Model: Leyland Van from Austin Morris (Sherpa) Autosleeper
Year: 1975
Mileage: 95313
Tax: end June 2011
MOT: early July 2011
Location: Edinburgh
Price: £1300
Additional Information:
It's with a heavy heart that I have decided to sell our camper van. We have owned it since July 2010 and since then it has been in weekly use and has been taken on several trips the last two this month.
You are looking at a 1975, British Leyland Sherpa 240 Deluxe converted by Autosleeper.
First off – the van
Sherpa vans are much maligned but have some major plus points. First off, the parts are all from the BMC parts bin...the engine is a 1.8lt 'B' Series, as found in the MBG and that legend of British Motorcars, the Morris Marina. The door handles are off a Mini, the steering wheel off an Austin 2200 (when did you last see one of those!)...ok there are some hard to get bits – panels for instance but on the whole these are tough and pretty reliable vehicles IF cared for.
Some background on the vehicle may or may not float your boat.
Anyway, to paraphrase the excelent www.aronline.co.uk and with thanks to that site :
By the late 1960's BLMC (British Leyland Motor Company's) offerings in the light commercial sector were becoming rather stale. The much J4 van was looking decidedly prehistoric and delivery drivers, policement and posties everywhere cursed the JU vans that were the alternate offering. BLMC was taking a right shafting in the market as the more modern Ford Transit and Bedford CF Vans were snapped up. The only van the J4 and JU had a chance to compete with was the equally dated Commer.
Therefore, to address this issue BL headhunted Stan Dews, one of the leading lights at Ford who ad been critical in the development of the Transit Van to look at producing a new mdel that coulde compete with Ford. You can imagine Stan's shock when he was tld by the board that his deveopment budget was essentially, a couple of old shoelaces, a button and a bit of old chewing gum....oh and also a large parts box of BL bits from their other cars and vans.....from this he was to create a LCV that could lock horns commercially with the titans of the road – the Transit and the Bedford CF! When you consider the challenge it is quite amazing that he was to produce an LCV that effectively cornered the budget LCV market until LDV finally went out of business in 2008. One of the reasons for the success was the ladder chassis design. Whereas the competitors had modern new fangled monocoque designs and other such outrageous non-British ideas Stan realised that if the Sherpa was to have a chance it had to be adaptable...a ladder chassis meant that it was and could come in a number of formats not avaliable to the competitors – tippers, crew cabs, beaver tails etc.
There then came some debate as what the van should look like....Dews, being a Ford man was conscious that the Transit was successful because it looked and handled like a car of the period when most LCVs looked like the styling had been an afterthought...he understood the critical importance of getting this right, unfortunately he was told to “shut up†and “as long as it bloody works it can look like whatever†and “not to be such a shandy drinking half pint nancy boy†(this was the early 70's and the management of BL were somewhat....old school..) Stan knew when he was beat and tried his best to influe4nce the design somewhat and what he ended up with was a part of Britian on weels for the next 40 years. The panels were mostly nicked from the old J4 but it was the snout that received the most attention. The J4/VW Type 2/Commer/ flat front vans of the 50's and 60's were becoming unfashionable as folk woke up to the fact that perhaps road saftey should be cosidered and havinf the knees of the driver and front passengers just behind a thin metal sheet might not be such a good idea. (a thought you should bear in mind if considering a classic VW Type 2 Campervan).
The Sherpa soon developed a reputation of, despite being a bit dated to drive, toughness, and commercial success. Despite a development budget of only £3million it resulted in an sales uplift of 14% for BMC's LCV division. In 1.8lt B Series Petrol form, they had heaps of low down torque thanks to a low geared box – tree stump uprooting in 1st gear is a handy gardening tool extra!
All wasn't that rosy though. The suspension is medeavil – literally – cart springs fore and aft. The steering is 1950's and vague. The gearbox requires a prayer to whatever gods you might believe in before selection and at speed the ride well.. what do you think! At speed it tests every sinew of your ability as a driver. When I first got this van I considered myself a good driver – until I realised that it was the ABS, Macpherson Struts, EFI, power steering of my car that made me think that I was a good driver – take all those things away and you are lef with a vehicle that requires to be 'operated' rather than driven.
