Family Bay Rediscovered after Years in the Wilderness…..

Hi,

Sorry this might be a bit long but I think the people here might understand my feelings a bit more than your average Jo. I hope this is in the right forum, if not please feel free to move it.

When I was a kid, late 80’s early 90’s, my parents bought a hightop VW bay window panel van conversion, we called the Magic Bus. We had some great holidays in it, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Cornwall etc. Unfortunately with the divorce of my parents several years later the bus became a less and less common feature in family breaks. In about 1996/7 it vanished entirely and I presumed that the Magic Bus had been sold on.

Having kids of my own and having done camping holidays I started to get the yearning for something more stable than canvas above me. After a discussion, or several, with my wife she saw the light and suggested we could potentially get a camper but only if it was new, had the usual mod cons and didn’t cost the earth, about £5k was the sum given. I decided that a T4 or T5 would be a good plan but a discussion with my Mum turned up a shocking fact. We still owned the Magic Bus and if I wanted it I could have it.

I decided, in a fit of childhood nostalgia, this was the solution I would get a ‘proper’ VW and would’ve only spent a little bit in getting it sorted out, therefore getting brownie points from my wife . To be honest I pictured myself returning home as a conquering hero to all round congratulations and us all setting off for an immediate holiday to the Tuscan hills. Unfortunately the reality was somewhat further from the truth than I anticipated.

On my first visit the rose coloured glasses where very much removed and this is what I found:










I have many more pictures of similar go faster holes, but there is an engine although I can’t imagine it fires and all 4 wheels are attached

Now I want to pick your brains with your knowledge and experience and help with the following:

· Is this economical to repair, either by a pro or by me?
· I appreciate there is a lot of work there, I think pretty much every panel needs doing, how much would I be looking at to get it physically and mechanically sound?
· Would I be in over my head?
· If I decided to sell in this condition what sort of price should I be looking for?

There are a few caveats to attach to the above:

· I have no technical skill, I’ve done the usual light car maintenance over the years, changing oil, filters, bulbs, pumps etc but nothing major
· I have no skill with the tools, I’m ok with the usual DIY stuff, for example angle grinders etc
· I don’t have a garage, although I have enquired about renting one from my local council
· I am on a limited budget

I’m sorry this is a bit long but I do need some help and a bit of guidance. I understand this is a classic car and has all the issues that go with it. I am no longer looking at this with some misplaced nostalgia to my childhood but a realistic series of questions about cost vs. reward, both financially and time based.

Thanks,

RR

 

Firstly, welcome to the forum and I really like the story behind 'The Magic Bus' there is always a story

Secondly, I'm not the right person to ask but I'm sure someone will be along shortly but you will get mixed answers for sure!

 

Back to the T4 scenario. That looks as rotten as a pear. If you paid to have it rennovated you're looking at 5 figures, IMO.
Others will be along to suggest you do it yourself and every van can be saved, but you won't be having a holiday for several years if you DIY it.

 

Sell it and put the money towards something more solid.

 

What the others said, I agree sell it & buy something easier to restore. I think your skills are less than you need for this one.
Hello & Welcome from The Colonial Contingent

 

Welcome along. What a difficult decision you've got there and I'm not the best person to advise. I'd be very swayed by the nostalgia, personally, but realistically it's going to cost a lot and you aren't going to be camping for a long while yet.

 

Welcome along... I have seen far worse being saved, Your call but just have a look at the restorations thread to get an idea of the work involved

 

Welcome to the forum mate, nice story and very honest of you.
Me more than most knows what its like to get attached to something you had fond memories of from years ago (I still have my second ever car '71 Beetle since 1986!) It moves around houses when I do! I cant bare to sell it, will be my daughters when she is old enough.

Normally I would say if it means that much to you, then go for it, but realistically if you have no experience in bodywork or mechanics(although these are easy to work on) then I would hesitate. It probably is better to sell it as is on Fleabay and use the money to help you go down the T4 route, assuming you still want a VW.
Remember the VW route is expensive due to various factors not least the pose value.

If it was me and you want to keep costs down , buy an old Bedford, you can pick them up for buttons. They still have the retro charm and you get a heater that works!

VW T25's are also good vans and big inside but parts are slim and they rust as much as yours if not looked after. Their price is also rising?

So a nice T4 ensure its at least a Turbo Diesel or the 2.4 Diesel which had plenty of torque, but the TDI engines have the best response (read they move almost in time to the gas pedal!)

You can go to night school, learn welding, buy a cheap MIG welder etc etc, there is nothing hard about these vans but parts can be expensive once you start adding up the panels etc?

Have a look through the resto section on here to see how bad these old tubs can get?

Engines btw are easy and normally come back to life subject to which rodents have lived in them! Hahahaa

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

What a lovely story! The Magic Bus has been sitting and waiting for you to grow up and now that you have and have children of your own - The Magic Bus is getting excited again. She can't wait to go back to the seaside and out on picnics again! I wonder what the little teddy in the window is thinking!

Yes - I am a romantic and slightly demented but hey ho! Just leaving now to take my meds.....

 

For me, what makes this one a no-no is the gutter rot and the state of the back end. As we haven't seen the rest I can only imagine there are plenty of other bad areas too. You'd need to replace half the bus.

 

More pictures would be useful, where you based? As the van is free it may be a possibility to fix it and £5000 may do that but more pictures are needed, you could spend more but it depends on how mint you want the van

 

It's a hightop - I don't think I've ever seen a hightop resto where the roof/gutters were solid - the problem with hightops is that the gutters dissolve under that fibreglass roof cap.

If you just want to get out there and get camping, then you need to move this on for as much as you can get and buy something that you can use straight away. If you enjoy the process of restoring a van, then keep it. If it was me, and I had the room, then I'd buy a modern camper to get my family out on holidays, and keep this in a corner and slowly restore it as a hobby, but it would take YEARS. Your choice.

 

...and with your sensible head on, despite the memories, why put all that effort into a high-top converted panel van when you could be doing up a nice factory window bus with a pop-top. Same effort, better end product. No offence to the converted high top lot.

 

"No offence"

 

Lovely story. They really are made of dreams and are so worth it. I think your 5k would sort alot out on this van. But get it done by a pro and agree a time period. Get it in quick and you might get a holiday in august.
You have emotional ties with this van and you need it to get through the heartache. Either that or get another bay for 5k and spend another 5k sorting it out. Or get a T4/T5 that are great but don't have those wonderful memories.

You will have to get it done professionally or you will spend every waking second researching bits and then putting them into action for the next 3 year.

Take it to Zed he will give you back a lovely van. We had some great go faster holes and he made them go away with his magic wand (welding stick)

 

All your holes (well most of them) were in the same area Dean.
Please don't bring it to me because I won't do it. It would be wrong to take your money.

 

Zed your too nice man. Alot of people would take the cash and run but you have a soul.

 

Welcome fella, great tale. That's just patina. Kidding apart, the heart spends more than the head every time. That's a hell of a world of work there. If you do decide to restor you ll be a master when you ve done. Good luck getting on the road whatever your choice

 

Woah! Tough decision, but I know if my dads old van had been tucked away in a corner and came to light like this I'd be wanting to sort it out no matter what. However, it looks as though it would be a massive undertaking both in terms of cost and time. A lot for me would depend on the underside - how much of the chassis is left?. I think if it were me, I would look at getting something newer to use for now as a daily driver, whilst doing the old bus up over time. For sure you'll always be spending some money on the old bus but speaking from experience, that more than makes up for the great feeling you get driving it and taking it on holiday etc, if you can afford it...