change in direction? opinions please

[ant]

After spending years getting my bay how it is now i'm considering a pretty drastic change over the next year or so.

I love the way it looks at the moment but the older(and wiser?) i get the more and more stock buses are appealing to me.


Things i'm thinking about

1. replacing my devon interior with a stock devon one, again i love how it looks but in hindsight i wish i'd left it how it was.

2. replace all suspension mods frt and back with stock parts and raise him back up again,

3. og wheels and caps with og spec tyres.

If i deceided to raise the bus my 6 bow rack would no longer fit on the bus because of the garage, so that would have to go too.

I love the idea of having stock suspension and not have to worry about long distances, speed bumps or getting on ferries etc.

Its a lot of work that i have not got time for at the moment, so just after opinions at this stage

ant

 

[ant]

don't know why i've put this in the gallery section, mods please can you move this to general

 

[easy]

Moved for you dood 8)

I think your bus looks ace as it is personally, I wouldnt change a thing 8)

 

[leon]

Have two vans, one slammed, one stock! Problem solved!

 

[ant]

wish i could afford two, i would love to put my suspension parts on a eb panel van.

 

[kempy]

Air bag the suspension and then you have the best of both worlds.

 

[BigG]

Ant, I know where your coming from.

Ive spent the last two years slowly removing the home made interior and all the add on bits off our van and trying to find original deluxe trim and interior fittings etc that where missing.

We lowered the van one spline at the back and dropped the front on adjusters but like you said the ride on a long or bumpy road does get a little tedius.

My plan is to raise the back up to stock height and the front to match as I didnt like the raised front look. An original cargo mat and back seat, door panel and hub caps are also on my wish list.

Your van is one of those I never tire of looking at and it will look good how ever it sits but like you I must admit , a slammed and sign written panel van lurking somewhere in the background wouldnt go amis :mrgreen:

 

[oneday!]

get what your saying mate but i wouldnt pull your van apart after spending years getting it how you want it and lets be fare it is a very nice bus and lots of hard work has gone into it
!!!!!!find another and do as you will!!!!

 

[Fortunate Son]

I like the sound of your idea and think it would look great with original interior and stock height (particularly with your paint colour), raised my Dormy a while back and the improvement in driveability is vast, dont think it looked that good lowered either (though some vans do). Saw this at Stanford Hall 2006 and loved it - I guess along a similar line to what your thinking.

 

[buddysbuddy]

Mate, your bus, let it take you where it takes you....

Pretty sure it'll look awesome whatever.

 

[ant]

Thanks for the replies guys keep them comming!

I think the best course of action would be to slowly stock pile all the bits i need to stockafy the suspension. When i've got eveything i need its just a days work to swop it all. I can store all the slammed suspension bits for a while until a time when i've made a decsion which way i want the bus.

I've still got the buss's og wheels and antiroll bar so i would need.

frt - spindles, beam etc
rear - stock springplates

so i doubt it would cost that much.

The main problem going back to stock height is the roofrack/garage issue

 

[baron]

dude, it's not like you're driving easys ride! you're not that far from stock, and looking totally sweet with what you've done to it. i really like how you keep it classic, but with a nice twist. yours is prob the best example of this approach i've come across

your wheel/type/hubcap combo rocks, and is one of a kind

i can see what you're saying about the interior

but the suspension, do you remember how baggy original suspension is?! and how naff buses look at full height?

i get where you're coming from, really i do, i definately believe there is such a thing as too low, but there's also such a thing as too high, unless you're going for the synchro off road look and adding offroad knobbly tyres

The main problem going back to stock height is the roofrack/garage issue

whatever you do, you definately DONT want to leave your van out in the elements. I'm extending my house to get a garage my van will fit in! it does my head in to see the rust bubble on what was a perfect body when i brought it into the country almost 10 years ago

 

[Tiki-Al]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no...dont do it :msn4:

 

[froggy]

Couldn't you just remove the dropped spindles from the front, as you have the red9 adjustable front set up, and just set it at its highest height (still a 2" drop) which will cut out some of the wallowing, remember getting over taken by a lorry and fighting against the cross winds?) Wouldn't go back to stock but cant see a issue with a mild drop

As for the interior ,Luckily for me mine was a panel ( 8) ) that has been converted ( ), so i can just adapt the interior it to suit the family, depends on what you want out of the van really or what your future plans are.

If your serious about going back stock then go for it

 

[ant]

Hmmmm, again thanks for the kind words fellas infact you've got me thinking even more now, i think because i've got the bus as i wanted it, i'm trying to find something else i to do with it, does that make sense?

I pulled the bus out of the garage today and remembered how many times i messed with the frt suspension over the last year or so, also how much i love and how handy the 6 bow rack is.
I think what i'm going to do is forget about the suspension for now and have a think about the interior.
Stupid thing is the bus was featured in David Eccles "inspirational Interiors" book last year and now i want to stockafy it :?

Looking forward to vanfest anyway, just been out fiddling with the mr whitewalls flyer, apparently there is a radio flyer competion

 

[froggy]

Hmmmm, again thanks for the kind words fellas infact you've got me thinking even more now, i think because i've got the bus as i wanted it, i'm trying to find something else i to do with it, does that make sense?

This makes perfect sense to me, i'm also wandering what i'm going to do with mine when i eventually get it finished the way i want it, i mean when its the way you want it what do you do next? Sell if? NAH
I'm planning on doing something to the engine, maybe a 1776 with twins, nothing get up and go just go, something to cruise in with a bit of grunt, hmmmmmmm

 

[baron]

you just have too much time on your hands clearly

show us yer interior then

 

[ant]

 

[the irv]

interior wise i went through the same sort of thing,
i decided to keep it stockish just changing interior panels, floor,door cards,cushion covers,
seat covers, but with the actual furniture keep it stock devon(best of both worlds)
but it looks like you've pretty much done that already.
sure its a pain in the arse screwing in the legs of the bed after a few beers but
i think thats the charm,i love your stance,wheel,hub set up. it's something
i could only aspire to.

 

[faux]

I like your thoughts on putting the interior back to stock. Even though I am a hardened Westy Fan.....I have to admit my ideal interior is a Devon.

The suspension however is right as it is, but go KnL if you want a better ride. See you at the weekend.

Jon