1972 Bay Purchase....help please

[Yobyekim]

Hi, we have been looking for a bay for a while now and we have just been offered one by a close friend.

I was just hoping for some advice about the price of it and also some info on the van itself.

So i believe its a crossover?? Its a 1972 on a L-reg. I thought crossovers should only be on a K though?
It has a rebuilt engine and new drum brakes all around.
It has a draw back canvass roof. 1600 air cooled engine.

Its got the factory belly pan welded on underneath which someone told me it a good thing but someone else said not so good.

It failed the MOT on track rod ends and a couple of other bits. Not much

Its been painted inside and out before my friends bought it but it has laquer peel in a few places. Rust on one of the arches just bubbling up, and one window otherwise the rest is solid.
It has a rock and roll bed and a gas central heating set up, basic sink and fridge with a cooked which is not built in.
5 owners and not a lot of history.
ALso how do I find out what the original colour would have been?

She is asking £6500 which is what she paid ten years ago. Any help and advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Michael

 

[Clem]

Hard to tell what it is due to having been customised, but we'll assume its a 72 model crossover that was registered late, which explains the L plate.

The side of it appears to have been repaired since the original repaint judging by the lower repairs, I assume this is the same around the bus, so everything depends on the quality of these repairs and how much metal vs. filler was used.

Belly pans on UK buses can be a nightmare and they can hide rotten sills. There are exceptions, but I wouldn't bank on it.

If I had to guess, Id say this was a UK bus that was 'done up' when panels and standards were at a lower level than they are now and that its been patched up and let go a bit since then. I would anticipate that it will need some work on the body soon enough, but the pics are not clear enough to really judge.

£6500 may not be a bad price, but it is project money and certainly wont be then end of youre spending.

 

[subheatadey]

Personally I wouldn't go near it unless you have/know someone who really knows there stuff to give it a thorough inspection. I get the feeling it is hiding a lot, and rot is not your friend. :ghoul:

 

[Yobyekim]

Thank you for the advice.

One of my best mates paints old mustangs for a living daily and he will come to view with me saturday.

Too be honest i would be looking for a bus at cheap money which I can use through this summer and then through next winter restore it. I would rather this than a 'restored' bus unless the restored one is a known vehicle but then this would be big money.
Im not new to a project or two lol

But you feel £6500 is fair money?

 

[Clem]

But you feel £6500 is fair money?

Hard to say really. One thing about repaired/restored buses that require re-welding is that all the original guides and datum points have gone, so if its been done badly then you really have to make it all up as you go.
It also depends what you want in the end. This may well be a route into bay window ownership on a budget and can be kept on the road as a used rolling resto, if so then it could work. If you want to restore a bus to a decent standard then there are probably better bases to start with, but again, it really depends how good/bad the body is in real life.

 

[Yobyekim]

Yeah I completely agree

How would i find out what the original colour and model was? Dormobile etc?

 

[Yobyekim]

Would it be the M plate decoding?

 

[owlebay]

Hi

Yes the M plate will tell you this information. Take a camera with you when you view it next and have a look behind the passenger front seat on the bulkhead you should see a riveted plate . Take a photo of it then when you get home have a look on here for a link for the m plate decoder.

On a 72 it should be the third line down on the left is the code to tell what the original paint is.

Good luck with the second viewing take a good torch a magnet and have a good poke around underneath .

Cheers

 

[Yobyekim]

I can bring this bus home and have a real good look over it without handing over any cash and return it if I dont want it. The lady selling it is as good as family. I think this will be the best idea.

Cool ill take a look at the M plate.

 

[owlebay]

Thats a good way to view it, plenty of time to make sure its the right one for you.

 

[james309]

Shouldn't a crossover have discs up front, and not drums all round ?
Although probably the least of its worries !
Would be better spending the same or a bit more on a complete unrestored bus IMO once you start to touch this you won't stop spending.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Yobyekim]

I did think it should have discs??

Why are you saying that because you think there will be a lot of hidden rot etc?

 

[ozziedog]

:mrgreen: I think it looks like it already has discs on the front, it definitely don’t look like wide 5s and drums. I know it’s been customised a tad but I don’t know anyone that’s taken discs off to have drums unless it’s to get back to original stock and it don’t seem like that with this bus. When you get it home just take it to a friendly garage and get it up on the hoist even if you got to get an mot test, but tell them why you want it gone over.

Ozziedog,,,,,,, it’s a Bay , what’s not to love :mrgreen:

 

[Yobyekim]

So I decoded the plate and here are the original details..

MODEL:
Type 2 (T2) mod. 234(0) :
- Kombi
- Sliding door left
- RHD

1972
Planned production date
Wednesday, 12 July 1972
Type of engine Type 1 (AD) - 1584cc, 37 kW (50 bhp DIN)
Type of transmission Manual 4-speed gearbox
Paint color
L31H - Chianti Red
Interior color (doorpanels and seats) 51 - Dark Beige Leatherette

Destination England, Ramsgate

 

[Clem]

So yeah, a very late 72 model which explains the L reg plate

 

[Yobyekim]

So its a UK low light cross over?

 

[chad]

I'd look at this:

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

It failed the MOT over a year ago and may have deteriorated more since.

 

[Yobyekim]

Yeah I was aware of the MOT failure ... thanks for that

 

[Yobyekim]

So I had a good look over the bus yesterday.
The sills which you can see are solid, no rust at all. Every door underneath is completely solid with no rust, windscreen solid.
The guttering has no rust at all.. The cab footwell has been repaired already with plates welded in nicely and no rust.
The bottom 6 inches of what you can see is [pretty solid and is not full of filler.

The front offside arch where it meets the step has gone so that will need replacing. The nearside arch has started slightly. The rear nearside arch has started where it drops down to the rear end. Slight bit of bubbling around one of the rear windows but apart from that what you can see has been done before and wont require much welding.
The tailgate has a minor bit of surface but nothing bad. Engine bay is tidy with no rust

The only worrying thing is when I tapped the belly pan you could hear that it has rusted with the usual noise of flakes lol so its probabaly gone under there and also the camper floor in the back has a ply sheet fixed down under lino which is probably hiding the rot.
But the van itself for the money I believe is a good buy.

The head has been fully rebuilt and all running gear replaced since the MOT failure.

 

[ozziedog]

Well I know people that have bought a lot worse than that and you might even include me in that statement. It does sound like a fairly good buy, and possibly an inexpensive way of getting a bay. Belly pans,,,, they can do wonders in protecting and they can hide a multitude as well and that sounds like it may be the only gamble and a gamble worth taking.

Ozziedog,,,,,, It does sound like you want to :mrgreen: