TheDrunks - Ex-BT Van project

[MarkM]

mark its all well and good saying scrap it and buy another a mate of me dads bought a tidy looking transit for just over 2k (ok about 3 years back now) but 2nd MOT failed on welding
i dunno how much but i know he paid out for it - the point is you could sell this van put more to and still end up shelling out for welding in a year

unless you can do all the work yourself running a transit will cost money - yes the van would be a very bad idea as a profit making venture but look at what a grand buys you - and i dont mean the photos on ebay actually go look at them - imo this van aint that bad take it to a 'decent' mot tester and most of those point wont be failures anymore - get the valance and others done - plenty of underseal/waxoil and over the years it will turn into the best purchase you ever made

Yes I understand what looks good might not be a few months down the line afterall the MOT test certificate is not meant to mean the vehicle is roadworthy still, only at the time of the test.

With this topic it is just I have been the most vocal about the state of it, other have agreed too

As for your comment about an MOT tester sorry but that is one thing I would never do!
The first vehicle I ever owned (A Marina Van) had a brand new MOT but it didn't want to stop, I got the Ministry to come and look at it and after a quiet word with the testing station all the brakes were replaced FOC, it was also said to me that this particular station had cropped up more than a few times with regard to turning blind eyes. So I now use one of two testers depending on what I have on, 1 in my town and the other about 30 miles away as I trust them both to tell me whats what and what needs doing.

With my first van I gave £575 for it in about 1985/6 and it was 11/12 years old then, I must have spent about another small fortune on it...it was my first vehicle afterall and you do silly things like that

new propshaft,
new gearbox,
replaced the alternator,
bonnet flew up on me so that had to be replaced
I got hit and spun into a parked car so had a wing replaced, rear arch repaired and the drivers sill, then all painted up, .
Bellhousing had a casting for the clutch hydraulic assist that sheared so a used bell housing was fitted
Clutch was done at the same time as the box was off,
Brakes, while I had it
Exhaust
Tyres at least 2 sets
HT leads a few times
Plugs a few times
Rear shocks
Did the sump gasket myself and got covered in oil when I knocked over the catch tray
Rocker cover gasket I did myself as that is easy
Had about 4 speedo's as they all ticked, turned out it was the speedo cable at fault so that was done.
Later grill was fitted
All car internal door panels were fitted as the van ones were basic to say the least
fitted inertia seat belts, fixed belts were a pain
Got all the glass changed to tinted also
Gutter weld was used to fill the gap in the wings that meant the inside filled with water when it rained (from the factory they did this often apparently)
new rear door lock (£18 !!!)
Had around 15 gearsticks as the design was crap and they failed regular
Had plates put on the rear wheel arches inside as they had rotted through.
Plus little things like internal rear light covers, various switches, made the screen washer electric as the original was a dashboard pump thing, so all the pipework got replaced as well. seat covers, steering wheel covers...didn't have the furry dice though

So as you can see I got real silly with it as it was my first vehicle thank god I had an accident and wrote it off.
Other than the internal wheel arches I had no rot on the van, the sill was me driving over a kerbstone that had been knocked into the road.
Had there been rot I would have paid for it to be done but I knew no better then.

[dangeeeeerousss]

oh no !
my first van was a marina van to how sad are we
but i dont normally admit to it though !!!

[Luke]

You reckon a grand would cover:

Front Discs
Front pads
Front brake lines
Oil filter
Air filter
Fuel filter
Oil
battery
Rear cross member
rear arches
side panel
front arches
roll bar at front
play in the steering
battery tray
rear right wheel bearings
spare wheel
front wing
back doors
all other surface rust on the chassis and panels
coating with protective sh*t to stop further rust

and who (apart from markm) says the battery trays knackered

[djswampy]

If your going to make an order to beavers then surely the battery tray would be in the same cost of postal as the rest. It will need doing at sometime anyway, they all rust through after a while. Normally its under the battery that seems to go first. Plus you wouldn't want it to fail its new MOT after all that work for a silly tray. £20 is nothing when you're looking at £400 on bits. I know the old saying "If it ain't broke then don't fix it" but if he's gonna do all this work on the van then its worth keeping it for a few years. £20 now is £50 saved on a retest in a years time. Something called 'Preventative maintenance', like Waxoiling.

[gemini]

So I now use one of two testers depending on what I have on, 1 in my town and the other about 30 miles away as I trust them both to tell me whats what and what needs doing.

not the way i do it, i look what needs doing do it then take it for the mot, ive never been to a garage with a car in my life

if you have no repair experience (ok you swapped a gearbox but made hard work of it, two jacks an all that) why you are commenting on this van

[MarkM]

oh no !
my first van was a marina van to how sad are we
but i dont normally admit to it though !!!

