Restoration costs..

Rolling restoration is the way forwards . Take the van for an MOT and see what it fails on and go from there . It may look rusty but structurally solid .
You may be pleasantly surprised or hugely disappointed but until you know the facts it`s all guesswork ...

Just a thought but that`s what i`d do ..

 

But remember to waxoil it to death before you go as the tester can't touch freshly applied waxoil - this is how the PO of my bus conned me!

 

@Rob'n'shauna

Sorry if where giving you doom but its heart breaking and can become a massive strain on the finances.

Once you start thats it theres no going back. If you have a belly pan thats welded on your going most likely find more work

I dont know how far you are into the retro but im sure anyone on hear would be willing to have a look and give you some sound advice.

Best wishes and if you need more advice this is the best place to get it.

Geordie

 

@Rob'n'shauna

I hope we have made you see sense. Spend your money on your family not on a rusty wreck. Enjoy what you have and save up for a nice van in a few years time.

 

Just buy bits when you can afford them, and weld it up when you can be arsed. Paint it with a brush. If at any point you decide it's too much, bung it on eBay. If you got it for a song your unlikely to lose money.

Probably.

 

Its your money and your time and your decision.

 

Where are you located?

 

True, but this assumes it can roll...

 

it doesn't roll.... well... not very well with the rear torsion bar being broke.

thanks for all the advice and info here guy its much appreciated!!! I don't wish to offend anyone with any earlier comments regarding what some owners may spend on their bus. (wish I could lol). but I am giving it some serious consideration. I'm not put off by the amount of work as without an english wheel or the involved fabrication skills... buying second hand good panels with minor dents and the use of slap sticks or hammer and dolly work I'm sure with a little practice I could overcome the issues.

do you think £800 is okay for it? it at least gives me the chance of owning and starting the work at the very least otherwise I wouldn't even be here talking to you lovely people.

I understand its my money and my choice being a total newbie to things bay.. I'm going into things blind as I dont know anyone who has restored one.. let alone do everything themselves to avoid labour costs and tried to minimise costs and restored one at home on the driveway.

I'm in castleford west yorkshire fella,

this morning I have sat for a few hours and begun to price things up such as paint and rust protection (bilt hamber).

the paint work and extras for tackling the paint come in at 650. (www.jawel.co.uk)

15 litres of cellulose white high build primer
10 litres of standard thinners
10 litres of clear coat (RFU)
5 litres of ford frozen white
10 litres of BS royal blue
15 litres of premium high gloss thinners

(obviously mixing thinners 1:1 with primer or paint so.... )

we have thought of painting the beltline upwards in ford frozen white and below (including the engine compartment and interior in BS royal blue) and then lacquer the whole thing. mixing 1:1 with thinners should be more than enough paint to cover what we want.

(underside will be zinc'd and epoxy mastic painted and cavity wax applied (all hamber bilt came to £240. )

at the present time I'm using various panel suppliers websites and comparing prices for panels and then the expensive stuff just seeing what I can get second hand. and pricing things up...

guess I'm just worried that when i start stripping everything off the van and begin cutting things out and welding new panels in and should I need to sell due to costs I won't be able to sell or at the very least make by the money id lost.

thanks again

rob

 

Greetings Rob

Are you asking if you should pay £800 for this van?

If so my answer would be NO, don't do it


Having looked at the pictures I honestly think you would be putting your money (any amount) into a more solid bus to start with

Work out a realistic figure for how much this bus would cost to get on the road, then just go and buy a driveable bus for that amount of money.
You will get much more for your money and will be enjoying camper van ownership much quicker

I guarantee that the bus in your photos in the other thread will cost an absolute fortune to get back on the road, not just because it has been stood for so long

 

My advice on would to have a good crawl about underneath before you to far. If it needs shed loads of chassis work, it's no fun if you don't have a roll over jig or similar... A years worth of evenings and weekends, trying to weld an inch away from your face soon wears thin..

If you are happy the chassis is doable, pick a bit to start on, and just buy the bits you need to do that bit. put your blinkers on, and crack on with that bit. Avoid the temptation to try and buy all the bits in one go, as you will inevitably end missing bits, and buying bits you don't need. If you give up at any point, and you have only spent a couple of hundred quid on bits, you are unlikely to lose money.

Oh, tempting as it may be to buy cheap panels, you will be swearing when you come to fit them! If the better quality part is £30 more, it's £30 well spent imo.. some of the cheap klokkerholm panels are so bad that you will probably chuck most or all of it away, and then go and buy a decent one, or make something from scratch...

So, pick a bit, buy a bit, do that bit, pat yourself on the back. Decide if you want to carry on.

Good luck, and if you get stuck, the helpful folk on here will always be on hand with tips and encouraging comments..


(Disclaimer... I haven't seen the bus in question, so don't blame me if its beyond repair lol )

 

@Rob'n'shauna

People are commenting without the knowledge of the bus shown in the photos in the other thread

http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/project-viking-top.68312/#post-1265375

Be realistic on how much it will cost in materials to repair (even with you doing all the labour)
Then decide if you could just buy a better bus for that amount of cash (there will still be work to be done on whatever bus you buy)
I'm not trying to ******* on your bonfire, I don't think you have any emotional attachment to the bus yet do you?

Walk away

 

You have another thread going on here Project Viking Top, so are they one and the same?

Is it that 77 blue/purple van that's been off the road for many years , the van your thinking of restoring?

Two threads is confusing.

 

£800 is a very good price for a project it's all doable but the general rule for anyone taking on a project like this, it will take you 3 times the time and money than you think.

It's allso the small bits that end up breaking the bank you have priced up the paint but not included filler,sandpaper,masking paper,masking tape, dust masks and the equipment to spray.

I don't want to put anyone off taking on a project but you have to be realistic and see it as a long term hobby that is going take most your spare time for a long time.

If you want a camper to just tart up make your own and get out camping this is not for you.

The outher way is to do what it needs to get it through a mot then use it in the summer then plan a few mouths each winter to do the work in stages.

As for value at the end you are almost guaranteed not to break even, you have to see it as s hobby

 

£800 isn't a lot of money, as long as Rob goes into this with his eyes wide open (and having priced up everything its going to need and then adding some considerable sum for contingencies) then who are we to tell him not to buy. But I'd agree that the process to get this bus back on the road may take several years and a fair amount of cash and once you start then there is no way out but to finish or scrap it. Personally I'd spend my money on something else, I have seen the photos in the other thread, looked like a rotter to me. The other thing is once the body work is sorted there will still be the rest of it to refurb engine, steering box, brakes, interior. and it will still be a slow old bus.

 

nicely put folks.

I do worry that he is newly married with family and really I feel the financial needs of family should take priority over what could turn out to be a very expensive hobby.

I know from my own early family life that money is always needed and sometimes unexpectedly and money tied up in that old van could only be realised by selling it.

Another concern of mine is where will all this long term metal work and painting be carried out? On the driveway? Out in the open? Do you have premises? What about the neighbours?

 

Dont get me wrong I wouldn't do it, been there. In my 20s I started to refurb an old ford cortina stripped it down and spent hours on the body work on my back in the cold and damp, in a single garage with little room, and then grew tired of it, sold it at a knock down price in parts to get shot, the day someone took it away on a trailer the sun shone and the birds sung, and I was glad.