900 Autumn Miles in a 1975 Sherpa Autosleeper

Edinburgh-Egham(Surrey)-Chiddingfold(Surrey)-Edinburgh
Saturday-Sunday-Monday

Vehicle: 1975 Leyland (Sherpa) Autosleeper
Fuel Used: 120 ltrs
Distance driven: 960 Miles

Well, here was the mission: we would like you to be our son’s Godfather, you live in Edinburgh, we live in Egham, this is 3 weeks notice, England are playing the All Blacks at Twickers on the Saturday so every Kiwi pulling a pint and everything else in Edinburgh will be flying or training to London that weekend and therefore there aren’t any seats on any planes nor are there any on the trains and all the cheap tickets have gone. In addition, we know that you are not travelling to the south for work anymore so this trip will be out of your usual routine. We have no room at the inn and because we live near Heathrow there are no cheap rooms available.

Well, challenging indeed. How to get there and what to do when I got there – eureka! That is what a classic camper van is for. Now, a few of you might have read my threads in August when I collected the said vehicle and drove him (he’s called Horace) up to Scotland so it was with some trepidation that I set out on the journey.

The army have a saying – piss poor preparation = piss poor fuck up or something like that I forget. Anyway a quick trip to the motor factors – Pentland Auto Parts – 3 branches in Edinburgh huge stock – and I was delighted to be able to buy over the counter spare: sealed beam 7” Lucas Headlight, points, condenser, fan belt, rotor, dizzy cap all for the B series engine. I stocked the van with these parts, a feather king size duvet, arctic sleeping bag, pillows, an 800W halogen heater. Van filled and in pissing rain I was off, A702 via Biggar M74 Carlisle in 2 hours by 1900 I was at the M6 Toll. First signs something was amiss – the engine started to misfire under load – loss of power at the top end of the revs – I pushed on and the van struggled up the hills on the M40 dropping to 40mph in places – I also noticed that the van was running a bit hot. Nevertheless I pushed on and eventually got to Egham around 2100 9 hours after leaving Edinburgh..

Sunday morning before church I had a look at the van – sure enough, dizzy contacts were pretty pitted – I changed both. The rotor arm was in a bit of a state and looked like old/new stock. Messing with the dizzy on a Sherpa is a nightmare, the dizzy is towards the rear off side of the engine at the bottom of the block, angled in such a way as to make accessing the components very difficult as there is a bulkhead that gets in the way of all but the smallest screw drivers and grazes all but the smallest of knuckles. Then – guess what, I couldn’t get it started- anyway church and vows and lunch intervened and by 1500 I thought I had better call the AA out. Turned out of course that I had fitted the dizzy 180 degrees out – all was fixed and the van started no porbs – took her out for a spin and seemed to work no problem. So, 1800 I set off to drive the 30 miles to Chiddingfold. 3 miles into the journey and I knew something was amiss – pulling into the middle lane to negotiate the M25/M3 junction the van lost power under load again – and again I noticed it was running hot. I pulled over and due to the dangerous nature of the M25 I called the AA – they towed me to a garage near Heathrow where a contractor and I spent the next hour and a half changing the points and the condenser. Back on the road, the contrator was kind enough to follow me – just as well because by the M4/M25 junction the van lost power again – under load – driving up a hill. This time I noticed how hot the van was running and I also noticed that under load the fan belt was screeching away like billyoh! Anyway, this time I noticed a leak at the top of the radiator so we filled the van with water to the gunwales – let it cool down again and we were back in business – however, I noticed that every time the van hit a hill or I had to pus the revs up 2 things happened – the temp went up and the power dropped. My sister’s house at Chiddingfold has a serious hill on the huge drive (she’s married to a hedge fund manager) – it took 1st gear and full revs and choke to get the van up. It is probably worth pointing out that the 1.8 Sherpa has a hell of a lot of low end torque – you can rip tree stumps out with it – to lack this sort of torqu means something is up.

Anyway, it was by now pissing with rain – the Saturday storm was hitting Surrey big time. No room at their house – at the moment their house is a small barn conversion whilst the big house is gutted and rebuilt. So, after a carbonara and a bottle of claret I hooked up the mains power and settled down to have a kip. The Sherpa Autosleeper in 1975 came in 2 formats – you could have: 2 roller bunks in the roof and 2 bench seats facing each other which convert into a double bed. Or, you can have the roller bunks and 2 bench seats that convert into 2 forward facing seats and 2 single beds. Now I’m no stranger to pastry so the bunk beds are probably out – 80 kilos is the stated limit and although they could probably support me I decided not to test it out. So a single bed was the option. Halogen heater on, wooden pop top up, curtains drawn, sleeping bag in, duvet deployed land of not awaits – however, the storm had now taken hold and the wind howled and the rain came down – oh yes! Plastic roof, claret took effect but I moved the cushions onto the van floor to sleep before I went to sleep I did notice that the leisure battery was playing up – hardly any charge in it – odd as it charges off a split circuit off the alternator. A fitful nights sleep but eventually woke around 6 as those of us with young kids tend to you know- back to sleep and by about 0900 I thought I had better get up – still pissing with rain.

