too far gone?

[shieldaigcharlie]

Hi.

I've just been given a 1982 water cooled 1.6 diesel T25. It has serious rust all over the bodywork. I haven't done any body work or welding before so have no idea whether this van is fixable or not. It starts and seems to run fine, though the coolant is the colour of strong tea... it was MOT'd and on the road up until last summer, apparently, though it had spent 2 or 3 years sitting quite still in Ullapool, on the West coast of Scotland.

Do you think it's possible (given enough time), on a tight budget, to fix any van up, or might this one be too rusted?

I've tried to attach photos but they're too big and I don't know how to reduce the file size. Sorry. There are holes right the way through in some places and there's rust everywhere!

Thanks, Charlie.

[mbcamper]

A picture is worth 1000 words as they say.

I use flickr....

Post some pictures otherwise you'll never get a good answer!

[Smosh]

Welcome to the forum.

Use http://photobucket.com/ to put pics in.

Not everyone will agree with me, but I believe every van is salvageable depending on... time, money, willingness to learn, and standards.

[shieldaigcharlie]

Thanks for helping. I've got as far as getting some photo's onto photobucket. Here's a link, hope it works.

http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/shiel ... ads?page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rob1927]

I think it's possible to fix her up on a budget if your willing to do the work yourself, one section at a time working methodically.

[shieldaigcharlie]

That was what I was thinking, but the niggling doubt, and the guys who helped me collect her (on a trailer) said she's only good for scrap. Given that she's cost me less than £100 (fuel, £40 for use of a neighbours trailer and 25grams of tobacco for the friends who helped me) it seems with a go. I've looked at some of the other projects on here and she could be on a par with some of them.

It'll be another steep learning curve, no doubt.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[Smosh]

I reckon it doable... Not that I have a valid opinion because im really new to this. But if youre willing to do it yourself it will save you loads!

[gary1998]

i've seen worse sorted by others (not me i dont have the skills)
i'd say sort the hole in floor and step get it too mot fix what needed to pass
do the rest as a rolling resto when you have time/cash to spend

[jimpainter]

By no means the worst van I have seen, however without seeing it it's difficult to tell. Anything can be saved if you have time/skills/money to do it.

[CovKid]

There used to be a lovely welder in Wivenhoe called Malcolm Rookes. His main passion was fishing but he seemed to be able to sew anything together if it was made of steel. I was always in awe of his skills as he fixed up at least three vehicles I put his way that the MOT tester had said should never be put on a public highway again.

We have a couple of really good welders like that on here that will often help guide you in the right direction - Mick particularly. I'd say its dooable but I wouldn't want to camp in it until those windows are sorted and you need to pay attention to jacking points (particularly rear as its close to suspension mounts). Get those areas sorted, then steps, floor and so on. Your biggest problem may be the roof though. Who knows what could be lurking under there...

Still, buy yourself a good mig welder and have a go, There are more panels coming on the market every year.

[boatbuilder]

If you're doing the work yourself, plan on it taking about 10 times the amount of time that you think it will.

[Plasticman]

well you got it free, does it drive?
all fixable , take a step at a time and post up more picks of it including the inside
mm

[shanco73]

get stuck in with your grinder and see what you have left, the advice that mm gives will be gold, good luck and try and enjoy the process.

[fazzer]

would it be worth selling van as is and put what money you have to repair it,and buy something in better condition.if you cant weld its gonna be expensive .