Dear all I'll look at the Westy in the featured rides, but the search continues I think now it will definitely have to be be a total strip down restoration job, I am in the process of erecting large car port to keep it dry which I may put sides in for next winter so am not shy of getting a 'show' type vehicle. Great response on this site, Trevor
I have one of those " hard to find" south african solid buses for sale. its ready to go, looks stunning, not a single welded plate on the chassis, all original arches and corners. sleeps 4/5. modern beech unit custom made down one side. plus it has a 1835 tuned engine, so the bus cruises too. PM me for more detail. bus is in southern hampshire.
Been said before mate, but I would not rule out a LHD bus - I was after a RHD bus, and I was adamant that it was going to be RHD, but gave up looking after a year and thousands of miles of viewings - every single RHD bus was either lovely and shiny but full of filler with poor shut lines/door gaps, poor fitting front arches, etc, etc or rotten as a pear - even the 'restored' buses really needed restoring again as there were 'a couple of bubbles' or the 'paint (filler!) was cracking in places. I ended up with a left hooker - fine to drive once you get used to it, and also nice because it's a little 'special'. Think if you take a look at the average LHD bus you'll find it ok to drive and likely to be much more solid - i'm sure there are solid original RHD buses out there (but I couldn't find one!). Watch you don;t fall into the trap of buying a 'freshly restored' bus. Just my opinion!
I have a friend who bought a fully restored camper from G'day campers. I think he said it cost him about £35000. It was however finished to an outstanding level with a top class paint job and a fantastic bespoke interior. All he needed to do was start it up and drive it. He's not selling it by the way so this isn't an advert. If I was in the market for a fully sorted right hand drive bus I would be budgeting around £25 - £35000 and I wouldn't, for that money, be prepared to compromise on anything, especially where the steering wheel is.
I was was spending that kind of money on a bus I would want to see a lot of pictures showing exactly what condition the bus was in before it was painted!
If I was spending £35k on a bus I would want someone to kick me in the ***** and ask me what the hell I was doing!