What should I do??? Opinions please

[helenmarie123]

Hello,

I need some opinions on what I should do with my MK5. Its a W Reg Semi High with 86,000 on the clock and Iv just got it back on the road after 3 years of it being sat at the side of my house.

Mechanically it is sound and it fired up straight away with a new battery on after being stood for 3 years!! and it went through the MOT only needing a bit of welding and a couple of brake pipes, but as with most old transits there is rust. It seems the further I delve the worse it gets.

We have already filled the arches and sills and with a bit more hard work on the outside it would look great BUT .......underneath the bumpers, the inner wheel arches both front and back, parts of the roof and the sills underneath are rotten, to the point where the front radiator grill is held on at the passenger side by the thinnest piece of rustiest metal and it wont be long before it goes completely and the grill starts hanging off ....... and I cleaned the front mudflap of the 11 years worth of dirt .... and it fell off because the fixings were that rusty, the only thing holding it on was the old dirt! oh and the passenger step went into a hole today too .... and i thought they were doing really well!

So do I .... A) Replace all the panels that are rotten i.e front wings, arches, sills, passenger step and bottom of rear doors and have them sprayed up

or

B) Leave it as its not worth putting the money into restoring it?

I want to keep the MK5 but I dont want to drive around in a rusty looking thing either Iv seen some really tidy MK5's and I want mine to be like that but i dont know if i should spend the money on this one or look for a tidier one?

Thanks for reading.... if you got this far!
Helen

[mealic]

Hi Helen,
As you are only in West Yorkshire why not pop down to the Weekend Makeover where I am sure that you will get an honest opinion on how to progress with your van.Whilst you are there you could bring your voice and serenade us all either during the day or in the evenings.

What do you think?

[helenmarie123]

yeah that sounds like a plan, although i think my gig bus tranny might look a bit out of place if there's lots of show vans there

[the_big_fact_hunt]

i think one thing to consider would be your skills, how much work can you do yourself? as garage repair bills can soon outweigh the cost of a better van.
Parts and panels can be sourced relatively cheap, and you say "we have" so it sounds like you have some help.
If the chassis and main body are good enough, the wings, arches, and steps can be replaced or repaired, and as it has a new MOT it cant be too bad.
Have a look here and price up the panels you would need and then look into the labour costs and you will have an idea how much it will cost
http://www.carz2.co.uk/ford-trans-c-174_209.html

[helenmarie123]

Thank you that website is cheaper than the one I found

[mealic]

:lol: yeah that sounds like a plan, although i think my gig bus tranny might look a bit out of place if there's lots of show vans there

Show Vans??!! Who`s bringing them?

[Eggski]

To be fair, some of the rebuilds that have been done on here would blow your mind, fix it, its a Mk5, it deserves it!

[Grenadekid]

i think one thing to consider would be your skills, how much work can you do yourself? as garage repair bills can soon outweigh the cost of a better van.
Parts and panels can be sourced relatively cheap, and you say "we have" so it sounds like you have some help.
If the chassis and main body are good enough, the wings, arches, and steps can be replaced or repaired, and as it has a new MOT it cant be too bad.
Have a look here and price up the panels you would need and then look into the labour costs and you will have an idea how much it will cost
http://www.carz2.co.uk/ford-trans-c-174_209.html

That sounds like good info to me also consider how much the van means to you Restoration is easier to do if you have pride in it
Good luck which ever path you chose Helenmarie

[helenmarie123]

:lol: yeah that sounds like a plan, although i think my gig bus tranny might look a bit out of place if there's lots of show vans there

Show Vans??!! Who`s bringing them?

oh i thought it would be a gathering of show vans .... is it not?

[mealic]

Take a look at the Makeover Weekend threads to find out what it`s all about.

[transit300]

hi all i have a mk6 swb that i love my insurance is dear and i spent quite abit on it and needs gearbox sorting but i love the van so it will be fixed its down to you weather you like the van or your not really bothered!

[davew2]

Might be an idea to get a welder and have a go yourself we all had to start somewhere it seem what you might lack in skill you more than make up for it in enthusiasm.

[helenmarie123]

Might be an idea to get a welder and have a go yourself we all had to start somewhere it seem what you might lack in skill you more than make up for it in enthusiasm.

I'll have a go at owt I never thought to try welding though ...... it'll be like a re-enactment of Flashdance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktH1QadtFU

[davew2]

lol

[rvracing]

give it a go m8, it cant be that bad if passed its ticket, see it as a rolling restoration, i cant believ how cheap tranny panels are, if you cant weld , the panels are so cheap its worth buying a hobby mig from machine mart ans teach yourself on some scrap mild sheet, youl be welding within a hour trust me, im doing the same thing with mine, , best o luck fella,