1966 Ex BRS Austin VAK 100 "Noddy" van. Shack building.

[glenanderson]

Oct 4, 2014 8:08:59 GMT v8ian said:

I remember these Trucks very well, in BRS, and I think in BR colours too, I used to live in Lewisham and around 1970 there was a record shop in New Cross called Marvel Records (I think) the whole Building was painted in Larger than life Marvel Super Heroes, there work truck was a BR Noddy van covered in painted, Life Size Marvel Super Heroes, certainly left an Impression on me, I'm trying to find some pictures of it.

Hi there. Yes, they did them in BR livery, as well as the colours of several retailers or suppliers that they were on contract to. The majority were green parcel vans, but there was quite a lot of others too. Mine was originally red, which was the colour of BRS's general haulage fleet.

Oct 4, 2014 12:07:44 GMT darrenh said:

could make it a drop side so the back doesnt look so bare ?

Yes, drop sides were on my "options" list.

Oct 4, 2014 12:15:07 GMT darrenh said:

crudely photoshopped example

That looks very much better with the short sides and headboard. Quite inspiring too. Thanks Darren.

Oct 4, 2014 13:44:06 GMT jpsmit said:

I can't help but feel it needs height at the back to balance the height of the cab. Perhaps a canvas cover? That said, I do need to ask - why this one? I know it was a storage unit, but, it was never driven by a family member. I respect an insane project as much as anyone, but, surely a more complete starting point would work better in the long run. At this point you are awefully nostalgic for four wheels, two I beams and a steering wheel. Keep the wheel as that is what you used, but, maybe a complete truck? ( standard disclaimer - my 2 cents are not usually worth a penny)

I like the idea of a demountable tilt frame and tilt. If I can keep the finished height below about 10' I can probably get away with a lean-to cover to the hardstand alongside my garage, and the finished vehicle could live undercover. If I have a 12' high van it'll have to live outside.

You are completely right, of course, about finding a more complete starting point. I "drove" the original one further in my imagination than anyone else did, and sentiment has got me this far. I am quite happy to let my heart lead my head up to a point, but the lack of paperwork and the potential difficulty in getting it registered, not to mention the damage and corrosion to the chassis that needs addressing, means that I am increasingly coming round to the idea of getting another one that; a) has a valid registration and paperwork, b) has some bodywork to reconstruct and, c) has a chassis in better condition than mine. I am quite happy with what I have so far spent out on mine. Total outlay is currently under £400 and for that I have five useable wheels (one is odd), a pair of good axles, prop, four good springs, brake drums/hubs/etc., steering, a pair of front wings, a chassis that will yield repair sections if necessary and about £200 worth of scrap engine, gearbox etc. It may well be possible to sell the engine and/or gearbox and get a little more than scrap value for them, but whatever, I have quite a lot of "spares" for what is really a modest outlay.

Your "two cents" are worth much more than a penny my friend. That's why I'm here. Writing this stuff up and getting feedback from folks like yourself helps me keep on track. I can't imagine how I'd have managed without the power of the internet and complete strangers taking the time to share their thoughts, pictures, memories and time. 

Oct 4, 2014 13:48:13 GMT dodgerover said:

There will be a chassis number stamped in somewhere, in fact if you looked hard enough i'm positive you would find it You're looking for something hand stamped.

Any joy with turning up any paperwork?

I'm still looking. The problem is that there is a fair bit of surface rust, and a lot of chassis to search! There's been no joy with the logbook. My farmer mate has now completely cleared all his dad's papers and there's nothing in the stuff I have of my dad's, so it looks like that's a bust. 

Oct 4, 2014 14:11:27 GMT omega said:

iam in

Cool. 

Oct 4, 2014 15:46:29 GMT bavarianretro said:

Why not just apply for a V5? You know reg and chassis number and see what happens? You might get a V5c. It's not as if you're committing any fraud. You know it's the same one. You know the registration and you own it, though if didn't go on the computer in the late 70s/early 80s, it'll be a goner. 

I've been in touch with the DVLA and it's not on the computer. If I can find a chassis number I'll send in for a V5 as the worst that can happen is they tell me no, but without one a no is automatic.

It definitely came off the road in the early seventies and I'm pretty sure, back in the days of the RF60 buff logbooks, there wasn't the obligation to notify Swansea of a sale until you wanted to tax a vehicle. As neither my dad, nor the farmer ever did that I can't see it being likely.

