Buyers Guide to Commer PBs
- Thread starter studiocommer
- Start date
Oh My Giddy Aunt...
So much to take in, scared, excited and completely in love with the thing! hehe.
Can anyone recommend a Commer friendly mechanic here in London?
So much to take in, scared, excited and completely in love with the thing! hehe.
Can anyone recommend a Commer friendly mechanic here in London?
Commerjules on here is in that area
And welcome along
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
And welcome along
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
Wonderful, and thank you! :I
South East!
Oh I think I might have to build up a bit of courage first to start a new thread!! haha.
But here is Florence, I waited 3 years to finally get her...little rust in the corners and crack in the fuel hose (i'm sure i'll have a list) but other than that she moves forward!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katemacabee/sets/72157636462639503/with/10225196855/
Oh I think I might have to build up a bit of courage first to start a new thread!! haha.
But here is Florence, I waited 3 years to finally get her...little rust in the corners and crack in the fuel hose (i'm sure i'll have a list) but other than that she moves forward!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katemacabee/sets/72157636462639503/with/10225196855/
Hehe thank you! She needed a girly touch!
I shall be on here searching for tips and all that.
What a bunch of lovely people here!!! x
I shall be on here searching for tips and all that.
What a bunch of lovely people here!!! x
Hi Katie welcome to our world & flo doesn't look like an auto sleeper do you know what conversion she is [?]
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans now Riva Dandy
The Colonel Mustard six speed
![9858609586_be59f5d209.jpg[IMG]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5328/9858609586_be59f5d209.jpg[IMG])
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans now Riva Dandy
The Colonel Mustard six speed
Oh gosh! As far as i know she is an Olympian?
thats what I thougt from what I could see on my mobile!
She looks great well done!
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans now Riva Dandy
The Colonel Mustard six speed
She looks great well done!
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans now Riva Dandy
The Colonel Mustard six speed
quote:
Originally posted by Katie and the Commer
South East!
Oh I think I might have to build up a bit of courage first to start a new thread!! haha.
But here is Florence, I waited 3 years to finally get her...little rust in the corners and crack in the fuel hose (i'm sure i'll have a list) but other than that she moves forward!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katemacabee/sets/72157636462639503/with/10225196855/
Im South East London! Pop round and I'll give you some fuel line
Cheers
Jules
RatSport: www.ratsport.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RatSport
Originally posted by Katie and the Commer
South East!
Oh I think I might have to build up a bit of courage first to start a new thread!! haha.
But here is Florence, I waited 3 years to finally get her...little rust in the corners and crack in the fuel hose (i'm sure i'll have a list) but other than that she moves forward!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katemacabee/sets/72157636462639503/with/10225196855/
Im South East London! Pop round and I'll give you some fuel line
Cheers
Jules
RatSport: www.ratsport.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RatSport
Hi im a newbie to commers I've fancied one for a while so I've decided this is the year im gonna sell my 924 turbo n my beach buggy .
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
Hi im a newbie to commers I've fancied one for a while so I've decided this is the year im gonna sell my 924 turbo n my beach buggy .
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
Enigma
0
Hi Phil and welcome along
If you are capable of welding then a project is the way to go, all the panels are available through either Martin Maltas (he also does fibreglass aswel as steel) or Woolfy on here. You will also find that we are a friendly bunch of nutters and there will always be someone willing to answer any concerns or questions you might have.....good luck if you decide to get the 69' you have seen and it will be tax free as an added bonus
''COMMER'EnSayThat''
Member of The 6-Speed Club
If you are capable of welding then a project is the way to go, all the panels are available through either Martin Maltas (he also does fibreglass aswel as steel) or Woolfy on here. You will also find that we are a friendly bunch of nutters and there will always be someone willing to answer any concerns or questions you might have.....good luck if you decide to get the 69' you have seen and it will be tax free as an added bonus
''COMMER'EnSayThat''
Member of The 6-Speed Club
quote:
Originally posted by Bigredtruck69
Hi im a newbie to commers I've fancied one for a while so I've decided this is the year im gonna sell my 924 turbo n my beach buggy .
