Hi,sorry i could'nt watch all the way through.I am 69 and remember my father borrowing this type of van and taking us on picknicks back in late 50's and early 1960's...they are happy childhood memories ...thanks !!
Thankyou for this footage. In 1972, during the final four months of my Navy time, I drove the Pusser's version of this, The Tilly. Handled like a pig on three legs; slightly more relaxing to drive than a bed of nails, and with it's power potential of a rabid cockroach, to say nothing of it's column gearchange, an absolute joy to live with. (!!). A 35 ft twin Thorneycroft seagoing cruiser a few years later was a doddle. Bob.
What a lovely van you have there, the headlight as I remember were operated by a switch which had a thermal overload, The van drove in the 70s would shut the lights of at the most inconvenient time. The door was memorable as you could keep it open but if the strap wasn't secured a loud thud followed any braking. The gearshift was so sloppy the dipping the clutch in second made the lever fall into third. The van was nippy and held the road well enough but tracking never stayed true. Trick (hack) to help a clutch, soak it in Coke Cola (phosphoric acid) and operate the pedal to get the coke in the lining, they were known for slipping from fork sticking. but you have sorted that now. Put a bit of Vaseline on any Lucas connections especially to the lights which probably only have 10 volts fixed by running a fused lead from the battery to a relay thats operated from original lamp circuit, should give you 20% more light and makes a hell of a difference. Asbestos in brake and Clutch lining is not in a hazardous form but be clean and sensible. The larger fibre used in insulation matting etc has the hooked fibre that stays in the lung. I to think it is still a good material. I know you are not happy about a few "bodges" but you now have a lovely van and many hours of fiddling, what more does a chap need it has been a nice trip down memory lane for a number of us in the comments.
I followed the video series of the van's "restoration" by a previous owner/restorer and I remember thinking at the time that they are taking short-cuts and not doing a particularly thorough job and yet they portrayed themselves as the CA specialists. My own experience of specialist restorers (I am thinking of Le Riche Automobiles) is that they really aren't, lack attention to detail and only in it to make money with the least effort possible, or conceal their mistakes, as I have found myself! Watching them doing work on vehicles without proper PPE, welding & using angle grinders, really shows their attitude, I was particularly concerned as the father was allowing his young son to use tools that are potentially dangerous if used incorrectly and thinking if that boy has an accident and loses an eye, what sort of father are you? Everything you are doing should improve the vehicle no end, well done & thanks for sharing.
I always prefer original, 'untouched' vehicles, but I thought that this one would be OK given the bodywork, in spite of a few mechanical issues. Alas, it has been more work than I envisaged, but I am nearly there with it.
Shame you had to put so many things right on this so called restoration, but you are the man for the job and we get to see the reality of purchasing a restored classic.
I've been obsessed with van's with sliding doors since I was a kid Just think they look great with the door slide back I've had 3 ca Bedford a Morris LD And have a MK1 transit with twin sliding doors Shown on my channel if you fancy a look
Loved your opening shot with the mist and everything. Any idea what those two concrete ‘gables’ on the ground are that you drive through? Just wondered. Thanks again really enjoy your channel. 👍
It was a top-secret location. There was once a narrow-gauge railway where I am driving, as this was once a Royal Ordnance site where munitions were stored during the war. The concrete walls originally had earth embankments built up to them, and are staggered to minimise blast damage in the event of an accident.
Thanks for that. Never would have guessed right answer. Now I'm wondering if they ran one of those odd locomotives with no firebox! First couple of seconds you look like you're getting ready for the great train robbery ......
Hi,sorry i could'nt watch all the way through.I am 69 and remember my father borrowing this type of van and taking us on picknicks back in late 50's and early 1960's...they are happy childhood memories ...thanks !!
It ends well so your off the hook. Best
Thankyou for this footage.
In 1972, during the final four months of my Navy time, I drove the Pusser's version of this, The Tilly.
