Club 80-90 Forums

Hi everyone,
haven't been on for a while, as I couldn't face it after our nightmare!!
We had only had our van for a month and it died, all that money down the drain
However we really want to get another one and so after both of us taking all the work under the sun and borrowing the rest we just about have enough to get another, BUT after what's just happened we're soooo scared of making another mistake.
I have seen a van a really like in the Prestwich area, but it's got quite a bit of rust and just wanted a second opinion if possible
The cab steps are completely rusted through, which I thought was an MOT fail but the owner seems to think not (maybe because he has superglued the rubbers down so they can't be seen)
I know these parts aren't too much to buy but have no idea where to start with finding a good welder that doesn't charge the earth. Have spent an hour on google searches and am still non the wiser!
There is also some rust to the front wheel arches and small blobs of filler here and there around the van.
The main worrying part is the rust to the right of the engine, I think it's the engine mount?? Not so much the fact that it's rusted but why is it rusted?? Maybe a leak at some point. The drive was brill, really quiet and the inetrior is fab....
I know they're old vans am I being to picky after our bad experience? And any ideas on how much welders charge?
Better still, does anyone know of any welders or people who know a bit more then us who might be able to come and have a look at it when we go down again on Saturday morning?
I would appreciate any advice/experience

Thankyou, Lisa

hello there
a good strating place -
google brickyard + buyers guide -
read read read!

we've got manchester members -
hopefully one of them will make contact with you -

dont get presssurised into any panic buys -
you've got the dosh and the time to look -
wish you well -

When you say your old van died. What exactly was wrong with it? Most things can be repired.

I would say if you're worried about the rust, walk away. May be worth paying a bit more for a solid van because it's going to end up costing you more in the long run repairing a badly rusted one.

One or two nice vans in the for sale section on here at the minute.

Rust = ££££££

Hi,
The last one had an 'apparently' knackered engine which needed completely replacing, rust that had been bodged over and full extent hadn't been seen, a leak into the bed which we couldn't locate, a horrible interior etc,etc... we felt we would be better just starting again. I have had a look in the for sale section on here too but because of everything we have spent already we just can't afford any of them
And just to rub salt in the wound, I rang the insurance company (Adrain Flux) to ask them to freeze our policy until we found something else. They said they can only do this for 14 days and then they automatically cancel the policy if we haven't got something else. I assumed as we had paid for a whole year up front + breakdown cover we would get a refund as the policy had only been used for a month and they told me a will only get £60 back!!!! We paid over £200....
I thought that if we find a van we liked enough that we could do bits on it as when the money comes in and we can still be enjoying it in the mean time, as well as the fact that I now don't have a car to get to work.
Is welding really that expensive, I know the panels aren't that much to buy....

Hi Lisa, I would be wary about buying something that looks cheap.... but has rust, as said before Rust is expensive to fix and can kill a van, or at least have it of the road for months on end whilst you get someone to repair it. without wanting to put you on the spot and please dont answer if you would rather not but what is your budget? A £1000 van may need A LOT of tlc to make usable.

I ask because there are lots and lots of vans out there that are over priced, sometimes because people have paid too much when they bought them and are trying to sell on their ' problem ' to someone else.

Keep looking and the right van will come up ! I started my search by looking for a van that had mechanical problems but very good bodywork ( usually the mechanical bits are easier/cheaper to sort out ) as it happened I stumbled onto a good solid van that just required a new clutch ( and a complete new interior ! ) but I have spent the last year replacing the interior as I could afford it bit by bit.

Im sure that there would be members near you who would come and have a look at any possible vans with you and give you an unbiased friendly opinion.

good luck

Martin

Just to give you a ballpark idea.

We used a local guy (unfortunately local to us - not you) and supplied the panels. 4 Wheel arches, two footsteps, the rear corner pieces under the bumper and the famous fridge panel. All done £1000 including a respray under the waistline (some handy stripes on the Autosleeper). This included blasting any rust with a grit blaster, prep surface and finish.

