What to look out for with seam resprays?

[Mod_Machine]

Hi,Im a newbie so forgive my inexperience.

My girlfreind and i have spent the last 3 or 4 months traveling the country looking at vw bay campers. Our budget went up and up as we looked for the perfect mix of classic camper and camping capabilities.
Then low and behold we came accross an auto sleeper T25 and it was the first van which seemed to meet both our needs. However the the one that captured us, when poked at, had a sill filled with filler!

Having now looked on line and due to view another tom we are coming accross loads that say they have just spent hundreds getting the seams sorted.

What do i need to check to make sure they have been done properly, and not just a quick lick of paint over some rust?
Does getting the seams done usually mean they have been removed, all rust stripped back, new seams etc ? ...and again any advice on the best way to spot this has been done?

If the work was carried out last year and was a bodge job would the rust be showing through again already anyhow and when i check the receipts how much approx should we be looking for as money spent to confirm a good job was done.

or alternatively should we just walk away from anything that says 'seams painted/sorted'?

The van we are going to look at is up for apprx £6k so not a cheap investment therefore any advice offered much appreciated!

Cheers

Mod

[jaylo264]

Hi, M-M, + welcome ; the thing is , how "handy" or knacky are you ? The reason i put this first is that almost all vans of a certain age like type 25's ,as with bays , will have SOME sort of rust problem, either treated and ok, treated and not ok, not treated and ok ish , or not treated and --walk away from that one .
Camper vans will often rust from the inside as well as the outside ; not just salt laden roads give problems , but damp humid camping type atmospheres as well . Good insulation and DPM is useful.
So my advice to myself for my next , if i ever change , camper , is to buy from somewhere warm and dry, like spain or california ! History is vital, and a van from Kent will surely be in essentially better nick than from Orkney .
Having said that , seams can be "raked out " and derusted then sealer squirted in and painted over -- but ther is really no way of being sure of a good job unless you D I Y -- so learn a few tricks of the trade . I personally would rather buy a "virgin" body and expect to have to get me hands dirty at some future time , than get one with seams covered in kacky filler or sealer .
jaylo ( who bought our Kamper in northern scotland on a wet day 11 years ago , been fightin tinworms ever since )

[dugcati]

6K will get you a very nice T25.. as I'm sure many will say bodywork is everything.. engines are aplenty and secondary
There's loads of vans out there so if your suss of one then you can walk away and another will come up - I am a big'un for 'the right one will find you and you will find it' theory.

If your unsure then take pics post em on here and we'll all give you our 10p's worth

Looking for one that is a virgin body as already stated is a very good place to start - there are tons of em out there that are still untouched and in good order - as with any vehicle sills filled with filler aint a good sign....

[Mod_Machine]

Hi, Cheers for the welcome - and the advice!

When it comes to campers, rust and mechanics my experience lies purely from looking at the bay windows for the majority of this year (aprox 5 a month actual viewings!) and from owning a classic mini cooper for 5 years. As you can tell from the viewings im pretty fussy about what i want and wont accept second best.

Weve just got confirmation that the van we are visiting today has had 3 previous owners, and this owner had the work to the seams by a professional body shop last year, kept the receipts as proof and says it clearly identifies the work for treating, and the work for seam respray seperately. Its never had any welding and no advisory on the MOTs. I cant 100% remember but i believe its got 100% service history, and although no where else has been sprayed there is no other rust!

i guess we will see.
I had found a USA import hardtop joker on the SWS website, and as per the website had emailed them (twice) to get further info and to see if its hook up had been sorted to work from uk sites. But had no reply to either. May give them a call this morn.

Mod

[Red Westie]

Seams are just two panels meeting..Bays have em too! so they are not unique to the T25.
Infact I would go one step further and point out the VAST improvements in underbody and general panel underseal/paint and sealing treatments between the Bay and the T25 (especially the later T25's 86 onwards) where there were major changes to sealing and painting processes.
Yes there are loads of original vans out there but there are are many more immaculate vans that have had work..it all depends on the quality of that work.
Martin

[jones47]

Hi,

My OH and I have just purchased a T25 after looking for several months properly...but researching for the last year or so before we bit the bullet and went for it.

