Family Bay Rediscovered after Years in the Wilderness…..

What an amazing story. Coming from someone who was in a similar situation a few years ago, only we purchased our wreck on eBay, I would say go with your heart. Yes it did cost £££££££ to put right but it was worth every penny!!! What helped us was that we paid as we went along. That way it didn't hurt the pocket as much......... It probably took longer than most restorations but I reckon we now have the biggest smiles.
I know what I would do if I was you.........

 

I am just finishing off my camper and it was not a rotten as yours looks.
To give you an idea of what it has taken so far.
Hours worked by me so far 600 – give or take 20 hours or so.
Cost so far £12k – plus the new inside is £2300.
Ok – it whole lot will cost me inc buying it £14k – but if I had sent it to someone – and say, they did it 20% faster than me you are looking at a labour bill of may be £12k and it would still take years for it to do.
Also if you do it yourself – your kids will be 40 when you have finished.
These vans are a pure ” a labour of love “
Sell it – put the cash to a better example – and get out on the road this year and enjoy it with your wife and kids – Unless you mad like me (and a few others) and enjoy hours by yourself in a cold garage – fabricating – welding- filling -spraying etc. etc. – And can dedicate most nights and weekend to the camper.
But as they say – the decision is your hands
Marc

 

love stories like this, who doesnt love a bus with personal history attached to it?

also loving the "go faster holes"

 

Unless you want to spend a fourtune and years of your life restoring it instead of camping
It would be best to sell the high top on ebay and put the funds raised from that to your repair budget and look for somthing more modern

Ive had my bus for 6 years now and its still not on the road i camped more before i had the bus
Thats 6 years of promises to the family that this time next year we will be camping in the bus

Sometimes memories are best left as just that
Trying to relive them can ruin the happiness the memories once held

Welcome to the forum

 

Have a peep at the body panels here and the prices to give you a rough idea?
http://www.ahschofield.co.uk/68-79.php

Like everyone is saying , buy newer and use and maybe do yours in the background as it is free anyway?

You will know very quickly if you have the staying power to go through with it?

 

Where are you located rebel runner?
If your close to me im willing to come and take a look and write you a list of everything i can spot thats needs doing

 

This is what I love about this forum and dub lovers. They are great people.

 

I'm with Marc and the others on this one

I'm in the 3rd year now of my resto and i started off in a similar position of having no where to work other than the drive, having to learn to weld and buy the kit etc
My van came off ebay and was rough, so far the bills at around the 7k mark and i haven't finished the welding yet
Don't get me wrong i've loved nearly every minute of working on my van, but it has been nearly every minute of my spare time, with work, family etc it makes for long days

I think you will struggle to get the magic bus back on the road with 5k
I personally (with a heavy heart) would move the bus on and get want i could for it
If it's a bay you're after, have you thought about importing a dry mainly rust free bus from the states, there are a fair few members on here who have done just that and could give you loads of advice etc

 

where is the van ? maybe someone could have a look to better asses it

 

great story but looks pretty rotten to me, really depends upon what's underneath ... David Oft's obviously short of work, he'll do it for £5k

knowing how much general repair and maintenance time even a running import requires if you want to go on holiday in the next few years I'd suggest you take the other option.

 

Wow!

So I waasn't sure how much response I'd get around this. I have plenty more photos, but I didn't want to flood the post with pictures, unfortunately i didn't get any of the underside as it started to snow.

I stumbled onto this site through the restoration pages and they really did open my eyes to the amount of work needed to get one of these bad boys up and running again. That's what lead to this post in the first place ask the people who know what's involved and make a factual decision about if I can do this or not.

The time frame of repairing it doesn't phase me, even if it takes 5 years, it's my lack of ability that worries me about taking on such a job. I'd rather not cause more damage due to my ineptitude and end up shelling out even more to fix it. That makes me more inclined towards getting it repaired professional or selling it.
Although I have started to get some information that the Magic Bus will have to be moved in the near future as the property it has been stored at is been renovated for other use so we have been asked to move it. This will involved a man and a lorry, the Magic Bus is near Middlesbrough and I live in Milton Keynes. Maybe if everyone contributed 1 part and helped me fit it I could fix the Magic Bus in budget

I'll post some more pictures later this evening.

Some of you have mentioned the fact it is a hightop and to be frank I’ve always hated that roof. Is there a way to change from a high top to a pop up roof?

Thanks very much for the advice so far it has been really useful...

RR

 

If i'm not mistaken that is a bear I won in Florence or somewhere in the early 1990's, it was orginally red....

 

Some of you have mentioned the fact it is a hightop and to be frank I’ve always hated that roof. Is there a way to change from a high top to a pop up roof?


I'm sure there is but just more expense ,plus you'll have to buy the roof and then get a welder.
Sell it and keep the teddy

 

Watch out for paradox, he has a hammer and a screwdriver that finds all the rust holes. Ask poptop2.

 

Oh my , I have read through all of the posts on the threads ........like many, I can see both sides, I lost my van , it has taken years to get to the place where I could save for another and when it was time and my decision has been made , I sold my childhood ( my childhood toys and other items for a new dream) and luckily we found Ollie. I , even now, if I was to find my old J reg, would do anything to put him on the raod , I fear he is parts now he was sorned in late 90's ...I would have the bus back ( of course keep my K reg) . This is a decision only you can make with your family ...........how about a T25 ( yes they rot just the same) with half the money which could be a runner until the bay is on the road ....T25's are going up and may if looked after be an investment......sure you would not get a brillant one for 2.5k but you never know......then the bay could be a labour of love ......or buy the T4 or 5 , keep the bay and do it up stage by stage............ My view point is I sold my childhood to get back my childhood dream and do not regrett it one bit. Likewise if you keep it, you still have yours, if you sell it , it becomes part of a new one - either way I wish you the very best of luck and happiness ........welcome

 

So here are the rest of the pictures.....

 

And some more pics....

 

Last few..

 

Bravery, and deep pockets are what's required there to restore it - there's some serious rot there buddy. Almost anything can be done to save such a bus, but at a cost. You'd need to be determined. The chassis is the key - but I suspect it has gone much the same way - get that checked and see where you go from there. Thing is it'll only cost you to repair - you don't have to buy it. You could pay probably up to £5k for something in not much better condition and still have to pay for repairs. Granted £5k won't really get this to where it needs to be - but it's a good start - and if as you say time is not an issue, then you could maybe increase your budget over time. As I said before - touch decision...