Still, not much I can do just this minute as I've got to get my planning through for the garage extension and get it and the hardstanding done before I can start anything. So I've time to cast my net for alternatives.

All the best for now, Glen.

[Kierenbrown]

Just read all of this, with no pictures :-(

[glenanderson]

Oct 5, 2014 21:21:41 GMT Kierenbrown said:

Just read all of this, with no pictures :-(

I'll do something about that when I get home from work tomorrow.

[Kierenbrown]

:-)

[glenanderson]

Pictures should be back now. :-)

[mrabody]

I was also going to suggest looking for a chassis number. Even if there is surface rust there are ways of bringing out the numbers. You'll probably find more information through clubs or forums devoted to more valuable classics - Jag XK 120s, Bentleys, Astons etc, as the high value of those sorts of cars means people are willing to go the extra mile to identify the rusty old chassis they dragged out of field.

Also, the manufacturer would have almost certainly stamped the chassis numbers in the same place(s) on each vehicle so that it could be readily found, and presumably they would have the sense to stamp them in an easily accessible area, so you should be able to narrow down the bit to be searched.

[dodgerover]

I'de be looking on chassis legs at the front to begin with.

[dubbelduwwel]

Bookmarked!
Looking forward to the day it is taxed and MOTted! Don't laugh! I've seen veeeeery long projects on here, mojo lost, mojo comming back in a big way. Keep your dream alive!
(With the spares - once you've found the better "right" vehicle - I see a matching trailor... Just because you can!)

[glenanderson]

I got a tip about a couple of vans in a yard in Lincolnshire and have just got off the phone to a very nice lady who is the daughter of the owner. The vans belong to either her father or uncle (or maybe both of them) and she has promised to pass on my details to them. Fingers crossed it yields a result.

[glenanderson]

I may well have done a deal on another lorry. One a good deal more complete than the (remains) of mine and, crucially, on the computer at DVLA. Another 1966 one, so a "D" reg the same as mine.

Early days yet, so finger's crossed! Got to put head before heart and admit that mine is too far gone for anything other than spares; lack of paperwork and the fact that it's not on the DVLA's system is just another nail in it's coffin. If the other one works out then I will salvage as much as is possible though, and use the best bits. I shall be hanging on to the same steering wheel as I did as a kid, that's for sure!

[vulgalour]

If the other one turns out to be a successful find then your original van won't be owned in vain, there still looks to be important parts of it you can make use of in the new vehicle and you'll know some of it has survived. I find it amazing that you've managed to locate so many of them, I can't recall ever seeing one until this thread appeared.

[glenanderson]

Oct 27, 2014 19:32:53 GMT vulgalour said:

If the other one turns out to be a successful find then your original van won't be owned in vain, there still looks to be important parts of it you can make use of in the new vehicle and you'll know some of it has survived. I find it amazing that you've managed to locate so many of them, I can't recall ever seeing one until this thread appeared.

You're right mate, even if I only use a wheel or two and a few nuts and bolts, I've still saved it. There are four good springs, axles with hubs, drums and brakes all complete, five road wheels, steering box, engine, gearbox, prop, etc. etc. As well as plenty of odds and sods. All it currently owes me is £325, which I'm pretty happy with. I can probably pull back a hundred or so of that by weighing in the actual scrap, and if I'm lucky a little more for the engine and gearbox. I've got a couple of pics of the latest one on my phone, I'll put them up in a minute.

They made somewhere between 2500 and 2800 of them, and by far the majority have long gone. I've always had an eye open for one, and up until about four years ago I didn't think there were any in preservation. I know now of about five roadworthy survivors, and about the same again confirmed lying derelict, most of which are in pretty poor condition. It's now or never I think, if I don't buy one soon there'll be nothing salvageable left.

[glenanderson]

Some (not brilliant, it has to be said) pictures of the one I've found for sale:

          



It's been off the road since 1988, but is still "live" on the DVLA system and drove into where it's parked, rather than blew up and got dumped. I think it's worth the asking price of £500, the cost of moving it might be a bit of a stumbling block though. At about four tons unladen, and ten or eleven feet high, it needs to go on a low-loader. I have to decide whether to take a trip to Doncaster, a 470 mile round trip that'll take me at least a (long) day to do, to assess it and see if i can get it running and moving under it's own steam, or to take a punt at buying it unseen as it has got to be a better starting point for me and the diesel for the round trip, grub, possible night out plus the day off work would easily cost me north of £200 that would be better spent on transporting the lorry...

