HELP!!!!Bad news update report on my MK1 Campervan

[welshrussell]

For those of you may not have seen 'Big Liz' before I'll give you a brief summary of the story so far.......



She is a 1976 MK1 CI Coachbuilt camper and has a V4 2litre corsair engine in her.

After owning her for 3 years and mainly using her for 6 months of the year around the West Coast of Scotland, I decided it was time for a couple of new panels and a respray while I buffed up all the chrome and shiny bits

However this has proved to be a mammoth task in Edinburgh trying to find a garage/bodyshop willing to take her on

6 garages never bothered to answer my letters
1 garage kept her for 6 weeks and then said the quote had gone up from £1200 to £3300, so I took her way
1 guy come out to the van to give a quote and has never got back to me
1 garage quoted me from £2500 to £7000 saying that he couldn't be more definate (he never even opened the door to look inside and asked how easy would it be for me to remove the camper off the chassis for him )

So I've now got a mate who has offered to teach me MIG welding and lend me his stuff

What the F**K should I do

I have spent hundreds just recently on a new doorstep, bonnet, windscreeen rubber, etc so she is ready to go - it's just that I can't find anyone who wants the work

My biggest problem has been where she is kept - on a farm under a caravan cover (that is now totally buggered because the wind up there ripped it to shreds)



It really is a bit of a hostile place to try and do any external jobs on the van, but I have seen a space between 2 huge containers on the farm so should be moving it to somewhere a bit more shelterd pretty soon - but still no power hook up, workbench or roof covering

Sorry to moan on and gripe, but this has been very frustrating as she is such a wicked van and I just desperately want to see her restored back to her former glory

Any suggestions right now are most welcome

[madmark]

there must be somebody out there that will do this work its only the cab area
what about all this crap credit crunch people should be begging you to let them do the work
maybe you might have to bring her down south abit to be sorted!

[welshrussell]

there must be somebody out there that will do this work its only the cab area
what about all this crap credit crunch people should be begging you to let them do the work
maybe you might have to bring her down south abit to be sorted!

The going down South bit is looking a more and more likely scenerio

I agree with the credit crunch bit as well, I would have thought people would be trying to undercut each other to get my cash

I'm still hoping out that one of the Scottish Forum members reads this post and knows a mate who would be willing and able to do this work for me

[madmark]

there must be somebody out there !

[bigmastif]

russ i mailed a mate who i worked the doors with and is a member on here
to see if he would be interested in doing the work,
have you tryed places like seafield coachworks?

[welshrussell]

I drove past Seafield Coachworks and wasn't impressed with the place, it was crammed into some arches under a bridge and had dismantled cars and lorrys sitting next to the pavement all up the road.

I'm sorry for sounding picky but this van is my pride and joy and I am willing to hand over a large wad of cash to get her tidied up, so I want it done properly and with a bit of respect

[welshrussell]

russ i mailed a mate who i worked the doors with and is a member on here
to see if he would be interested in doing the work,
have you tryed places like seafield coachworks?

Sorry Jim forgot to add

Again, if your mate is up to the job and will treat the van right, then I'm all for having a chat with him.

I have a full list of jobs required and a couple of photos in a word document, ready to go, so if anyone wants the full spec of what I need I can just send it them as an email attachment

So please feel free to PM me

[bigmastif]

russ i mailed a mate who i worked the doors with and is a member on here
to see if he would be interested in doing the work,
have you tryed places like seafield coachworks?

Sorry Jim forgot to add

Again, if your mate is up to the job and will treat the van right, then I'm all for having a chat with him.

I have a full list of jobs required and a couple of photos in a word document, ready to go, so if anyone wants the full spec of what I need I can just send it them as an email attachment

So please feel free to PM me

nae probs russ

have you pm`d DanT? he may know some one aswell as he is the garage game

[welshrussell]

russ i mailed a mate who i worked the doors with and is a member on here
to see if he would be interested in doing the work,
have you tryed places like seafield coachworks?

Sorry Jim forgot to add

Again, if your mate is up to the job and will treat the van right, then I'm all for having a chat with him.

I have a full list of jobs required and a couple of photos in a word document, ready to go, so if anyone wants the full spec of what I need I can just send it them as an email attachment

So please feel free to PM me

nae probs russ

have you pm`d DanT? he may know some one aswell as he is the garage game

Cheers Jim, I'll PM him this afternoon

[paultic]

russel theres a place in dalkeith that does restorations on mg's
but i've also seen other makes in there i'm not sure i think they are called dalkeith or midlothian sports cars
will try to find out for you
anyway the cars i have seen outside the garage seem to be done to a good standard
might be worth a phone call

cheers paul

[paultic]

found the details
here you go

Edinburgh Sportscars
8 North Wynd
Dalkeith
Midlothian
EH22 1JE

Classic car restoration - specialist repairer of classic and vintage sportscars. Spare parts for MG & Triumph, car sales, storage facility, recovery and pre-purchase inspections.

Mr Andrew Doney
Telephone: 0131 654 1613
Fax: 0131 654 1613


cheers paul

[welshrussell]

Nice one Paul - cheers

Well these guys will definately be my plan B.

Dan T is having a word with someone for me, so I'll know what's happening in the next day or so.

I really appreciate your effort though, thanks

[paultic]

are you any further forward russel ?

[welshrussell]

are you any further forward russel ?

Hiya Paul, yes mate I'm a lot more forward now

Dan T has kindly offered his services and so Big Liz is now over in East Kilbride getting worked on

Have a look at Dan T's thread in the Progress Report Forum, where he will be posting photos as work progresses

here's the thread viewtopic.php?f=27&t=39974

[transitgeoff]

excellent, happy your sorted, i will watch the progress with interest ready for summer