Beautiful Mk 1 Diesel

[vannut]

Saw this at Ripon Racecourse last May and was astounded. It's absolutely beautiful. (It was featured in Classic Van and Pick Up Magazine a couple of months ago) I believe it has a 2.5Di and overdrive 'box.

[FredTransit]

God, she's goergous!

[madmark]

she is a magazine star nov 2004 classic van and pick- up ! what a cracker!

[Luke]

Yep beautifull!!
Even makes the bullnose front look good!!

[vannut]

Actually I quite like the bullnose front, I think it's cos my dad had one brand new in 1967 as his builder's van, in red with chome bumpers (MHN972E) not that I'm an anorak or anything...

[madmark]

its funny because it was my dads work van that started me off on transits ,his was a short wheelbase van XMW 211K an i a tranarack or what!

[vannut]

My dad's first Transit was KHN 684D which was a short wheelbase V4 petrol in red with cream painted bumpers and hubcaps, but it was so thirsty that he got the Diesel Short wheelbase in Red with Chrome Bumpers and hub caps, which was MHN 972E. Obviously there wasn't a big time lapse between the two because there were only 2,288 vehicles registered in the Darlington area between them!

I can remember him getting both vans, and being surprised that you had to buy the van and then send it to the coachbuilders to be painted as they were supplied in primer. (Which probably explains why it had completely rusted away by 1974 when it was only 7 years old, AND was on it's THIRD set of wings which had to be replaced due to rust rather than damage!)

[FredTransit]

Vannut, y know what, I had forgotten about the primer thing, that would explain why many early vans are no longer with us, and some of the later Mk1s made it, after factory paint was an option. It makes sense. You make a van out of steel, put some primer on it and then stand it in a field for a few months, then you get around to the top coat. By then it's too late, the rot has set in.

[vannut]

Yup! And not forgetting of course that the van floor was made of fairly thin steel and little box sections, whereas the Thames 400E which the transit replaced had a fairly decent chassis and wooden floor, and all the lower panels bolted on!

(My dad's Thames 400E was 843SHN...... where's me anorak)

[FredTransit]

Yup! And not forgetting of course that the van floor was made of fairly thin steel and little box sections, whereas the Thames 400E which the transit replaced had a fairly decent chassis and wooden floor, and all the lower panels bolted on!

(My dad's Thames 400E was 843SHN...... where's me anorak)

...........and those bloddy grommet things that are supposed to let the water out (in?), our body man said that they are there for inspecting the chassis, but we had em all welded up! I suppose they help with the waxoil (if only we had done that...........)

[vannut]

My dad didn't do waxoyl! He liked red lead (red oxide) and a brush if you were lucky. I seem to remember the wings being in Ford brown primer for a long time......

[madmark]

this would explain why my mk1 is grey inside!

[vannut]

Yup. My dad's was grey in the back, although the inside of the cab was painted at the coachbuilders.

Even stranger than that, my grandad's Anglia van (JHN 390D) was primer coloured under the bonnet, but the interior was Lagoon blue, whilst the exterior was red! Never did work out why, as the exterior wasn't blue under the red, and we had the can from new!