This particular van is a very early model and is actually not a Sherpa at all but “The new Leyland Van from Austin Morris†as the marketing guys at BL jauntily named it – until, of course, they realised that 'Sherpa' was more catchy and changed it. The van should have a silver painted grill as it is an early one, but at some point this has been replaced with a later black grill from a Freight Rover (a late 80's Sherpa).
As an early van it comes with the original 1.8 lt 'B' Series petrol engine with a 4 speed box – no overdrive on this one. It returns surprisingly good MPGs I get around 30-34mpg on a run which when you consider the weight of the vehicle, is not to bad at all. In 1976 they replaced the engine with the improved OHC 'O' Series – however, despite being a dated pushrod design the B series is a bit easier to run as parts availability is excellent through the MGB specialists whereas the O series has all but disappeared.
The exhaust is the side exit pattern, Autosleeper didn't want a rear exit exhaust for campers to burn their ankles on getting in and out of the van. This version, common with the police ones – is flippin noisy. When I first got the van I thought it was blowing I took it to the specialists who said “nope that's what all the side ones sounded likeâ€. On top of the tappet racket form the B Series (perfectly normal behaviour from this type of engine) the eperience is.....industrial.
Mechanically this van is in reasonable nick:
The suspension and king pins are all sound (kingpins need gearing every 1000 miles as replacing them is a pig).
A reconned steering box
new brake pipes and pads last year
a pisspoor respray 3 years ago
newish exhaust
new thermostat
recent plugs leads etc
I have not fitted but will throw in – electronic ignition from accuspark
not so good bits
the engine will eventually need a top end rebuild – it has done 95000 odd miles and still pulls well but a number of overheating problems (cause before my ownership) together with general wear and tear mean that it is not as powerful as it once was but still perfectly uselable and reliable,.
- the cause of the overheating was a knackerd radiator – about 40% of the core fins are missing. Now sourcing another of these is tricky and if you can find one expect to pay £120. I would recommend a recore at around £40 and if you plan to spend Bank Holiday Mondays sitting in a jam on the M6 then I would suggest fitting a Kenlowe fan. I did have some HG issues earlier this year – van still worked fine but was losing power – I dropped in a bottle of K-Seal and all is fine now – the HG can wait until a top end rebuild....as you are unlikely to be doing more than a couple of thousand miles a year in this (you wouldn't want to do more) then it's probably good for another 10 years!
The wheels on these early Sherpas are the same as the Austin 1800 (Landcrab) and therefore easy to source – just remember to fit van tyres as car ones won't take the weight.
Driving this vehicle
Caveat! Do not, under ANY circumstances equate driving a 40 year old commercial vehicle with driving a modern car – there is NOTHING in common at all. The van has a suspension system invented in the 1600's and the steering is a nasty un-powered screw and worm box. Add to this the several hundredweight of plywood and metal at roof level (the pop top) and the whole thing can become a bit of a handful...add the hit and pray gear box which, despite synchromesh does require a degree of rev matching and you will find your skills as a driver tested....However, if you are used to classic cars then it's not that bad really. You get a good upper body workout with the steering and you'll also remember the 'reverse lock technique' when parking and doing 3 point turns. Max speed in this thing is 75mph but that is downhill with the wind behind you and requires courage! More often than not you will be pootling along at 50-60mph.
Whilst we are on the subject, a trap many fall into when falling in love with the idea of a camper van is. To think too much about wooly jumpers, cups of cocoa like some flippin Macdonalds advert without realising that campervan ownership is akin to classic car ownership – and then some! This means that unless you have a tame local mechanic/welder who charges you reasonably – or are prepared to learn and get oily, if you are not already technically savvy – then REALLY think about this. Old vehicles need constant maintenance, there is always a myriad of small jobs to do to the mechanics or bodywork and these jobs will never stop.
So – on to the bodywork:
Sherpa vans were made of steel that had the durability in water of an effervescent vitamin tablet This is why they are rare....fortunately, Autosleeper Ltd rustproofed their conversion vehicles so on the whole this van has stood up pretty well. It does need constant felling and there are a list of jogs that need doing:
1/ The passenger side step needs replaced – it is still in one piece but I doubt it will survive next winter
2/ There are small amounts of rust appearing through the paintwork – the respray 2 years ago was pisspoor – In several places I have cut the paint back, filed out the rust, treated it and painted with primer – I will give these areas a skoosh with some white paint before the van is sold.
