1971 Early Bay Purchase - But For How Much?

[bluecheetah99]

Hi

My girlfriend and I are about to buy an early bay campervan from a chap who has owned it for 15 years. We approached him and asked if he would like to sell it, at first he was unsure but a few more visits and he has agreed to sell it. The problem is we are not sure how much it is worth, and he is not sure as he has owned it for 13 years.

The two cab doors and the engine lid need replaced. The underneath is solid though needs surface rust scraped back and treated. It has a good engine and gear box. It has an interior taken from an old caravan with rock and roll bed/sink/gas burner/ grill and a fridge. He has said that it was spray painted with Dulux paint about ten years ago.

Any advice/top tips/comments or suggestions for what to pay for it?

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Thanks

 

[hippysteven]

hi its abit hard to say, from my experience the metal work is the most important thing to go by, although a tidy interior can seem like a bonus if the metal work is abit worse for wear then you have to consider the cost involved of that unless your handy with the welder yourself. my first bus was a uk bus too so my advise is look and poke around thoroughly in and around the chassis because underbody seal hides all kinds of nastys. dont be put off though, just its worth thinking about. also has it been stored for a few years or is it MOT'd ?
but if it looks fairly sound chassis and bodywork wise , runs good and has some history of servicing and work carried out if any , it could be worth around 4k - 4.5k , if it has a genuine MOT i would say between 4.5k - 5.5k but be cheeky and go in low and see what his reaction is and just a tip , if this chap is ok for you to have a good look round , take a little magnet with you and check the doors, bottom of windscreen, all bottom six inches of the bus, it might sound OTT but i wish i did it the first time round

 

[Araon]

No where near enough info there best advice see if theres anyone local that can go along and take a look on your behalf....

have a look through the for sales and see whats on offer there, it will give you an idea of whats been asked though not necessarily whats been paid

 

[Loxy]

What Araon said.....
There aren't many UK buses around these days that aren't rusted to bits or had extensive repairs so be really careful, if you aren't 100% sure then get someone else to look it over or walk away.

 

[Graham L]

As above

Looking at the limited photos you have posted its hard to get a good idea of the condition of the van, but it looks like the cab step on the passenger side also has rust in it so as well as the cab doors you could be looking at 2 dog legs as well which if these have gone I would expect the sills to have followed them, on UK buses if one bit is rusty the rest of it usually is. You also need to know how much filler the paint is hiding, take a magnet with you.

If you can get more photos I'm happy to have a look and give an honest opinion, you need to be taking photos of the rear of the front inner wheelarch (looking towards the back of the van). Jacking points and Chassis Rails, Cab Floor, Load bed Floor, Battery Tray to name a few as its the bits underneath that could turn this into a long term resto not the bits you can see.

Its easy to jump in and buy a bus because it seems cheap but even doing things like matching the colour of the replacement cab doors to the existing paint is going to be a challenge unless you have a spare £3-£4K for a respray.

Step back take your time and make sure its not a pup and if you can get someone to go and have a look with you that knows about earlybays then all the better. Where approx in the UK are you?

 

[pk1was]

be careful, it will be worse case scenario rule i would be working to, cab floor is probably a little worse for wear as well, and it needs a rear bumper and irons. like previous if the cab doors are gone its a fair bet to say there is a lot more heartache further down the line

hope we all helped

 

[bluecheetah99]

All

Thanks very much for your feedback.

Addressing the points:

1. It has a long record of MOTs and the seller has said that it has always passed the MOT with no more than the odd thing here or there. It has a valid MOT just now which lasts until October.
2. I have found a local expert (T25s mainly) who has agreed to give it a once over to spot any major things so that will definitely help.
3. I will double check the sills and the cab steps with the specialist
4. I will definitely take a magnet
5. I will check the cab floor and all that you mentioned Graham L

Again thanks very much, if we do get it I will get lots of photos up.

Daniel

 

[mjknight71]

where (roughly) is am you?