Coffee with my sister where she tried to talk me out of driving the van home and instead to catch the express train. Tempting indeed but us autoshitters don’t give up so easily! So at 1100 I hit the road. The poor performance under load is still causing issues so I pull into the service station on the A3 – the one just south of the M25, a bottle of Rad Weld and a fill up and an oil check and off I went into the storm. The van started to behave but there was still the power issue under load – 40 mph over the M40 Hills – I thought about the M6 summit of Shap and the even nastier M74 summit at Beattock with trepidation! By Channock Chase on the M6 Toll I was 160 miles into the journey and the van was still going. I filled up and noted the racket the timing belt was making as I pulled away. M6 delight followed stop start 40 mph – traffic jams, accidents – the storm persisted and I slogged up to Charnock Richard. I was by now exhausted- I had been on the road since 11 and it was now 1700. A top up and a KFC 3 bit meal, 2 x 30/500 Cocodamol and I felt a lot better (might be worth mentioning that due to an issue with my gall bladder and a rather long NHS waiting list I am effectively addicted to prescription painkillers – fortunately, the codine has no effect on my reactions so inured am I to it now and I have had my reactions verified by my insurance company). The hills awaited and sure enough the van had a hell of a time in the lakes getting over the mountains. I stopped at Tebay and checked the tyre pressures and topped up again. The van did get over the rest of the hills and I crossed the border at 2000hrs at this rate I would be home by 2200. The summit of Beattock loomed and 40mph – low power under revs we got there eventually through a snow blizzard. As I approached Abingdon and the turn off for the 702 the stereo stopped working, and then the components one by one started to fail the indicators, the wipers and finally the lights – Hamilton services on the M74 I pulled in and had a look – the battery was dead – yes a charge enough to keep the ignition going but no juice to crank the engine.

The AA were called again – 30 mins later a contractor turns up with a recovery vehicle – its now 2130 – I explained the problem and stressed that I didn’t want recovery – I also pointed out the fan belt squeak – we had a quick tinkle with the alternator and then had jumped the van – it burst into life (new battery afterall) we ran it on idle for 15 mins and I pulled off with a freshly charged battery. Then, within 8 miles the components die, one at a time, again – this time I am on the M8 – in a blizzard in the cold – an hour wait for the AA when another contractor turned up and we flat bedded the van the last 30 miles to Edinburgh. We dumped the van half a mile from my house as the flat bet would toil to get down my street. I got to bed at 0100 wondering why the hell I do these things.

Anyway, I had a long think about this – symptoms – lack of power under load, overheating under load, poor charge but only under load – fine round town. Fan belt this morning I jumped the van off the 240 and drove it round to my house – bonnet up – fan belt not very loose but I took it off to check it – the underside was very badly worn – missing teeth but even worse the V was less than 1/3rd what it should be. Even though the tension was ok at high revs the belt wasn’t gripping at all. I suspect that the route of all these issues has been the fan belt slipping at high revs – it explains the inefficient cooling – the water pump hasn’t been activating and the lack of power – overheating and the lack of charge – this only manifests itself after dark when you put the battery under load and also explains the lack of juice in the leisure battery which will only charge after the main battery reaches full charge.

A new fan belt is on now at the correct tension – we will see if this has solved the problem!

The 1.6 205 gti

205 Gti adventure – part 1


Firstly, apologies, this one is light on laughs and is a brief update. The problem with reviewing a car like this is that it takes a bit of time, to really test it some death defying late night long distance trip is needed and so far I have only driven it a couple of hundred miles mostly on the M1.

Well, a bit late in putting this up as we all know the site was down last week.

Anyway, in short, a bottle of wine and an ebay session a coupe of weeks ago ended, inevitably, with me buying a 205 Gti.

So with a spring in my step I boarded the 0650 to Darlington from Edinburgh last Tuesday morning. The train journey was seemless and at Darlington I changed onto what can only be described as a bus on wheels – real train shite for the trip to Middlesborough. On getting to Boro I spent some time getting my head around directions – it had been a while since I had been in that town and found my way to the vendor’s house located to the south of the middle of town, about a mile form the station. I set off walking with and having taken a couple of detours – one to avoid a crack den, complete with steel shutters (GR8 4 KEEPIN D HOES IN N D PIGS OWAT) and a large group of youths in hoods (conscious I was wearing a suit, crombie and wheeling a suitcase and laptop bag) I eventually made it.

Well, it turned out the car was being sold by the flatmate of the owner who had just graduated and got herself a proper job in the south with a company car. So her flatmate gave me the keys, ever essential wheel lock and the paperwork and I went to start the car. After working out how the alarm worked and immobilizer switched off I decided to get on the road quickly as the hooded types were taking a keen interest in proceedings. After stalling the car a couple of times (very different clutch to the Sherpa!) I pulled away up the street and was immediately transported to the days of stone washed jeans, Don Johnson, bleached mullets, Simon LeBon and birds in puffball skirts with huge shoulders and hair. The car IS the eighties right down to it's piped red and grey trim.

I drove to the nearest civilisation and pulled over to appraise my purchase. Al walk round told me much – the car had been in the ownership of a young lady student for about 3 years and had had not a lot of money spent on it, it had also spent most of that time in Middlesborough getting salty north east rain on it so there is a bit of rust here and there – the worst bit being the passenger door (good one now sourced on ebay for £40). The car needs a good wash, polish and t-cut – the boot may have been replaced at some time as the paint is slightly shinier but that could just be the cutting. The fog/driving lamps are, as usual rusted to nothingness and will be replaced the moment I have a spare £80. 4 good but budget tyres will be replaced asap by quality boots. The pepperpots have been repainted at some point and are reasonable but far from mint.

Inside the driver’s seat has the usual bolster wear on the left arse cheek and right shoulder, verifying the 120k on the clock. Carpets and the rest of the interior is in good fettle but could do with a clean. The gear stick gaiter is in a bit of a state and the plastic clip that holds it in pace is loose (new one ordered – e-bay £10). Entertainment comes form a reasonable aftermarket MP3 ready stereo which unfortunately has lots of crappy flashing lights on it – I am going to try and source a good period clarion for it.

Starting the engine brings a smile to the face – this is a 1.6 but the exhaust note is pure chav. I got out to check the pipe and it is a standard 205 gti exhaust – it sounds like it means business. The weather was very nasty on my drive to St Albans, some very very heavy rain and spray took M1 speeds down to under 20mph at one stage – one gets a bit concerned at the shite nature of the rear lamp cluster on these cars but no real dramas – the car coped very well with all.

