Bongo Fury

Hi all — I find myself at a crossroads with the old girl...

147k miles on the clock, MOT is due end of April, front crossmember needs replaced (has half disintegrated leaving radiators unsupported from below), both front arms / wishbones need replaced, all of which is going to cost me about £1400 to have made right.

In addition the inner and outer sills at the back are unlikely to pass an MOT test. Tyres probably have a couple of months left in them and will need to be replaced.

So, assuming nothing else crops up on MOT, I'm looking at £2,000+ to keep it on the road for another year.

It had a full respray about 6 years ago but the rust is fighting back and will eventually win the war (recently filled a hole in the pillar nearside of front windscreen, driver's door is rusting, tailgate is rusting), so I know it's only a matter of time.

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Also, in its current condition, would it have any value to a breaker? The engine is in good nick — head was replaced 3 years ago. Or should I take it to my local scrapyard?

Sadly impossible to say.

You would need to get prices for fixing it, but that’s not always possible without starting to strip off panels, and you would need to ask breakers what the value would be to them.

This will likely vary depending on whether you drop off or they collect.

Then it’s how much do you value Bongy? Would you be looking to replace it, or change vehicles?

Not very helpful, sorry, but not a simple answer.

I agree with Bob here, there are so many factors involved that giving any advice is going to miss something that is critical/important to you.
All you can do is get the best estimates for repair and allow a contingency, ring around for cost/payment on breakers and your own time and effort, then compare with the pleasure you get and convivence.

Thank you both, you are of course completely correct.

My plan longer term is to buy and convert a larger van, reusing a lot of the gear I have invested in for the Bongo (fridge, diesel heater, solar gear, DC to DC chargers, etc.) — I had just hoped to hang onto this one for a bit longer!

I haven't quite decided yet but I'm swinging slightly towards scrapping and spending the money I would fixing the Bongo on a cheap car to fill the gap. Fortunately I have a month or so to make up my mind.

Maybe put it in for MoT and see how you go.

Garage has already looked at it, and told me the work above is minimum needed to get it through the next MOT…

Problem with scrapping is that your going to get well less than a £1000, most people seem to expect no more than a few hundred. However you will likely need to spend 1-2 thousand to get it to the point where it will be worth several thousand and this will take time and effort which may not be viable time wise and in locating and travelling to somewhere where it can be done.

If I got any money for scrapping I’d see that as a bonus! Really just weighing up cost of fixing what I know about know vs. what might crop up in an MOT or is looming over the horizon.

The other option would be to sell it as a project for someone else, but the value of the conversion bits far outweigh what I’d get for it in a private sale. More valuable to me for the next project.