Foster & Day -- getting it back on the road

if "syncro" means it's got syncromesh, then: yup

i'm TRYING to get some pictures up, but photobucket's not playing nice. 
you can see them here: http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss54/DD_brick-yard/

hi all

i'm after tips for getting my old Foster & Day back on the road.  short wheelbase, same length overall as a car, perfectly designed for traffic convenience.  coachbuilt 1988 on top of a VW Transporter TD4 rhd.  according to an old post somewhere on this forum, it's one of only 17 built, so i'd like to do right by her.  she took me on an absolutely spectacular Lap around the Baltic Sea when i first bought her.  (woke up parked in a bouncy castle in finland, once;  and had a MAJOR snowstorm+wind slide to 45° at 50mph for 100yards or more (recovered on-the-fly and motored on) a week later)

but she's been sitting off-road for several years (long sad story).

and now i need her OFF my mate's driveway, so that his long-suffering wife can have the family home all lovely and shiny and presentable for when all her rellies roll up en-masse for their eldest son's confirmation in June.
yeah, a couple of weeks away...

2 things to fix:
1. mechanicals:  get her running again and roadworthy.  engine service, new brakes (pads? calipers?).
2. cosmetic/body-repair:  an oddly protruding metal strut from a polish petrol station pulled a bit of the top trim & body work out.  not monstrous (still watertight!) but probably needs the front part of the roof being replaced.  plus some miscellanies, like fixing the door that got screwdrivered open by a ratbag druggie in Tallinn, Estonia

so
first things first:

she's in Croydon, south london.
anyone know of:
a/ a good mechanic nearby-ish that could sort her out?  
and/or
b/ a good mechanic ANYWHERE that i can more-expensively truck her to?

i can recommend Bridport Mechanicals (iirc) on the south coast -- they are old skool mechanics who sort ANYTHING.  when my newlybought Morris Oxford (Series III, 1957) blew a brake cylinder nearby on the trip back from Cornwall to Hampshire, they impressed the trousers off me for sheer professionalism.  workshop had everything from new bmw's with laptops hung off them to an ancient custom-built campervan with bits of the engine stuck on with ducttape.  and they were all over my old beast with real enthusiasm and real knowledge.

but bridport's a hell of a truck-back journey from croydon.  i'm thinking probable £££....

anyone got any suggestions?

(i have some photos -- i'll upload them once i've got permission (asked for from Tee3), or else try to find a 3rdparty site i can stick them on/link to)

cheers and hope you can help
DD