Restoration costs..

Hi all,

This subject i understand maybe difficult to answer even more so without currenr condition photo's being to hand.

Before going any further i would like some sort of idea of figures for the restoration.

My guess is somewhere between 2-3 thousand.

The bus needs small engine work a few leaks etc and a service. Couple of bits of tin wear no doubt and engine bay welding.. all outer panels replacing except roof work. Needs wheels and tyres and a full paint job, seals and interior ( interior will be a home made setup except for kitchen units, cooker and sink.. the rest of the interior and lighting etc i can do.

All the work will be completed between myself and my wife (shes good at the paint side of things luckily). So between us were hoping to bring it to a very presentable and usable condition. But not a show winner by any means.

As i say i know it will be hard to give a figure but something just to help me a little with budgeting for items and such. I may also need a whole new loom too which i can do myself.

Thanks in advance

Rob

 

This is as you correctly say, a very difficult one to judge. I think you are being optimistic though. All outer panels is the concern - are you welding yourself? Engine leaks could be anything from a £5 seal to a new engine (£2k maybe?!)

Perhaps start some threads with specifics of each area you are looking to tackle (with pics) and someone can try and help a little more accurately.

 

pics please

 

Okay i will take some pictures this afternoon.

The engine was reconditioned shortly before it was parked.. the oil leaks from wbat i can see are coming from the rocked covers and all the welding etc will be done by myself.

 

I think a paint job alone might cost 2-3 thousand. I've repaired and replaced a few panels on my bus and it is incredibly labour-intensive and therefore costly to pay someone to do. I reckon I spent something like 2-3 thousand on my bus doing everything myself and not having it painted! (I used rattle cans to touch up and patch).

 

i've alwaysed drove rolling restos ,never cost me more than a couple of hundred quid...(I had 4 mot tyres for every bus)

the pickup cost me two new inner sills ,the fail sheet was three pages...

probably now, the pickup is reaching a 1000 pounds of bits...

 

Im in the same position - about to get some prices for a rear wheel arch outer inner panel repair and quite a bit of paint to repair the comprehensive 'keying' job that someone did for the previous owner.

My local garage offered two body shops, one if I was intending to keep it and one if I was going to fix and sell. I will post on here when I get around to getting quotes.

One thing i have noticed in the past is that leaving a van with someone for weeks/months over the winter to repair in their own time has ended up costing more than initially thought because the van gets pulled in and dragged out of the workshop to accommodate more urgent work that comes in.

 

I'd say that's too optimistic. Best bet is to put some pics up. I spent well over a grand just sorting the underside of ours (panels alone). Front end panel wise will owe me around £800. Front aches and rear arches £420 (prices have gone up since). It all adds up.


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Easy enough to walk round your bus and write down everything you can see and think of that will need replacing for a start. Then price the parts up on JK or Heritage or schofields.
Come to a figure add another 50% for things you can't see or didn't think of. Then add the cost of paint,primer ,thinners, rubbing down paper lots of it, etc.
Think you'll end up a bit higher than your figure on parts alone unfortunately.
Example £500 just for a set of rubber seals, but it's the small stuff that adds up and runs away with your money £100s on bits every time you go online

 

When I asked the big question, Ben Lewis who did my resto. answered, £ 30/ hour!
Tony

 

£2-3000 isn't that more like a annual running maintenance and modification budget.

Having refitted our interior last year it is staggering how the costs mount on the little bits you can't see. When I did the chassis and body work it was the same, there is rarely such a thing as a quick panel replacement as whatever that panel is attached to often needs fettling, which in practice often means it's more cost effective in time and effort to replace that one too. @MorkC68 's £20k guess for a deep refurb is more realistic.

It's dangerous looking at the numbers too early though as you might never start. Much better to crack on - it doesn't feel so bad as you go along

 

Part of the excessive cost I found was in the purchase of tools and other nicknaks that were needed or materials that you buy and have a few bits and pieces left over. Our next one will be cheaper as many mistakes will not be made.

 

When you've finished yours, I'll give you £3,000 to restore mine as well.

 

you said your van needs engine bay chassis welding and all panels replaced and a new paint job (I assume inside and outside) and a new interior and hopefully only some minor engine work.

its likely you will find other areas of rot after you have stripped out the interior.

all that sounds like a big project to me and high cost far in excess of your 2k to 3k, and the van will be out of action for some time.

 

Do what I did and forget about budgeting. Just get stuck in!


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