Size wise it was great, much bigger than the Ford Escort van. Absolutely no use to me now a van that size but I did have an 94 Escort van for 3 weeks when I was between Transits, that was pretty tidy but too small so it had to go.. Nearly kept it as I had already gutted the inside with replacement seats, door panels and dash 'cos of mobile phone holders, steering wheel as the old one was worn, it would have cost me though as the gear change was temperamental, that damned linkage system they use I think the bush had gone, it went like stink, not bad for 1.4L but the current Transit got offered to me so sold the Escort with a good profit, even with what I had spent on it

Luke, I would GUESS he has checked it by now, as I said it was gone you said not and then he listed it in the parts needing doing,

[MarkM]

So I now use one of two testers depending on what I have on, 1 in my town and the other about 30 miles away as I trust them both to tell me whats what and what needs doing.

not the way i do it, i look what needs doing do it then take it for the mot, ive never been to a garage with a car in my life

if you have no repair experience (ok you swapped a gearbox but made hard work of it, two jacks an all that) why you are commenting on this van

Ha Ha hey I learnt with the gearbox but the hard way, I have done plenty of mechanical things before it is all a learning curve.
I rarely get caught out with MOT's as I do have a look around but there is a limit to what I will do compared to the tester with his big pry bar.
I am taking about the advisorys type of thing like the brakes are low but you are ok for now, I have had in the past advisorys about misting on shocks. MOT testers are notorious for being picky about holes in Transit floors despite that if the van was a flatbed they wouldn't say a word, same with the sills totally non structual but plenty fail them on that. I can agree with rough body work on the outside as being a danger to pedestrians but not up inside.
Welding not my thing. I see/find a hole if non critical I will fill it, panel with hole going into a body cavity...nope not my job I will pay someone.

[gemini]

well the rear cross member is easy to make up and fit and thats the worst bit on the van, the floor is solid looking at the ebay pic of the inside, and £600 will only buy another needing work, how much have you lost a year on yours upto now and rovers van is worth alot more than £600, i dont go by the reg its the condition thats important, ive seen v reg vans in that state make a £1000 plus

[MarkM]

well the rear cross member is easy to make up and fit and thats the worst bit on the van, the floor is solid looking at the ebay pic of the inside, and £600 will only buy another needing work, how much have you lost a year on yours upto now and rovers van is worth alot more than £600, i dont go by the reg its the condition thats important, ive seen v reg vans in that state make a £1000 plus

Actually I have lost nothing on mine even with what I have had to do on it, I got it for a very good price. I could sell tomorrow and still be in profit.
Rovers van is an advert for his biz so has to be looking good, but what it is worth to him is a lot different to what it would reach on the open market. I wasn't knocking his van at all, I was genuinely surprised that he had paid for all the work to be done and said so. The only slight dig was his break down of costs this last year, parts of it were normal running costs and the engine mods were for smile factor not needed, as afterall if he had really wanted to he could have just swapped the engine if there was an issue with it. Plenty of engines out there if you are prepared to wait, again each to their own. All of the people who have said this can be done etc are all people with access to a welder and I don't mean the person. So can we just agree to disagree?

[gemini]

i understand where youre coming from and he probably wishes now he hadnt bought it if he cant do the work himself, i would never buy a motor off ebay without looking at it first no matter what the pictures look like, but at least he will know where the welding is, and its not full of filler, the cabs tidy and the vans straight and original, he could have paid a grand and got one of the ebay blow overs full of filler but wouldnt have been any better off than he is now

[TheDrunk]

Sorry, I am a little drunk

Anyway, I am really pleased to spark further debate in either 'camps' if you like.

The only thing that daunts me is how one could actually remove all the surfice rust and treat it appropriately. You've seen the photos of the bottom. It is surface rust hell. Not to mention the bodged body panels, you can see form the photos where the bad areas have been sprayed over with halfords silver paint (the friggin can is in the dashboard!).

I costed up all the parts minus the battery tray and a few other bits. Worked out to about 150 inc vat.

200 to do the back cross bar and perhaps the front arches at a push.

The rest doesn't need doing for MOT but if I end up with the cash, I may as well.

So, who wants to make a few quid then?

[rover]

Without going back throught 8 pages to find out (cos I cant be arsed), whereabouts are you?

If you put your location in your profile everyone will know

Rover.

[Luke]

if you can make it to the northern meet (mot in time) me and rover will be there - we can give it a good looking over and give you an honest unbiased opinion as to if its worth spending on for the next mot

[TheDrunk]

Excellent, when was the next meet again? - Doh it is in your sig

It is going to be one week before I can ask for the work to be done. At a push I guess it may be done by July 7th.


Location is Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire.

[baby stepside]

hebden bridge? you will have to get your clogs on to get it done in time then