1978 UK RHD twin sliding door panel van, stood for nearly 20 years in a barn!

Hi Guys,

As some of you will remember i bought this panel van around 18 months ago after i saw it advertised in our local newspaper as 'camper for sale, stood for 18 years, please call ~~~####'
So a quick phone call and i went out to see the old girl and to my surprise she was a 1978 panel van with twin sliding doors, not what i was expecting. I went out there to view / buy a camper for the business and was so surprised to come across this panel van, weirdly enough i was looking for a panel van for my business that i could have as my daily ride so a coincidence or what!

The van was in a sorry state, it was bought by the current owner for its engine for another camper some 18 years previous and was then sat outside for around a year before being put away in the barn. At one stage the owner decided to 'do her up' and so cut off the front panel and both front arches and then lost interest in it again. This is how it sat for the next 17 years or so.
Not a bad thing i suppose as he never attempted any dodgy weld repairs so i knew what i was letting myself in for, but the rose tinted glasses were still on and the owner knew it!!
several viewings later and some harsh negotiations i parted with far too much money and was now the proud new owner of her.

I got her recovered back to our workshop which was only around 15 miles away and parked her up in the unit. This is how she remained for the next six months or so until a mate of mine who runs his own VW restoration business finally got me to agree to him to take her away and begin the restoration. He kind of made sense when he said he could be working on her whilst i was working here and earning the money to pay for it, but im a little bit tight and don't like to pay for things to be done that i could do myself, but i was so busy with customers campers that i just gave in to him.

This was back in February 2013. Initially he thought around 6 to 8 weeks to complete the task as it was his only restoration to be getting on with at the time, great i thought - but how wrong were we!!
After 4 weeks or so he called me up and said come and have a look at her, i was so excited! I got straight in my camper and drove over to his workshop. To my surprise he had done from the drivers side rear arch up to and including the front panel, lovely i thought. Then it came out, "that's your budget used up mate" he said!! gulp!
Now this put me in a position, should i take it away and park it back in my workshop where it would probably never get done, or do i find some more cash and power through with it, which is the option we went for. Crack on with it i say, just let me know when your'e done.

Now the original plan was to just remove any and all rot from the structure of the vehicle and replace where necessary with fresh shiny metal and genuine replacement panels. You cannot buy or fake patina and i loved the look of this ratty old girl and wanted to preserve it. In my head i had the image of the new panels painted back in, faded back and then the exterior hand sign written in white with our business details 'vwbusbits'

Its now January 2014, nearly a year later and this is where we now find the van, its just about done structurally and should be back at my workshops this week where i can start the rebuild, as it will need everything going through on the mechanical side after being stood for so long.

I am so pleased with the results, it should look the nuts by the time the new fresh paint is blended in with the old and the sign writing sorted. This is then gong to be my daily ride and advertising machine. One day i would love to build a lush big motor etc, but that's in my dreams

Here's a quick run down of the work to date:

• O/S rear corner
• O/S rear arch repair sections
• O/S rear cargo floor repair
• O/S rear outrigger and jacking point
• O/S front outrigger and jacking point
• O/S top hat sections
• O/S inner, middle & outer sills
• O/S seat belt mount
• O/S front bulk head repair
• O/S front arch complete
• O/S front floor section
• O/S lower 'B' pillar
• O/S inner arch sections
• O/S lower arch to front valance repair
• Front end complete
• N/S lower arch to front valance repair
• N/S front arch complete
• N/S inner arch repair
• N/S 'B' pillar repair
• N/S inner, middle & outer sill
• N/S front outrigger and jacking point
• N/S rear outrigger and jacking point
• N/S rear cargo floor repair
• N/S rear arch complete
• N/S rear inner arch repairs
• N/S rear corner
• Engine bay over chassis leg repair sections both sides
• Battery trays

The doors, tail gate, engine lid and rear valance etc are all staying as they are, rusty and dented as that's part of the charm of this bus. Its now super structurally sound, i will load it up with waxoyl and it should now last another 40 years. Maybe one day i will go the whole hog and replace all the doors etc and get her painted, but i just love the look of her as she is.

If you have read this far then bless you, i know its a lot of waffle, but just trying to set the scene!
Now i know you all love pictures, so here they are to date:

 

Here's a couple of videos of her being loaded up when i first bought her.

 

This is going to be a wonderful twin slider - as always pick a budget and double it!!!!
B

 

Good work, she's looking Sweet

 

that looks great mate! I do love me a panel, and a twin slider panel is definitely the dream!
Looking forward to the progress pics, watching with interest!

 

Great thread and bus!

 

Looks like a great one to save. Love those twin sliders. I see vents infront of the rear side air vents. Can you tell us what those are for? I'm liken the color choice.

 

Glad you all like it, it really has been a labour love to get it to this point, luckily I have an understanding misses!

The vent in front of the rear cooling vents are just to keep the rear of the bus area ventilated, nothing more than that matey, a bit like the spinney plastic ones you get on roofs of modern vans I suppose.

 

Another one saved

 

Nice one fella, I like panels.

 

cheers for all the positive comments guys. I will upload some more pictures when i get the van back here at our own workshop later in the week, job number 1 is to get the windscreen fitted to keep it dry!

 

nice work buddy. keep going!

 

Was it stood in a barn with no roof? My bus has been used from 1975 to 2006 and it didn't have that much rust :/.

Lovely bus though, love panels and twin sliders. Great combo.

 

I know mate, she was pretty bad i can tell you! apparently the damage was done before she was laid to rest when it was abandoned outside for a year or so, it was even under a cover in the barn!

Still, shes all good again now, i do like a challenge

 

Nice!