A home made camper from Finland

[FredTransit]

:lol: this is good to see you transit people are helping each other out! well done guys , stefan its very hard with the comunications this is the problem i have when i need a german firecar! i also find that most germans dont speak english and dont want to help! i would like to speak german for my mk1 buying skills but its very hard to lurn and buy the time i have lurnt it all the mk1 and mk2 transits will be rotted away!

Well done, Mark! But I think english is THE international language and even all Germans learn it at school! I think many people don't want to speak english here in Germany, rather than they couldn't! My english is only what I've learned at school, too! OK, it's not the best, but if people understand, that's all what matters! In case of helping other people out, I'll agree with forum member Welshrussell, as his signature on every posting says: "Do good things - and good things will happen to you!" I think that's something we should all think about and live in this way!

i never found any problem with the Germans speaking English, if you want a nation that won't speak English, try France! The worst bit of it being Paris.

[Granadadriver]

Yeah, I've heard about that in France, in Germany there's some kind of localism in many places, too! Even in the area where I live, with so many UK people together, many Germans won't speak english!

[UK_ANDY]

In the bikeing sceen Ive never had any problems with language barriers if someone cant speak a language there has always been someone willing to help out and trandslate, may be we should try and tie up with the german transit site in some way and see if it works with van enthusiasts ??

[FredTransit]

In the bikeing sceen Ive never had any problems with language barriers if someone cant speak a language there has always been someone willing to help out and trandslate, may be we should try and tie up with the german transit site in some way and see if it works with van enthusiasts ??

I think that's a good idea.

[aki74]

So, Stefan, did you get any answers from the seller?
The price went up to 370e but resrve (500) was not met. I got the feeling they would sell it for less, perhaps with the 370 they got offered.

How ever, I hope it will get a good home. It's survived from -66 todate, it would not deed a another group of rodders driving it to the breakers.

I'll keep an eye for Transit for sale up here if anything interesting comes up. At the moment it's mostly mid '80's models.

[Granadadriver]

Hi Aki,

I've just got a mail back from Mrs. Ekman! She wrote the highest bidder would buy it and she sells to him Hope the buyer will restore it to original condition! One thing is good, I've never heard of banger races in Finland, so it shouldn't be destroyed there!

Thanks for your help! It's very nice that you will keep me informed if there are similar Transits for sale! I've seen many Taunuses and Granadas imported from scandinavian countries to Germany: Most of them are in mint condition!

[aki74]

Thee is no large scale banger racing in Finland, luckily I might say.

Many young- and oldtimers are exported due to the small market here. Or the fact that you can't get a decent price on a Taunus, it's not really seen as a vintage car yet. That might be because of the high average age of cars in Finland and that is result from the high tax on new cars. EU has tried to get it to the same level as in rest of europe but these things take time. A new Tourneo Connect starts at 23 000e when in Germany it's 15 000e.

So people drive with a few year older cars in average than let's say in germany. It's been just a few years ago when the last Taunuses retired from everyday service and they are not seen as collectibles or valuable. Of course there are collectors and enthusiasts but the common opinion is that a car from 70-80's isn't worth much.

These are my conclusions and someone might see it otherwise. The leading old car magazine, Mobilisti, is how ever on the same mind, crying after all the "gems" being lost to other countryes. I woln't cry if it's between the breakers or restoration.

[Granadadriver]

Thanks for the explanation, Aki!

I never thought that, because here all Taunuses, Granadas and Consuls from MK1 to MK3 are sought after collector items since more than ten years! But it's good to know that! So scandinavian countries could still be a good source for 70s and 80s Fords, right?

[aki74]

Well here are some. It's not Transit, I hope it's allowed this time


Taunus -73 for 590e


17M -63 for 1700e but it's rare!


Taunus -78 for 300e

Granada -77 for 400e


Cortina -73


Consul -73 for 799e

Compared what I found on mobile.de these might be a little lower priced but there is often more rust because of the winter and road salt.
You'll find all of these on http://www.nettiauto.com click on the flag on up right corner and it all becomes readable

[Granadadriver]

Thank you for posting these! I can't believe it: A 17m panel van! Never seen one for sale in Germany, as I've been told they're scrapped after maximum ten years using! And it looks like it's even in rather good condition! I think this one in Germany would fetch a minimum 4000 euros! And a 2-door Knudsen Taunus, which looks from the picture pretty good is such a rare sight here! And the price, it makes me wanna buy it... But have no space for it at the moment and I'm looking for a SWB Mk1 Transit! I should think about changeing my business and import vintage Fords from Finland to Germany!

[Granadadriver]

I just took a look around http://www.nettiauto.com : Even some nice MK2 Transits there and very rare MK3 Escort 3-door estates! Great site!

[FredTransit]

AND it's not too hard to change a Mk2 from LHD to RHD! Wonder if the grannies are the same......

[Granadadriver]

Wonder if the grannies are the same......

...except the engines! Only 3.0 Essex is similar, otherwise they had Colognes and Pintos!

[FredTransit]

Sorry I meant easy to change the grannies to RHD.

[madmark]

fred i think it would be harder than you think! you try and get the parts for a start!