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!
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