RHD early bays

[sparkywig]

I saw quite a few nice early bays in and around Bude this weekend, however only one was a rhd and this was a '68/'69 parked in Crooklets car park.
Are rhd vans getting rarer, or like mine, off road being restored? :?
Don't get me wrong, I like early bays whether they're lhd or rhd, but it just seems that I've seen fewer rhd over the last couple of years.
This can't all be down to cost of restoration can it?

 

[andewilson]

old v dubs are like icebergs for each dub you see on the surface, theres at least another three hidden away. im sure there are still loads of rhd eb's about. theres certainly not many of them getting scrapped

 

[Tofufi]

Mine (RHD UK '71 tintop) is still my only vehicle until I get this back on the road...

Still has 7 months MOT, just needs some self-assembly

My van is my daily driver for now. It doesn't do a very high mileage though, as I don't commute in it.

 

[sparkywig]

Mine (RHD UK '71 tintop) is still my only vehicle until I get this back on the road...

Still has 7 months MOT, just needs some self-assembly

:lol:

I'll be doing this in a year or so, my next project is a beetle for my daughter.

 

[NickJ]

This is my drive at the moment, '72 crossover having a few pre mot jobs done and '69 Beetle semi daily for me.

Told my daughter she can drive the beetle when 17 next year, she started off saying no way, she wanted something newer but now she has told a few friends who think it's cool she is starting to come round to the way of the VW. 8)

 

[NickJ]

BTW '72 is RHD :lol:

 

[Clem]

Trouble is these days people are faced with buying a rhd EB for say(?)£3k and then have to spend another £6k on a resto ..... and once you start resto'ing, it has to be 'good'.
Getting a lhd from the US costs £6-7kish, and you are pretty much there .... for useable vans it makes so much sense. And so the downturn in rhd's begins.

Looking at Ghias lately, it seems that there is around a £1000 premium on rhd's, so my guess is that only the really fussy will go for them, especially as they are used for 'highdays and holidays' in the main..

 

[jjgreenwood]

RHD stuff is usually more expensive as well. Still trying to find an affordable rust free RHD sliding door - like hens teeth.

 

[Guest]

how bad is your RHD door? would it be easier/cheaper to make the repair if its just the bottom few inches?

i have a RHD but have been really lucky, ive been bare metalling and have found only minimal rust and the underside looks to be rock solid due to the belly pans. I was in a dilema whether to buy LHD or RHD, if i was paying for restoration respray i would be going LHD as your nearly guaranteed to get a rust free import and obviously itll be less expensive. As i decided to do the repair myself RHD it had to be. Its good to see companies like vwclassics dealing in RHD from dry climates as their main stay as we then have a choice as to what we want.

 

[Loxy]

Trouble is these days people are faced with buying a rhd EB for say(?)£3k and then have to spend another £6k on a resto .....

There are still bargains to be had out there, it just takes a bit more time finding them in RHD, it all depends on how patient you are & having a bit of luck.
I waited over 4 years before I got the opportunity to buy my current RHD bus, but @ 3.5k it was a bargain
Regardless of what side the driver sits on I think the prices are being driven up by people that dont spend enough time checking out their potential purchase and end up buying a bad bus for good money. I'm not convinced the prices for good buses have gone up anywhere near as much as dodgy filler/chicken wire fixed up ones. Some of the imported vans that Monkeyspinner was selling recently seemed really good value for the condition they were in & yet it looked like he couldnt give them away - look on ebay and theres people paying loads for vans they havent even been to see.
Just my 2ps worth....

 

[jjgreenwood]

how bad is your RHD door? would it be easier/cheaper to make the repair if its just the bottom few inches?

i have a RHD but have been really lucky, ive been bare metalling and have found only minimal rust and the underside looks to be rock solid due to the belly pans. I was in a dilema whether to buy LHD or RHD, if i was paying for restoration respray i would be going LHD as your nearly guaranteed to get a rust free import and obviously itll be less expensive. As i decided to do the repair myself RHD it had to be. Its good to see companies like vwclassics dealing in RHD from dry climates as their main stay as we then have a choice as to what we want.

I have had it repaired but the finished article still isn't as good as a solid rust free door

 

[jjgreenwood]

Trouble is these days people are faced with buying a rhd EB for say(?)£3k and then have to spend another £6k on a resto .....

There are still bargains to be had out there, it just takes a bit more time finding them in RHD, it all depends on how patient you are & having a bit of luck.
I waited over 4 years before I got the opportunity to buy my current RHD bus, but @ 3.5k it was a bargain
Regardless of what side the driver sits on I think the prices are being driven up by people that dont spend enough time checking out their potential purchase and end up buying a bad bus for good money. I'm not convinced the prices for good buses have gone up anywhere near as much as dodgy filler/chicken wire fixed up ones. Some of the imported vans that Monkeyspinner was selling recently seemed really good value for the condition they were in & yet it looked like he couldnt give them away - look on ebay and theres people paying loads for vans they havent even been to see.
Just my 2ps worth....

