Grumble gets "Aircon" :-)

July 2006

Thanks to Lee ("hey, here's some more ways to spend your money and get Charlotte on your back") Davies - who put me onto a Hubbard air cooler unit on eBay I decided it was time to further my plans to give Grumble Air Conditioning (it is like driving in a sauna, being sat on the engine and all...)

I decided not to bid on the Hubbard as I thought it may make Grumble look like a burger van, however, I did find this on eBay and watched it for a long, long time. With 30 seconds to go, I put in a bid - and won it! (Obviously, I hadn't made it public that I was watching it!).

A few weeks later, a very nice chap from GLASS had picked it up for me from somewhere down South, and I took delivery at the LRW Show at Eastnor Castle. The seller on eBay had also chucked in loads of extra stuff not mentioned in the auction - and I reckon is the nicest chap I've ever dealt with on eBay.

So, back in Sheffield it sat in the back of Grumble for a month as 'work' got in the way of my doing almost anything...

I did sort of 'look' at it a lot, and make a basic measurement to see it it really would fit'''

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Now, luck isn't something I usually rely upon, but I had a good feeling about this unit, especially so as it's a Kerstner, Cool Jet, Model 101 (yup, no kidding!)

So I did a few more measurements, looked at it lots again and decided to pull the inside panels down in Grumble to see if / how I may fit it...

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Incredibly, whoever designed the Land Rover Ambulance 101 - and/or whoever designed the Kerstner Cool Jet Model 101 - had fitting the latter to the former in mind, it fits as if it were designed to go there...

So I got the jigsaw out, and (with beating heart - not something you can get wrong really), cut the hole...

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And sealed it lots and lots, having previously learned me lesson about rivets having holes in them and all that scientific stuph... I then had a few drinks, sealed the top in case it rained, and went to bed...
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In the morning I did wonder whether I'd have been better just fitting a sunroof :-)

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Again - perfectly designed for the 101 ambi - the cooler unit eased through the open 'escape hatch' with 1/4 inch to spare! - I sealled the frame, lowered the cooler into place, riveted the brackets and ran inside while it p*ssed down with rain...

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All done! (well, on the outside anyway!) the way it fits on the inside is, well, as if it were designed to go there!

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And on the outside?

Just about the same - with a very low profile.

I've a fair bit to do yet, like the electrics, compressor and hoses, but this is where I'm at right now, and it feels real good!!!

What I've missed out (apart from the swearing) is that it rained - very heavily here four times, so the work was done over a whole day with plenty of coffee etc in between.

More, as they say, to follow!