My new van!!

[la toilette]

Here are a few pics of my 'new' Morris van, which will be my daily ride and advertising tool (when I get the writing done)! I may have to put in a serious sound system just to drown out the extreme engine/gearbox noise .

Cool eh!?

 

[Dev]

Yes it is.

 

[Andy 831]

Nice Van, Easy repairs, but watch the brakes in modern traffic LOL

 

[mr cat]

thats just fab..!!

 

[DavidF]

nice one....

I remember my uncle used to have a split screen one......+the posties use to use the vans when I was a kid.....takes me back.

 

[auric]

AA & RAC - belt and braces but a good idea considering the age of the van.

 

[IndyAudi]

IIRC the original side valve was 27.5 bhp output, the split screen 803cc OHV was 34 bhp and the powerful 'Moggie thou' was near 40 bhp or about the same as Dev's starter motor

 

[la toilette]

This van had been restored some years ago and has been fitted with a 1275cc engine from a Morris Marina (ha ha), and disc brakes on the front. Obviously it's still very slow, but slightly better than the 1000 and not too bad until you get to a hill! Starts very well even on damp cold mornings, and attracts a bit of attention from a suprisingly large number of people.

The AA and RAC bagdes came with the van, as well as four boxes of spare parts!

 

[felix]

Just one thing with Minors - be religious with applying the greasegun to the front suspension.

The uprights turn in the threads in the 'trunnions' to steer, and without the very frequent greasing these will wear - the penalty being the separation of the upright from the lower (sprung) arm, followed by lots of swearing as the front of the van hits the deck...

Other than that - just enjoy. Smile as the world goes past you, these are very endearing cars.

 

[penance]

Gurt lush.

 

[lordsummit]

Darn, someone beat me to the Trunions. Every 1000 miles ram some grease in. They're a bugger to replace, I know I did one!

 

[amazingtrade]

So what you have is a Marina van considering the Marina was based on the Minor.

My dad used to have a G reg one in the late 70's, his was a apparantly a compelte rust bucket though. Yours looks nice and tidy.

 

[la toilette]

Cheers for the tips about the trunnions etc. (sounds like a medical term!). I've got the original manual which lists all the places to stick the old grease gun. The guy who used to own it only did about 200 miles a year, and I think he had it serviced 2 or 3 times in 6 years, but I think I'll run through the full service including all lubrication points in the next few weekends as it's probably due some extra tlc.

It's great to potter around in, just makes you smile, it even smells great, just like every Minor I've ever been in. There are a few places where rust is beginning to bubble up, especially around the roof gutter and rear arches, but somehow I think I'm not going to have much trouble motivating myself to sort it out, I have an overwhelming urge to lavish lots of time and effort on it .

P.S. AT, I saw a pic of a Marina van somewhere on the web when I was looking for vintage vans, and I have to admit that I thought it would be quite interesting to have one - probably super-rare though for obvious reasons!

 

[felix]

t's great to potter around in, just makes you smile, it even smells great, just like every Minor I've ever been in.

That's it exactly! My parents ran a Series 2 (803cc sewing machine) for 9 years while I was growing-up, and going anywhere always had a sense of occasion First major bit of mechanical twiddling I accomplished was changing the water pump on my own age 13, loved it. XPD483, where are you now....

 

[rodrat]

I remember as kids, my dad would borrow a moggy van each Christrmas for the drive from kent to Cheshire to stay with the grandparents. We would sleep in the back. In those days it took about 3 months to make the journey as the M1 hadn't been built.

Rod

 

[amazingtrade]

That's it exactly! My parents ran a Series 2 (803cc sewing machine) for 9 years while I was growing-up, and going anywhere always had a sense of occasion First major bit of mechanical twiddling I accomplished was changing the water pump on my own age 13, loved it. XPD483, where are you now....

You might be quite shocked to learn this, but that car is still on the road

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/vehiclechecks/status_checks/

How long ago was it when your parents had it?

 

[amazingtrade]

Edit that one was the wrong thing, it wants you to pay £20 or whatever to tell you the vehicle is crapped.

This is the free one you need to use and sadly your old parents car has been scrapped.

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/vehiclechecks/dvla_lookup/

 

[Bob McC]

you have to pay at that link also.

 

[amazingtrade]

you have to pay at that link also.

You don't, it tells you the make, model, colour and previous owners for free

 

[IndyAudi]

You don't, it tells you the make, model, colour and previous owners for free

This is interesting but most just give me a 'Sorry, no matching registration' with my old motorcycles, mind,the last one Swansea asked for a Tax Disc for proof of ownership in the early '80's and it was last taxed in February 1966 a 'Dommi 99'

PS I've found one, it's JEF 1 which was on a 'Jimmy Captain' which I sold for 15 quid a while back and the registration is now on a '03 V70 Volvo estate.