Magic dissolving Fiat/Peugeot cab - - -

I fully sympathize with you Andrew having had the same issues with our Duetto. When we bought it there were no advisories on the past MOTs because the rust was not structural up to that time. After a couple of years of travels here and on the continent a stone chip followed by a cracked windscreen revealed rust in one door pillar.
Being an older Transit I exspected rust issues but it was heartbreaking to see what the body shop showed me. I have owned cars within my budget that came with rust in the past and that didn’t really matter but I found the rust issues in the Duetto harder to swallow.

i am searching for a new good executive so know what you are saying(i have spent a lot of time on my back under supposed rust free models!
My favourite was a 2001 with a galvanised chassis.
I am of the opinion that the quality slowly reduces(fabrics , cabinetry etc) from then going forward ,and why they stopped putting  
a galvanised chassis i don't know.
Autosleepers are legendary for quality but it does feel like they took some unfortunate cost cutting decisions at times.

So guys if anyone knows of a very clean fairly priced executive X reg onward please let me know. I want one that will last me out.
Thanks

Shaun

I've never seen or heard of AS using galvanised chassis on any model.

Hi Paul
You rant the first to say that, i owned one for 15 years and was surprised to find it wasn't galvanised on newer ones.
Mine was a 2001 on a y .
Do you think it wast standard ever ?
I think mine was from the days when they imported the cabs back to back with a short chassis they removed ?

ps it didn't stop the cab rusting

On a couple of 'few years old' motorhomes I have owned I have jacked it right up as high as I could, and got underneath and sprayed warmed waxoyl into all the sills and chassis members. If you gently warm a tin of waxoyl on the lowest heat in your kitchen (having encouraged wifey to go and do some shopping) it will go all runny. You can then pour it into one of those £10 - £20 garden sprayers with a lance and squirt it all over the chassis and your face, arms and clothes and the driveway - unless you put down a tarpaulin or old sheets.
Neither you nor the vehicle will go rusty. It will take you two weeks of washing yourself in petrol to get it off. . . . . .. but if you are going to keep the vehicle long term, or if you have bought one that's say 5 years old and not yet rusty, it's well worth doing.
I have noticed that on new -ish Transits, and Mercedes chassis they have some rust proofing stuff emerging from the chassis holes, which is a good sign.

And Andrew @andydiamond think of it this way: £1200 was well spent. It would cost you £10,000 to change it at a dealer for the same make and model and year, about the same to change the clutch, and as my granddaughter has just found out, if you were caught driving without insurance even though you had paid for insurance and were certain that you were insured and the insurance company cancelled it without telling you. Plus any pending Police prosecutions.

Shaun , What model was it that was galvanised,  was it the executive on your profile?

it was a 2001 executive on a y plate . Four birth . it is still local, would try to buy it back but fear it may have cab rust and i want a bigger engine (it was 2.5 without turbo). Also i am o c d with covering seats and keeping everything tip top and i think it would upset me if it had been let deteriorate . Mad isn't it

I really don't know how your Executive was galvanised,  googling only shows that all Sevel vans/chassis were galvanised from 2007. You could of course go for the 50th anniversary Executive built in 2010/2011 . These command big money , usually around the £40k mark although there is one in Fife for sale on Facebook for £35k.

I am starting to wonder if it was a special, maybe an option on 40year anniversary ? as most people are surprised and it would explain the difficulty i am having finding another. I must take a pic if i pass it to show people (it is local ) . As i said owned it for 15 years and was hands on so knew it inside out.
I looked at the 50th anniversary but was a bit disappointed. Powder coated ladder and roof rails and i like the old real wooden cabinets and the seat material that would be tough enough for a coach that we used to expect.
A van that can last indefinitely is my ideal (with careful use and very good maintenance of coarse).

SHAUN

I would recommend anyone owning, or thinking of buying a van with a Fiat cab over 10-15 years old, to get it on a ramp and have a VERY close look at the inner sills before purchase or mot - - -  or is it a case of \"They all do that sir" ? wrote:...with a bit of extra thought/effort at the factory, this would never have happened in the first place!!

Unfortunately they all do rust.  Our motorhomes are based on light commercial vehicles, designed for a life that is nasty, brutish and short. And made down to a price too, so no extras such as rustpoofing.  It's a pity the converters (Auto-Sleeper) didn't spend a bit more on rust proofing the base vehicles as they must have been aware that most motorhomes are kept for many years and avoiding rust would be a good sales pitch. But perhaps the initial purchasers of motorhomes don't plan on keeping them for more that two or three years, so they wouldn't be bothered about paying for rust proofing either.

Planned obsolescence at work. Longevity = reduced sales.

My understanding is that , back in the day , auto sleepers claimed to have a better paint job with extra layers to aid longevity but i seem to remember them changing hands.
Was that the start of cheaper materials and cost cutting over quality ??
Maybe someone with a better memory could enlighten us

executiveshaun wrote:My understanding is that , back in the day , auto sleepers claimed to have a better paint job with extra layers to aid longevity but i seem to remember them changing hands.
Was that the start of cheaper materials and cost cutting over quality ??
Maybe someone with a better memory could enlighten us

I don't remember AS claiming a better paint job. Certainly their Boxer-based vans suffered the same peeling paint as all the other Peugeot Boxers of the same vintage.

I do remember the claim but not who made it,ie it could of been a salesman stretching the truth but my interest in auto-sleepers is 30 plus years old and that was one fact (or so i believed )that drew me to them ,
It would be a shame if it turned out to be not true.
I do find that it is hard for the average man to research anything pre google.There seems to be a view that if google can't find it then it doesn't exist !
 Does anyone else have any recollections ?
Shaun

My research  over the last 18 months, is AS chassis came from Peugeot without protection. 
Often many months standing in a field. Certainly applies to vans up to 2005 that i have see.
A few were under sealed by owners.
those are the ones to look for.
 When i bought a Fiat 124S in Malta  1972 ,the first thing i did was get it under sealed.!

My under sealed  from new Symphony arrives tomorrow.

Micky

That still leaves me with an auto sleeper executive that i owned for 15 years that had a galvanised chassis . i know they imported the cabs back to back with a short chassis joining them . This was to reduce import costs at that time . The short chassis was removed and a full chassis fixed higher up. Now how mine was galvanised and others not is a question i wish someone could answer then i can switch off that subject. 
Anyone ??
Shaun

If it makes you feel better, last I year spent nearly £2,000 on my amethyst,1996 year,inner and outer wings,paint and coachline..but after eight years of ownership I am so impressed with the Quality of the rest of the vehicle,  it  has  been very good value ,especially compared to other makes,so definitely worth the investment , and yes, now have shares in waxiol. the lesson for me is if the outer wing are starting to rot, chances are the inner wings are in need of attention as well..


j.c.