3/ The near side front wheel arch needs treating – not too bad but it could go that way soon
4/ the van cold do with undersealing – I was going to tackle this at the end of the summer
5/ The off side back door really needs refurbished – the rusting has stopped and it looks acceptable but it should be done
6/ the roof gutter at the front is a bit 'nautical' think rust, treated and painted over like on a ship!
The offside rear corner was obviously worked on by the sprayer but he didn't do a very good job – it is either stable filler/metal but lumpy like the Elephant Man's chin or there are nasty bubbles underneath it...I suspect it is the former rather than the latter.
Moving on to the campervan itself
Autosleepers were the Rolls Royces of pop up campers of the 1970's. They are very high quality and the pop tops were the foundation of Autosleeper's modern business..
Autosleepers of this period were also BRITISH.....the pop top roof is uniquely British and remarkably cunning at keeping our weather out. Despite the seals being nearly 40 years old this roof kept out the wet during an Atlantic storm I slept though in Argyll last weekend – 70mpg gusts torrential prolonged rain....I doubt some Westphalian stripey canvas pop top would have lasted 5 minutes. The tent I had out the back was destroyed by this storm.
The van is a 4 birth – again – you can tell it's BRITISH – none of this foreign double bed nonsense Mrs Cholmondeley-Warner...hanky panky in a campervan...I don't think so. The two downstairs beds are made from the bench seats that convert into forward facing rear seats for the back passengers and the passengers and drivers seats – narrow but perceftly comforable. The roof bunks are roller bunks which stow away into oak storage shelves – they are confortable, narrow and can support 100kgs each.
There is a collapseable table which has 3 different positions, storage lockers under all seats, a sink with an electric pump and a 16 gallon fresh water tank under the van. There is a good quality 2 burner hob with grill opposite – space for two 4.5kg Butane bottles (1 supplied) stowed under floor again. There is a 2 way fridge (12v or gas) which isn't working at the moment – I have toyed with getting it fixed but have found it is very effecftive and less hassel to use 2 ice box packs which will last 50 odd hours and keep your perishables nice and cool. The pump, 12V lighting and 12V rear 2 pin plug are powered from a 70amp leisure battery that runs on a split charging system under the bonnet. This provides adequate electricity for several nights when away from a mains hook up. There is a 240V mains hookup system with a 25 metre cable supplied and an adapter for a 3 pin plug. The fuse box, hook up and plug socket are all recent additions. Additional 240V lighting runs off this.
Up front the only changes to the original spec are a 12V fag lighter running off the car battery and a good quality Kenwood CD player with USB and 3mm Jack for MP3 players – 2 decent aftermarket speakers are mounted in the door wells – the stereo is powerful and needs to be to be heard over the engine!
Storage – in additoin to the under seat space there is a wardrobe, cupboard with shelves and undersink space with cutouts so your crockery doesn't destroy itself. All units are hand made in oak.
Glass sliding windows all round and two glass windows in the roof make it a light and airy place to be – when the curtains are drawn it becomes a cosy place.
I'm throwing in a levelling kit, the hook up, gas bottle, and a halogen electic safety fire which can run off the 240 Volt when hooked up. In addition are two hurricane lamps which give a softer light.
It will break the kids' hearts to sell this van but they are a little bit too small for it and, the challenge with fitting rear belts means that it is probably more suitable for a couple than a family with small kids.
Why should you buy this – well it is a good entry level into the world of the classic camper. It is distinct and reliable and pretty simple mechanically when compared to some of the continental offerings and you don't have to pay the 'trend' tax which the VW vans tend to carry.
This van has changed hands 3 times in the last 5 years but under our ownership it has started to be used for what it was designed for.
