Which side bars for this particular van?

[Cuiken]

Ha! Well, Ashton got back to me (good service) and told me they've changed the brackets over from coated mild steel to uncoated stainless steel. So, innately rust proof. Nice touch!

Of course, I'd already gone ahead and added two coats of totally superfluous hammerite paint by this point

Ahh well, they look better in black anyway.

 

[Cuiken]

Update. Quick magnet check found no mild steel in the whole fitting kit (except the bars themselves which is nylon coated). Seems like all the exposed metal parts (bolts etc, should be very corrosion resistant.

Not actually fitted them yet but I'm definitely impressed by this attention to detail.

 

[david173]

Update. Quick magnet check found no mild steel in the whole fitting kit (except the bars themselves which is nylon coated). Seems like all the exposed metal parts (bolts etc, should be very corrosion resistant.

Not actually fitted them yet but I'm definitely impressed by this attention to detail.

Thanks for the update, thats really good info to know. Looks like they are top quality as they say!

 

[Cuiken]

Okay, got them fitted!

Took about two hours. Fitting kit etc worked really nicely. Only faff was lowering the trim panels on the bottom of the van at ~0 degrees C. My hands are ruined

Anyway, here's the end result:







Overall, I think they look good. Key feature of these bars is the nylon coating (not powder coated). The resultant finish is not quite OEM (not a really deep black and not quite a smooth finish) but I think the durability will win out. Plus, they'll be filthy in no time and then all bets are off

I'm betting that, in 2 weeks time, I won't notice the finish and I'll be glad to not be worrying about rust come next winter