I have to admit to taking it pretty easy – I know these cars have a reputation for being the best Gti of the period – if not of all time – and the car has to be treated with serious respect as it will quite happily kill you on the way home from Sainsbury’s. And, until I have had a chance to scope out the tyres, wheel bearings and brakes properly there won’t be a lot of driving – on – the edge in this baby. Well..maybe not that much!

On the motorway the car is – tedious – I won’t bore you but it is noisy, uncomfortable and in 1.6 format doesn’t have the legs for well behaved cruising – but turning off onto an A road and then a B road the car suddenly springs to life willing you to drive it hard and fast. B roads in particular are great fun – I can honestly say I have never driven anything quite like it including mini coopers and Westfields. On the Harpenden to Redbourne road last Wednesday I picked up a Porsche boxter behind me and effortlessly spanked him – the car is so quick off and on speed and responsive there is no messing around at all.

However….lift off oversteer is not a myth with these and it caught me out once on that road, lose concentration for one minute and this car will bite/kill you.

I may well driver her north to Edinburgh on Thursday – if so a further adventure thread will be added – if I can verify solid tyres and bearings (the brakes seem fine) I might bring her up the A68!

Why I cannot get the Volvo 240 out of my head!!!

What do we think about when we think of Sweden? Pioneers of 17th C pan European religious conflict? High taxes? A liberal attitude towards physical love? Ikea? Stig Larsson? Ulrika –a-a-a-a-? or a reputation for building quality and reliable motor cars?

For me Sweden IS the Volvo 240.

Designers have long admired the Swedes’ understanding that less is more and there is beauty in functionality and simplicity. Their Nordic ancestors took a hatred of the gauche to extremes by sailing over the sea and burning any churches which dared to deviate from simple pine benches and whitewash, murdering all the monks and parishioners and sailing back to Scwveden having confiscated their silver thus meaning that they would be unable to over decorate in future. Fortunately, they don’t do this anymore and instead spread their culture through IKEA – love it or hate it- the fact is that most of us in the developed world now furnish our houses with Swedish designed furniture and associated tat. I read in a Sunday supplement that the 20 year expansion of IKEA represents the first instance of Swedish design being rolled out globally – what utter tosh – I regret that I am not a retired Major and don’t live in Tonbridge Wells because if I were and did by golly, I would have penned my ire to the editor of the rag in question (The Sunday Times BTW). All lovers of the kit know damn fine that Saab and Volvo have been leading the Swedes up the beach ever since horned helmets and belching at the table went out of fashion! And arguably the most influential and pure expression of the ideals of Swedish design are expressed best in the Volvo 240.

So why the 240 – well, I am not going to bore you to death about the development history – most of us know it all already – this is about me trying to reconcile why I love, what is essentially, a pretty dull car.

We are in the process of launching a new business and I am looking at ways of cutting back the bills, this means that the BMW will probably have to go and be replaced by a reliable high mileage muncher that won’t cost the earth to fix as the simplicity of it means I will be able to tackle it myself and I can’t get the 240 out of my head – it is there like an itch.

As autoshitters we are lovers of the unusual and the retro – not for us the plastic curves and over engineered flummery of a modern car, we see the logic in the simplicity and affordability of the older, often unloved, car. We are also a sentimental bunch and, as I approach the big four-oh I find myself living 200 yards away from where I grew up (out of no design - it just happened)and morphing ever so slowly into my dad.

The spoon that was crammed in my mouth at birth wasn’t exactly silver but certainly was sliver plate. I grew up in comfortable middle class, pinkie out when you are drinking your tea, Jean Brodie –esque Edinburgh. My old man was a solicitor in that town of lawyers, my mother was a physio, I went to a respectable private school in town where I was taught to play rugby and dance the eightsome and all those other tools to surviving what was the Edinburgh chattering classes in the 70’s and 80’s. Houses were stone, kitchens were Habitat, furniture was pine, food was lentils and the car was a 240 estate. My old man had 3 identical blue 240 DL estates from the late 70’s till 1996 when he traded the last one in for a Westfield SEi – (an acknowledgement that he was free at last maybe). The 240 was the family car, the indestructibility of it, the hard wearing cloth seats, the basic functionality of what was an expensive but solid car. We went everywhere in it – dogs and all the 3 of us fighting to get a window seat. Each July when the Scottish schools broke it was off to Hull to get the ferry to Europe and 2-3 weeks of camping – no air con – very few Volvos in Europe in those days – you would get flashed by French drives because of your running lights. I remember having to chum dad from Spain to Avignon to pick up a part as that was where the nearest dealer was at the time.

We turn into our dads don’t we – I have driven some spectacular cars – the E34 535i is arguably one of the best cars made in the last 30 years, better than its successor even – why oh why would I want to trade it in for a 240? Well, maybe because in this world of the crushing responsibility of kids, mortgages and rent to pay, uncertain economy, one pay check from the bailiff, health worries, work pressures, maybe it is that I am looking for that sense of security I felt as a child and of course that was an illusion itself as my Dad had would have had the same worries?

So, when the BMW goes I have decided to try and find a 1993 Torslanda estate. This was the last of the 240s and was a special edition of a car that had become a favourite of Dukes and plumbers. It is perhaps fitting that the model was only sold in Northern Europe and Sweden, the countries where the model made its name. It is also fitting that the Torsy (for those who don’t know) is a very basic stripped down model of the 240 – no GL or GLT flummery here (I never could get my head around a ‘luxury’ version of the 240, a bit like putting bone handles on a colander) this baby came with no chrome, no leccy windows, no aircon, no cruise in fact nothing that could fail at low temperatures – it is a model designed for the Swedish winter and to survive it, the only concessions it has are power steering and a radio and the usual heated seats. The designers doffing their caps to commemorate the passing of a car with the functionality and simplicity of a reliable workhorse which established Volvo as a producer of safe, quality and slightly dull cars.

