Here's the story.

We were travelling around the World for a year between 2004 and 2005 and thought it would be a great idea to come back to the UK and get a camper van to travel around in when we got back (no house to come back to) so we could visit friends and family before having to go back to work.

India was our last stop, and having settled on an early bay, we set about looking on ebay every night while in Goa, and this one came up. We bribed the internet cafe to stay open until midnight for us as, because of the time difference, the auction was ending well into the night Indian time. Against our better judgement (having not even seen the van in the flesh), we battled hard and this 1971 Dormobile (for £5K!) and dreamed off those days getting back to the UK and cruising around visiting people.

These are some of the original ebay ad pics:



So, we arrived back at Heathrow and the following day, went up to Ellesmere Port to pick it up...and was instantly disappoited. The paintwork was nowhere near as good as in the pics (overspray on rubbers etc.) and I could see suspect areas of rust and filler. My heart sank. It sank even more when a big end went on the way back home, meaning a rebuild on my Mum and Dads drive.



Things then got progressively worse. It was obvious then that we'd been well and truly had (either intentionally or not) but a full resto then became the main focus as whatever we touched either fell to pieces or crumbled away...here are a couple of what we've had to do:

This was the worst one of all. Newspaper and filler...and to make it worse, April 1st 2005 was the date on the newspaper!



Belly pans and out-riggers:



Lower front panel - what a water trap!




All of the pics are on my website at http://www.steve-brown.co.uk/gurtie/index2.html, and I'll post some more later of where we are now, as the van is now in primer at MNC Autos (next to Beetle Link in Farnham).

Moral of the story, don't buy a car un-seen on ebay.

at least it looks as though your going to do it right now, good luck

Shit 5K... any come backs with the seller?

Nope...couldn't get him on anything. The ad wasn't misleading at all. Just our own naevity (sp?). The good thing is we now know we've rescued an early bay and are nursing it back to health for us, our kids and future generations to enjoy.

Ah well another one for newbies to take heed of.... at least shes getting back to her former self....do you recon the April 1st was deliberate....

It felt like it at the time! Probably just a coincidence though.

Being prepped and sprayed at MNC Autos (next door to Beetle Link, Farnham, Surrey)

Went to see the progress yesterday. Most of the bottom half is in the final colour of Vauxhall Space Green (388) and the top half will be VW ‘Pastel White’ (L90D). I want to go for that mix of old and new throughout the project.

All the pics are on the website http://www.steve-brown.co.uk/gurtie, but here's a taster:



Looking good eh! Can't wait for the re-fit.

Great pics on your web site, alot of hard graft.
Seems the old 71 Dormobiles all rot in the same places, thought mine was fairly solid also unitl I started digging. Was going to be a minor resto and then it when large much the same as your own..

Keep up the good work both look forward to seeing th e interior, any plans?

One of the reasons for getting a Dormobile was we liked the layout, and it'll pretty much stay that way but using new materials.

I'm going to use the original as a template and get some new wood/laminate for all the units, get a new fridge and ditch the cooler box and make that into a more useful cupboard. I've also found some water tanks that fit under the van where the belly-pans used to be which'll free up some space inside.

Nice plan I had been thinking on simialr lines actually uncoupled the main panel on the front of our Dormobile unit with the intention of buying some vohringer and using the old panel as a template and then essentially retrimming etc tarting up the insides and screwing it back on. Sure it woul dnever be that simple but food for thought....

Good luck with your interior, are you gonna make it to Van fest in it???

Yes...2009 though. Van is STILL at the paintshop

Hope all is well tho

Gonna be worth it when your van is back, just tend to make your pocket a bit light from time to time

trust me know how u feel hopefully van be ready soon but has been at bodyshop since 02/06/2007 everything takes longer on old vehicle

Well, ours has been away since early January for welding and paint. Starting to really feel the need to put it back together again now though

Took another trip over to see the van progress this afternoon. Not as good as expected, but I've got the dash back now so I can drill the holes for the Autometer Arctic White gauges http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugeop.aspx?sid=17. Not looking forward to the job though. I may have to invest in a decent hole cutter...

Here's some pics anyway:





Loving the metallic in the last shot.

Van still at the bodyshop ...but the parts are arriving for the rebuild. Latest bits to arrive were the suspension components from Red 9 Design (http://www.red9design.co.uk/type2.htm. I'm not going for a slam job (would love to, but with campsites and country roads to negotiate, I'm erring on the side of caution. I also want some water tanks for under the van, so need some clearance for them).

Parts purchasing is on hold at the moment though as Icesave have all our savings

now that is a loverly sexy beam

Nice, good work dude, came here to see what your EZ kit looked like and how it goes on.. Damit, give the bodyshop a call, you need your bus back now!