C15 loan motor REVIEW.

[Lankytim]

  Hi shitters, I had already spent 20 odd minutes tapping all of this out but unfortunately by the time I hit submit the forum had gone offline and I lost the lot. FUCKSTICKS!

 

Anyway this post is all about Six Cylinder's Citroen C15 van. HERE IT IS.

 

 

I was up shit creek as my XM is in for open wallet surgery due to it's MOT and was taking longer than expected. I had no wheels to get too and from work! After looking for an ultra cheap motor for a months worth of tootling about Six Cylinder stepped in with his Visa Van.

 

The van was an ebay purchase, and the deal was that I'd collect it from the sellers premises, use it for a month or so and fix any obvious problems it has  and generally make it nice for when Six Cylinder comes and gets it. 

 

The seller was a French car breakers and the C15 had been bought in as scrap, but the yard owner decided it was too good for that and MOT'd it for daily work, a plan which never came to fruition. As a result it has sat since August. 

 

A 207k van, bought from a breakers, sat since August and bought in the dark. How good could this van be?

 

Well, very good actually. First impressions were good, apart from the drovers window which would drop inside the door (cured by a new handle) and the very insecure drivers door (fixed by repairing the loose striker pin on the B post with large washers) The drivers door has dropped, but as there isn't any adjustment to be had in the hinges, I think it's something that will have to be lived with.

 

The engine starts easily enough, even in the sub zero temperatures we've been having recently although it does need a bit of churning. I suspect a couple of heater plugs out of action, the engine is a real peach once running though, no smoke, rattles or leaks. 

 

Rust wise it's very good, the only real grot being in the sill area where there's a seam that meets the box section on the back and some rust in the bottom of the front doors. Underneath is pretty much rust free. No real dents to speak of and even the infamous bonnet leading edge looks solid.

 

 

 

The cab area is cosy, you rub shoulders with the passenger but it's a pleasant place to be. The driving position is good and the seats are VERY comfortable, there's also alot of painted metalwork which I find a nice touch. It's a minimum motor, with minimal extras, wind up windows, no power steering, no extras. Nice. I don't think this van has done any serious work or carried pallets of bricks and the like around. The ply lined load area is in ship shape condition. 

 

 

 

On the road it's fun to drive. It's slow and noisy but scoots around well enough and is nice to hoon about in- it's a real charmer! When collected it was glacially slow, I thought the brakes were stuck on or there was some sort of issue with the engine but investigation showed that the throttle was only getting about 50% movement on the throttle lever. A 2 minute adjustment had full travel restored and a comparative huge boost in performance. There's no bangs or bad noises from the suspension or steering, even the often wonky rear suspension is in good shape.

 

 

Amyway, next steps include a service and more fun commuting. I really do enjoy driving this van and doing the odd jobs on it. More updates to come!

 

 

 

[scruff]

Top write up on a class vehicle. I loved mine and you are right the seats are ace.

Nice rear number plate font for the pervs (like me)

[HillmanImp]

I am surprised to see that the interior and dash is EXACTLY the same as my Visa. You would have thought it might have been updated in the 15yrs or so between them.

 

*EDIT* The actual dials are different though. I will get a photo next time I remember.

[HMC]

I've lobbed a few late bids on these c15s but haven't owned one yet. Great write up, certainly sounds way better than you would expect. How many visas does six cylinder own now?

 

+1 on that rear plate mr S!

[Peter Patina]

Back in the late 80s these were the bollocks for couriering. How envious I was as all the C15s flew past my Fiorino on the M4.

[dollywobbler]

Great stuff. They are very charming in a dirt simple kind of way. My experience of them mainly involves one in Norwich, with about 11 people in it. Not recommended.

[Lankytim]

there's a C15 in the local breakers with a single spoked steering wheel and old style vinyl seats. I think those are the only differences internally between this and the circa 1985 original.

 

I grew up with these vans, my Dad was an electrician and worked as a subby for a local firm. He worked there that long that they gave him his own van from the small fleet of C15's they had at the time, the only catch was that it would be the oldest in the fleet as all the "full timers" would have the newer ones. As a result we had some real crocks. Wonky rear suspension was the norm and the "fix" required was a sledgehammer to be taken to the inner arches once a month. Rot, smoky engines with no compression, massive body damage, you name it, they had them all. A tin of EZ start was always next to the ignition key, ready to be used. One was a C reg with the old style front end, no side trims and single piece rear door! The rear door once swung open while traversing a building site, hit some scaffolding and shattered the huge window. The door eventually fell off altogether one day and the van was scrapped. I have many happy memories of being ferried about on shite family holidays in the rear of that van, with the whirr of tyre on bodywork reverberating around the rear and into my ears for hours on end. 

 

My first real experience of driving was in a G reg C15 that was  days away from being scrapped, I was permitted to hammer it around a closed coach park at the Merry Hill centre while my Dad got some work done somewhere on site. Fun!!

 

Eventually my Dad became a full time employee and started getting new vans. He had a P reg for a number of years. When It was 6 months old I was turning it around on a customers steep drive for my Dad, selected reverse instead of 1st and shot off into the house, wrecking the rear quarter. That van soldiered on with it's damaged rear until it was replaced with (I think) a 53 reg. That last van suffered a run of bad luck in it's first month, being struck by a hit and run on one side, then a week later had a lorry reverse into the opposite side, tearing a hole in the lovely new bodywork. My Dad retired not long after that. 

 

Here ends a brief history of my association with white C15's.

 

Oh yeah, what's the deal with the rear plate?

[Shep Shepherd]

Did the C15 ever have the Visa's PRN satllelites?

[cort16]

Where these not really cheap when new hence there was bazillions of them on the road at one point?

[dollywobbler]

No, don't think they ever had the pod dash. Yes, they were dirt cheap. £5995 I seem to recall for a brand new van. No wonder they were a bit flimsy and rot-prone really but they do take some hammer.

[MarvinsMom]

this van is ACE!!

 

i've long admired these, compared with anyone else's small panel van (maestro excepted, co i like austins) these always stood out as been a superb vehicle

[Fabergé Greggs]

Simply love these. Never driven one but if my BX hadn't turned up I most likely would own one. 

[MarvinsMom]

oh i so WOULD too

[Honey Badger]

I drove a chiller converted one of these for a while and it was quite a giggle as I ragged the arse out of it, it was glacially slow with all the extra weight in it but quite comfy on a run.

 

Great8 write up, are you getting tempted to keep it?

[DS20]

Back in the late 80s these were the bollocks for couriering. How envious I was as all the C15s flew past my Fiorino on the M4.

 

 

I am dyslexic and read that as back in the late 80s these were the bollocks for courting.  Which mightn't be inaccurate, possibly.  

[Noel Tidybeard]

here's some c15 porn

[cros]

Very nice van, can only go up in value.

[Lankytim]

I'd love to give it a home but alas once my XM is back I'll have no use for it, plus I don't own it.

[Guest AmbulanceChaser]

These vans are mega! Need to own one at some point!

[rml2345]

A brother of mine had one of these working as an engineer for an industrial tools type place.It leaked comically and was generally knackered but very endearing in a simple, reliable sort of way and I've liked them ever since.
Also, it was usually the only vehicle of his that worked. 

[Station]

I had the same on my Astra - throttle or fuelling lever was only opening 50% - a 2 minute adjustment and the difference was huge. I had been driving it round for 8 months with it like that.

Is this a turbo?

[Lankytim]

No turbo available on these!