Hello all you kind folks. I looked for a specific introductions thread and didn't see one, moderators if I missed it please move this there for me.
My name is Tony, I'm in Hamilton in New Zealand and between me and my housemate Carole just before Christmas last year we bought a 1990 Hiace van which initially came into New Zealand as one of the Japanese Manga vans (see the threads on those elsewhere in this forum) and was used by its previous owner here as a business entertainment vehicle. We have transformed it into a camper (a work still in progress but it is already usable) and it has a lot of things crammed into a small space. The objective is for Carole to be able to go touring around the country while I stay at home with my cats in peace!
I've been reading this forum since we got the van but now feel it is time to have joined and since I'm the one who deals with all the technical things I have joined rather than Carole.
(I'm a component-level electronics and radio communications technician in my other life, but I'm effectively retired now.)
We're very lucky that the motor seems to be in excellent condition, we've just had the cam belt and associated things done and it runs very well. There's some rust in some parts but nothing that will cause any issues and we're gradually getting the fibreglass work repaired, it's looking quite nice now and it is truly distinctive being bright orange in colour.
I'll get some photos and see if I can post them here somehow.
The username I chose is what Carole has named the van, it is in turn named after a distant relation of hers who died very young.
Please feel free to ask me any questions, I'll attempt to answer or call upon her to give me answers as appropriate, and I'll no doubt be asking questions of the experts here when we have a need. I must confess to not being a mechanic and having very limited mechanical tools but luckily we have found a nearby mechanic who seems very good and has done work for other members of the Motor Caravan Association.