Where to go from here?

[seacaptain]

Not sure what to do at the moment,

The gutters are leaking in the van, she is looking a bit rusty and past her prime. Following reccomendations from here I took her to a couple of places over the weekend.

The rot has set in around the top of the B post on the passenger side, by the sliding door (its a RHD converted panel) One place suggested changing just the affected site, the other suggested a new roof to fix all leaking problems.
of course if i get the roof changed, do i get the pop top put back in, and if im spending that much do i get it shot blasted and all the problems fixed?

I dont intend to sell the van anytime soon, so I guess any rust issues not sorted now will have to be done next year and the year after etc etc.

The engine in it is ok at the moment. A friend of a friend refurbishes caravan and motor home interiors for a living. He has offered help with that bit, plus he gets bits at trade prices.

It would be nice to know that between my knees, and the nipper, and the car in front is solid metal and opposed to rust and filler.
On the other hand if I do get it blasted im comitted to getting it fixed what ever the cost.

I think what i am trying to say is, if i gotta spend £X000 getting the roof sorted, should I just grow a set of balls and get the whole lot sorted once and for all. Is it normal to feel worried about what I (might) be undertaking?

 

[seacaptain]

Here is a picture of the van from last year, its the only one on my lap top at the moment.

 

[Clem]

Its hard to advise, not knowing your financial situation, but faced with a major rebuild on a UK panel van conversion, that will end up costing you multiple thousands, and the option of picking up one of the many imported vans that are currently for sale ..... id be choosing the latter.
There is a sense of committment to a van you own, and I appreciate that, but equally nice is the liberation of shedding rusty issues once and for all (sort of).

:sick0010:

 

[seacaptain]

I think thats the issue, to patch it up for another year or two, i could probably afford. I will have to borrow if i go the whole hog.

To be honest I dont know anyone (paticulary at the moment) who can afford to spend thousands on a 38 year old van. But that doesnt mean that I dont know people who have.

It would be nice to get it all sorted like you say. I think the body work is gonna be the most expensive bit.

 

[froggy]

You could spend thousands on an imported van and be in the same situation in a few years time (the british weather doesn't care where your van comes from :lol: )
It all depends on what you want out of the van. Mines a UK van and yes i have had to weld most of the bottom half (luckliy no chaasis stuff though) but now i know its solid (?), just look through the gallery section at the work some people are doing to supposidly solid imports :shock: .
If it was me i would fire fight, repair whats needed when its needed (commonly called a rolling resto) this is what i am doing to mine.
It would be nice to start with a solid base but at what cost?????

 

[sparkywig]

You could spend thousands on an imported van and be in the same situation in a few years time (the british weather doesn't care where your van comes from :lol: )
It all depends on what you want out of the van. Mines a UK van and yes i have had to weld most of the bottom half (luckliy no chaasis stuff though) but now i know its solid (?), just look through the gallery section at the work some people are doing to supposidly solid imports :shock: .
If it was me i would fire fight, repair whats needed when its needed (commonly called a rolling resto) this is what i am doing to mine.
It would be nice to start with a solid base but at what cost?????

I would go for the rolling resto, and just do the repairs as and when you can afford them.
Nice van.

 

[seacaptain]

These posts are a lot more considered than I was expecting, not one (yet) saying go for it.

Im still thinking about the whole roof swap because the gutters are pretty rusted all the way round.
Whats peoples views on a tin top over the pop top? We are not the tallest of people and dont often stay in the van for more than 2 nights. Im thinking that the money I could spend getting someone to cut a hole in a perfectly good roof could be better spent on an awning.
Has anyone had both? is it the sort of thing that you dont miss till its gone?

 

[uber cool]

I sold my uk van this Jan and although it was no rot box I didnt want it to end up off the road for along time whilst I carried out repairs. Ive messed with car long enough to know it cost 3 times what you thought and take 3 times longer than expected.

I bought a US import and although it needs a little work it needs no welding. Its cost me a net of approx £2.5k to change vans. That would buy a few panels and maybe a respray. I now have a van that I can use and no major off road welding required.
Okay need to do all the lowering and custom trim etc again, but this is much easier than welding and grinding in my eyes.

I just dont know why I didnt do it sooner :bliss:

 

[froggy]

I think what i am trying to say is, if i gotta spend £X000 getting the roof sorted, should I just grow a set of balls and get the whole lot sorted once and for all. Is it normal to feel worried about what I (might) be undertaking?

If you can afford it (and can be without the van for x months) then get the lot sorted in one foul swoop, if money is an issue then as said, repair whats needed when its needed

 

[dandaz]

If I was you, I would go for the imported van option ,only because of the roof and gutters and your window surrounds will always be a issue...If you van was not a converted panel van I would say "it`s better the devil you know and go for it"

E bay is a great tool to see how much your van is worth ,you might get a straight swap and be able to sleep on a night... 8)

 

[Graham L]

I think Uber makes a good point that the cost to change to an import is far less than you will spend on repairing what you have, although Froggys comment is true that imports will rot the difference is that people immediately protect them with waxoyl or similar which is not what happened when the buses were new.

There are plenty of good rust free imports for sale at the moment (look at the one IANJ is selling on here) for £6K, rust free, good colour and a deluxe, a westy camping interior will cost no more than about £600 so you could have a rust free bus on the road with a camping interior for less than 7K, no brainer to me.