So I took the plunge and decided to buy the Mk6 jumbo.
She is an 06 plate, has DRW and is an ex police van.
The van was decommissioned by the police in late 2019, was brought by the previous owner and used very little.
Currently still plated at 4.3ton, I will eventually look to down plate to 3.5 if the Mrs decides she wants to drive it. The history from the police is extensive, and it does include injectors in 2017 and a pump just before being decommissioned. There is some small surface rust around the marker lights and around the poorly filled holes in the roof front, but these should be easy enough to solve. The van pulls very, I was amazed at the torque, for a large van it also shifted. It was 9 seats, two factory in the front and 7 three point belt fitted in the rear. I will be keeping it as a 6 seater and disposing of the rest. It also has some items from the previous owner, who wanted to convert it to a camper van. I will be using it as a day van so won’t be installing any of the items. I believe there is a fridge, sink, water bowser and gas bottle. I’m not sure if the rear heater is still installed, the cage is, so if it’s there I will pull this out too. These will be disposed off. I will probably install a partition to keep the rear separate, this will be for moving stuff and somewhere to strap the bikes up when we venture out. There are several items that will need replacing, the wiper scuttle is modified with a locking mechanism for the old windscreen protection, the front doors have laminated and reinforced windows, I’m thinking it may be easier to replace the doors. I need to replace some of the dash facia as it’s cut but more a annoyance that anything. One of the first issues will be to remove the silicone that has been used to fill the holes where the lights went over the windscreen and sort them properly, they leak and the headliner is testimony to that, three damp patches right under the holes that are filled. It needs a new windscreen, the current one is foggy in the top corner on the passenger side, so for the sake of 65£ Through the insurance, I may as well get it done. Longer term, I plan to install a awning for those summer day trips, if we ever get back there!, and convert the two front seats so the swivel. It will be a slow burn, working full time leaves little opportunity but I want to get it usable by summer next year at the latest. I’m planning to go over the history later and see if I can identify when it was last serviced, I plan to carry one out any way but I’m wondering about replacing the timing chain and guides for added assurance. Being she’s the 135 variant, I know, what was I thinking, i want to keep everything ship shape. So many ideas but I think, one step at a time!
Anyway, here she is (photo from the sellers page, with permission). After the 150mile trip home, I realised just how much I missed driving such a large vehicle, so it was nice to get behind the wheel again.