We too were concerend with rust and seam rust in particular. Unfortunately what one person says is a 'little rust' may be different to other people's ideas of what a little bit of rust was. For example my OH phoned up about a van and was told 'it has a bit of rust expected for its age'...well we got there and it was sooooo bad I refused to even look at it as it was so awful and over priced for the amount of work that would need doing if if everything else was A1.

We looked at about 8 before we bought ours BUT this is after looking at every van for sale on the internet.....and that is no lie!!! OH was an expert at vans for sale the length and breadth of UK!!! I think he may have obsessive compulsive disorder at times! BUT the work paid off and we are really pleased with what we have got.

Once you have seen some you soon get to see how far you ££ will go and also the different states the body can be in. We were very skeptical of ones where the seams had been filled or resprays as again there are pro jobs done and some appalling DIY/dodgy garage jobs out there.

[1664]

wont accept second best.

Well you're going to have to. Mine's THE best

[Mod_Machine]

Hi,
My girlfriend says it sounds like your OH is me. I spend every hour of every waking day trawling through auto trader, volkszone, ebay etc etc and then following up on anything even remotely good to get photos of everything (underneath,, arches etc) then shortlisting the best of these for viewing. Its amazing how many people stop replying if you ask for photos of their 'little bit of rust for its age'!
I agree its amazing the differences in opinion of what warrants a little rust, or a 'small dent' from one owner to the next - especially in the bay window search.
Anyway we viewed the van and it looked very nice. HOWEVER the 'very minute bit of rust' on the gutter had eaten all through about an inch length of the gutter and was hidden by the gutter trim making it look like it was there. NOT the biggest problem though. All seemed pretty solid underneath and very neat and tidy. Then i pulled back the rubber on the passanger wheel arch step and the drainage hole was about the size of a tennis ball. and there was a little crack in the paint slightly up that arch. I felt under neath, gave it a prod with my finger and watched the crack expand in a load of directions as my finger went pretty much straight through

Im guessing from what ive read on the net this is bad?!! (i walked away anyhow as its my money and i wasnt happy spending it on that!)

[jones47]

Hi, just read your post to my OH who agrees that there are many similarities in the mutual hunt to find the elusive 'just right' van!!!! Mind you he has just uttered the words that will ensure everything now goes wrong with the van..he just said 'I think we got ourselves a bargain'........cue a complete mechanical breakdown!!!!!

We started our search around the £4-4.5k mark but soon realised that we would have to up the budget to get the condition of van we wanted. We ended up paying £6k for a 1989 Westy California 1.6td but had a brand new engine 18 months ago. The body work is very good save the bit on rear door....may be cheaper just to replace rear door we've been told!!!

We would have gone slightly higher in budget if the perfect van came along and we had liked one on ebay but the improtant thing is to stay to your budget and not get drawn into longing for a van you like when it could push you seriously over budget.


I swear it took us much longer to find the right van than a house 18 months ago!!!!!!

[Red Westie]

Well if you got a dead straight California for £6000 you did well.
Martin

[jones47]

Hi Martin,
Well fingers crossed all seems good so far. The words 'owing a van is goig to be like splitting open a vein and bleeding money' has come forth from my cynical lips several times but i am hoping that this won't be imminent!!!!

[Red Westie]

I think anyone buying a 20 year old vehicle has to expect a fairly high dgree of maintenance and cost. I will say that I think your choice will cost you less to maintain, be more reliable and certainly be more practical than a bay. I think we call it 'labour of love' and with all love afairs it has to be a two way street; you put in and she rewards you with some great experiences, you don't put in and the afair will be short lived as she becomes ratty and unforgiving.
Hope all works out well in your love life.
Martin