The van is in Edinburgh
MOT is until early July 2011
Tax until the end of June 20011
Insurance is about £400 per annum based on 2 drivers – classic campervan insurance
These first 5 photos were taken last weekend on a trip to Argyll for 2 nights
Year: 1975
Mileage: 95313
Tax: end June 2011
MOT: early July 2011
Location: Edinburgh
Price: £1300
Additional Information:
It's with a heavy heart that I have decided to sell our camper van. We have owned it since July 2010 and since then it has been in weekly use and has been taken on several trips the last two this month.
You are looking at a 1975, British Leyland Sherpa 240 Deluxe converted by Autosleeper.
First off – the van
Sherpa vans are much maligned but have some major plus points. First off, the parts are all from the BMC parts bin...the engine is a 1.8lt 'B' Series, as found in the MBG and that legend of British Motorcars, the Morris Marina. The door handles are off a Mini, the steering wheel off an Austin 2200 (when did you last see one of those!)...ok there are some hard to get bits – panels for instance but on the whole these are tough and pretty reliable vehicles IF cared for.
Some background on the vehicle may or may not float your boat.
Anyway, to paraphrase the excelent www.aronline.co.uk and with thanks to that site :
By the late 1960's BLMC (British Leyland Motor Company's) offerings in the light commercial sector were becoming rather stale. The much J4 van was looking decidedly prehistoric and delivery drivers, policement and posties everywhere cursed the JU vans that were the alternate offering. BLMC was taking a right shafting in the market as the more modern Ford Transit and Bedford CF Vans were snapped up. The only van the J4 and JU had a chance to compete with was the equally dated Commer.
Therefore, to address this issue BL headhunted Stan Dews, one of the leading lights at Ford who ad been critical in the development of the Transit Van to look at producing a new mdel that coulde compete with Ford. You can imagine Stan's shock when he was tld by the board that his deveopment budget was essentially, a couple of old shoelaces, a button and a bit of old chewing gum....oh and also a large parts box of BL bits from their other cars and vans.....from this he was to create a LCV that could lock horns commercially with the titans of the road – the Transit and the Bedford CF! When you consider the challenge it is quite amazing that he was to produce an LCV that effectively cornered the budget LCV market until LDV finally went out of business in 2008. One of the reasons for the success was the ladder chassis design. Whereas the competitors had modern new fangled monocoque designs and other such outrageous non-British ideas Stan realised that if the Sherpa was to have a chance it had to be adaptable...a ladder chassis meant that it was and could come in a number of formats not avaliable to the competitors – tippers, crew cabs, beaver tails etc.
There then came some debate as what the van should look like....Dews, being a Ford man was conscious that the Transit was successful because it looked and handled like a car of the period when most LCVs looked like the styling had been an afterthought...he understood the critical importance of getting this right, unfortunately he was told to “shut up†and “as long as it bloody works it can look like whatever†and “not to be such a shandy drinking half pint nancy boy†(this was the early 70's and the management of BL were somewhat....old school..) Stan knew when he was beat and tried his best to influe4nce the design somewhat and what he ended up with was a part of Britian on weels for the next 40 years. The panels were mostly nicked from the old J4 but it was the snout that received the most attention. The J4/VW Type 2/Commer/ flat front vans of the 50's and 60's were becoming unfashionable as folk woke up to the fact that perhaps road saftey should be cosidered and havinf the knees of the driver and front passengers just behind a thin metal sheet might not be such a good idea. (a thought you should bear in mind if considering a classic VW Type 2 Campervan).
The Sherpa soon developed a reputation of, despite being a bit dated to drive, toughness, and commercial success. Despite a development budget of only £3million it resulted in an sales uplift of 14% for BMC's LCV division. In 1.8lt B Series Petrol form, they had heaps of low down torque thanks to a low geared box – tree stump uprooting in 1st gear is a handy gardening tool extra!
All wasn't that rosy though. The suspension is medeavil – literally – cart springs fore and aft. The steering is 1950's and vague. The gearbox requires a prayer to whatever gods you might believe in before selection and at speed the ride well.. what do you think! At speed it tests every sinew of your ability as a driver. When I first got this van I considered myself a good driver – until I realised that it was the ABS, Macpherson Struts, EFI, power steering of my car that made me think that I was a good driver – take all those things away and you are lef with a vehicle that requires to be 'operated' rather than driven.