Yes, I know the 940 is a great machine and the 740 more refined and despite owning a hooligan of an 850 estate the fact remains that in my humble opinion the greatest Volvo ever made was a 245 DL estate with blue cloth trim and a blue paint job, ladder roof rack and a dog guard.

Now – off to ebay!

- update - well maybe the Volvo forum where business this morning has resulted in this being the new scooters daily - collect in a couple of weeks time!

Last edited by scooters on Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

1990 BMW 535i review

Well, Monday was a hectic day. Got up at 6.00 left Edinburgh at 6.30 and drove to Wetherby for a meeting. That finished at about 1130, then drove to Long Sutton – just west of Kings Lynn for another meeting. Got away at 1630 drove to Harpenden – arrived at 1830 – got the 1850 train to London Bridge – jumped a taxi to Camberwell Green in South London. Collected the BMW and drove back to Harpenden – got in at about 2200.

Here’s my feedback on the car, for anyone who is interested.

Well, it is a 1990 BMW 535i. It is a SE and comes with a high spec including: climate control, full leather, servotronic steering (speed sensitive), automatic gearbox, M-tech steering wheel, heated windscreen washers, electrically adjustable seats, mirrors, factory electrical sunroof, cruise control, leather adjustable arm rests. Aftermarket additions include a 12 disc multi changer, sony amplifier, subwoofer connection, top of the range Panasonic CD head unit with Bluetooth connectivity. Interestingly enough, ABS was introduced in 1991 so I am not sure this model has it.

Moving on to the condition of the car – this vehicle is in exceptional condition for it’s age. There is no rust on the body work, under the car or in the structure – there appears to have been a repair to the off side front wheel arch at one stage and the roof section above the driver’s forehead as well. The red paint work still polishes up but requires frequent attention – a respray should probably be considered but I will try more subtle techniques first and may look at clay and a high quality wax first. The wheels are exceptional. The car has had clear indicator lenses at some point – I may change these back to orange ones to keep it original. The 4 tyres are good with loads of tread left.

The interior of the car is immaculate – I have owned several high spec 1990 vintage cars in the past and none come close to the condition of this vehicle – everything works with the exception of the front passenger door solenoid. The only criticism is a slight looseness of the parcel shelf covering.

Starting the car - 3.4 lt M30 straight 6 starts on the button and burbles away at around 700 revolutions on idle. The engine had a full top end rebuild 10000 miles ago with a reconditioned head. Indeed, the car has a full service history including the original receipt (£33750). Reverse and drive are engaged with no drama or clonks – handbrake is solid as you like – the driving experience is sedate at low speed – the big lazy 6 is not the fastest off the block – big bore power is what this car is about - hitting national speed limit signs or the start of a motorway is fun – you put your foot down and the car literally takes off – formidable acceleration between 40 – 60 and continuing to 90 – this car is very easy to speed in so the computer function giving you an audible speed warning is welcome. The car handles like you would expect form a 5 series – not as refined as the E39 I had but a lot more fun. At no point do you feel the car is going to let you down – suspension is solid without being harsh and the ride is taught but refined.

Fuel consumption isn’t great but it is not as bad as my last 3.2 Daimler and is on a par with my Ovlov 850.

Tomorrow I am driving from St Albans to the Wirral for a meeting – after that I will be driving to Edinburgh. I am looking forward to putting the car through it’s paces up the A7 – Carlisle, Hawick, Gala, Edinburgh. On Monday I’ll be driving from Edinburgh to Nottingham and then on to St Albans – A68 from Edinburgh to Darlington at 6.00am will be a lot of fun.

All in all I am very happy with my purchase - £700 very well spent indeed – I could have finally found the all round car I need for my high mileage. It has the comfort, power, refinement and legs for the driving I do and is not an unpleasant place to be. IMHO the E34 is the best looking of the 5 series – combining 80’s retro with modern aerodynamics.

Only 2 issues: firstly there is a slight rattle from the rear exhaust clamp on idle – secondly the passenger door solenoid.

Daf 44 Road Test

Well, I collected the 44 on Monday evening and drove the 130 miles or so from Wolverhampton to Hertfordshire. What a cracking wee car the 44 is. The flat 2 air-cooled 870cc engine rasps away in front of you and thanks to the variomatic system returns 0-60 results and a top speed not dissimilar to a Viva or similar 70's saloon. Fuel consumption comes in at around 33mpg on a foot down cruise - certainly a better behaved motorway car than the Morris Minor was. Also - you can see why the variomatic system was so popular - when you compare it to some of the horrible notchy gearboxes of the time or the dreadfully ratio-ed Borg Warner auto boxes, this was a truly innovative car of its time.

Some of the design is very cunning indeed.

Interior is simple and very functional - excellent road vision all round and a light an airy place to be. Driving position is quite upright but relaxed - no tractor style Ignossiss but a decent amount of legroom ad for a small car good accommodation for the passengers.

Looking at the dash you have a single dial - the speedo which also has the oil pressure warning lamp and the charge amp as well as full beam and direction indicators - specific to left or right - often an optional extra. The stalks - let one does full beam right one is indicators and horn if pulled towards you.

Wipers are a switch to the right, hazards next to it and the squirty bulb for the washer is next to that - no washer motor to worry about here - it works on the water pistol principle.

To the left of the wheel you have the lights - side lamps or main

left of that is the transmission locking switch - never to be pushed when driving over 30mph as it locks the ratio of the cones enabling you to negotiate very steep hills.

