Late bay on an prototype bay chassis

Thanks for all the discussion on this one, I have found it very useful, to be honest it just looks wrong with a J reg and late bay bumpers, glad everyone out there has a store of knowledge that can be called upon.
Another one crossed of the list !

 

advert removed now as well......

 

Am I alone in this or am I unusual I would'nt buy any bus thats been restored or painted, any bus that I did'nt know its history, any bus thats been pimped to look good, any bus thats not what it seems ??? more and more people are paying big money for rubbish ??? am I alone in this or am I unusual

 

Good call Dave I hope it stopped him buying it, But someones gonna get stung with it

 

All vans will have to be restored one day. All you get with an import is more time, that and the wheel on the wrong side
By the way all you importers, you need to remove all the sun and heat hardened seam sealer, or your vans will rust quick.

 

Okay
So suppose I look at a bus, and it has all the photographic history of a total restoration job, and all the invoices to support engine rebuild etc, and the name if the company who did it who I can phone to talk about what and why they restored it, etc etc is it still unacceptable to some people, as far as I can gather when the job is done properly it costs more than the market can stand for the van. I am sure if I get a bus and send it down the restoration route It will cost me more than finding a pucker one ( and there must be lots out there). I reckon it is only viable to do a proper restoration job if you can actually do the work yourself, I have spoken to people who have spent way over the 20K mark including the van purchase, yet 20k is about what they will get for it, I think a lot of people get carried away and go the whole hog and then realise just how much it has cost.
Buying a bus is not an easy task, my money is too hard earned to end up with a shed, hence me asking all these questions on the forum, I have narrowed it down to two vans at the moment ( not the one that started this thread ) but I have to say with 20K at stake I am a bit nervous to say the least.

 

I hear what your saying Restored. Best advice is take someone with you. If your unsure, walk away. It's not like buses are rare and only come up for sale every full moon.

 

Also I have some photos of a bus restoration, anyone who feels highly qualified and is willing to look at them could you pm me and I will e-mail them to you for a bit of advise looks perfectly right to me but as the ad said what do I know !

 

You are right to be nervous. I would spend some of my 20k paying someone to have a look at any prospective purchase. You have a lot to lose, the difference between a 12k bus and a 20k bus is a matter of opinion and why there is a 8k difference is not always obvious.

I totally get your previous point on restoration costs etc and if I was starting again I would buy a restored bus or a good import...it would be cheaper.