Who can spruce up Connie?

Another thing that will make it overheat at higher speed is the deflector plate that should be fitted to the front valance and underside, deflecting cold air up onto the radiator on most vans these either rusted away or the mounting points rusted and fell off.;)

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A commer with boost will be appering on a screen near you soon!
 
I forgot i had asked this question when i first bought Connie, here is a link to the previous post with pics attached, note the pic with the long scratch on the side, the scratch is no rusty.

http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3211&whichpage=3&SearchTerms=commer_girl
 
I don't think those that "Do" will tell you here on the forum what it will cost to do but would imagine quite a lot of money to do a full restoration,if on a tight budget go for the mot get a fail list sorry if you have already said it is moted :Dif it fails on welding? concentrate on getting an mot keep costs to a minimum wait untill you can afford a full restoration,just keep it on the road ;)
great no plate there a a few moggy owners here :)

Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans
The Colonel Mustard
 
What Chris said:) the filler indicates pretty much what PIA had in terms of work...good thing is though, the fluted panels are not considered part of the vans structure therefore meaning it won't fail an m.o.t on them if they're not so good. Just get an m.o.t and go from there:)most vans require some work so your not on you're own. Looks a pretty sound van you got there:-D

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Pia is responding well to her Botox Treatment!
 
i can give you a price for the resto work ,but i would need to see the van in the flesh first. feel free to bring it up here one weekend for us to look over it at.www.coventrycommerpanels.co.uk;):p

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Big Bad Woolf
 
At a glance, i would say you are pretty lucky that the top of the vans in relatively nice condition. That filler down below and all those awfully welded plates can only be covering more grot, so personally i'd be finding somebody willing to patch repair to keep it going this summer if you are desperate to use it, then get saving for a full overhaul if you intend to keep it. The replacement panels alone arent cheap (not that they are overpriced, but it soon adds up). It really depends how good you want it to look, but if you do it properly, it will pay itself off in the long run and commer prices are ever increasing :)
 
Looking at the pics of your van I would say your looking at over £1000 just for the panels alone.It looks to have had loads of filler put in here and there over rust which just holds more water and damp making the steel rust quicker.The scratch is the least of you worries :D;) But for a full resto strip,weld,prep,paint,refit new items refurb bits along the way i recon your looking from 4 to 6 grand depending how far you want to go.;)

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A commer with boost will be appering on a screen near you soon!
 
Cor blimey, thanks for that Jon, it was the full resto price i wanted to find out.

Now please can u guys tell me if i need a commer specialist to deal with either a)the bodywork / welding b)the mechanics?
 
Commer mechanicals are simple enough as old cars go as they are based on a various bits of the saloon cars of the day so anyone worth his salt could do the job. It would be advisable for someone familiar with the construction and sympathetic to the vans to do the bodywork but definitely not essential - there's quite a lot of it to work on:I

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Summer's Coming.....
Trust me
 
quote:
Originally posted by Commer_girl

If i was to strip the paint off myself would it make any difference to resto price?



Its not so much taking the paint off its cutting all the rot and old filler out,finding whats solid and what isnt and doing it a bit at a time cutting bits out and welding new bits in. If you cut it all out at once you wouldnt have much van left looking at it :D;)lol

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A commer with boost will be appering on a screen near you soon!
 
Commergirl we are no experts some of us can tinker some can weld some are capable of full restoration some would be if they had the facilities
we can only point you in the right direction mot welding Tim?commeracer
full restoration Martin Maltas or Martin Woolf Commerjules + a few others that have been on here.Try ringing people & asking question else you might still be waiting for answers in summer.just ask if you need phone no,s
your idea of tight budget & someone elses could be hugely different.
sorry but you seem to be struggling with getting the info you need [?]

Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans
The Colonel Mustard
 
quote:
Originally posted by Commer_girl

Hi,

I have had Connie my camper for a while now but she really needs stripping and sorting out (cosmetically) i know someone who does bodywork but before i leave Connie with him i want to know if Commers need any kind of special attention or knowledge when doing bodywork, can i go with my friend or do i need someone with a bit more knowledge of Commers.

My second problem is that i need someone to look at the engine, on the one long trip I took her on I discovered she cannot go past 50 without overheating and losing all her water. I recall at the time someone suggest that the problem might be simply fixed by flushing out the engine, however i have absolutely no idea how to do that? So again my problem is as above, can any mechanic sort this problem out or would a specialist be required??

I am on an extremely tight budget, it just me and my little one, but i want to be able to take him on lots of camping trips this summer as we missed last summer because i was too afraid Connie would break down halfway.

Finally, what is the really glossy paint used on campers, it is not spray paint is it???

Thanks in advance for all your help guys.




It's up to you if you want to go with your friend (sounds like a good friend to have)
The engine find your nearest classic friendly garage (ask you friend)or find some one nearby off the forum they are a good bunch
Tight budget? my idea of a tight budget may be different to yours
trying to be helpfull

Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans
The Colonel Mustard
 
If nobody else will physically come and look at the overheating issue, I will be happy to oblige :D PM me and we can discuss...Colin

''COMMER'EnSayThat''
 
yeah, yeah!:D I am no expert Commer girl but I have managed to get Smurf out of a few scrapes lol......(still for sale btw)

''COMMER'EnSayThat''
 
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