Rust beyond repair? Please help

[amex72]

Hi guys,
I am hoping that some of you experienced restorers can help us. We are looking to buy this van (photos below) as its exactly the type we want and its cheap (800), but sadly the bodywork is in really bad shape and would need lots of work (interior is in good shape and engine runs fine).

I know the general recommendation is to get as rust-free a van as you can afford, but unfortunately we can't really afford a good van as our Frederik was stolen last year ( https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=118211" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) – the insurance had just ran out and we are still paying off the loan we took out to buy him in the first place Sad times. We didn't have a van all last summer but really, really want to get one again for this year.

We never had to do any bodywork on Frederik and we haven't got the facilities and skills to do any welding etc ourselves and don't have any mates who can help either, so would have to get all the work down by a garage. Do you guys think the rust on this is too much to overcome and would we end up spending a lot more on repairs than if we bought a good van? I fear I know the answer, but just wanted to see if maybe the places of the rust mean it would be feasible to get this done in stages? Many thanks, Amelie

[amex72]

more pics…

[amex72]

more…

[amex72]

pics

[amex72]

and yet more.

[CovKid]

I think we get the picture

OK, the honest answer is if you can't afford a rust-free van (and few around anyway) then theres no way you can afford to have it put right by a third party either. Thats the bottom line. It wouldn't be economic either.

However, you could start doing night classes on welding, learn, and pick yourself up a second-hand mig welder. Thats what I had to do when I was married and trying to make ends meet and 25 years later theres not a job on the vehicle I'd be afraid of now. You have a lot of work there (full blown restoration +) and it won't get done unless someone tackles it.

[fazzer]

if that's the rust you can see id look for the rot you cant see,unless your going to do welding and paintjob yourself its gonna be expensive.

[Jonnyb416]

Hello, I'm not a professional and maybe one will be along soon to comment, however, that is a lot of work if you wanted it all sorting. If you wanted to use it then it depends on whether the rust fails an mot (30cm from a suspension mount I think) the rest would be down to what you could put up with. The rust around the windows and roof look bad. You'd be looking at thousands to repair that and that's if it's worth it! Have you checked the condition of suspension, brakes and fuel lines?

[Funbus]

That is a rusty van. For a little more money a van will come up with nowhere near that much rust.

I'm no expert but I do know that will be costly and time consuming to fix.

It's a shame you didn't start looking in December, the bargains don't last long at this time of year.

Good luck. I think I would wait for the next one. Even with my optimism!!

[amex72]

I think we get the picture

OK, the honest answer is if you can't afford a rust-free van (and few around anyway) then theres no way you can afford to have it put right by a third party either. Thats the bottom line. It wouldn't be economic either.

However, you could start doing night classes on welding, learn, and pick yourself up a second-hand mig welder.

Thank you for your answer. I fear you are right. I was hoping that by taking on a project we could at least spread the cost – drive around with a rusty van for a few years and do the work in stages but end up paying the same (but hopefully not more) than if we got one in good condition.

Sadly, even if we could wel ,we'd have nowhere to do it. It would be difficult to do the work on a street in Central London

[amex72]

That is a rusty van. For a little more money a van will come up with nowhere near that much rust.

I'm no expert but I do know that will be costly and time consuming to fix.

It's a shame you didn't start looking in December, the bargains don't last long at this time of year.

Good luck. I think I would wait for the next one. Even with my optimism!!

Thank you! We have been looking since last May, all throughout winter. These don't come up very often

[amex72]

Hello, I'm not a professional and maybe one will be along soon to comment, however, that is a lot of work if you wanted it all sorting. If you wanted to use it then it depends on whether the rust fails an mot (30cm from a suspension mount I think) the rest would be down to what you could put up with. The rust around the windows and roof look bad. You'd be looking at thousands to repair that and that's if it's worth it! Have you checked the condition of suspension, brakes and fuel lines?

Thank you for your help. The van failed the MOT and some welding would need to be done first to just get it through the MOT. Other areas we could live with for a while. But we wouldn't want to sink thousands into it and end up paying more in the long run than if we waited and got a better one – next year earliest .

[jrt]

There's an a/c for sale on the 80/90 facebook site for £900 at the moment, may need less work on it to get mobile.
David

[Plasticman]

walk, it is a can of worms and sometimes a van is best to be broken to keep others going
mm

[amex72]

Thank you all, that's really helpful.
It seems such a shame as the rest of the van is ok and in fairly good condition, but I think we need to be realistic and follow our heads and not hearts so we don't live to regret it

I am not aware of a 80/90 Facebook site and can't find a link, David can you point me to it? Many thanks again!