Direction is chosen by the floor mounted lever which works a dog clutch in the rear - forward/'neutral'/reverse the direction can only be selected under 900 revs so you have to wait for the revs to die or you get horrible crunching!

The seatbelts are non inertia originals - serious bits of webbing kit which hold you a tad too close for reaching some of the controls.

The Dutch are a tall race and the Van Doorne bros working with Giovanni Michaelotti (spelling) gave substantial leg room - the car has a big car feel inside.

Under the bonnet a 'safety' feature is the spare wheel mounted in front of the driver, collapsible steering column and seriously thick steel give this small car a feeling of strength you don't get in a Fiat 500, Imp or Mini. You can see many of the features that Volvo developed with the 240 series in the 44 - cross bracing etc - all in all a very tough car which probably explains why there are still quite a few that haven't dissolved - the rust proofing was designed for the Dutch maritime climate so it tends to me mechanical mayhem rather than rot that finishes them.

The bonnet hinges from the front a la Jag/BMW - the little engine sits at the front of the compartment - impellor and cooling flanges at the front and the crab on the top.

Boot wise the luggage compartment is a good size and square for a car of this age - I carried 2 medium suitcases and a laptop bag and coats etc no problem.

Fuel filler cap is behind the hinged rear number plate.

Driving the car

Starting an early variomatic car is a unique experience - firstly you have to have to select the direction of travel - then you put your left foot firmly on the foot brake - then you start the engine taking care not to rev it too much or the car will start to roll forward (or backwards) depending on which direction you selected - this means where you park is always a slight challenge.

Moving from reverse into forward when the engine is cold often means switching off, selecting direction and restarting again. With practice you car tell when the clutch shoes are biting and therefore when NOT to switch direction.

Fun results when you put your foot down - the revs rise high and then come down as the car accelerates - a bit like one of those modern scooters (also CVT) - the wee engine begs for revs and it is great fun flooring it and hearing the responding clatter from up front 'overdrive' is reached by easing off the revs - weirdly the momentum and speed is maintained but the cones move into a higher 'ratio'.

The car handles very well for a wee car of this period - the variomatic acts like a LSDiff.

Brakes are drums all round and do the job well.

The car is most amusing on an A road - B roads are fun but I'm always a bit wary of high hedges and drum brakes - which keeps your speed down a bit. Motorways are no problem - car cruises well at 70 - can run out of puff on the hills though.

Round town the car is brilliant - unlike many older cars the variomatic system makes the car very sharp on the off - it is easy to take most modern stuff up to 1.8's off the line in the first 20-50 meters - this makes it more than capable in dealing with the greatest issue in keeping up with modern traffic - namely getting onto fast roundabouts.

My one leaks a bit of oil and as the sump only holds 2 lts needs careful watching on a run. Crankcase oil seal probably but might just be a breather valve.

I will post some pics next week. I can honestly say that these are great practical classics for those on a budget - simple to fix, the transmission is easy once you get your head around it - the belts are just as likely to go as any timing belt is with less disastrous consequences. The owners club is well supported; parts are easy to get from Holland.

Best of all - when driving people smile and wave at these cute cars - you don't get aggro especially when they see you can keep pace - certainly better performance than on many modern micro cars.

People wave at me in the BMW as well - only they use a different gesture.

Shift to Daf and you'll never shift again!

400 Miles in a 1973 Daf 44!

Route: St Albans M1-M6-M6 toll-A74-M74-A702 Edinburgh

Departure time: 1250hrs
Arrival Time: 2010hrs

Distance travelled: 389 miles

Stops: Keele Services, M6
Abingdon Services, M74

Petrol Used: 45 ltrs petrol used returning 39.3 MPG (Shell Optimax)
Oil used: 0.5lts of 20/40 mineral

Remarkable little car indeed.

Following on from my review of driving it last month I can add the following:

Driving position is comfortable but a tad old fashioned, the seats are good and provide support to even the largest gent; no BMC neck cramp here; after all it was made for the Dutch – a race of giants. The pedals are slightly offset to the left so you have to crook your right leg a wee bit, this is because the wheel arch does intrude into the foot well and reminds you of what a small car this is despite the big car feeling you get in the cabin. The height of the roof and the amount of glass exacerbates this.

Progress is respectable for a 1973 car. The more I drive it the more I do not understand the criticisms this car had from British motorists at the time. It returns faster 0-60mph times than many of its larger engined comtempories and is certainly quicker off the mark and round town than many modern cars.

Driving technique requires getting your head around the principle of variomatic, which I won’t get into here, but is essentially around momentum – spinning the engine to bring the power when needed but easing off the throttle to maintain ‘cruising speed’.

On the motorway the car cruises most happily at around 65-68mph. Over 75 the ride gets a bit iffy and wayward as the nose wanders a bit. All in all it is a competent motorway cruiser and much better than my old Morris as it is easily faster than the HGVs. Overtaking at speed and pulling into the outside lane is a question of timing and momentum. The trade off for the efficiency of the engine is lack of power when serious hills are encountered. Both Shap and Beattock summits are the highest motorway points in the UK with long hills to climb. In a Tdi or in the BMW you don’t notice them – the 535i will storm up them without checking it’s stride. 850cc of flat 2 air-cooled up front does feel them though! Holland is, after all, mostly flat! Mind you – road speed on these hills never dropped below 55mph so not too bad. A 1.4 Focus I hired recently wasn’t much better up Beattock.

Several nasty rain storms were taken in stride. No aquaplaning, slipping etc.

