Austin Van - First Produced

[drivewasher]

Try again with this one[frame][/frame]

[morris van]

I am thinking of putting the proper grill and badges etc on mine but I will have to get the bits first. Mine was registered 1st December 1971.

[les]

Hi Dw, if you type 'door mirrors' into the search box and select page 5, scroll down and you will see pictures of the tie rod mirror, they have been quite successful, the one downside is that the quarter light vertical bar is in view, although this can be overcome to a certain extent by the position of the mirror along the bar. I am looking for some better mirror heads to fit. With this setup the mirrors can be folded into towards the door when parked etc. If you want further details let me know. I have got a piece of timber inside the triangular quarter light piece to stop it crushing when the pivot bolt is tightened.

[mike.perry]

Tax was paid per Horse power the 848 was 30 HP the 948 HP was 35 HP at £12 11s 7d per HP The post office continued with the 848 until the Tax changes then went strait to 1098cc

Lets settle this once and for all
The GPO used 803cc Series II engines NOT 848cc Mini engines and being a government department they did not pay road tax
The 948cc engine entered production in1956,the 848cc engine did not enter production until 1959

[Ever Ready Man]

And this is my 1969 Ex GPO Telephones van. Originally yellow and given a D registration in error (part of the BVB batch this was BVB 493D) which operated in West London from the Wimbledon depot. A little digging into it's history alerted the DVLA to their mistake from 1969 before records were centralised (it was common to use old batches of unused numbers) so they 'corrected' their mistake this year by giving the van a new number plate ending in H as it should have been when new. It is now OCK 339H.
The previous owner had it for 10 years and painted it blue to match his fleet of modern vans in the livery of LJ Botting builders of Eastbourne. Lee Botting removed his logo and sold it to me as a plain blue van so I brightened it up with period Ever Ready livery as I used to work for Ever Ready and drive their sales vans many years ago.
Incidently I also broke off the wing mirror arm recently when trying to turn it back, but could not find anybody who had a replacement in stock, so I've had to repair it by removing the spring mechanism and screwing the arm down to the base. They are only made from gunmetal so cannot be welded and that's why they break easily. I know the Mk1 Transit arms are similar, but they are about an inch longer.

Regards
Martin[frame][/frame]

[POMMReg]

Externally, cross-headed screws fixing the washer jets, metal nuts on grill surround are '66 - slotted & plastic on '69 vans - any sign of a hasp on rear drs?

'66 chassis plate on b/head, '69 on n/s cab dr. liner - will be marks on the dr.where the rivets have been if original.

One piece w/screen rubber on '66 too.

[mike.perry]

Were large window rear doors and 8 in front brakes original fitting on a 1963 803cc GPO van or were they a workshop fit?

[POMMReg]

Were large window rear doors and 8 in front brakes original fitting on a 1963 803cc GPO van or were they a workshop fit?

155001 first production GPO van with larger rear dr glass - from 1 FLE/1 FUU AddPk 8MC/J 803cc engines - no idea where the 848cc comes from.

[morris van]

My van was running nicely until the engine decided to relieve itself of its water this morning . Hoses head gasket okay and a compression test and all cylinders all the same and only had a new head gasket six weeks ago. When I have time I will look at it

[morris van]

I had my van towed to a garage yesterday and the mechanic took the cylinder head off and found it was cracked so I have got to order another one .

[Ever Ready Man]

And this is my 1969 Ex GPO Telephones van. Originally yellow and given a D registration in error [frame][/frame]

Actually I was wrong. This was indeed a 1966 van and the BVB 493D registration was correct.
It was the DVLA who led us all to believe there had been an error when I asked them for the history of the vehicle for my records. They spotted the 1969 registration date on the later log books (a mistake when log books were hand written) and decided to issue a new log book to me with a new 1969 registration OCK 339H. They had effectively made a small clerical error into a bigger problem by trying to match the number plate to the year that was incorrectly entered.

Further enquiries involving the experts in Post Office Vehicles (thank you for your help) seemed to determine the van was part of the batch of BVB vans being used in 1966. This was confirmed in 2018 when I was preparing the van for repainting (again in blue) to freshen it up. When removing the interior it was apparent there was green paint underneath the yellow paint as well as on top of it, confirming the van was green before it was yellow and therefore pre - dates 1968.

The DVLA have ultimately agreed with the evidence and reissued the original number plate to put things right. Subsequently our friend Eddie Farrell who restored the van in 1999 (when it was yellow) contacted me to say he'd found the original green log book for the van which showed the original date of registration in 1966 and he posted it on to me. Many thanks Eddie.

Needless to say there are many photos out there (including in the Classic Van and Pickup magazine and on the internet) which show the H registration. Make no mistake - it should have been D

[geoberni]

Nice one.
Getting DVLA to admit to an error is like finding Hen's teeth!

[ampwhu]

I've found a 1971 austin van in a front garden around the corner from me. It's been sat a while but looks in good condition.

If anyone fancies there chances in finding out if its for sale I could let you know.

Postcode is KT5

[POMMReg]

I've found a 1971 austin van in a front garden around the corner from me. It's been sat a while but looks in good condition.

If anyone fancies there chances in finding out if its for sale I could let you know.

Postcode is KT5

Any regn please, add to survivor list.

[ampwhu]

Next time I walk the dog, I'll message you the reg.

[ampwhu]

as promised

1971van.JPG (54.33 KiB) Viewed 1453 times

[morris van]

I've still got my Austin badged but it has been at a classic car restorer since mid feb to have some welding done. I last saw it four weeks ago when I went to the garage to get an update and was still waiting for wheel arches. In the mean my dad has passed away with a heart attack so haven't had it on my mind much. I spoke to the garage owner about two weeks ago who says they are still waiting for the wheel arches.