Luton Body, anyone have or know anyone with?

cormie

Hi Folks,
I've recently found out that my cousins business is partnered with a sign writing company and I can now afford to get my Luton van done up. I thought I'd be able to wrap it, but on inspection from the sign writer, it's not advised as the body itself is in a bad state with dents, scratches, rivets, layered sheeting, rust and everything. Mechanically the van is sound, the cab is fine too, the body just looks rough.

I'm looking for the possibility of swapping with anyone who may have, or know anyone with a Luton body to fit a ford transit, or to do a swap for the whole thing. I'm prepared to pay extra in the swap and that price would be determined on a few differing factors but the idea is to find somebody with a Luton body in good nick who prefers the idea of getting a few quid for the sake of having a beat up looking van.

Details of my van:
Ford Transit 350 90
Mechanically sound, Valid DOE, 150m on the clock, 13'6" floor space, 7' internal height, 6.5' internal width, 3x3ft luton section above the cab. 500KG Tail lift.




I'd be looking to swap it for something in as good condition as the following photo with no rivets etc on the main side body area and with the same or larger dimensions. Tail lift and roller shutter essential.


or


so basically it's all down to aesthetics and I just need a suitable van to apply some vinyl to. If anyone knows of anyone who may be up for such a deal, please let me know

Any feedback appreciated!

joewicklow

You might be better off getting a body builder to put clean sheets of GRP on each side of the van. It will look great and should not be too expensive. It would be a nice base for sign writing and cheaper than swapping bodies.
McCleans in Kingswood do that kind of thing.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestion! That may indeed be an option alright. I actually popped off two emails to bodybuilders looking for a price on a new body, but i guess clean sheets could be a better option. I'd be a bit worried about adding any extra weight to the van so maybe I could even replace the ones on it. I've absolutely no idea what kind of cost would be involved here, not a clue. Can't find anything about a Mcleans in Kingswood, would you have a link to a website or contact page for them or have any idea on cost for something like this?

I guess if I got two side sheets, I could just spray the tail lift and the side skirting.

galwaytt

...grp won't stay on the rivet body easily - it's usually bonded, in a press using a full contact adhesive (it doesn't come, flat, both on coils...). And it's only 1mm - 1.5mm thick, so it'll follow all the imperfections underneath.......

You could laminate it on to ply, and then mechanically fix it, but ends & sides would be kinda messy......

..how do I know this.........ah..... www.quinnrv.com

cormie

Is that your site at all galwaytt? Just had a quick look

So what would you suggest yourself? If I was to get somebody to just remove the sides that are on it already perhaps and get new sheeting on the side bits maybe?

galwaytt

...no, not my site, but I work there.

I specialise in non-vehicle panels, so I'll ask in the workshop in the a.m.

However, the issues with re-sheeting as I'd see it are the cappings - for the seamless look you're looking for, as in your samples, the sides have to be inside them (and also to seal the body). To do that to an existing body would take a lot of labour - arguably as much as making a new one. But don't go by that yet - I'll ask someone better in the a.m.

cormie

Thanks a lot! Yeah, seamless is the word I was looking for all along If you could ask the experts that would be great anyway, for a price on resheeting and maybe even a price on building a new one from scratch? Again, I've absolutely no idea what this may cost so any info appreciated

joewicklow

pm sent

R.O.R

For info, the GRP body we had built on to a Extra LWB Transit Chassis cost €7,000 ex. VAT in 2008. Standard body with a couple of lights and some load lock rails so it looks like a new body is a fairly pricey option.

cormie

Uh oh

I just had a quick google of what GRP actually is. Is it light I wonder and is it applied and then dries? Wonder would it be possible at all to apply it like skimming plasterboard? Doubtful, probably just fall straight off

galwaytt

cormie wrote: »

Uh oh

I just had a quick google of what GRP actually is. Is it light I wonder and is it applied and then dries? Wonder would it be possible at all to apply it like skimming plasterboard? Doubtful, probably just fall straight off

...you're looking at the wrong GRP - that's the DIY lay-up stuff, for repairs and boats, moulds, etc.

What we use comes as a rigid pre-finished material, there's no goo involved ! - you'd never get it flat, anyway !

like, for these:










anyhoo, back to your question, cost to re-work would be prohibitive, I'm told. A new body, without lift, would be in region of 7900+ VAT.

cormie

Thanks for getting back to me, yup, that's way out of budget, sure I'd get a newer one than my own for that

Maybe just putting a big sheet over the existing body is the best option so

cormie

After looking into this a bit more it seems that to build a new body is way out of budget and also to put new sides on isn't really feasible either.

So it's either going to be a case of swapping with somebody and paying a bit extra, or just looking for a new one and sell mine on.

Should have really taken into consideration the condition when I bought the one I'm trying to swap now

Mr CJ

Hi did you sell it or have you still got it? I am looking to buy one!

cormie

Sold it a few months ago yup. Was it you who started a thread looking for a box van and were told to search for "luton"? Well luton and box vans are different, the luton part is the bit above the cab, box bodies are a lot more common. I had to go to the UK for BOTH of my luton body transits after a good month or so searching Ireland for each before heading over. This is about a year apart too so it's not like I was looking to buy 2 at the one time.

Mr CJ

Yes that was me! There very hard to find, i really am not fussy I just need a large van with a tail lift, i thought I would not have any problems finding one on todays market but have no luck so far

cormie

The first one I needed to be a certain length etc so had a hard time finding a suitable one, the 2nd one I was even more fussy, it had to be pristine without a scratch. But I was honestly looking for over a month for each one, on ebay every day checking out the UK ones and on the Irish websites aswell but anything there was way overpriced compared to the UK.

Do bare in mind, if you go the UK route, it will be charged "Freight" rate on the ferry, which is a good deal more expensive than a normal LWB High Roof transit, which are pricey enough as is. Do bear in mind, between flying over, driving back, going to VRT office, getting it weighed, giving it into DOE, passing DOE (a bit more strict than MOT as far as I know) you'll be needing about a week to do all that (if it passes first go that is!).

If you can buy here, do. Do you mind me asking what you will be using it for? If you simply need a box van with a tail lift, change your search keyword from Luton (very rare) to something simple like "Tail". Anything with a tail lift will usually be advertised as having one.

Had a quick look and there's a few there alright. Try donedeal.ie, adverts.ie, gumtree.ie, and autotrader.ie. Failing that, head to ebay!

What kind of usage will it get and what's your budget?

Mr CJ

Thanks for that, thats exactly how I was searching just putting in tail lift but there either to expensive or junk or cannot get through to the person selling

Just using it for moving shelving units