By 1900hrs I had reached the A702. 38 miles of A road through the hilly borders country to Edinburgh. I was a bit concerned about the car on the A road as there are some big hills but once again she surprised me and kept a decent road speed just under 60mph on all but the steepest bits where she never dropped below 45mph. The only difference the A road made is because you use your brakes more the efficiency of the brakes deteriorates, after all this car has all round drums. This is worth remembering when coming into a 30mph as if you rely on them to slow you you will probably end up in the boot of the car in front.l

Reaching Edinburgh the car once again demonstrated its nippiness in town. Off the mark at roundabouts and traffic lights the variomatic system is snappy and I caned a saxo for the first 50 yards. Diving into gaps is all very well but you have to recall that after the first 50 yards the acceleration is 1970 850cc figs!

Anyway, a stress free, fun, relaxing journey in a delightful wee car that is probably more at home on the motorway than it is on a B road as it is all about momentum!

Here are the long awaited pics!












850cc of flat 2 boxer aircooler power!

a closer look of the actual engine - tiny thing - note the air cooling cowling and the exhaust complexity

The spare tyre is actually listed as as a saftey feature in the manual - the position is to cushion the driver from collision - a sort of pre inflated air bag. On LHD versions it is obviously mounted on the other side.

Sherpa Autosleeper Adventure part deaux

Part 2

Harpenden to Edinburgh - 400 miles

Isn’t it amazing how music can effect your mood….

Well, I am now sitting in our telly room back in Auld Reekie (as us natives refer to The Athens of the North) having had a pretty decent journey, give or take a few mishaps, from Harpenden. So, without further adieu, here is the second instalment of my ‘road test’, mostly waffle and conjecture but you may find it distracting. I will get some pictures up sometime over the weekend once I have taken some- promise….

When spending the many hours a week I spend behind the wheel of the car, mostly motorway tedium, listening matter becomes quite important. So three cheers for Audible.co.uk and their unabridged audio books. I have downloaded over 120 over the last couple of years and am now working my way through some serious literature and am halfway through Wuthering Heights, cracking stuff by the way for those of you who haven’t read it. However, this morning, if I am honest, I was feeling a tad apprehensive. The route from Harpenden to Edinburgh up the M6 is a long one. I split it into chunks – Harpenden to Norton Crane services on the M6 Toll. Then to Charnock Richard in south Lancashire – Charnock Richard to Carlisle, Carlisle to Abingdon on the M74 and then the A702 from Abingdon to Edinburgh. Given the van’s appalling behaviour on the motorway earlier in the week I was not relishing this drive. I had a lousy night’s sleep and was concerned, as various components of the van had been failing over the last few days.

Wednesday afternoon I leave the office to pop into Halfords in St Albans to get the following: one of their excellent motorist’s tool kits (£20), a sticker with 60 on it to stick to the back, a fag lighter socket, wire and an inline fuse to mount a power socket on the dash – so shit is Halfords in St Albans, all I came out with was the tool kit. 15 mins later I was back however as the heavens opened and the great flood commenced…and, true to shite car form my wipers failed as did my heater fan, within minutes I could see nothing. Then the indicators went, the fuel and temp gauges, the hazards….but the stereo still worked! Back to Halfords, I got in just before they closed and bought a bumper box of glass fuses and a load of blade ones.

Now sadly, my van is of the vintage when automotive makers didn’t really take the leccy elements of a car very seriously therefore the fuse box is in fact 3 glass fuses with no indication either in the user manual or the Hayes one as to what each actually does. Further examination revealed 40 years of bodgery and corrosion. At some point some bright spark had installed a 1980’s era alarm, no one had known about this because the in line blade fuse serving it has disintegrated – the alarm had been forgotten by subsequent owners and screeched back into life on replacing the fuse causing me to bring my head sharply up into the edge of the bonnet – nice – blood – great. On examining the fuse box I discovered a mass of rusty terminals and damp connections – years worth of shit. As the warm Hertfordshire rain (and blood from my head) cascaded off my be-suited back and slowly filled my work shoes (Church’s Brogues - £149 retail) I was rapidly falling out of love with my new van as I saw my smirking colleagues manoeuvre away in BMW and Jag’d luxury. Working quickly and blinking the rain and sweat (poor liver function) out of my eyes I replaced every fuse (they all seemed to be 35 amp and 2 were at least 30 years old, raiding my wash kit I then scrubbed out the box and the surroundings with WD40. Hey presto – the wipers started – clambering in I decided to tackle the indicators in the morning.

So, where was I – yes a nasty night’s sleep and I am not looking forward to the day’s drive and staring with longing at the 535i parked next to the van. Hedging my bets I called the RAC and then started tackling the indicator fault – essentially taking the dash to bits and giving all a good old shoogle and clean – just as the RAC van hove into sight the indicators flashed into life – with a quick thanks to the chap I jumped in and was away.

Switching on Radio 2 I was struck by the aptness of Springstein’s “Born to Run” especially the bit about ‘suicide machine’ as I white knuckle overtook an HGV on the M1 – deciding that I needed new sounds and deciding I couldn’t cope with Heathcliffe’s beastly behaviour and Cathy’s narcissistic selfishness I put on a CD my sister had given me last week and it proved to be the tonic I was looking for.

For those of you who, like me, have no idea who 90% of the ‘celebs’ in OK magazine are (or care) and, who like me, feel that the only use for such magazines is to provide arrest lists for my secret police force when I become Dictator thus enabling them to identify those who have lead the cultural and moral decline of our nation over the last 20 years and ship them to ‘re education’ centres that I will build in Knutsford for ‘processing’; this CD was by a young up and coming rhythm beat combo with a lead who goes by the name of Plan ‘B’. The CD in question is called Strickland something or other. For a – getting you in the mood for a long drive- the combination of gangsta rap, motown, the sort of backing strings Mendelssohn would have been proud of and lyrics describing all sorts of naughty behaviour I would recommend it thoroughly. To boot, listening to such music will give you instant REESPEKT next time you pull up next to a SAXO as, according to my sister who is an authority on such things, this CD reached NUMBER 1 on the LP Hit Parade!

