hi everyone, its being quite a while since i have posted on the site...... i am actually not sure how long we have being sorting the van out, but we are now at a point where we can paint the van.....

the thing is i have no idea what colour to paint it, its a converted panel van into a walkthrough camper, safaris etc.... its 1966 and has being restored by haywards classic & custom near coventry

it was originally a not very pleasant green / blue colour.....

in the time that i have being doing it up my circumstances have changed so i am probably going to sell it, obviously if i can't get the money that i want on it i will keep it but i would like to paint it a colour that obviously looks good but will also improve its resale value (or at least not hurt it)

i would be happy to sell it now but am guessing that most people would rather buy the finished article ?

so if you would let me know any ideas of what to paint it (or what colour not to paint it)

please let me know as i dont really have much of a clue!

cheers

Hi, sales are always an option no matter what stage of completion, pics are the thing though, people need to see it. And a price for forum rules . Just have a search and price it as market value. If its solid and genuine then probably don't paint it, a blank canvas can't disappoint in my view, hope this helps

hi Beetleben

its in dave's shop at the mo and to be honest i would have no idea how to even price it; however its not for sale at the mo..... i am really looking for advice and help on what colour to paint it....

on the sales front who would be a good person to speak to, to get an idea of how its worth as i wouldnt know where to start; its completely solid as its being stripped back and rebuilt etc.....

You can only value it at market value so look around at buses in the same condition or stage of completion. Colour is always a gamble but as a rule I'd say stick with stock or at least a stock colour

personally i would prefer an unpainted van to painted so i can see the metal and choose the colour(s).....but it would put some people off having to get it done and it not being ready to go....

stock colours are always easiest one the eye.....some custom colours i think look amazing some i think look awful....

1 colour either velvet green or light grey

thanks guys, is there anyone who could recommend that i could speak to, who might be able to help me out with a number of whats its worth?

Hi Andy,
Looked at your bus yesterday....Looking really nice.
You have to remember your bus was converted from a panel van to a kombi by the Portuguese importer.
He fitted the kombi windows etc etc...so it may have been supplied in primer and painted the greeny bluey shade from new..After conversion.
It all depends on what story you want to tell...
Portuguese origin or LHD WT kombi.
As you know I am a stock man...so I would look very carefully on thesamba.com and check out the kombi solid colours for 1966.
I like the test colour in the interior but you may not..
If you wanted to fit it out as a microbus you could go two colour but for me a solid colour...
Did you look at my Velvet Green?
A friend of mine has a Devon kombi tin top Spaceway in L512 velvet green and it looks great..
But above all I would use a stock VW colour.
Customers could have any colour that was on the VW palette..
How about pimento....
I have been trying to get rusty to use a 62 MY orange...

For me, if its a stock bus it deserves a stock colour, custom bus deserves a custom paint job.

I wanted a stock(ish) bus so went for a stock colour when I purchased mine, and after some metal work over the past couple of years, again, I went with its stock colour, a '65 bus in velvet green.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/inf ... stype2.php

Take a look on the Samba for colour combo's for your year, or perhaps, if the bus has the original M Plate it should tell you what colour it was originally.

As for value, why not ask the restorer on what he thinks. If you haven't carried out a lot of work yourself you may not get back all the money you put into it, but you may fall lucky. Its only worth what someone is willing to pay.

It was a Portuguese converted panel van could have been dove blue or velvet green....

I agree. I used thesamba.com archives and chose a colour from my year. Mine was originally pearl white all over but I wanted two tone so chose mouse grey as the other colour and then thanks to a popular tv program that combination has become more popular than I would prefer but I still love it .

Mouse grey / pearl white

thanks for all the input guys, this is just what i need and thanks for the kind words type21F we have put a lot of time and money into it

i agree with the stock colour shout, well in terms of using a vw stock colour anyway and i will also look into a stock vw combo but i can't say i am a fan of the colour it came in i.e. green or that blue; i will have a look at the samba over the following days and see what i think.... i like that mouse and pearl white bus when i have a few ideas i will put them up or input!

dave wants me to keep the bus as we have done so much work on it, and i may well do that but i have to be honest i can't see me using it too much in the medium term which would seem a shame as they deserved t be used, it owes me north of £20k but as you can imagine as all the work has been done by Dave at Haywards its as good as it gets condition wise. the question is whats it worth ? if its £10k then i would just carry on and with the work but if its around the £20k mark then i might part with it.... i just want a feel for the numbers....

cheers as always for the input guys!

I think life is a marathon....not a sprint. ..
As long as you keep to the VW palette....it will be an investment and saleable. .
For me painting vans in non vw colours makes them a very very very personal preferance. .
Next time I am over with Dave I will try playing M code detective...and see what colour it was originally...
To help you..

cheers mate, dave has the mcode plate i think....

Sure he does. He takes great care to disassemble and store. I know I had a good look at your bus when it arrived. I should be visiting shortly to do some work on Pebbles. I will PM what I learn.
G