Restoration costs..

@Pnv you most certainly got rid of the rust on the front panel

 

i can never be accused of being half arsed! ;-)

 

@Flakey is it one of them Pickford's interiors

 

Easy removal !

 

It's not until they've tried restoring it that they will realise what a good deal that is geordie!

 

Interesting question and exercise.
Please realise it doesn't finish with the restoration.
Bought my clean? van in '94 and promptly spent £2207 in 96' sorting out the hidden treasures.
Since then and not wanting to bore you with minutiae it had amassed a grand total £10,770 for body shop repairs alone.
That doesn't include a rebuilt gearbox £800 or an ex NATO 127 engine with zero hours £3700 , rubbers, panels etc.
The last nip 'n tuck was just over 4 grand.....paint was 700 notes.
Bays need to be treated like children, given complete devotion and life commitment.

 

@monkeyvanwestybike Thanks send me your PayPal details
Your westie very very nice.

 

I met lovely couple that bought a used T5 and had it converted the total cost 54k it was very nice but hay what so is a deposit on a apartment Portugal, Spain, you could buy a county in France for that

 

Thanks mate
I think 2017 is gonna be the parting year for me too!
After 22 years
I recon I'm in profit by £1.50 yay

 

We have a customers T25 in at the mo, different one to the one mentioned above but she had a beetle restored at a different shop for.......
........wait for it.........
......................£53k!!
Fair enough she wanted a concourse job but her Resto-bloke just kept holding his hand out for cheques at £5k a time. eventually she stopped paying but had to sue him to get the car back!
Car is worth £8.5k finished!!!

 

@monkeyvanwestybike you've had it for 22 year's

 

Is she fit?

 

Totally agree - i`m sorry if this offends but it`s a sad fact that repairing these old vans properly has become big business and unless the owner can do at least some of the work his/herself it`ll be in a 10k hole for just the basics . You`ve got to REALLY want to keep these vans alive , gone are the days of happy-go-lucky get an MOT and drive it ...

I recently found an old 2008 GSF parts book . Not the best as we all know but a corner panel , for example , was £22 per side , now they`re £103.80 ....

And don`t get me started on rubber quality

 

Yes I can't even remember how much I've spent over the past
But I will Sell it at a loss
The hardest part will be actually selling it
The first "it isn't " it should have or I'll give you!
Will be met by how would you like a broken nose

 

Yes

 

@monkeyvanwestybike its a iconic bus fella.

 

Well it ain`t going anywhere then

 

Thanks all for the info and advice.

The van would cost 800 quid. I havent paid for it as the family friend who owned/owns it isnt in the best of health and chose to sell. It just owes me £50 for recovery.

Ive always liked bays but a restored one was waaayy out of my reach.

This is in my reach and my intial thoughts have been to nust take my time over the course of say a year or two and buy panels from ebay or second hand panels. After all its being built on the driveway and will be done by husband and wife. Im not wanting a show winner... or even bothered about entering shows with it. Just enjoy it.

Money and restoration isnt the be all and end all however were a young married couple with a little one so... money isnt falling from the heavens.

If its simply going to blow my finances then theres no point me buying it and will sell for the owner.

I could also use sheet steel and shape the panels.

Thanks

Rob

 

Rob, unless you have an english wheel & have been panel beating/shaping for an eternity then I feel this is a tad ambitious. Learn to weld & practice on the stuff you are cutting off. A lot of the panel work welding is done in small spots but the chassis welding needs deep penetration. Have someone who knows buses look at it first to give you some direction & lastly you could always go to techenders where the guys on here will give you all the invaluable advice that you will ever need even if you didn't ask for it