Anyway, I started to enjoy the drive – the van started to handle better, my speed crept up to a respectable 55mph. By Lancaster the indicators had failed again (along with the wipers) I stopped at Carlisle and fixed them by giving the fuse box a good prod with a screw driver with the help of two drivers of Type 2 VW campers in mint condition. Now, I must apologise to the VW fraternity – I know I have been a bit harsh on them in the past and their Audi driving offspring but these chaps were very helpful and very interested in the Sherpa van, the best example they had seen as active classic camper van types – praise indeed! The last 100 miles of motorway saw the van hitting 70mph – no unpleasant lurches. The A702 was navigated at an average of 53mph – not bad for a car let alone a van.

The B series thrumming away up front was in excellent fettle and having mused over my comments in Part 1 of this journey I do believe that I may have been LACKING IN MORAL FIBRE with all my whining about Gilbert & Sullivan and buttock clenching terror. By 1900 I had rounded the shoulder of the Pentland Hills, and there was Edinburgh, nestling by the see.

Why? Well I suspect 2 reasons. Firstly, old vehicles like to be used and I suspect that several hundred motorway miles had freed up the leaf suspension and broken in the new steering box hence the handling improvements. Secondly, in the words of Master Po “Because a man can see, he does not look, Gwasshopper” – I had missed the point of the van – it is, after all, a van…….

And I love it!

1975 Sherpa Autosleeper road test part 1

Redruth to Windsor 269 miles. Car time - 4 hours 20 minutes. Actual time (driving) 7 hours.

According to the statistics, most of us consider ourselves good drivers. My weekly mileage, 800-1200 miles, has changed the way I drive and I am a lot more defensive than I used to be – less inclined to rake risks, at least once a fortnight you see something nasty on the road that could have been you and the goal becomes – get home to the family in one piece. Therefore I would class myself a competent to good driver, certainly very experienced, that is, until yesterday.

With a jaunty step I boarded the 1220 flight to Newquay, a wonderful propeller plane called a Bombardier 400 (how disappointed was I that it was not a Fokker with all the associated jokes). By 1400 we had touched down and I was waiting outside the airport for the vendor of the 1975 Sherpa Auto-Sleeper I bought 2 weeks ago. The west country – proper west country like Cornwall I mean – has a light to it even when raining that seems to dispel stress and as I waited for my lift in the light drizzle I was feeling pretty good about life.

Within 5 minutes I had realised that the lady standing my the Mercedes staring at me was the person I was looking for so without further adieu we were on our way to Cornwall to collect the said RV.

About 40 minutes later we pulled up, and there she was, in all her BL grandeur – a wonderful pearly white with a blue bottom and a thin nautical stripe. The maritime analogies didn’t end there, the interior is, of course full on 1970’s Auto- Sleeper. For that read solid wood fittings, wooden pop top, solid metal clips – the whole feeling is canal boat/small overnight sail yacht. And little was I to know that the piloting of said vehicle requires the skills of helming a sailing boat, and others beside – golf, the violin and Gilbert and Sullivan spring to mind.

30 minutes later and I was on my way, in convoy behind the Merc. But first, more on the van.

The vehicle is in remarkable condition. Body work had a major refurbish 3 years ago – much welding and filling and a respray – beginning to show bubbling in some areas as you would expect – the steel on these is thick but being BL, they do dissolve – in the bundle of receipts there is one for professional rust proofing from new and this has held much of the worst at bay. Other than a few areas to watch the body work is in good nick. New rear door seals are required and there may be ingress from the off side rear door window judging by the delamination of the locker on that door but this could be old damage. The only fault I could find is that the rear bottom door catch is missing – screws in so the rear doors are only catching at the top – I will source a new catch.

Inside is in very good condition except for the fridge (a very early 2 way) (not working) and the draylon covering of the driver’s and passenger’s seats – both worn on the seat. The van comes with 240 V lighting and mains sockets – when hooked up to an external supply, 9V lighting and socket with plug (2 pin affair – I will convert an fag lighter type 4 way plug to fit this. The 9V system being powered by a serious leisure battery with automatic charging – this battery also powers the Kenwood CD player and the pump which fills the sink from a huge 16 Gallon fresh water tank slung under the vehicle. Food comes from a very good quality pop up 2 burner stove and grill. The gas system powers the fridge and the cooker and there is room for 2 10lt gas bottles under the floor.. The good news being that both the leccy and the gas have recently been overhauled and checked for safety. Sleeping comes from 2 roller hammocks in the roof for those under 80 kilos (not me I’m afraid) and the 2 bench seats and drivers and passenger seats convert to make 2 narrow but comfortable single beds. Both the bench seats can convert into forward facing passenger seats so the vehicle can take 4 rear passengers sitting sideways on the dining couches or you convert them to 2 forward facing seats. I intend to fit rear lap belts for the forward facing configuration. Insulation is provided on all large metal surfaces

Behind the wheel is pure BL 1970s – simple controls – one stalk serving full beam, indicator and horn. Headlights on the right of the wheel with choke under the dash, left of the wheel the usual unidentifiable BL round lights for indicator and hazards – the hazard wiper and wiper washer switch (2 speed wipers). Ventilation comes from sliding rear half of the front windows – the rear full length windows make it very light place to be compared to some campers – driving vision is excellent and the rear full length windows slide back along half their length making it a pleasant place to be on a hot day. A powerful fan blows air out of 2 side vents – spinning discs to shut off and direct – very simple. The heater is effective.

