1968 viva-ha "Roma"**more welding!!**

[Deleted]

Well.. theres been a new arrival at my place and seeing as its time there was another EPIC rustathon welding session type thread on here I present to you....

The Roma !

Hasn't turned a wheel under its own steam since some time in 2000 an has sat quietly in a yard ever since sadly with no protection from the elements..











its pretty much complete bar the missing metalwork though, will get some inside pictures when I manage to get home from work and its light.. but inside it features a cooker ! small rock an roll bed (that opens into the bottom hinging tailgate) flip top for headroom, sink wardrobe, infact an amazing amount of stuff considering its in a Bedford HA van..

watch this space as I uncover rust of epic proportions (chassis rails? what are they???)

[Seth]

Eek! That looks like its gonna need some dedication!

Look forward to seeing some photos of the interior packaging.

[Deleted]

now for some inside pics.. (found the camera with a flash)













did I mention the rust?









roll on the warmer weather..

[Neil]

previous occupant a stoodent?! lol

[Deleted]

sadly its just sat and decayed, iv sourced some front chassis rail curved bits an the rest is all pretty much flat bar the rear arches.. but think i've found some of them off a donor vehicle now as well

[Steve]

Crikey....thats gonna need some major attention!

Good luck chap
Steve

[Deleted]

I'm determined to give it a good go before I resort to finding another Ha for all the camping gear to go into...

[BenzBoy]

That both amazes and terrifies me! ;D Best of luck chopping the grot out, it deserves another chance to hit the road! Can't be many of those left?

[jrevillug]

Best of luck finding something to weld new metal onto!

That is truly an Heroic undertaking - which I'll be keeping an eye on.

[Deleted]

I got a listing from the dormobile club in the paperwork folder that came with it and in 1999 they had 4 on the club membership. . . I know in 1995 I had a bedford beagle (same but not a camper) and was told it was one of the last twenty.. so could be well into single figures by now..

strangely.. when you poke back from the grot it goes solid quite quickly.. theres floor under the seats that looks like new still... I'm guessing water pooled in the van (maybe parked leaning forward) at some point in its life and it started the tinworm in the front pans and rails.. the rear rails are in really good condition, engine is 1159cc and still spins (not on the starter sadly).. but I'm scared to start it incase it falls out PMSL

[grizz]

Holly crappola ! That is going to be a lot of work.
Good luck mate.
Will be watrching from the side.

[Colonelk]

holy cow! good luck with the welding

[Seth]

That's gonna take some work

Like the way the bad comes out though

[Deleted]

yeah its awsome.. its like a tiny rock n roll bed . . an the cooker that swings out of the wall into the position its in in the pics lol.. theres a lot of thought gone into it..

it will roll again...

[cyd]

Got to admit - it grew on me as it peered through my back window from the trailer !

I reckon you'll do fine....
You looked soooo confident on Sunday (not)

J

[Oldbus]

Great stuff, what a save!!

Looking forward to a massive weldathon thread ;D

Brave man..........

[will]

Good stuff, well worth the effort

[spiny]

loving this

[leigh]

That's got layby sex written ALL over it! If this van's a rockin'....

[DutyFreeSaviour]

that is an undertaking of carzily dedicated proportions fella. If my Trump had looked like that (insteadof hiding it) I'd have run a mile!

Good to see you're ready to go all in....... good luck!