’t really know what is best to use? It’s something I’ll be checking out in the future though! Cheers 👍
Thanks Ian for getting back to me. I was just reading what other people did and they were saying they sound proofed it and put in insulation. I'm looking at my own one and I think there's enough sound proof on the floor that was there from original. As for the insulation I'm not sure as it would make it difficult to glue down the floor and the plywood should provide enough of insulation.
Yes it is. Although It would probably need to be fairly thin so as not to raise the floor too much (if you were keeping the rails in place mainly). Cheers 👍
I'm so grateful my wife reached out to you and you agreed to do the conversion for us.
The thought you put into it, the attention to detail and the high level of workmanship have been 2nd to none and we feel privileged you did the conversion for us. The difference in the usability of our Bongo is night and day and we couldn't have asked for more.
You did a great job and we're still super happy and are looking forward to future adventures.
As my wife told you, you made a dream come true.
Thanks again!!
Thanks Gary :) it was a pleasure to meet and work with you on this, I hope you, Sol & Europe have many happy memories in Scooby Two 😁
Thanks so much Ian for such a great job.... Feeling real lucky to have found you 😊
Thanks Sol!! it's been great to meet you guys and I hope you really enjoy using the new conversion 👍
Great stuff! I love how this all came about with a casual enquiry from a subscriber & suddenly you're full on converting their Bongo for them! RUclips at it's best. I hope you gain many more subs out of this.
Thanks Mark! I know it was crazy, but a really cool experience :) Cheers 👍
Re-watching with the wife 😄 Great to meet you the other day! Hope the seats are serving you well! 😌
Hi James, was really cool to meet you both and chat Bongos! The seat is working out great and has already been stripped, welded and clad in wood :) hopefully you’ll have your Bongo ready to roll soon 🚐💨
That looks amazing job I love watching your videos
Thank you :)
Thank you :)
We just stripped the back seats out of my Bongo yesterday: today I'm starting on the actual conversion. I'm a little bit scared that it's not gonna work out how I've planned it, but I wanted a layout that I can change around, depending on whether it's just me and the dogs or me and a companion and the dogs! I'm going to try and remember to document it, I should have started already with the van as I bought it, but there you go: my legendary memory (or lack thereof!) You've given me lots of inspiration, just a shame you can't give me some of your talent to go with it ;-)
Exciting times! Sounds like a good plan to have a layout you can change around depending on your needs. If you do document it and upload a video please let me know as I love checking out what other people do. Good luck and if I can be any help just ask away :)
Wow what a brilliant job you’ve done.
Thanks :)
Great stuff Ian nice one fella, great times ahead fella, your are going to be a bongo guru, the man we all go to with questions and projects
Brilliant so happy with your help with me so far
Brendan
Thanks Brendan, appreciate it :)
Well done fella!! Just got myself a bongo, it's having a solar panel fitted and some of the electrics updated by James at Campervans 4 Fun i Macclesfield - he's been looking after the van since it was imported in 2011. I'm gonna do a few short(ish) trips around Shropshire/Herefordshire/Worcestershire to check everything out, then figure out what else needs doing, so might be in touch :)
Welcome to the Bongo club! good idea to do some local runs to check everything. Please do drop me a message if you need anything :)
Nice job. 👍
Thanks :) 👍
Great job looks brill
Thanks :)
Great work 👍🏻
Thanks :)
Hi great video but curious to where you stored the water for the sink ?
It’s behind the kitchen unit. If you watch this video I did about the water system it’ll show you how I configured it - ruclips.net/video/bHyZlCg4xnY/видео.html
Cheers!
First class conversion Ian. I've been doing some work on my van this week, changed aux belts and suspension control arms. Everytime I go underneath or look at the engine from the top I see this "scavenger fan", I'm ashamed to say, even after fiddling with cars for years, I've no idea what the purpose of this fan is. Is it something to do with the air con, or does it come on with the main rad fan to help cool the engine?
Thanks! Here's a response regarding the scavenger fan from the Mazda Facebook Group -
"Because its mid-engined when stationery there is no where for the heat to go from the engine, the scavenger fan starts blowing when the engine compartment starts to get hot so blowing the hot air out."
I hope that helps!
Great video , we’ve been watching your RUclips content.The wife and I are just starting to think about getting a smallish campervan, any advice would be gratefully appreciated & received. Thanks again
I love the Bongo, but I would also consider other vans as well that are more modern and need less maintenance. Having said that if you can find a good Bongo in good condition then they are a lot of fun.
As ever it always boils down to budget. I think Bongo prices are currently quite high compared to what they used to be. If you've not been to a Bongo meet up then have a look on facebook at the groups as they often do meet ups where owners are more than willing to show you their vans to give you a good idea of space.