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
Great to see another Commer convert I have a 69 too
That old question - buy a runner, or buy a project and have it going by next summer? The answer depends on what you want. If you want to be sea-side in the sun, sipping on a bevy, then buy a van already on the road (oh, do you guys have sun in the UK?). On the other hand, if you want to spend your spare time on your back in the garage looking at a greasy rusty mess with an empty wallet, then buy a project.
My message is to be wary! There is someone on here who has spent nearly £30,000 having their Commer restored [:0], and they still can't drive it. If they had bought a VW they probably could have recouped a good chunk of that cash, but not so on a Commer.
I bought a near-running project more than two years ago and I can tell you, avoid rust at all costs! I still haven't driven my van legally and have not spent a night in it.
These vans are rust traps!! And they rust from the inside out! If you buy one with a bit of rust, chances are you will start fixing that bit of rust, which will uncover another bit of rust, which uncovers another bit of rust, and another bit of rust, and so on it goes. Next minute you will be in the middle of a full on resto. And still no camping!
Here are a couple of examples:
The van I bought looked pretty reasonable for its age, with only a couple of grubby areas that needed tidying: Even up close, the driver side of the van looked pretty good.
Zoom in on here, the lower valance panel:
There were a few bubbles in the paint on the outside, and it was grimy from a leaking steering box on the inside, but the panel looked and sounded solid. A talking to with an angle grinder clarified things:
FILLER!!!! A rusted out old patch can only be hiding more old rust. I kind of like my ability to walk, so I think repairs need to be made to a high standard in case of an accident. To that end, I only wanted to patch this rust once, so all the grot had to be chopped out. Nek minit I have this:
[!] F*CK sake. Remember this panel looked OK prior to cleaning it up. Even with patch panels, fixing a mess like that (both sides of the van) is a big job.
And so on it goes. What looked like a nice simple patch in the front wheel well:
Was hiding layers or rust.
Want more? Lets look at this part of the van. Notice how the flutes have a bit of a wrinkle in them?
Turns out someone has had a go at patching this bit before.
So I chop that bit out to find a rusty chassis.
RUST!!! And on it goes. I found the same thing with the roof gutters - three panels sandwiched together - (didn't take any pics then though), and most people on here have had to repair the peak (the bit above the windscreen). Others have had to repair the rear wheel arches inside the van.
One of the reasons I was attracted to Commer's was because they were a fraction of the cost of VW's. The sad thing is that Commer's cost just as much to restore as VW's do, but once restored are still only worth a fraction of the cost of the restoration (and you still don't have a split-screen kombi).
Mechanicals are easier and cheaper than bodywork to fix (even with repair panels). Buy a Commer with a good body (no rust!), then get the engine rebuilt, radiator re-cored, brakes rebuilt, electric fan fitted, shocks upgraded etc., because if you buy a rusty project, you will have to do all the mechanicals anyway AND fix all the rust.
Don't get me wrong, it's really cool to make changes to the van to make it my own, and the sense of achievement I have seeing the progress and improvements I have made is awesome. But I have missed two summers of camping! If I did it all again I would have spent more to buy a better van. You've been warned.
Originally posted by Bigredtruck69
Hi im a newbie to commers I've fancied one for a while so I've decided this is the year im gonna sell my 924 turbo n my beach buggy .
My main question is do i buy one on the road or fix one up ad I've found a 69 camper in storage which needs some work but not terrible thanks Phil
Great to see another Commer convert
I have a 69 too That old question - buy a runner, or buy a project and have it going by next summer? The answer depends on what you want. If you want to be sea-side in the sun, sipping on a bevy, then buy a van already on the road (oh, do you guys have sun in the UK?
