Restore/Repair (tomayto tomatoe)

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Dicky, Nov 10, 2011.

  1. Hot on the heels of "I'd never buy a resto " thread Im interested inwhat constitutes a resto and what constitutes a repair. ie rolling resto - the missing link.

    I want my old van to be "repaired" so I can go on using it. When it comes to bodywork - and it does need some work, then I want someone who can cut the nasty bits out - weld some new bits in and if I can afford it a reasonable coat of paint on there to make it look nice again. I want something I can wash on a Sunday that won’t cut me to ribbons or wash away down the drive.

    Dilemma - go to see the vw chappies cos they should know how these things go together and they don’t really want to do my repairs. They want to restore to the nth' degree cos they have a reputation and don’t want to turn out anything much less than perfect. I don’t want to spend 7 or 8 k doing that. Now if they can pick and chose their work good luck to them - no problem there. I don’t have the skill/resources to turn the work around myself as I just want to get it sorted - do the mechanical bits myself, a bit of body work and have fun in it. If I start chopping it up it will be on the drive for years - tried it - it didnt happen for me! Do I go to "bodgeit and scarper" round the corner or is the only way of doing it to DIY?

    So what is a resto - if it were not a vw camper and say an MG or similar surely restoration would be refurbishment back to - as near as damn it- original spec. That isnt what a lot of us do, we change the colour, the trim the interior layout - fit fancy wheels tune modify etc. Is that restoration?
     
  2. restoration in the eye of the beholder??

    if somethings got nice shiney paint over a load of filler and bad repairs then some poor sod will no doubt by it as 'restored' .....then end up having to pay to get it done right.

    My view is - a repair is fixing something when it gets broken.
    A restoration is a full on srip down, refurbish nearly every part and put back together either with a nice new coat of paint or preserved original paint.

    rolling restos are a grey area for classification IMHO (big respect to any one who keeps theirs going whilst making improvements) I think rolling resto is closer to repair than full on restoration.

    I suppose a rolling resto could be seen as a part resto .......in progress?

    but is any bus ever really finished?

    For me the 'doing restoration' is as much fun as hopefully using it one day will be - I think it was Paradox who said ' it is as much about the journey as the destination'
     
  3. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

    i was gonna ask the same question in the other thread. this is part of the reason people get hot under the collar when getting restoration quotes
     
  4. I've only had my 1st camper for a year next week so newish to the scene..!!

    But i would say a "restoration" is to rebuild to the original spec. "Repair" is to keep it going in the mean time.!! "Modify" is lowering, refitting different interior or parts. Different paint jobs is a grey area (Fits most "groups")

    My ideal would to find the guys that do the work/restoration properly but you could help so you learn as you go..!! :) Would love to know how to weld, paint, mechanics..!! But that would lead me to wanting a workshop..!! ::)
     
  5. Poptop2

    Poptop2 Administrator

    to restore something you put it back into original condition , regardless of amount or type of work .

    to repair something you fix a part that is broken or not working , in effect you restore it .

    to modify something you change it from original ( usually ).

    much of muchness really :)
     
  6. don't, whatever you do, buy a T25 as a stopgap to use while you take the bay off the road for resto.

    In my experience it doesn't get sold once the bay is done and you end up spending more on that over the next 4 years than you did on the bay :D
     
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  8. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Dicky. What you want is a restoration, but you hope if you call it something else so it won't cost so much. Then when you pick it up you'll be moaning something wasn't done right. You can't have your cake and eat it.:) There are two ways. Properly or glass fibre and filler. Either way you need to end up with a nice surface to paint. If I KNEW that you'd never sell it, I'd do a filler job for you, but I can never know that so I wouldn't. Not fair on whoever you might sell it to.
     
  9. I think that the term restoration gets used too much, The more appropriate term should be renovation, restoration is to restore it back to how it came out of the factory hence Restoring it. To renovate is more like what actually happens to most buses - get them back on the road and a lick of paint the quality of the work that goes into it should be the same regardless of restoration or renovation, anything else should just be termed 'bodge and make do'.
     
  10. i like the word project as mine was meant to be a rolling project but too many dangers things needed doing first but mine will not be fully sorted i will get it to a safe rolling stage and use it then carry on repairs from there .

    personaly i think you should take on the work your self as zed has said you may not be happy with what your paying someone to give you even a fast turn around .
     
  11. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    A good few years ago I was lucky enough to be able to earn more per hour than a garage charged and worked at home with as much work on tap as I could manage. No brainer then - pay someone else to do it and sit in the warm at a computer.

    The other point really is if you restore one yourself you will kiss goodbye to all your free time for a year or two or three and perhaps your marriage. Unless you really enjoy this type of thing it might be better to have a life and let someone else take the pain.
     
  12. what's in a word? Sounds like you're asking what constitutes a good job or a botched job? You get what you pay for is the simple fact. Or, you get more than you pay for - it depends on who you go to. I've got an engine tuner guy who takes no more than £10 an hour. If it takes him 5 days to work out what an issue is he usually charges £20 !

    Body work is a tough one - its not really something you can do in a rolling way and achieve a very good job or result over a sustained period if you want a 100% factory like finish - think Firth of Forth rail bridge - you get to the finish line and have to go back to the start. Certainly if you're handing over thousands you'll want a pukka job. Sadly the opposite is often the case.
    :)
     
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  14. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    Gusbus is a restoration project, Major the westie will be a mild repair!!
     
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  16. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    If you had a bash at it yourself you'd soon realise that it's ridiculous to go to the trouble of welding a skin of steel over a rusting framework, then shaping the filler and painting it. It's still a lot of work and expense and when the inner bits fall to pieces in a few years you'll have to chop though all your nice paint and skin to get at it, then repair and repaint the outer again. Crazy if you're keeping it. If I were you I'd say get the b-pilars and foraward fixed downstairs, then the rear, then the top half in stages when you can afford it. Get your painter to buy enough paint for the lot and store it for you so it matches.
     
  17. You been round looking at my bus cos youve just described it!! Thts what I want to do tbh Think the only way I'm going to get it done to any standard that will last is to get it done in big lumps. Was thinking about this earlier as its a case of how little can you do at a time and still have to not redo large parts of it when you do the next bit!
     
  18. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    That's why the B post is good - it's a very thin strip of a panel.
    Looked at yours? They're all the same Dicky. When you start to seriously consider tarting up the old girl it can take a while for just how much work it really needs to sink in...
     
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