Now - as the van is prob nearer the £6-7k mark this was worth it - and this dealt with relatively cosmetic stuff - not completely shot away bits with nowt to weld to..

pionte wrote:Hi Lisa, I would be wary about buying something that looks cheap.... but has rust, as said before Rust is expensive to fix and can kill a van, or at least have it of the road for months on end whilst you get someone to repair it. without wanting to put you on the spot and please dont answer if you would rather not but what is your budget? A £1000 van may need A LOT of tlc to make usable.

I ask because there are lots and lots of vans out there that are over priced, sometimes because people have paid too much when they bought them and are trying to sell on their ' problem ' to someone else.

Keep looking and the right van will come up ! I started my search by looking for a van that had mechanical problems but very good bodywork ( usually the mechanical bits are easier/cheaper to sort out ) as it happened I stumbled onto a good solid van that just required a new clutch ( and a complete new interior ! ) but I have spent the last year replacing the interior as I could afford it bit by bit.

Im sure that there would be members near you who would come and have a look at any possible vans with you and give you an unbiased friendly opinion.

good luck

Martin

The rust spots look as though they have been (crappily) filled and aren't huge, except for the steps which are a bit of a mess. But I do think that I wouldn't be throwing my money away as it is a 1990 Autosleeper and like I said the interior is mint. Our budget is around £3,500. We have actually seen 2 other vans we had been considering. One with a decent body and engine but a shockingly bad interior. Another again body looked pretty good, but had just been resprayed in diarrhoea brown which could be hiding anything, the sill or lip around the roof was very badly rusted and the inside (although another auto sleeper conversion) looked as though it had had farm animals living in it. Now I know that everyone is thinking get a solid van and sort out other probs later, but I honestly haven't seen a single completely solid van for anything like the price we are looking at. And as I said wouldn't mind getting bits done as and when, if we got something I liked enough

mikey9 wrote:Just to give you a ballpark idea.

We used a local guy (unfortunately local to us - not you) and supplied the panels. 4 Wheel arches, two footsteps, the rear corner pieces under the bumper and the famous fridge panel. All done £1000 including a respray under the waistline (some handy stripes on the Autosleeper). This included blasting any rust with a grit blaster, prep surface and finish.

Now - as the van is prob nearer the £6-7k mark this was worth it - and this dealt with relatively cosmetic stuff - not completely shot away bits with nowt to weld to..

Thanks Mikey, useful info

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=74343#p7531155
this one looks nicer than the one you described, and its in your price range

lloydy wrote:https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 3#p7531155
this one looks nicer than the one you described, and its in your price range

I did actually look at that one the other day but there are 5 of us and a dog and so looking for a high top really.
thanks anyway though

£3.5k is a good amount of money!

I would expect to get something solid and reliable for that many beer tokens!

Personally I would go for the one with the best bodywork and the good mechanics, the interior can be changed bit by bit whilst you still use the van. These people are very good for new interiors http://www.thecampershak.co.uk/category.php, I cant recommend them highly enough. The build quality is excellent and they are lovely people to deal with. My van was basically a shell inside with lots of box's of bits.....
This is my interior now










Cost me a fair bit but have taken a year to get this far. ( small child has cost me considerably more ! )

keep looking, you should get a decent van for that sort of money. a friend of mine sold hers at the begining of this year for 3.5k and it was in goood condition, high top with a nice interior, it also had had a full brake overhaul, couple of new tyres, full mot, recon engine with about 6k on it. like i said keep looking they are out there. good luck

we bought a Aircooled 81 moonraker blind off ebay (blind ) when i turned up to collect the van it didnt lookm as good as it did on ebay, but like a school boy in a sweet shop with money to burn in my pocket, i parted company with £1750, at the time we were desperate to get a van and had a limited buget, i replaced all the service parts and she ran sweet, then i started on the rust, i have just tarted her up really, i have got new panels etc which i will fit over the winter and then get the rollers out in the spring and paint her, the cab steps are shot really, but i had to put her in for a MOT on Tuesday, gob smacked it went straight through, just a advisery that the push rod tubes were leeking, the mechanic said that due to the chassi rails they are bullet proof.
That said and having been all over her, thats the van, not the wife, i would definatley look closely, when you do go to buy your van, it will save you a lot of work and money and if you look at the wiki on here and look at some of the articales you will see what to look out for.
We wouldnt part with our van , for love or money, the kids love her and she is our daily drive.

Devon81