Haven't seen a decent bus that runs for £3.5k in the uk for a long time. Its funny looking at the old issues of camper & bus - the average price in the classifieds in 2005 was around £4k now its more like £8k

 

[rusty 68]

We picked our early RHD bay up Easter 2 years ago for £750!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

It is a big pile of rusty, hence the user name, he is an Oct '68 registered '69 model.

Have got him running, and now he has gone off to have all the structural welding done as
I seem to keep buying more projects and not finishing the ones that i already have!!!!

He may be a big pile of rust, but I still believe he is worth more than he owes us at the
moment, as he came with a load of repair panels, and as he stands at the mo, owes us just over a grand!!!

 

[sparkywig]

Hello rusty 68, mine's an October '68 built bus as well, although it wasn't registered until March '69.
Perhaps we can compare the number of panels required to get our vans roadworthy and watertight. :lol:

 

[Loxy]

Haven't seen a decent bus that runs for £3.5k in the uk for a long time. Its funny looking at the old issues of camper & bus - the average price in the classifieds in 2005 was around £4k now its more like £8k

Had 41783 fully documented miles on the clock when I got it as well
Only welding its ever had or needs was a set of adjusters in the beam. :wink:

As you say the average may have doubled but I bet if you looked at the price changes in the "fixer upper/bodged" category compared to the good/mint category I reckon the bottom end has increased a lot more due to the false economy of buying a "cheaper" van that only needs a few bits fixing as compared to a buying a no work needed van. There are so many stories now of people buying "restored" vans for good money only to find that they havent been restored quite as well as claimed.

been wondering for a while now whether earlybay could provide a service of some kind for potential buyers to give a van the once over, if the buyer covered travelling costs for the checker. Only real problem I can see is limiting the liability of someone giving a thumbs up to a van only for a wheel to fall off 10 miles down the road?
Anyone else think this could be be a goer? may also allow us to value vans for insurance?
We have a good few people on here that know their buses, just need a volunteer or two for each area of the UK.

 

[sparkywig]

Haven't seen a decent bus that runs for £3.5k in the uk for a long time. Its funny looking at the old issues of camper & bus - the average price in the classifieds in 2005 was around £4k now its more like £8k

Had 41783 fully documented miles on the clock when I got it as well
Only welding its ever had or needs was a set of adjusters in the beam. :wink:

As you say the average may have doubled but I bet if you looked at the price changes in the "fixer upper/bodged" category compared to the good/mint category I reckon the bottom end has increased a lot more due to the false economy of buying a "cheaper" van that only needs a few bits fixing as compared to a buying a no work needed van. There are so many stories now of people buying "restored" vans for good money only to find that they havent been restored quite as well as claimed.

been wondering for a while now whether earlybay could provide a service of some kind for potential buyers to give a van the once over, if the buyer covered travelling costs for the checker. Only real problem I can see is limiting the liability of someone giving a thumbs up to a van only for a wheel to fall off 10 miles down the road?
Anyone else think this could be be a goer? may also allow us to value vans for insurance?
We have a good few people on here that know their buses, just need a volunteer or two for each area of the UK.

Sounds a good idea, but I think the liability issue will be a problem.

 

[Clem]

been wondering for a while now whether earlybay could provide a service of some kind for potential buyers to give a van the once over, if the buyer covered travelling costs for the checker. Only real problem I can see is limiting the liability of someone giving a thumbs up to a van only for a wheel to fall off 10 miles down the road?
Anyone else think this could be be a goer? may also allow us to value vans for insurance?
We have a good few people on here that know their buses, just need a volunteer or two for each area of the UK.

Id be happy to look at stuff for anyone locally.
I wouldnt accept liability, it would be a verbal opinion. Id hope anyone would take such advice in that spirit.
Ive seen people get stung, and Id be happy to advise anyone.

 

[ice man]

there out there you just need to look in the .isle of white take mine 1971 rhd almost rust free (ok its had new rear arches and rear corners) all the doors are mint brand new green engine .sat in a garden for almost 2 years needs some paint..a paid in pounds $2350.00 small amount of work on brakes for mot .engine tune 200 pound all in

i use it every day for work 180+ miles a week no probs

 

[scott wilson]

blowing my own trumpet but in case you miss the banner http://www.vwclassics.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; specialise in importing rust free rhd busses and in my opinion are as competetive as the cali busses. Here`s just a few that have come my way.

Many more come and gone and many more avaliable just ask as i don`t show everthing that`s for sale

 

[chimpy]

'69 RHD.