Handled like a pig on three legs; slightly more relaxing to drive than a bed of nails, and with it's power potential of a rabid cockroach, to say nothing of it's column gearchange, an absolute joy to live with. (!!).
A 35 ft twin Thorneycroft seagoing cruiser a few years later was a doddle.
Bob.
I remember "The Tilly Van" HMS Raleigh many moons ago, the aroma of petrol and fumes did not help the already thick head ?. Ro2G
What a beautiful old van well looked after too I would be proud to have one here in Australia Sir love it.
What a lovely van you have there, the headlight as I remember were operated by a switch which had a thermal overload, The van drove in the 70s would shut the lights of at the most inconvenient time. The door was memorable as you could keep it open but if the strap wasn't secured a loud thud followed any braking. The gearshift was so sloppy the dipping the clutch in second made the lever fall into third. The van was nippy and held the road well enough but tracking never stayed true.
Trick (hack) to help a clutch, soak it in Coke Cola (phosphoric acid) and operate the pedal to get the coke in the lining, they were known for slipping from fork sticking. but you have sorted that now. Put a bit of Vaseline on any Lucas connections especially to the lights which probably only have 10 volts fixed by running a fused lead from the battery to a relay thats operated from original lamp circuit, should give you 20% more light and makes a hell of a difference.
Asbestos in brake and Clutch lining is not in a hazardous form but be clean and sensible. The larger fibre used in insulation matting etc has the hooked fibre that stays in the lung. I to think it is still a good material. I know you are not happy about a few "bodges" but you now have a lovely van and many hours of fiddling, what more does a chap need it has been a nice trip down memory lane for a number of us in the comments.
Thanks for your comment, I always like hearing from people who experienced these vehicles when they were current.
I followed the video series of the van's "restoration" by a previous owner/restorer and I remember thinking at the time that they are taking short-cuts and not doing a particularly thorough job and yet they portrayed themselves as the CA specialists. My own experience of specialist restorers (I am thinking of Le Riche Automobiles) is that they really aren't, lack attention to detail and only in it to make money with the least effort possible, or conceal their mistakes, as I have found myself!
Watching them doing work on vehicles without proper PPE, welding & using angle grinders, really shows their attitude, I was particularly concerned as the father was allowing his young son to use tools that are potentially dangerous if used incorrectly and thinking if that boy has an accident and loses an eye, what sort of father are you?
Everything you are doing should improve the vehicle no end, well done & thanks for sharing.
I always prefer original, 'untouched' vehicles, but I thought that this one would be OK given the bodywork, in spite of a few mechanical issues. Alas, it has been more work than I envisaged, but I am nearly there with it.
Shame you had to put so many things right on this so called restoration, but you are the man for the job and we get to see the reality of purchasing a restored classic.
It has been rather more work than I bargained for, but there is a good van under there. Cheers!
Wonderful work on the Bedford, looks a lovely charming thing. Great to see it getting well looked after. How’s the rest of the fleet?
when I were a lad, my dad had a Pontiac GTO 66-67 the guy across the road had one of these vans, i thought it was the best van I'd ever seen.
I've been obsessed with van's with sliding doors since I was a kid
Just think they look great with the door slide back
I've had 3 ca Bedford a Morris LD
And have a MK1 transit with twin sliding doors
Shown on my channel if you fancy a look
Interesting - cheers!
Loved your opening shot with the mist and everything. Any idea what those two concrete ‘gables’ on the ground are that you drive through? Just wondered. Thanks again really enjoy your channel. 👍
It was a top-secret location. There was once a narrow-gauge railway where I am driving, as this was once a Royal Ordnance site where munitions were stored during the war. The concrete walls originally had earth embankments built up to them, and are staggered to minimise blast damage in the event of an accident.
Thanks for that. Never would have guessed right answer. Now I'm wondering if they ran one of those odd locomotives with no firebox! First couple of seconds you look like you're getting ready for the great train robbery ......
Your steering wheel and pedals are on the wrong side for some reason, when will you fix that?
You can't beat a Bedford