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Being the slowest off the mark, I was locked out
Page 88
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of the LDV and Renault brands. My initial thought was to opt for that mainstay of the British one-man band, the ex-BT Transit. However, I soon discovered that the examples available for £600 make you wonder just how far a van can deteriorate within months of an MoT. That Isopon grey paint is God's gift to badgers.
A few false starts chasing Citroen Relays combined with an ill-timed dose of flu to leave me a long way behind 'impulse' Shiers in the race. I wouldn't say a sense of panic set in, just a modified sense of urgency. I soon discovered that the CM and Roadtransport. corn classified sections attract afar classier sort of van, and with nothing showing up in the local free papers, it was eBay that again provided the answer.
Now, the 'zero carbon footprint' jibes are over— I've bought my van! One of Luton's finest products, it's a one-owner, lowmileage K-reg Vauxhall Midi petrol that cost just £480. OK, so I didn't know it was petrol before I saw it, but it seems surprisingly economical and is much quieter than a diesel.
I still haven't driven it very far. having enlisted Will's services to collect it from Rickmansworth, Hens, before other weekend commitments took over. However, Will reports that the driveline is perfect, ever if his first ever meeting with a column shift gearchange was a challenge. It certainly kept up with the M25 traffic with no difficulty.
Although it has been gently used in its 70,000-mile life delivering wedding cakes, the bodywork bears a few scars, the worst being at the front where an errant truck reversed into it at a wedding cake exhibition at the NEC. The protective bull bar probably did more harm than good. The only really bad news is the paint. The owner wanted a red van, but had a white one delivered. The resultant amateur paint job, which included running out of paint before the roof was properly finished, must have ranked as one of the worst ever in 1993, and the 14 intervening years have done it no favours. Actually, I could say that the roof has a unique red over white frosted icing effect, in line with its former life.
Another minor fault is that on the way back from Rickmansworth, Will misunderstood the workings of the temporary fuel cap. Instead of pulling it straight off, he unscrewed it in half, the lower half disappearing into the tank. Ironically, at E5.99, the brand new Vauxhall part probably cost no more than the temporary item.
Apart from needing to dismantle the nearside sliding door lock to extract the remains of a broken key, there's little essential work to do. The automatic choke doesn't work, but a couple of judicious squirts of the throttle get things moving easily enough.