Sorry if this is wrong Section. I've been meaning to do this anyway, but having read the "oh dear" thread I thought I'd get on with it as it may be handy for someone. Basically it's a review of the man who did my restoration work and the restoration itself. My restoration is nowhere near complete, but the bodywork and welding part he was asked to do is more or less finished. He's known as davidoft on here, or David Howard Mobile Restorations. So my situation was a common one, van had been sitting in my garden for two years, I knew it needed a lot of welding, I knew nothing about welding. The time came when I could start getting it fixed up, but I didn't have any idea where to get it done, or how to get it there, and I wanted to try and be involved in some way. I asked on this lovely forum for recommendations for garages, but if i remember I don't think I really got one. However David did offer his services as a mobile restorer. He emailed me some pictures of work he'd done, we chatted on the phone, so I thought I've got nothing to lose, let's do it. Now for me this turned out to be ideal because 1 He was going to come to me to do the work, I didn't need to get my van transported anywhere 2 Not only could i be involved, he was happy to teach me stuff as we went along 3 I could see what he was doing and how work was progressing 4 I pay him as work progresses, no big lump sum advances The work started in summer 2012 but then I had to leave it again until spring this year, but as money was very tight I decided to buy a welder and try it myself. I didnt get very far! im sure given time i could of muddled through but quickly realised that if I wanted to get this done in a reasonable time frame I needed to get a professional in, so got David back. The brief was - get me back on the road as quickly as possible. So some repairs aren't original looking, and no disrespect to David but some of the bits done arent to the highest standard, but that's fine by me - that's what I've asked for, I just wanted a solid bus. He would of been more than happy to spend days doing perfect repairs etc, but then the price goes up because it taking him longer. He does what you want him to do, and was clear with that at the beginning. He's fabricated several repair panels, saving me money by not having to buy them, he has provided official repair panels he had spare at a cheaper price than the usual shops, he has bought me items cheap off eBay, and he has gifted me parts that I needed. I think the work he's done for me is fairly representative of a camper resto - sills, jacking points, front and rear arches, front deformation panel, rear corners, battery trays, both rear valances, rear chassis leg, and a host of patches here there and every where! Although my front panel does really need doing, I've chosen to have it patched up for now to keep costs down. This is fine because my resto was never going to be a full on one, and I can't afford a paint job, so I'm not bothered about chopping it up again in a couple of years. Also time scale is not an issue, he's happy to work as often or as little as you need. For me it was usually one day a week, sometimes two days. Can't afford it this week? No probs, lets skip a week or two. You get the idea. He's finished all his work for me now, I just need to get my finger out and finish all my stuff. So basically I'm very happy with him, what he's done, and how he's done it. I'm not going to tell you how much I was paying him, I will tell you I paid him a day rate for 10am to 6pm. How much did it cost relative to a garage? I d say all in I've paid LESS than I would've paid a garage to do the same work, with the huge bonuses that he came to me and I got to see exactly what he was doing. If your looking for restoration work on your camper, I'd highly recommend him. The downsides? There's only a couple and they're not all serious! 1 He's based on the south coast, so if you live oop north he may not be the man for you. 2 he will consume all your bacon, choccy biccies, and tea. I may add other points to this if I think of anything else, but all in - top bloke and top work. Use him or loose him! Thanks David.
