why im welding at home...

[rottie007]

its still in previous owners name at the moment..
but yes have come a cropper of the sorn thing before, have asked him to find the v5 and sign it over to me so he doesnt get fined for failing to notify as well which is why im waiting on it as hes got a whole bungalow full o fpaperwork to sort through.... (rather him than me)

 

[madkayaker]

it would be a kick in the nuts to get fined for failer to declare a free road tax vehicle. if its not been taked since 1998 then its not needed to declair SORN but not sure what happens on change of owner ship

 

[rottie007]

as of yet it hasnt changed ownership

 

[bloobloo]

My brother had an ex BT van that was like the one you are doing, it even still had the Busby bird logo on its yellow paintwork, great little van it was too.

 

[rottie007]

after the previous voiced fears in my introduction thread about the welder not going low enough for welding car bodywork (bearing in mind its the size of a shetland pony) I can happily report back that whilst on the settings 4 and up it does indeed run like a plasma cutter on the 1-3 settings I easily butt welded some viva floor (spare bits) with a .5mm gap it laid a bead nicely without burning the metal back so looks like its going to be ideal for welding the van up.. only problem is my supplier reckons he cant get the bits for the torch anymore so I will have to tap out the gas shroud (inner brass) to take modern tips.. other than that im well chuffed with it..

 

[rottie007]

SORN status resets on change of ownership hence me getting him to find the log book and change it to my name, then he only gets SORN fine not 80 notes for failing to declare change of ownership as well. SO if you buy a vehicle on SORN you are expected to renew it there and then, I found out the hard way.

 

[rottie007]

would it not be easier and cheaper to just build a van from scratch.

no lol... ive actually looked into finding another HA for the shell but they are all gone in the same places or are like 4 figure sums to buy.. so to me this is the cheapest option of getting a van I know will be rot free (as far as I can tell anyways)

 

[pedrobedro]

Back in the 70s I had a 1965 HA Viva. I bought it cheap running on 3 cylinders and put new rings and bearings in the engine. The old rings came out in segments like a caterpillar. I kept it for a few years after that and it was a nice little runabout with a good size boot.

 

[Windy Miller]

The Viva vans were great!

I had an ex Gas Board one in the early 80's - a right scruffy thing it was. A mixture of white, orange, and olive green. Who thought up that colour scheme?

It needed a respray, but I didnt want to buy any paint for it, so I mixed up some dark blue and some white cellulose that I had in the shed. It turned out a nice pale blue that was almost identical to the new ones that were still being produced!

Brilliant little run-around - I'd be more than happy to have another one now!

 

[Chipper]

Brilliant, fair play for not passing that over. Best of luck with it

 

[the snooper]

i think its beyond repair myself.

if you can get that back on the road you deserve a pat on the back.

no vehicle is beyond repair, that is unless its totaled in a crash it all depends on what skills you have the right tools, how much time you want to put into it and the big one how much cash you want to throw at it.

keep the pictures comming we like to see progress

 

[rtbcomp]

no vehicle is beyond repair, that is unless its totaled in a crash it all depends on what skills you have the right tools, how much time you want to put into it and the big one how much cash you want to throw at it.................

I used to have an Australian book on panel beating, it pictured an absolute wreck from a smash, and the author said "all the metal's there, you just have to put it all back in the right places".

I suppose the biggest battle is getting your mind round the job.

 

[the snooper]

yea i dont think i would want to straighten out a smash using the same steel it would be weakened.

got to say though i turn a lot of car welding away as i think ohh no cant be bothered with that, but once i get going im ok

 

[malcolm]

It's possible, but it will take years as you'll end up having to replace virtually everything. If there is any way to get a better one that would be the way forward and you could use that one for bits. A slightly negative view I know.

It is possible to repair anything, but it's a crazy venture you have there, one that 99.9% of people would fail to complete. (More than 99.9% of the population haven't joined the forum yet so you are on to a good start - we'll help with advice as much as we can, and do keep us up to date with progress.)

 

[Nomad]

SORN status resets on change of ownership hence me getting him to find the log book and change it to my name, then he only gets SORN fine not 80 notes for failing to declare change of ownership as well. SO if you buy a vehicle on SORN you are expected to renew it there and then, I found out the hard way.

Not always the case

Have just spent a while looking for the relevant page on DVLA website but I can't find it

IF it has been taxed (or SORN'd ?) since SORN was introduced in 1998 you are correct - new owner has to delcare SORN.
Note - you can't declare SORN until you have a V5 in your name, I had to wait 10 months before I could tax / sorn my latest project (DLVA lost original V5 and my 1st application for a duplicate - eventually got V5 and declared SORN)

If the van hasn't been taxed (or SORN'd ?) since 1998 - THESE IS NO NEED FOR THE NEW KEEPER TO DECLARE SORN

Beware - once it is SORN'd or taxed, the clock is ticking and you have to tax / sorn every year in future.

Nice looking project you're got, I was looking for something similar and ended up with a pre-72 (tax exempt) Hilman Hunter estate

See more useful info below http://www.club.triumph.org.uk/cgi-bin/forum10/Blah.pl?m-1292251300/s-15/

The DVLA website still states:

There is no need to SORN you vehicle if:
your vehicle was last taxed before 31 January 1998

Hope the info is helpful

 

[madkayaker]

another new way for the DVLA to screw you http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Motorinsurance/DG_186696

 

[rottie007]

wow i had a hunter gl estate for 4 years.. loved it to bits until came out one day and it had been hit so hard the bonnet was overlapping a wing and there was big creases in the chassis first time I ever cried seeing a car leave on the back of a scrap truck

Bert's sorn status is the least of my worries at the moment to be honest, the original owner is going through suitcases full of his late fathers paperwork in an attempt to find an old renewal etc as berts sorn ran out in 2005...

finally got the data I had been waiting on yesterday in the form of a copy of the original vauxhall data regarding frontal dimensions in real world measurements from the bulkhead (which I still have.. just about) so I am about to embark on the biggest and worst part of the resto which is removing the entire front end back to the builkhead to effect a decent repair of it because it prjects 9 inches behind the front wings and as has been said before I have to put entirely new front rails in. Also scored a wooden copy of a chassis rail from a nice gentleman on the vauxhall viva forum as a template to make my new centre ones from and it also shows the contours of the floor, yes its a lot fo work, but I could spend a grand and find myself with a van that is a sea of patches over bad, at least at the end oh this I know I have tried to eliminate as much crud as I could..

 

[sean2476]

Nice Van! My next project is a 1972 Austin Marina 10CWT, One of the first vans, badged as an Austin and is the earliest known survivor. I have spent years gathering the panels for it and to be fair its not as rotten as your Bedford however It will be getting new sills, new lower side panels, floor pans which I will fabricate myself, Front wings, valance and possibly a good second hand scuttle panel as well as anything else I find when I strip it down

My project just now is a 1978 Morris Marina pick up however that only needs minimal welding. I'm totally new to welding so this forum will be my bible!

Cheers, Sean

 

[rottie007]

nice looking austin there, I bidded on an austin on ebay this week funnily enough (with a suntor conversion on) but was away frmo the pc when it ended, might be worth contacting Andrew Walsingham on the marina owners club as he might be able to tell you more about your van hes a nice chap to deal with

 

[sean2476]

Hi rottie007, I have dealt with Andy Walsingham in the past and thought he was an ignorant person. I don't think he likes us Scots...