ROADTEST ASQUITH SHIRE
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game away. Most obvious of these are the wheels that are too small, being only 16in in diameter. Reed defends his company's choice of wheels by saying that 16 inches was the maximum size it could use while keeping Ford type approval for the Shire. It later transpired that the Shire had to make an independent brake test anyway, so Asquith could have used larger wheels, but by that time the moulds had all been manufactured and plans could not be changed.
Other pointers to the van's youth include the over-wide bulkhead and the dummy radiator that is too far forward. The wing mirrors are borrowed from the donor vehicle, and the test vehicle had a hideous petrol filler cap on top of the original Transit fuel tank which had not been fitted properly and leaked diesel over Sheffield Auto Hire's new livery.
Inside the Shire has a very smart wood-lined load bed that looks too good to put a load in. There is a wooden halfbulkhead at the front, which held our test load securely, and further load restraint could easily be fitted by an operator. Loading the van is fairly straight forward An amazing amount of stuff takes the driver's steering inputs to the front wheels, and a good breakfast is needed to build up the strength to steer the van. except for the height of the load bed, which is nearly 0.75m off the ground. Dragging loads into the van is hard work, but it is the price one pays for the old fashioned bodywork.
We should also mention the poor headlamp mounting. Vehicle manufacturers of the 1930s may have had to put up with Prince of Darkness lamps, but they did work out a solution to wobbling headlamps. Asquith. it seems, has not.
PERFORMANCE
• The van's driveline is pure Ford Transit. In this case it was the 50kW (67hp) 2.5-litre DI diesel engine, coupled to the five-speed all-sychromesh gearbox and live rear axle. When fitted to the Transit this driveline gives a reasonable top speed, if not startling acceleration, but does return very good economy.
Pedestrian is the word that springs to mind when describing the driveline's performance in the Shire van. A top speed of around 88Icrn/h (55mph), and acceleration that compares favourably with waiting for the next England cricket win, are its most striking facets.
Waiting for the magic 96Icm/h (60mph) to appear on the speedometer is a bit like standing in an open field waiting to be struck by lightning. It may happen, but then again it may not. Waving a large steel rod can increase the chances of that lightning bolt, and in the same way a downhill slope or a tail wind can increase the possibility of the mile-a-minute speed, but there is still an element of chance.
Gear selection and the clutch were a bit stiff and notchy, but in our experience with Ford Transits these soon loosen up.
• ECONOMY
The nearest equivalent Ford Transit we have tested achieved the amazing fuel comsumption of 8.361it/100km (33.8mpg) round our light van test route. The As quith was understandably less frugal with its vertical radiator, windscreen and situp-and-beg bodywork. It cruised its wa) round Kent to achieve a consumption of 11.2lit/100km (25.3mpg), which is not disgraceful, all things considered.
The Shire narrowly beat the 1933 Perkins diesel engjned-Commer Centaur we tested 55 years ago (CM 6 October 1933. This Luton-built dropside was regarded as "epoch making" at the time, as it was the first small, light CV to be listed with a diesel engine as standard. As can be seen from the comparison charts, the average speed was a lot lower than the Asquith's, but in other respects the Conuner comes out rather well, especially with its consumption of 11.41k/100km (24.9mpg) and purchase price of 2435 plus tax!
• HANDLING
Conducting (one should conduct, rather than just drive, a van like this) the van along the road immediately highlights the advances that have been made in vehicle handling since the 1930s. Terrific understeer is the most noticeable feature, although at the extremes the rear wheels will let go and the van starts to gently oversteer. There is a lot of thumping from the front suspension, and the vehicle tramlines in the ruts created by lorries in the slow lanes of dual carriageways.
At speed the van wanders around all over the road and feels like an aeroplane that refuses to trim for level flight, in that it needs to be continually corrected to maintain a straight and level course. This would be allright if it were not for the incredibly heavy steering. Nutritionists tell us that we have no need of the calorie intake of our hardworking 1930s forebears now that we lead moribund, sedentary lives. A driver of the Shire van would be well advised to take in a mega-calorie breakfast every morning to cope with the heavy, convoluted linkage from the standard Transit steering box. The other solution would be to adopt the optional power steering that Reed says is popular.
Standard Transit brakes are fitted on the Shire, and they give marvellous stopping power. Unfortunately the narrow Michelin 650R16 XCA tyres fitted have a lower co-efficient of friction than the 185Rs normally fitted to the Transit's and as a result the van readily skids to a halt under hard braking. As the system is well balanced the skidding was in a straight line, but we feel that if more effort could be directed at the rear wheels then the problem might be ameliorated.
• INTERIOR
Apart from the estimable Ford Transit seats, and the not-so-estimable Transit instrumentation, the Shire's interior could hardly have been changed more. Wall-towall carpeting, polished walnut fascia and mahogany panels mark the van out more than somewhat from the average Japanese offering in this weight category.
Whether it is a characteristic of the GRP bodywork, or careful sound proofing, the interior of the Asquith is very quiet. The usual machine-gun rattles from the DI Transit are muffled: even wind noise is kept to a minimum at all speeds. This means that the necessarily drawn-out journeys in the Asquith are not unpleasant, and are definitely not tiring.
The driving position is comfortable, with the pedal box set straight with the driver, and the Transit steering wheel at the correct and comfortable height. The Transit instruments look slightly out of place in the walnut dashboard, but the top-of-windscreen-mounted Transit windscreen wipers worked superbly, overcoming the washers' enthusiastic attempts to flood the windscreen.
Entry to the van is unusual, but fairly simple. The doors are set forward of the seats, so one has to turn in mid-entry to effect a posterior landing on the seat.
• SUMMARY
When the Asquith's high material and labour costs are taken into account it could not be called over-priced but in comparison with "modern" vans of similar gross weight it is exborbitant. Anyone considering the purchase of one of these vans will have to balance that additional cost against its publicity value. For companies selling goods with high profit margins, and those in the service sector, the sums may well work out on the side of purchase. They obviously have for a number of companies including McDonalds in West Germany, Coca Cola, Maxim's de Paris, Perrier and Akin.
Taken in isolation the Shire van cannot be condemned. It is very well built, with old fashioned materials, by people who know their business. It drives moderately well, considering its poor aerodynamics, and the interior is luxurious and comfortable. Asquith sells the Shire as a replica "of fine commercial vehicles from the late 1920's era" (sic), so it is certainly not seeking to fool anyone.
The Asquith products are good marketing tools that can lend an air of respecta
Access to the Ford Transit 2.5-litre DI diesel engine is good, with the top-hinged bonnet allowing major operations on the unit without removal.
The Shire's load bed is well finished with plywood panels and hardwood rubbing strips. It looks much too grand to put a load in.
bility and longevity to a company, as well as acting as mobile hoardings. It is rather a shame that such vehicles are fakes in every sense of the word. Commercial vehicles of the 1930s were difficult, slow machines, that took skill to drive, and much maintenance. Manufacturers were proud of each little advance in the design of their vehicles, and if you could have offered them a Ford Transit then they would have grabbed it with both hands.
Only a few enthusiastic companies can be bothered to run a genuine historic commercial on their fleet nowadays, and our hats go off to them for their sense of "rightness", and their perseverance. The Asquith vans are off-the-peg image makers for companies without either, but one cannot blame Asquith for filling a market niche that is so indicative of the attitudes and mores of the 1980s.
by Andrew English