This particular van is a very early model and is actually not a Sherpa at all but “The new Leyland Van from Austin Morris†as the marketing guys at BL jauntily named it – until, of course, they realised that 'Sherpa' was more catchy and changed it. The van should have a silver painted grill as it is an early one, but at some point this has been replaced with a later black grill from a Freight Rover (a late 80's Sherpa).
As an early van it comes with the original 1.8 lt 'B' Series petrol engine with a 4 speed box – no overdrive on this one. It returns surprisingly good MPGs I get around 30-34mpg on a run which when you consider the weight of the vehicle, is not to bad at all. In 1976 they replaced the engine with the improved OHC 'O' Series – however, despite being a dated pushrod design the B series is a bit easier to run as parts availability is excellent through the MGB specialists whereas the O series has all but disappeared.
The exhaust is the side exit pattern, Autosleeper didn't want a rear exit exhaust for campers to burn their ankles on getting in and out of the van. This version, common with the police ones – is flippin noisy. When I first got the van I thought it was blowing I took it to the specialists who said “nope that's what all the side ones sounded likeâ€. On top of the tappet racket form the B Series (perfectly normal behaviour from this type of engine) the eperience is.....industrial.
Mechanically this van is in reasonable nick:
The suspension and king pins are all sound (kingpins need gearing every 1000 miles as replacing them is a pig).
A reconned steering box
new brake pipes and pads last year
a pisspoor respray 3 years ago
newish exhaust
new thermostat
recent plugs leads etc
I have not fitted but will throw in – electronic ignition from accuspark
not so good bits
the engine will eventually need a top end rebuild – it has done 95000 odd miles and still pulls well but a number of overheating problems (cause before my ownership) together with general wear and tear mean that it is not as powerful as it once was but still perfectly uselable and reliable,.
- the cause of the overheating was a knackerd radiator – about 40% of the core fins are missing. Now sourcing another of these is tricky and if you can find one expect to pay £120. I would recommend a recore at around £40 and if you plan to spend Bank Holiday Mondays sitting in a jam on the M6 then I would suggest fitting a Kenlowe fan. I did have some HG issues earlier this year – van still worked fine but was losing power – I dropped in a bottle of K-Seal and all is fine now – the HG can wait until a top end rebuild....as you are unlikely to be doing more than a couple of thousand miles a year in this (you wouldn't want to do more) then it's probably good for another 10 years!
The wheels on these early Sherpas are the same as the Austin 1800 (Landcrab) and therefore easy to source – just remember to fit van tyres as car ones won't take the weight.
Driving this vehicle
Caveat! Do not, under ANY circumstances equate driving a 40 year old commercial vehicle with driving a modern car – there is NOTHING in common at all. The van has a suspension system invented in the 1600's and the steering is a nasty un-powered screw and worm box. Add to this the several hundredweight of plywood and metal at roof level (the pop top) and the whole thing can become a bit of a handful...add the hit and pray gear box which, despite synchromesh does require a degree of rev matching and you will find your skills as a driver tested....However, if you are used to classic cars then it's not that bad really. You get a good upper body workout with the steering and you'll also remember the 'reverse lock technique' when parking and doing 3 point turns. Max speed in this thing is 75mph but that is downhill with the wind behind you and requires courage! More often than not you will be pootling along at 50-60mph.
Whilst we are on the subject, a trap many fall into when falling in love with the idea of a camper van is. To think too much about wooly jumpers, cups of cocoa like some flippin Macdonalds advert without realising that campervan ownership is akin to classic car ownership – and then some! This means that unless you have a tame local mechanic/welder who charges you reasonably – or are prepared to learn and get oily, if you are not already technically savvy – then REALLY think about this. Old vehicles need constant maintenance, there is always a myriad of small jobs to do to the mechanics or bodywork and these jobs will never stop.
So – on to the bodywork:
Sherpa vans were made of steel that had the durability in water of an effervescent vitamin tablet This is why they are rare....fortunately, Autosleeper Ltd rustproofed their conversion vehicles so on the whole this van has stood up pretty well. It does need constant felling and there are a list of jogs that need doing:
1/ The passenger side step needs replaced – it is still in one piece but I doubt it will survive next winter
2/ There are small amounts of rust appearing through the paintwork – the respray 2 years ago was pisspoor – In several places I have cut the paint back, filed out the rust, treated it and painted with primer – I will give these areas a skoosh with some white paint before the van is sold.
