How much rust is too much rust?
Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:08 pm
I'm contemplating the future of my van. I've got the engine in bits ready for a new head after the head gasket failed. The rest of the cooling system has all been replaced so once the new head is on I will hopefully have a pretty reliable engine. The problem is the more I look for rust the more I find. We knew it needed a fair bit of work when we bought it and we were prepared to spend a bit to fix it up but that was six years ago and the engine dying kind of got in the way of fixing bodywork. I still have a budget for replacing rusty parts, rust proofing the rest and a full respray but it will only stretch so far. As a minimum it needs a new driver's door and front wing, both rear arches inside and out and complete cills all round. While I'm there I might as well replace the front and rear crossmembers but at some point I have to draw the line and ask why I'm bothering to save a knackered vehicle in the first place.
On the plus side it's a manual, rear-wheel drive AFT with split rear seats which is my preferred type of van and not easy to find. On the downside it's the pre-facelift model and obviously showing its age. I could facelift while I'm at it but I think that's pushing the budget too far.
Bongo prices are high at the moment so replacing it would cost more than fixing it as far as I can tell, and in some ways a fully repaired van is a case of better the devil you know. I could spend quite a few thousand and still end up with expensive repair bills on top to deal with. I had my fingers burned with this van and test drove some even dodgier vans before deciding to take this one on as a project so I'm very wary of buying a new one. I suspect anything costing under £10k at the moment will have its fair share of problems.
Has anyone dealt with extensive rust before that can offer any words of wisdom?
On the plus side it's a manual, rear-wheel drive AFT with split rear seats which is my preferred type of van and not easy to find. On the downside it's the pre-facelift model and obviously showing its age. I could facelift while I'm at it but I think that's pushing the budget too far.
Bongo prices are high at the moment so replacing it would cost more than fixing it as far as I can tell, and in some ways a fully repaired van is a case of better the devil you know. I could spend quite a few thousand and still end up with expensive repair bills on top to deal with. I had my fingers burned with this van and test drove some even dodgier vans before deciding to take this one on as a project so I'm very wary of buying a new one. I suspect anything costing under £10k at the moment will have its fair share of problems.
Has anyone dealt with extensive rust before that can offer any words of wisdom?