As some of you will know, I have recently bought a US IMPORT 1972 Kombi. It's a very straight bus with very little rust and lots of original parts. It's been sat around for in the desert for 7 years, however the engine runs and the electrics all seem good. Having started to get a list together of what I'm going to need to restore which consists of the following items I'm starting to wonder whether it's worth restoring:- It needs:- New Carbs New brakes all round Complete set of seals all round New glass (rear both sides) Rear bumper Complete set of exterior lights Complete interior Front seats Wax Protection Seat Belts Tyres Complete Re-Paint if I'm going to do the job properly. Seems like before kitting the bus out inside, doing paint would be the first thing so sort, particularly when it's stripped down as it is now. Paid around 6.5k for the bus in its pre-stripped down state. I've seen some immaculate 1972-76 US LHD Westfalias go for circa 13-14k so is it really worth the effort or should I sell and simply buy a restored one and save myself the pain and time of restoring. Advice welcomed
yes its worth restoring mate, theres not much wrong with it tbh! Have a read of our Gusbus thread & then tell me its not worth it On another note, VW Kampers, a good while ago sold five fully restored Westies in a one week time period, the cheapest was £31,995!
If its solid I'd keep it ,better the devil you know as you might buy a badly restored one like I did ,so hard to tell when its recently been done.
Depends what you want, if you want it perfect yes crack on, if you want it safe and useable with the odd blemish then wack it back together and enjoy it ( do the brakes etc obviously) Its what I do with mine, just doing the odd bit here and there as required
Doing a full resto will cost you more, but you know what you've got at the end of it. Buying a 'restored' van could result in you just getting something that looks better but is actually worse. From my experience with a US import: 1. Running gear will be knackered. Be prepared to replace a lot of the mechanical stuff underneath. 2. Before wasting any money on the engine, get a compression test and make sure it's sound. It's easy to waste ££££ and hours sorting apparently minor engine issues, only to find later that it needs a complete rebuild.
Im gearing up to move house at the moment But i could come down on sat to look over it for you and advise accordingly Im a cowyed so a fellow lancs lad The thing is id have to charge you for my time,the fuel and somthing to eat As im living in north yorkshire now
just ask yourself whether you want to work on a bus, or have a nice one ready to go....the parts you've listed aren't actually that expensive, or difficult to replace... Interior could be an off the peg, good secondhand, or DIY (time and tools)....it's the body work and paint that will set you back the most....(ob)scene tax for VW campervans....if you go to a specialist.... two of the best bay window repaints I've seen recently were done by a guy up Bradford way....1K and they were immaculate...some of these VW bodyshops'll charge you four times that....total rip off IMO
Do the things you need for the mot ,the cosmetics etc can wait... i would sort the engine first I like a rolling resto...
For an interior I'd highly recommend Scott @sjhjoinery he's done a superb job on ours, we gave him ideas on little extra touches & he sorted it no problem!
personally i'd keep that exterior paint - clean it up and polish maybe but to lose that patina would be a shame. rust proof inside/underneath obviously.. 02p etc.