3/ The near side front wheel arch needs treating – not too bad but it could go that way soon
4/ the van cold do with undersealing – I was going to tackle this at the end of the summer
5/ The off side back door really needs refurbished – the rusting has stopped and it looks acceptable but it should be done
6/ the roof gutter at the front is a bit 'nautical' think rust, treated and painted over like on a ship!
The offside rear corner was obviously worked on by the sprayer but he didn't do a very good job – it is either stable filler/metal but lumpy like the Elephant Man's chin or there are nasty bubbles underneath it...I suspect it is the former rather than the latter.
Moving on to the campervan itself
Autosleepers were the Rolls Royces of pop up campers of the 1970's. They are very high quality and the pop tops were the foundation of Autosleeper's modern business..
Autosleepers of this period were also BRITISH.....the pop top roof is uniquely British and remarkably cunning at keeping our weather out. Despite the seals being nearly 40 years old this roof kept out the wet during an Atlantic storm I slept though in Argyll last weekend – 70mpg gusts torrential prolonged rain....I doubt some Westphalian stripey canvas pop top would have lasted 5 minutes. The tent I had out the back was destroyed by this storm.
The van is a 4 birth – again – you can tell it's BRITISH – none of this foreign double bed nonsense Mrs Cholmondeley-Warner...hanky panky in a campervan...I don't think so. The two downstairs beds are made from the bench seats that convert into forward facing rear seats for the back passengers and the passengers and drivers seats – narrow but perceftly comforable. The roof bunks are roller bunks which stow away into oak storage shelves – they are confortable, narrow and can support 100kgs each.
There is a collapseable table which has 3 different positions, storage lockers under all seats, a sink with an electric pump and a 16 gallon fresh water tank under the van. There is a good quality 2 burner hob with grill opposite – space for two 4.5kg Butane bottles (1 supplied) stowed under floor again. There is a 2 way fridge (12v or gas) which isn't working at the moment – I have toyed with getting it fixed but have found it is very effecftive and less hassel to use 2 ice box packs which will last 50 odd hours and keep your perishables nice and cool. The pump, 12V lighting and 12V rear 2 pin plug are powered from a 70amp leisure battery that runs on a split charging system under the bonnet. This provides adequate electricity for several nights when away from a mains hook up. There is a 240V mains hookup system with a 25 metre cable supplied and an adapter for a 3 pin plug. The fuse box, hook up and plug socket are all recent additions. Additional 240V lighting runs off this.
Up front the only changes to the original spec are a 12V fag lighter running off the car battery and a good quality Kenwood CD player with USB and 3mm Jack for MP3 players – 2 decent aftermarket speakers are mounted in the door wells – the stereo is powerful and needs to be to be heard over the engine!
Storage – in additoin to the under seat space there is a wardrobe, cupboard with shelves and undersink space with cutouts so your crockery doesn't destroy itself. All units are hand made in oak.
Glass sliding windows all round and two glass windows in the roof make it a light and airy place to be – when the curtains are drawn it becomes a cosy place.
I'm throwing in a levelling kit, the hook up, gas bottle, and a halogen electic safety fire which can run off the 240 Volt when hooked up. In addition are two hurricane lamps which give a softer light.
It will break the kids' hearts to sell this van but they are a little bit too small for it and, the challenge with fitting rear belts means that it is probably more suitable for a couple than a family with small kids.
Why should you buy this – well it is a good entry level into the world of the classic camper. It is distinct and reliable and pretty simple mechanically when compared to some of the continental offerings and you don't have to pay the 'trend' tax which the VW vans tend to carry.
This van has changed hands 3 times in the last 5 years but under our ownership it has started to be used for what it was designed for.
The van is in Edinburgh
MOT is until early July 2011
Tax until the end of June 20011
Insurance is about £400 per annum based on 2 drivers – classic campervan insurance
These first 5 photos were taken last weekend on a trip to Argyll for 2 nights
