Sell it or finish it?

[pete nice]

Right, I am in a bit of a dilema, not a major one as I am not too fussed either way, but I am thinking of selling my bus.

I bought US 1969 Westy from Retro Steve last October & got it MOT'd & registered. I have done about 30 miles in it since I have had it.

It was supposed to be 90% original paint & all that but a good look round it showed it had had a few blow ins here & there. I thought sod it! as I can't live a rat look type of thing, I started tidying the front panel which is now very straight, so I thought I better do the doors too. I am halfway down one side & am thinking maybe I should sell it as I bought a T25 & the Mrs bought an Oval. The bus is sat in my garage & I would rather have the Oval in there instead. I think even if I finish the bus it would be sold soon after.

So, do I sell it now for £5,500 or finish it & sell it for £10,000.

There is no interior in the back now & the 1600sp is gone too.
I have another 1600tp I am building up for it & I have brand new door cards to be fitted. The west roof has had a new canvas before I got it. The whole van needs painting now & half of the hard work has been done.
The Westy louvered windows are gone, so have the reverse lights.
I have converted the brakes to small 5 setup for easy maintenance, but they still need bleeding. It is lowered with adjusters too.

Basically all it needs is paint & trimming & engine refitting.

What do you reckon?

 

[kempy]

If you can get £5500 as it is or £10,000 when done, you need to work out from the £4,500 difference what it would cost you in money / labour.

To be blunt having spent a great deal of time looking for a van and checking prices out you may be pushed to get £5500 as it is.

A lot of people just want to hand over the cash and drive off and so the best return for you would be to finish it.

 

[speedwell68]

IMHO there is no way you are going to get £5,500 for a van in that condition. I'd finish it.

 

[Clem]

If youre hearts no longer in it then its best to sell, put a bottom price on it and if you get the cash then its all good, if it doesnt sell then you just carry on.
You have created a situation though, by modding it for your own needs, you have removed a fair amount of its worth. People love Westys, and most of the special stuff is now gone, which does leave a prospective buyer with some serious and expensive parts hunting to be done.

 

[pete nice]

Yea, that's true. it's not gonna cost me anywhere near £4500 to get it finished. I reckon about £1000 will see it done. It's just the time factor.

I have just been flicking through some photo's on this site & I felt a bit gutted about selling it.

I suppose there is always the third option of selling the T25 & going balls out on the bay. (I have a fresh 2007 with EFI & T3 turbo to hand).

I just dunno If I want the hassle of running 2 aircooled cars. The T25 turbo diesel, twin slider was cheap & is a bit too good at its job.

I will have a think. As you say, I might struggle to get £5,500 for it as is. There are a lot of vans on the market & your right I think about folks just paying a whole load of cash for a finished one.

It is a super solid van from Arizona, need the usual battery tray but unwelded when I got it.

------------------

I get your point about the interior. For me the westy layout was all but useless. there is a sink in the way of the sliding door, so it's hard to open & who needs a wardrobe? Being LHD made it hard to see what's overtaking at junctions. Maybe I shouldn't have bought it in the first place, but it's a bit late now. - It's looking more likely I will have to finish it I think...

 

[Araon]

Or source a decent motor, forget a top coat and start reassembling that way youll have a driver with all the mechanics sorted that peeps can see what has been done and they get it the colour they want.... and you may get a decent return....Not knowing what you paid for it originally....

 

[pete nice]

That's only a halfway solution really. Once the prep is done, tho top coat is easy. It's the same amount of work to fit it all up.
Personally I would never drive a car in primer. It was the tatty look that made me take it apart in the first place.

I can see you point though. Another worry would be that it would never get painted & would be driven in primer for a few years. This would just ruin the van, so I won't let that happen.

I have another motor to go in it now too.

 

[Loxy]

Ditch the diesel if you need to sell something now(as you say it was cheap anyway), finish the bay over winter, drive it a bit in spring and see how you go.
If you still dont want it once youve used it a bit then sell it for good money late spring/early summer as a finished van and buy another diesel (leaving some change for sweets ).
If you paint it white again, its gonna look the mutts nuts, everyone likes a lowered white westy. 8)

 

[pete nice]

It will be white, that's for sure.

I won't sell the T25 unless the bay is finished & I want to keep it. The wiesel was cheap but I love it & don't want to sell it. It's more to do with garage space for the Oval rather than cash flow. If I sold the T25, I would have to start all over again pimpin' it up!

 

[pete nice]

A bit of a progress report really. I would still sell the van as a project, but I have got a few more bits done. I built up a 1600tp with new barrels & pistons, I had all the tin powder coated too. . I have bled the brakes so it will stop. I painted the engine bay & fitted the motor up. It runs nice

http://www.aircooledtechnic.co.uk/photos/projects/Bay/DSC00204.JPG

I have done a bit more to the body work too. The front end is straightened out enough and looks ok. I sprayed some white on to protect it. I might flat the whole van back again when it is all one colour again & get it sprayed again & baked.

I am getting on with it a bit now, as the other projects have been put to one side...

 

[Alzy]

Nice looking wedge you hve there!!! But keep it over a 69 westy???????? :!:


Tis a nice Wedge though :wink:

 

[pete nice]

I am already collecting parts for a Baja project, so the westy will have to give up the garage. I don't think I would use it much anyway. The T25 is just too good at what it does. I don't have to worry about it breaking down (not that I think it will), but it's always on my mind.