Who's done their van up - which way round should I do stuff?

[Hadders]

answer to the first bit is 'everyone', i guess

i've got a LHD 68 Westy pop top. New to me this year, first UK owner. It got through it's MOT in Feb, before I bought it, although I was there when it was carried out - only warning was a leaking CV boot I think. It's since had new shocks at the front, brakes adjusted, full engine service and seems to be doing alright.

It's bog standard, reasonably straight, but shows plenty of scars - I know it needs a new passenger floor and a battery tray and possibly plenty more. I suspect it's had a front end smash at some point too since the left front panel is a different colour, but it seems solid enough now.

It's a keeper, so the plan is, and always was, to get it sorted over a few years. With the best will in the world, I have neither the time nor the knowledge to do it myself -I'm learning about the basics, but chopping bits out and welding new bits in is a step too far i think. At least i don't fancy learning on my own!

My original plan was use as is this year (so far so good on that one), get the floor and battery tray sorted and also get the engine / brakes upgraded, nothing special, but something with more low down torque which allows a decent cruising speed.

Having read a few more threads in the gallery, I'm now thinking that i should concentrate on making it solid first, so have been in touch with Midland Paintwerks.

I'm still not sure what order i should be doing things - the budget i'd put aside is about the same for both, but i don't want to create problems in the future by doing it the wrong way round. I'm not after a show pony (at least i don't think I am), but I do want it to be a good, solid and mechanically sorted (as far as they ever are) bus.

So, I'm interested in your experience /views on where I should focus my attention. Whatever happens, it's likely to be a winter project, after it's had some hammer throught the summer

Apologies also for the length of the post - it was only meant to be a couple of lines, got a bit carried away ...

Cheers, Mark

 

[Clem]

First stage is getting it useable and reliable ... it sounds like youre there with that. Id use it through the summer and see how you feel, once youre used to it can you live with the power and brakes? or do you wince at the bodywork scars?
Id get the welding/rust issues first to stop them developing.

With mine, once it was on the road my first concern was to get the interior sorted properly, then came suspension, then some mild engine work .... the bodywork is stabilised and there may be more brake/engine work to come - but this is 6 years on! Take your time

 

[67panel]

body work first,the rest just bolts in/on

 

[Marriedblonde]

I went with the Clem way of doing things. I bought a 69 westy from the states with a plan to do the body work and then replace the interior then finally the engine (it had a rebuilt motor which I was hoping was strong enough to last a few months)

When it arrived I decided I quite liked the rat look as the dings and dents are part of the vans identity, shows it's been used. As the body was rock solid and din;t need any welding or anything I thought I would do the engine and interior.

As the engine appears to be good I replaced the interior, lowered it and I am planning on using the van for the summer, look into a replacement bigger lump.

Have a look at my thread here:

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=42741" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is my first van and I have no idea if what I have done will suit me and the kids using it. SO I am just going to go with thr flow on what I do next (I know a more powerful lumo will be in it this year...)

But what ever you do make sure you enjoy it

 

[67westy]

Same kinda thing for us, ran it for two years and got it reliable and running well. Now it's in for a bare metal respray. We knew it needed a couple of bits doing but stripping it back revealed more than we though (still next to nothing compared to a uk bus :lol but definitely pleased that we did it as it should last for years now

 

[Marvel]

Bodywork IMHO should be the last thing to do. It's a cosmetic thing, so not intrinsic to the bus running well and safely. Make it useable and reliable (which is sometimes the difficult part :lol: ) then make it pretty/unpretty, whichever floats your boat.
Good luck.

 

[sparkywig]

Get it on the road and usable, otherwise you'll end up with it in pieces for a couple of years. Unless you want a show winner of course.....

 

[K@rlos]

I have pretty much rebuilt the whole mechanical & electrical side of mine to make it reliable (ish) :lol: now that's done, I'm focusing on appearance and stance :-D got a big engine being built slowly too but that isn't urgent tbh, not while my 1600 is still good.

 

[Therustshop]

Find out where the rust is if any, then visit us at the rust shop.You maybe in need of some Rustseal from kbs coatings. Check the tank is good if not we do a fab tank sealer ethanol proof too then when it's looking at it's best you can make it shine with our new detailing car care products from Gliptone have fun with your resto.
Claire Hall

 

[sparkywig]

Find out where the rust is if any, then visit us at the rust shop.You maybe in need of some Rustseal from kbs coatings. Check the tank is good if not we do a fab tank sealer ethanol proof too then when it's looking at it's best you can make it shine with our new detailing car care products from Gliptone have fun with your resto.
Claire Hall

Nothing like a sales plug....

 

[Therustshop]

Find out where the rust is if any, then visit us at the rust shop.You maybe in need of some Rustseal from kbs coatings. Check the tank is good if not we do a fab tank sealer ethanol proof too then when it's looking at it's best you can make it shine with our new detailing car care products from Gliptone have fun with your resto.
Claire Hall

Nothing like a sales plug....

Well gotta make the most of sponsoring the forum ;-)

 

[Hadders]

cheers for the input so far, really useful to hear what other people have done

It's certainly helped to focus my mind - i think i'm back to my original plan, which was sort out the welding, tart a few bits up that need it (get rid of the beige bumpers), and tinker with the engine. Other than not making it home on my first ever journey because the points closed up, it's been fine over the last 1000 miles or so. Still not sure I have enough trust to take it on a proper journey though, but that could be psychological.

funnilly enough my original plan was to get the interior sorted out first, but discounted it because, in the end, it felt like the last job i should be doing. it's not a show van that I'm looking for, it's been bought to be used, but i do want something that I want to be in, use, enjoy etc

i hear the warning about having it in bits for years on end - all i've done to it so far is change the heater leavers and that turned into an afternoon job. don't want to think about the mess i'd end up in if i got too adventurous!

 

[adey71]

This is what we did:

Got it running smoothly with a camping interior (made by me) and have had it on the road for about 7 years now. Unfortunately the bodywork is starting to show signs of rust so I am taking him off the road next week to do all the bodywork and bare metal him for a full respray. It is a tight schedule, I need him in paint by December !!!

I have written off every Saturday, Sunday and Holiday up to Christmas.

So far the list is:-

Outriggers
Top hats
Part of the Cargo floor
Complete Cab floor
Lower front section
Sliding door
Engine Hatch
Front Arches.

That is without digging under the paint too much.... I'll probably find more..

Adey.

 

[john the horse]

reliability, rust , bed... enjoy.
not the way id do it but thats the proper way to enjoy it.

i did it like this

buy, breakdown, fix breakdown, fix , load with beer enjoy, buy stereo, blow engine , buy engine , lower more, wheels and beer, look at rust , stand back and think thatll get better by itself, build garage for bus, finally get reliable, leave in garage as need to spend money on house, get frustrated, buy shiny stuff mrs not happy, get more beer take mrs away in bus, mrs now pregnant says we should get a t4/5 , house now for sale , kid due, bus in garage. but it does have new wheels to look at. yeah. best advice is keep a seperate stash away from mrs and telll her its all second hand and cheap, trouble is my mrs reads the mags etc and knows i talk bollocks , well most do

jth

 

[sharky71]

got mine thru the mot n registered (us import) but all seals had cracked n split,was like a colinder in places so went with midland paintwerks after it was on the road for 4 months(never camped in it cos cot canvass was shot and windows leaked blah blah).
well happy with result from them.
looking into engine rebuild or new replacement lump,£££££'s missus permmitting :lol: :lol:

here's a couple of picks showing the paint job.........

regards.

sharky

:sick0019: