To restore or not to restore? That is the question!

Hi,
I'm after some advice on where to start my restoration, if indeed it's worth it.!
My camper is a 76 westfalia lhd 2.0l Auto and she's rusty, very rusty.
She needs to have all wings replaced, both sills, rear end inc battery trays, left rear panel from window down and inner wing. The chassis looks ok, just a few areas of concern around the rear suspension tube. Undoubtably the floor will need some work.
Do I start with the biggest job or go for the smaller jobs first?
Alternatively do I look for a replacement body and transfer the new engine, doors, roof and original interior into it?
Obviously I'm weighing the cost of the panels and fab against a donor body

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

I reckon you'd be REALLY lucky to find a donor shell, nearly all of those that remain are rusty as hell and those that aren't command really high prices and are usually rolling anyway.
Ultimately I suppose the question is how good are you?
If you can do the work then it's the best way, you know what you have when you've finished.
However, if you're paying someone else to do all the work then you MAY be better off looking for a Yankee MicroBus that you can put your nice bits into.

 

Sounds like the average camper you have there

take a good long hard look at what you have, make a list of the panels you need, dont scrimp, be honest,

Price up the parts

sit back, have a beer decide if you want to go ahead.

If your farming out the work do your sums, an hours labour doesn't go far...... your potentially looking at hundreds of hours on the body and structural repairs before you even get the mechanical repair and paint etc...

Its a personal choice at the end of the day...

Post up some pictures, its always good to see what your up against, loads of us have been there or are going through the process

 

If your doing it yourself ?
Go for it ! .
But im not envious ....

 

As yours is LHD I wouldn't bother, get a decent shell from somewhere sunny

 

^ THIS

 

^that

 

does it fly?

 

Oh and I don't mean Bournmouth !!!

 

Oi! Ours is from Bournemouth and is... Oh wait it's currently a bare shell under restoration!

 

Also, if you're planning to do it yourself (and are capable of DIY), be realistic about how much time you can spare. Do you have a partner/children/dogs? If so, their initial tolerance of you spending time on 'our' bus will soon wane and you'll effectively become AWOL, selfishly spending time on 'your' bus with all the guilt trips that go with it! I have a wife, teenager, toddler and two dogs, and struggle to find time to do anything much to the bus at the weekends/evenings so really have to take time off work to get uninterrupted time on the bus. And be realistic about your stamina/patience/energy... big restorations will take longer than you thought and you may lose enthusiasm for the project part-way through and/or your lifestyle may change, meaning priorities shift.

Of course, if you're single/no kids and like your own company, go for it! Even better if you have fellow TLB'rs nearby who may be willing to come and lend a helping hand.

 

Definitely take this on board, if you need all those panels before you go poking about you will need all of the above and then some, I know from experience!

 

Thanks guys, great realistic advice with only a little sarcasm (I must be on the wrong site )!
I share concerns about the time it'll take as I'll be doing the work myself. I don't have a garage so will either be working on the drive or I'll need to find a local lockup. Outdoors will be weather dependant and how long it'll take before my neighbours get hacked off with the whine of air tools!
The van only cost me £1200 so I can't complain about the bodywork really. I've essentially bought a new recon engine in a Very rusty box!
Good bits:-
The interior is all okay and original (rock n roll with captain chairs).
The group roof is all good if a little tired looking.
Suspension.
Auto transmission.
Brakes.
Front doors.
Side slider.

I've found a rolling 76LHD shell minus engine, interior and transmission and no rust (except for light surface) for £3500. It'll still need straightening out and spraying but it might be the cheaper option in the long run.
I'll post some photos up when I get a chance.
Cheers
Scott

 

If you are doing it for the journey and the cost is somewhat irrelevant then stick with your van, if you want to apply logic and a realistic costing buy a t5 !!!!
Personally I think we all spend too much on our vans, me included, but they do reward us in the end and it keeps us out of mischief
Good luck with your van and start a resto thread

 

is it a westy shell?

If not I would plough the cash into your 1200quid bus..

 

The reshell idea sounds like the best option tbh ,

 

Put pics of your potential new shell up, if it genuinely doesn't need any welding then it sounds a good option, it'll speed up the process no end and be a better end result!

 

I would defiantly go down the "make one good one out of the two route" will almost certainly be quicker & a lot cheaper in the long run. You will still get the satisfaction of building your own bus, know every nut & bolt ect but will also get to use it much sooner. This means you are far more likely to finish the project. You will also have a lot of spares to hand if required. The old shell can then donate any good sections to help others restore their buses & help you recover a few quid ! If I can offer one bit of advice (from experience when I use to re-shell cars when i was on the tools) is whenever you remove a component if you are not going to refit straightaway use 2" masking tape to tape the bolts,screws or fittings to it (you can also write on the tape). Although this takes a bit more time upfront will save loads later on

Good luck & enjoy the process.

 

Hi Scott.
You sound a bit like me 18 months ago. Mines a 79 LHD westy but was not quite as rusty as yours at the start. TBH I would not off even started a resto without a garage and even a single is a pain. One thing I made sure off was a good chassis because that seems harder work than replacing panels. Still for £1200 its a good price and a good shell for £3500 gets a good 'easier' resto for less than £5000.