My son's 1980 Devon high top T25 has sat on the driveway near the sea, not driven much this year and not much last year and the rust has set in big time and now needs very expensive chassis and panel welding far beyond its value. Its a dilemma many folks on here have had to face with rusted bodywork and the cost. My son is emotionally attached to his van as it brought much pleasure in the past and camping trips with the kids when they were young and understandably reluctant to say goodbye to it. But paying for restoration is unaffordable and not sensible. Its a high top and my son really now wants a pop top. Selling the van as it is as a project isn't his preferred option and instead now thinking of finding a pop top T25 with good body and using the old van as a donor for air cooled engine and Devon interior etc. But someone would be paid to do all this work. The old rusty shell would be sold. Its not my van or my project and I want to be helpful but not interfering, but I can't help thinking finding a good pop top T25 may prove difficult and if we do find one, it would seem more sensible to use it rather than gutting it, and the new van could be used straightaway. Then sell the old one as is. You know I have my own Bay van and like the classic vehicles. I am thinking though, that it may be a good time for my son to think about going modern like a late T4 or T5 which would be easier and more comfortable to drive and camp with and the local garage could service it. I have offered funds as I know T4 or T5 would cost a bit. We have T4 and T5 owners on here and would like advice on pros and cons of ownership. I would appreciate your thoughts on this little dilemma please.
Hello personally out the two t4 t5 ide go t4 and would say 1.9d very sluggish 1.9td goes quite well with slight tweeks 2.4d again sluggish but bullet proof 2.5tdi are good 88bhp or 102 bhp which fetch more money but have ecu so start becoming more complicated when need fixing I personally had a 1.9d and loved it but is a very leasurely drive let's say Sent from my JSN-L21 using Tapatalk
I would imagine the only sensible and economical answer (if staying t25) would be, as you said. Buy one with a knackered engine but solid, Swap all the good bits across and make 1 good one, put the rest on ebay with a 99p reserve with a lot of pictures and see what you get.
You have answered your own questions really. Good T25 with a decent body isn’t cheap these days, but if you did find one, it would make sense to just use it, and sell the old one on as a project. Most cost effective vw camper is probably a T4 with a home conversion, preferably not one that’s been to the moon and back, although the old diesels do last if they have been looked after. Wheel arches and sills rust like all vws, but they don’t have all the nasty seams to rust like a t25. To summarise, bin the old van off, and get a T4
Good body and chassis ready to pop an engine in ? Hmmm moon on a stick ? how rusty is it and how much do you expect to pay to either restore or swap all the bits ? ps by “ swapping” to another shell, the nee shell is the vehicle, so if keeping the original is the goal it can only legally be done by keeping the original
I have helped my son get his mk2 golf restored over a 2 year period up to August 2019 when it went back on the road so the t25 was neglected. So my son now has a really nice classic car which he loves and showed last year It was October 2019 when I last had a good look at the T25 and it was rusting away fast, Both sills and all lower panels and panel seams were bad as was the tailgate edges, window surrounds including windscreen, gutters, cab steps, door lowers. Cab roof lining had rust staining probably from high top water ingress. My son was quoted £5k to get welding done to MOT standard and he says the same friend's mate says he could swap over engine etc etc but no price quoted. Although its got the original Devon interior, the lower woodwork has deteriorated and may be difficult to restore and cost money. Fortunately my son has decided to park the van on the driveway and not spend any more money on it.
Buy a T4. You’ll spend a lot less and have a better, more usable van. I can tell without looking where it’s rusting. All the seams basically, put particularly rear arches, ‘battery tray’ bits, B pillars, steps, rear hatch, bottom of the front panel, corners of the windscreen, etc, etc. They cost more than they’re worth to fix. IMHO
You better keep up with prices , mine are all good in all the right places , T4 can rust , seriously rusty rust too , I’ve welded some proper rough t4s up and I’ve not welded one for about 10 years
@mgbman will be along to tell you your son has obviously lost interest in the bus, and as he hasn’t used it for a couple of years or kept it in good condition, the sensible thing would be to sell it. What’s the registration number so we can check the MOT history? Wait, you are mgbman.
Dunno how much your son wants to spend but you`ll get a good T4 for 10k , especially this time of year . If i was thinking of getting something `new` VW i`d be looking for a good T4 - end of If none VW the `Symphony` range look well sorted - got hot water , a bog an` everything ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peugeot-...749266?hash=item46b7772412:g:78QAAOSw04dfhseC
If you were to buy him a T4 or T5 there wouldn’t even be any emotion attachment to it, would he use it, or leave it on his driveway to rot like the T25?
Hit the nail on the head there. I had a similar thought, kids grown up, probably not going to get much use, could just sit on the driveway in the salty air. Maybe another option would be to hire a T4 for weekend or a camping holiday, be much cheaper.
A good T25 is a far better camper than a T4, they’re easier to restore than a bay, if it’s Aircooled it’s the simplest of the engines too. Restore it , good ones fetch good money and are very useable. I do more T25s than bays now and try not to get too involved with T4 or newer, they’re just modern cars!
