Quote Originally Posted by GTS View Post
If we all did that then no more vans/utes would get restored and they would end up at the crusher.

Most of the positive advice given so far is on the money. I did a body off resto on my van and rego is now so close I can almost smell the paint on the number plates.

When I stripped my van down I took pics of EVERYTHING and they proved to be invaluable when it came to pieceing it back together.....and a GMH spare parts book helps as well.

Do what you can with the cash available at the time. When the cash temporarily runs out start cleaning stuff and painting or polishing....that costs bugger all. When you save up a bit more cash go get the bits you need to make some progress. It's taken me 2 1/2 years so far and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.......and I know it's not someone holding a torch.

If the van has heaps of rust then go do a welding course at your local TAFE and learn a skill for life. I learnt, on the run, from my panel beater mate and in no time I was cutting chunks out of the body and welding in new stuff. It saved me heaps of $'s.

The trick to the whole process is be consistent and persistant. I made a point of doing at least one hour on the van per night ( which usually turned into 3 or 4) otherwise nothing gets done, although winter slows things down a bit because it's too cold in the garage at night so most of the work is done on the weekend at the moment.....but I do work on it every weekend. At the end of each week you will be able to see where you've been then before you know it you'll be ready for primer or putting the body back on or fitting the drive train....whatever.

I didn't worry too much about what the van was going to be worth when it's finished.....thats not why I built it. The short version is that I built it simply because I wanted one. I don't mean that in a smart arse kind of way.....but that is the basic truth of the matter. I could have spent months trying to find a Sandman that had been restored and forked out a heap of cash for it.....but, in all probability, would still have had to spend more cash on it to get it the way I want it because I'm almost certain nobody would have built one the way I wanted. I was going for the "off the showroom floor" look but without going to the "enth" degree of restoredness (new word for the dictionary)...also known as "rivet counting"

There is nothing more satisfying than sitting in the "pondering chair" out in the garage and looking at what I have achieved in 2 1/2 years compared to what I started with and how it got to be like it is.

Stick with it and save another van.

You can read about my adventure here... http://www.mysandman.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=15
yes, all very good advice indeed and way to go if you can do it, but the there will always be van and cars to restore, but if a van such as jennie jennies came up for sale, lets just say $50k was price asked(coz thats what it would cost to restore one to that quality, and i dont care who you are or what you do, but thats what it will cost, and thats minimul), and i had a van that i was thinking about restoring that needed $20k plus just for body and paint let alone everything else, i'd definitely jump on a ride like that, its smarter and easier, i see it everyday with my job, but thats me nowadays
also you will more more often than not find that ppl sell a quality restored car not just because they are over it or sik of it or need the money to pay bills, but they usually have another project or something to do with the cars they have, hence, another is saved anyways..