Under the bonnet the 1.8 lt sits looking small in an engine bay where the Flying Squad crammed a Rover V8 in the 1970’s. There is a large water filler for the under body fresh water tank – everything else looks very familiar – small SU carb, coil, dizzy with points and condenser, fan belt running waterpump. Girling brake system has been recently (£1000) over hauled with replacement pipes, cyls and pads all round. A reconditioned steering box sits black and gleaming. Tyres and wheels are the same as the Landcrab with the wonderful steel hub caps. Exhaust is recent and has a side exit with a nice insulating trim on it – spare wheel sits to the side.

Well, we set off in convoy for the A30 junction at Redruth and 20 minutes later I was waving goodbye and joining that road. Behaviour at slow speed took some getting used to but nothing a seasoned classic driver can’t cope with. Yes the steering is not powered and a tad heavy, the gear change is not like stirring porage (as we spell it at home) as at least Porage has some resistance – my skills as a violinist came in here – the violin has no frets – the player just knows where the notes are after years and years of practice and scaring cats he suddenly sounds like he knows what he is doing – gear change is similar but thanks to the low gearing and also the incredible torque from the 1.8 the van does shift happily in 3rd as it does 1st. 4th gear comes in at 30mph – the van pulls slowly up to 45 then onto the dual carriageway of the A30……

This is when I realised several things – firstly, I am not a good driver, my car makes me a good driver – it’s all very well to sneer at the slow bridgade (vehicles like this one, old Landrovers, top heavy vans etc) from the comfort of powered steering racks, Macpherson struts, disc brakes etc and shout at someone for not going any faster than 55mph but trust me on this – in such a vehicle 55mph requires every ounce of experience and skill of a competent driver, an experienced seaman, and your knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan starts having you sing “A Wandering Minstrel I……” through clenched teeth as your buttocks consume your underwear. Dual carriageways and motorways especially in the south of England are a nightmare for said vehicle. Here’s why – suspension that was out of date 20 years before the van was conceived, king pins that need greasing every 1000 miles, a steering box with a 2” travel either way (and this is a reconned box) all make the van challenging BUT then add a couple of hundred weight of solid wood, a nice proportion of that at roof level and combine that with wheels that were designed to propel the Landcrab – a car with a nice low centre of gravity. Add also the dismal state of the inside lane of the average motorway – specifically the two trenches carved into the inside lane by overweight lorries – trenches that your BMW acknowledges with the merest twitch but in this thing have the ability to hurl you across the lane to the rumble strip and then start a pendulum effect as you struggle to anticipate the wander – this is where those other skills come in. Seaman because you have to look out for gusts of wind and compensate when you sea one and also the ability to anticipate as your helm will respond with some delay. Golf because you have to read the camber of the road and the holes in it very carefully indeed and balance that off with the effect of the side wind.

By 1700 I was at Truro and realised that there was no way I would make my destination (Surrey) at a civilised hour – keeping the vehicle from careering off the road or into traffic was tiring to say the least. So just before Bristol I pulled into a service station, £15 later I had an overnight parking permit for the secluded rear car park, 2 mins form the loos but a blissfully peaceful distance from the M5. I started to get the van sorted for the night. The roof popped up easily and gives 6’3” headroom in the main body of the van. I assembled the folding table (stowed behind a back seat), switched on the gas and lit the stove. Whilst I ate my Spaghetti a la Carbonara (cooked from scratch on the wonderfully hot stove) I read through the entire history of the van and pondered the handling question. Something the vendor had said to me about tyre pressure – yes she sad they were pumped up because it made the van less hard to steer at slow speeds. Also the 16 Gallon fresh water tank was empty. I washed up – assembled the bed and went to the land of nod.

Once used to the bed the issue wasn’t so much with the narrowness but with the pisspoor sleeping bag I was using – note to self – feather duvet next time!

Woke this morning reasonably refreshed at 0730 – visited the service station to use very clean shower room and clean teeth – large latte and back to the van – I packed up quickly, got into my works suit (I had a meeting in Windsor at noon – and went to the filling station. The van runs on unleaded thanks to a Fuel Cat and returns around 28-33mpg – pretty decent methinks. After petrol I checked the tyre pressures which were 49 – they should be 38 maximum. I let the air out to the recommended amount and used the trickle of water from the air machine to fill the 16 gallon tank around half full. With the extra ballast and the tyres at the right level the remaining 130 miles to Windsor passed without event and with the van behaving much better – no alarming lurches due to HGV troughs – the only things to watch out for remained adverse camber (more common than you might think on the road) and cross winds – (can be lethal). The scariest bit was having to overtake a 40mph 1.6 golf – requiring F1 steering skills to balance the vehicle for the more than 5 degree correction of direction. Never have I driven a vehicle where you pray for 50mph average speed limits before!

I was not aware of this but there is a whole society of slow moving drivers who are in sympathy with your predicament. You get waved at by the older postman who can no doubt remember the jaw clenching experience of actually driving a van like this. Series 1 Landy’s understand the wandering nature. HGV drivers give you a wide berth. You get waved at and talked to in supermarket car parks but those same folk waving at you will be the ones who bang past you at 100 mph 3 yards from your driver’s door and no thought to the slipstream issues they cause you!

So, will I be keeping this? Well, as a short range (2-3 hours) weekender and picnic van it is great and that is what we want it for. However, I will be seeing if it will be possible to upgrade the front suspension to LDV Pilot. As is, friends have been bemoaning the lack of turbo diesel – quite frankly, the vehicle is so scary at speed the 1.8 is just fine….Whilst I am on the subject, how do I tell the difference between a B series and an O series – it looks like a B and I was expecting a B but there is a load of paperwork describing the O in the files – answers would be greatly appreciated as would any comments to improve handling – I wonder if the reconned box is as reconned as it should be – I might try and find some new old stock replacement.

Anyway, part 2 will be posted on Friday, I am just about to drive the van from Windsor to Harpenden – Thursday is all the way up the A1 to Edinburgh – the real test all 400 miles of it!