Cheers 👍
Thinking of getting a bongo so might be in touch
Brilliant!! just drop me a message if there's anything I can help with, cheers 👍
Hi Ian, great work…really enjoying your videos. I am really interested in the storage box/seat you have created to fit behind the passenger seat. Can I ask, does the passenger seat slide fully back with it in place? Looking for a solution without forking out £350 to install the rotating seat. Look forward to hearing from you….
Hi Lee, the seat slides forwards and backwards as much as it used to. Now mine isn't in the van anymore I can't double check the full range. I'll remake mine soon though and confirm any questions you have. Please go to my 'About' page and drop me an email and I'll answer any questions you have. Thanks!!
just about to install a wood floor into my own bongo and watching this for tips! How did you secure the floor to the van? I've been trying to work out how everyone does it, but so far that step is seemingly glossed over. Does the floor just stay in place once all the trim is in? Thanks!
Yes the trim holds it down (as long as you fit it so it goes under the trim parts!). Thanks :)
Hi Ian. Did you use the same 9mm plywood for the cabinet and drawer or use lightweight 15mm caravan plywood?
The cabinet and drawer are both 12mm plywood. I am hoping to rebuild in lightweight 15mm plywood on the next build.
I totally regret selling mine a couple of years ago. It was one of the best things i ever spent money on.
Oh no! I have toyed with selling mine a few times, but back out and take 5 mins to scold myself in my moment of madness!! maybe there's another Bongo on the horizon for you...
Would you consider converting a set of original seats to how yours are?
Yes, I’m currently doing another seat for my own van. You’ll need a bench seat that is a full back and not the split seat version, If you don’t have one of those they are often for sale in marketplace. You can drop me an email from the ‘About’ page on the RUclips channel and we can chat further. Cheers!
@@VantasticIdeas that's brilliant! I'm in the process of sourcing a bongo. I really like your conversion layout so you being willing to convert the rear bench gives me greater scope in vehicles.
@@davideast2632 That's great, at least you can check out what rear seats the bongo has got. One other thing to check is that there are seat rails that run from the front to the back and not the short ones with gul wing seats, otherwise it's another cost to get long rails fitted to use the bench seat to the rear of the van. Cheers!
Awesome work dude, your a pro 👍 using your vids as a guide. How did you get the floor to fit under the step and boot trim? As mine seems to be too high
This was a part that baffled me as well, it seems that you have to live with a slightly wonky angled step into the van. You can't have any battens under the plywood near the step just the plywood itself to reduce the angle, so you kind of slope the plywood towards the step if that makes sense? you can add a couple of extra screws through the step at the top into the plywood base to secure it if needed.
For the rear trim there seems to be a couple of methods, one where you stop the floor before the trim and tuck the vinyl under the trim and clamp it down with the trim piece. Or you put the trim on top of the plywood base and add extra screws and drill through the trim piece to secure to the plywood (but making sure the door shuts fine first). Either method is fine I think as long as the back of the trim fits into the rubber gasket around the door it should be ok.
@@VantasticIdeas thanks for the advice dude, worked a treat 😁👍
Hi buddy I'm getting a Mazda bongo just a quick question what's the push top used for to stand up or for sleeping in
Both! The original AFT roofs are even taller so a lot more room up there. When our kids were little we could sleep 1 adult and 1 child (just) up there. We find it great for 1 person to have a comfortable sleep up there. Ours is an aftermarket roof so not quite as tall as the original roofs. Cheers!
Hi Ian - how do I get in touch with you about a conversion please?
Hi, you can email me here - info@vantasticideas.co.uk
Thanks :)
Have emailed you, so do let me know if you haven’t received it.
Greetings From the USA!!!!!
Do you know where I could get a LHD Bongo or Bongo Friendee that can be exported to the USA?
I think they are all RHD as they were all built for the Japanese market only.
Hi Ian, just wondering did you use sound proofing or insulation. I sent email to you earlier
The customer gave me some insulation to use, but not sure what it was. I’ve not really looked into sound or heat insulation much so I don’t really know what is best to use? It’s something I’ll be checking out in the future though! Cheers 👍
Thanks Ian for getting back to me. I was just reading what other people did and they were saying they sound proofed it and put in insulation. I'm looking at my own one and I think there's enough sound proof on the floor that was there from original. As for the insulation I'm not sure as it would make it difficult to glue down the floor and the plywood should provide enough of insulation.
Is it feasible to have insulation under the wooden floor?
Yes it is. Although It would probably need to be fairly thin so as not to raise the floor too much (if you were keeping the rails in place mainly). Cheers 👍
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