Wanted - buying advice

[peejaysea]

Hi

Newbie to the forum and starting the hunt for my first early bay.

I am looking for some advice from those that have been through this process before and therefore ask the following:

If you were to start afresh (i.e. Newbie first purchase) would you change the way that you obtained your first bay?

I guess I am trying to avoid the pitfalls of rushing into this - knowing little about them; having limited mechanical skills and limited cash. Is it advisable to buy the best that you can (which may street you financially) or buy something that will require time and work and learn as you go along?

Basically I would be looking for something that could be used as a daily driver - about 10 miles from home to work, and then used as the classic getaway for the weekends, shows and touring with a family of three (plus dog). Initial thoughts are for a pre 72 (I think this is when the rear lights changed?) and possibly a Viking / Dormobile roof.


Any thoughts, comments or guidance would be most welcome.
Cheers
Paul

 

[ozziedog]

Hi Paul,, buy as much van as you can afford. Try not to buy a restored van if possible as it was maybe restored for a reason, usually rust, getting rid of rust is next to impossible without serious funds and even then you got to think it`s a vehicle that`s forty plus years old and there will nearly always be some rust in it. The ones that are unrestored but still in good to very good condition are few and far between and mostly in excess of twenty big ones and more. A vehicle that`s rough and ready but not not rusted out and not restored is where most will spend their cash, but try and work out what you think a restoration will cost then double it and maybe add a nought to the end of it :shock: The long and the short of it is spend as much as you dare on the bus and as little as possible on the restoration then you`re in with a chance of getting somewhere for next season. There`s quite a few on here that have been restoring their bus for a long period of time, not months but years and that`s a drain on resources and enthusiasm. It will always cost a lot more to fix than you think especially if you have to farm it out to others to do for you. A lot of peeps opt for a US import because of the rust issues from uk busses.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,, Good luck on your search and don`t be frightened to ask on here :mrgreen: