New vanshite

[wuvvum]

My faithful old Transit ran out of T&T at the end of September, so since then I've been looking around for a replacement. After a fair bit of hunting around and lots of getting outbid at the last nanosecond, I finally bagged myself this beauty.

 

 

I picked it up from Southampton on Wednesday. To be perfectly honest it wasn't what I was ideally looking for - I was really after something that I'd be able to take into London, and I wanted a side loading door and a towbar, which this doesn't have - and it does need some TLC, but it was less than £400 with 10 months' test and six weeks' rent (and even 1/3 of a tank of diesel), so I wasn't going to complain too hard.

 

I actually have a soft spot for these old pre-Convoy LDVs. They're an honest, unpretentious workhorse - they're never going to go, stop or corner anything like a car, but they're robust and fix-it-with-a-hammer simple. This one drives more or less as I expected - it's not as quick as the Transit, the steering has more play and the gearshift isn't as good, but it's easier to start from cold (it has the good old Peugeot XD3T engine which means it gets glowplugs, which the Transit engine doesn't have) and it's slightly higher-geared too so it's not as frantic on the motorway. This one must have been quite a high-spec one when it was new as it has PAS and a rev counter.

 

It has a couple of issues - the first is that it smokes like buggery for the first few minutes from a cold start, and the second is that the exhaust is blowing where the down pipe meets the silencer - this was barely noticeable when I picked the van up but got progressively worse as I drove, and because the gear lever gaiter is split the fumes do tend to come into the cab which is a pain. Because it's near a join and the pipe is fairly rusty anyway, I don't think a repair is feasible so I'm going to have to fork out for a new section - but like I say, the van was cheap so I don't mind spending a bit.

 

Now I just need to get rid of the Transit. I don't really want to just weigh it in as mechanically it's got loads of life left in it, but it really is getting rather tatty so we shall have to see.

[Felly Magic]

Ex Transco Sherpa This originally will have probably had a genny in the back, and a fully equipped workshop.

[FredTransit]

Is that a DI or pug engine? It's a result if it's a DI

[dollywobbler]

Pug engine. The DI only came in with the later Convoy. My old Beavertail was one of these of similar age. Would slog away all day at the motorway limit (or usually bit less to save my hearing). Like you say, not exactly modern luxury, but they do the job surprisingly well.

 

I used to work for Transco, so nice to see one of the old vans!

[Guest]

Not my cup of tea the old LDV's - but thats cheap enough for a van. Bet its a snail compared to the transit though.

[Craig the Princess]

Beautiful, it matchs our one even down to having the same faults! Our one have been bloody reliable over 4 years and 25,000 miles mostly towing old chod around. Good luck with it.

 

[Cavcraft]

CLASS!

Lob your Transit on eBay, they seem to do well in the export stakes and I predict a £350+ WIN BONUS. MOt'd or not.