). On the other hand, if you want to spend your spare time on your back in the garage looking at a greasy rusty mess with an empty wallet, then buy a project. My message is to be wary! There is someone on here who has spent nearly £30,000 having their Commer restored [:0], and they still can't drive it. If they had bought a VW they probably could have recouped a good chunk of that cash, but not so on a Commer.
I bought a near-running project more than two years ago and I can tell you, avoid rust at all costs! I still haven't driven my van legally and have not spent a night in it.
These vans are rust traps!! And they rust from the inside out! If you buy one with a bit of rust, chances are you will start fixing that bit of rust, which will uncover another bit of rust, which uncovers another bit of rust, and another bit of rust, and so on it goes. Next minute you will be in the middle of a full on resto. And still no camping!
Here are a couple of examples:
The van I bought looked pretty reasonable for its age, with only a couple of grubby areas that needed tidying: Even up close, the driver side of the van looked pretty good.
Zoom in on here, the lower valance panel:
There were a few bubbles in the paint on the outside, and it was grimy from a leaking steering box on the inside, but the panel looked and sounded solid. A talking to with an angle grinder clarified things:
FILLER!!!! A rusted out old patch can only be hiding more old rust. I kind of like my ability to walk, so I think repairs need to be made to a high standard in case of an accident. To that end, I only wanted to patch this rust once, so all the grot had to be chopped out. Nek minit I have this:
[
!] F*CK sake. Remember this panel looked OK prior to cleaning it up. Even with patch panels, fixing a mess like that (both sides of the van) is a big job. And so on it goes. What looked like a nice simple patch in the front wheel well:
Was hiding layers or rust.
Want more? Lets look at this part of the van. Notice how the flutes have a bit of a wrinkle in them?
Turns out someone has had a go at patching this bit before.
So I chop that bit out to find a rusty chassis.
RUST!!! And on it goes. I found the same thing with the roof gutters - three panels sandwiched together - (didn't take any pics then though), and most people on here have had to repair the peak (the bit above the windscreen). Others have had to repair the rear wheel arches inside the van.
One of the reasons I was attracted to Commer's was because they were a fraction of the cost of VW's. The sad thing is that Commer's cost just as much to restore as VW's do, but once restored are still only worth a fraction of the cost of the restoration (and you still don't have a split-screen kombi
).Mechanicals are easier and cheaper than bodywork to fix (even with repair panels). Buy a Commer with a good body (no rust!), then get the engine rebuilt, radiator re-cored, brakes rebuilt, electric fan fitted, shocks upgraded etc., because if you buy a rusty project, you will have to do all the mechanicals anyway AND fix all the rust.
Don't get me wrong, it's really cool to make changes to the van to make it my own, and the sense of achievement I have seeing the progress and improvements I have made is awesome. But I have missed two summers of camping! If I did it all again I would have spent more to buy a better van. You've been warned.
Looking back, this thread seems to be a bit lacking in pictures.
I'll chip in now with some pics I've found on the forum (not my pics, so thanks to whoever posted them first).
People probably think/hope they are buying a sweet van that looks like this
Only to find heaps of this
To be left with something like this
I'll chip in now with some pics I've found on the forum (not my pics, so thanks to whoever posted them first).
People probably think/hope they are buying a sweet van that looks like this
Only to find heaps of this
To be left with something like this
Never Fear! With the right info, you perspective Commer buyers can avoid such tragedy, and avoid a Commer replacement panel catalogue extravaganza like this:
First, look for rust.
If your target looks like this
You should probably walk away (unless you want to undertake a full rebuild). See how on the above picture, the van is rusted just above the wheels, around the seam. Rust at this seam involves three different interconnected panels, which are difficult to repair correctly.
First, look for rust.
If your target looks like this
You should probably walk away (unless you want to undertake a full rebuild). See how on the above picture, the van is rusted just above the wheels, around the seam. Rust at this seam involves three different interconnected panels, which are difficult to repair correctly.