Fearing the Unknown

The hardest thing about restoration in my opinion is the unknown. I suppose that's why I moved so quickly to tear Victoria apart. I wanted to know what I had. For me the unknown is a function of two things; 1) knowledge that another J van being nearby is unlikely and 2) a limited budget. That's also why this weekend was so demoralizing. The roof was cleaned up nicely, as I had hoped it would be. But on Saturday I used my screw driver to explore with small hole in the body just above the front windshield (where the inner and outer pieces of metal join together ). I had pretty much figured out that I knew the whole extend of Victoria's metalwork needs. When I wiggled the screwdriver around the hole, it starting getting bigger and bigger and extending. Before long, it was pretty much the length of the entire windshield. Both sides. On its own, this wouldn't have bothered me. But on Friday I learned of a more complete van in a field in Saskatchewan, about 3,000 KM away. In short, I spent the whole day kinda assessing my situation and wondering if Victoria was a worthwhile cause. No engine or gear box, no instrument cluster, no original seat, no pocket door covers; all the engine structural elements missing, no engine cowl -- it's a bit of a mammoth undertaking and there's no local experts.