Decisions, decisions... 

[bavarianretro]

Well, on a purely economic basis, if it weighs four tons, its worth about £500 or so over the weighbridge, and that's ignoring the possibility of any aluminium in the body, and it has a live identity, so what do you need to see?

[glenanderson]

Oct 28, 2014 7:20:50 GMT bavarianretro said:

Well, on a purely economic basis, if it weighs four tons, its worth about £500 or so over the weighbridge, and that's ignoring the possibility of any aluminium in the body, and it has a live identity, so what do you need to see?

That's pretty much where my thinking is at. :-)

[fatfranky]

Glenanderson said

I have to decide whether to take a trip to Doncaster, a 470 mile round trip that'll take me at least a (long) day to do, to assess it and see if i can get it running and moving under it's own steam, or to take a punt at buying it unseen as it has got to be a better starting point for me and the diesel for the round trip, grub, possible night out plus the day off work would easily cost me north of £200 that would be better spent on transporting the lorry...



Why not take wife/kids on mini break up north, for you to view and potter with truck and they could do some sightseeing/shopping, doesn't reduce the cost of the trip (probably increases it) but obtains more 'value' from the trip and could even earn you a few brownie points

Just a thought

[Dez]

Oct 28, 2014 9:42:37 GMT fatfranky said:

Glenanderson said

I have to decide whether to take a trip to Doncaster, a 470 mile round trip that'll take me at least a (long) day to do, to assess it and see if i can get it running and moving under it's own steam, or to take a punt at buying it unseen as it has got to be a better starting point for me and the diesel for the round trip, grub, possible night out plus the day off work would easily cost me north of £200 that would be better spent on transporting the lorry...



Why not take wife/kids on mini break up north, for you to view and potter with truck and they could do some sightseeing/shopping, doesn't reduce the cost of the trip (probably increases it) but obtains more 'value' from the trip and could even earn you a few brownie points

Just a thought

Eddie: Ah, Richie, we're going to Bridlington... Well, Doncaster, I hardly
think we'll be needing sun tan lotion.

Richie: Oh yes, yes, Uhhuh, uhhuh... Drizzle oil, then!

Eddie: Gloom juice!

Richie: Yes, yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, ah, ah, wind smear!

Eddie: Wind smear? I don't think we need to take the contents of your
underpants.

and I'm from doncaster, so qualified to comment!
i think its more likely to earn you divorce proceedings than brownie points...

[glenanderson]

I can't see Sarah being in any way enthusiastic for a 500 odd mile round trip in a series 2 Land-Rover, to then sit on her own somewhere while I get oily. :-D

I had thought about taking my son along, who is six, as I'm sure he'd enjoy the trip. Trouble is he's not quite old enough not to be a liability and taking kids out of school these days is a no-no.

The seller in in the final stages of getting married and is a bit busy with that for the next few weeks, so I've a bit of breathing space to make a plan.

[fatfranky]

To be fair I wouldn't take them TO Doncaster but perhaps somewhere near (in fact ANYWHERE NEAR!!) I did say 'up north' and I meant Peak District/ notts/lincs etc.

I'm glad as a resident you've cleared up and stated what I couldn't for fear of causing offence

Anyway now that I've done my bit for relationship counselling my appetite for destruction has had another thought!!

If the van is 4.0 tonnes and 11 foot high, could it be transported on a rented 7.5 tonne flatbed? A quick google suggests that most only have a capacity of about 3.0 tonnes but this one has 4.0, though it is a little smaller dimensionally

www.trucks-are-us-hire.co.uk/index.php/dropside/19-dropside/P23-mitsubishi-7-5-tonne-dropside-lorry


I think it unlikely that the bad is over 4ft from ground level and I seem to recall that maximum height is 15ft, only problem is gonna be loading/unloading the curse word!

[glenanderson]

I think I'd be better off getting it transported professionally, rather than hiring a truck to do it myself. It'd be too big to go on the back of a 7.5tonner really, and getting it on and off is an issue, particularly this end as it will have to be done in the road. This is where having it able to move under its own steam would be handy. If it's sat for 20+ years though I imagine it's going to be a fool's errand to drive all the way up there and actually expect to get it going in a day. Better to have it here and drag it into place with the Landy and hand winch.

I need to think about where it can sit here too, without being in the way. The current one is taking space, but I don't really want to start dismantling that until I know what I'm going to need from it.

Aargh!

Still, first world problems. I'll get around it somehow.