Heartbroken can I restore it?

[Neil]

looks beyond restoration i spotted that green one like yours for sale again ,that would be handy and make it your own

[Decky75]

Truly gutted for you

[greek]

Thanks for all the sympathy everybody waiting for the assesor.When I get the rubbish cleared out of the garage will have a good look the front end is the worst it was the timber off the roof which dropped on to the cab after a quick look underneath it doesnt look to bad but I`ll wait & see.
most of the frame of the body is still intact so measurements could be taken might take a few yrs will give it some thought. .
Garage wasn`t targetted just some thieving little towrag nicked a scooter dumped it the back of my garage & torched it.

[redeemer]

CAn't belive my eyes
Im feeling sorry as if it was mine,
I think that the highest temp was at the cabin , well as somone said the doors, wing etc can all be replaced,
If you can restore it will all be as bad as it is until you blast it and it take her original shape again. First thing to check is the roof and the door frames as the heat will act more on top of the flame ..
If I live near you Ill volounteer in this ...such a shame

[pipeforce]

Strip it all back to bare shell and that will give you more of an idea looks worse with all the ashes. You've got a lot of support over there. They never gave up on Steve Austin. I just hope it don't cost you six million dollars. Chin up mate

[transerbia]

Sorry to see those pics, I had almost the same situation a year ago. A truck smashed my motorhome when I was waiting for a green light, on the bridge. 46 tons of steel, 50 km/h. One month in hospital. Two years of restoration work gone in a second. I am happy to be alive, and happy that I was alone in the motorhome, because the back was 1 meter shorter. My friends told me it is not reparable, but I did it. New interior, new back of the vehicle, front also. (I destroyed two cars in front of my vehicle, also waiting for a green light). After all that work, I don't think it worth it. Now, my vehicle is better than before, but I don't think it is the same pleasure as before... maybe because it could be my coffin. Just turn the page, and find some other good old ford motorhome. And think also that you are lucky that nobody was hurt.

[baconsdozen]

Ah but you forget that old vehicles (not the horrible plastic things that they make now) have a soul.
Sometimes the decision to repair or not is taken with the heart and not the wallet,taken by the enthusiast in you,not the accountant.
I can understand how you feel though,I had a very bad crash in a mini and never felt safe in it again.

[greek]

Starting to get the feeling I might rebuild after all the support.Had a look at that green one again Niel but feel I might start pulling it apart to do mine & that would be a shame.Have the same sentiments as baconsdozen its that paticular van I had & which I`d like to restore might be a few grand but whats money comes in go`s out.Going to me garage tomorrow do a repair to that & clean a bit rubbish out will have another look at it

[Gavin]

dont you have to be careful touching these things? isnt a lot of the fire damaged material potentially carcinogenic / toxic? thought you had to be specialy qualified to tackle fire dameaged restorations


not meaning to put a downer on you fixing it but think you should check first...........

[Frag]

Good point,some of the chemicals left after fire (plastics/ O rings n stuff i think) i was told when we did recovery of burnouts,can attack skin etc & the only cure was amputation

[transitgeoff]

yeh dont go on a beech youl get silicosis todays bullshit society

[dachre]

Good to hear that you're thinking of re-building..... ....

You may of started to think about how much its going to cost to rebuild.
One of the parts you need to find out the price for is the Aluminium sides/roof.

A guy from one of those Motorhome magazines had to replace one side of his camper as it had started to de-laminate. Just the one sheet of Aluminium alone cost him £750. As it had to come in one extra large section that ran the whole length and height of the Motorhome body.

Yours looks like the sides and roof are in sections so its going to be a lot cheaper.

But I really do think what he paid was expensive anyway. as a rule i work at £20 - £25 square meter for 1mm thick..

This is a site that will supply aluminium sheet in sizes up to 6meters x 2 meters. They will also cut and process for you. Shop around tho....

http://www.metalweb.co.uk/default.aspx?id=12

[transerbia]

I don't like pessimism, so my goal was not to say "don't restore it". And I did restore my van. When I see the term "heartbroken", it's obvious we are talking about love... and there is no price for that. But, in that restoration you have to start not from level zero, but -9. Why not restore a more interesting motorhome, starting with a lot of rust, and some crazy engine in it, like a rover v8. With the same price, you could have a mk1 motorhome 4X4. It is very expensive to remove burned plastic and wires, even if you sand it. But if you want anyway to restore it, we will support you!! At least, you can clean everything, and than decede about the future. Good luck! The neighborhood anyway think that we all are crazy...

[greek]

Well chaps made my decision. After getting all the rubbish out of the garage & a good look under the bonnet & every where else except for everything been burnt out wings doors all still in good shape just looks like its had the paint blasted off. Its took a while of soul searching, cost isn`t a consideration but time is I`m not getting any younger & work away most of the time & it would be a complete rebiuld from scratch so Breakers are coming to take it away tommorow (Tues).Pleased I`ll not be there to see it,poor old wifey will & she was really looking forward to doing the Vintage shows again this yr. Just had about 8 invites to shows this last wk.Thanks again everyone on here for the pms & support.Will still pop on forum now & then as my brother has a 69 Mk1 & I might do some bits with that if I dont get another.(enquired about the green one Niel gone)

[Luke]

really sad mate but at least you've took time to make the desicion