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[revolting peasant]

[triang1]

and I thought Commer spacevans were plain...by Jim they were ugly...

 

Sort of small scale VW T2 with all the charms of Fiat's corrosion record.

 

Local builder had a white one which he ran for ages as a permenant orange rust drizzle built up around the seams and guttering. One day it disappeared to be replaced with a VW T25 pickup, which he still has 15 years later.

[tooSavvy]

 

retroKoolest.... the van dissolved away in the rain faster than the fibreboard lining...lol

 

tooSavvy

[revolting peasant]

[seth]

Hey, don't panic! Revolting Peasant is on the job and has a reliable old van to get him into quarries.

 

[Station]

Good stuff, those old brochures were properly set out, unlike the crazy flashy shit of today that makes you think you're tripping.

[Barrett.in.the.USA]

I've got a serious lob on for those early 850 vans. I have only ever seen one in the wild and it BLEW MY TINY MIND as I was so used to seeing the later 'Amigo' style ones, I never even knew they existed (gimme a break, I was about 11). Wonder what the chances of finding one in England would be now? (very little) It'd have to be a panel van though not a camper or bus (no chance!). Would it make a suitable first car for a young man about town such as myself? (get a grip man!)

 

Good topic POGPEASANT. Keep 'em coming.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Whats this 2.4TD engine you speak of POG?

 

I reckon the 2.5TDi engine from an LDV Maxus, which i believe is a 130bhp common rail version of the old VM 4-headed monster, sounds like a fuggin GREAT candidate to be transplanted into all kinds of old crap.

[Cavcraft]

2.4 is the Ford engine as fitted to the newer Transits I believe. Sorry to sound (even more) twattish (than normal) but wasn't the 2.5 engine in the LDV Maxus actually the old Transit Di lump?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

No, i'm pretty sure it was a VM effort. I think the LDV 'convoy' (looks like the sherpa above) had the 2.5 Di though.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Pretty sure late Convoys were fitted with Ford 2.4 common rail engines.

Maxus engine is definitely VM, the same one fitted to firey LTIs. I think it's an OHC/multivalve effort though, I wonder how much, if anything it shares with the 4 headed monster.

 

the next two pages were designed so that AUTOSHITE members may, in "teh future" crudely emblazon humourous fake company names on using MS Paint

 

[shite_meister]

Gentlemen Gentlemen I can settle this on Tuesday since I work in a commercial vehicles garage that has an LDV parts franchise too.

 

I really ought to know the answer off the top of my head but the truth is in nearly two years of working for my current boss-hog I've only ever dealt with two Maxus' and that was over the phone so I don't rightly know off the top of my head about that one, also we are a multi-franchise garage.

The old 400/Convoy could be had with the FSD425 tubot/non turbot then the 2.4 duratorq Ford lump suffering the same starter motor/ring gear/dual mass flywheel issues.

 

Thanks for the pics, I didn't realise that the big old 400 was introduced as the Sherpa (our parts EPC only goes back as far as 200s/400s) I remember back in the day when the big sherpa were new, my old man did his mate who was a printer some delivery favours and I came along for the ride, the flex in that roof was fucking insane, like Barry White slamming his fists on the roof in anger than he'd only had sex with 47,895 women rather than the 50k plus he though he had, it was like very loud thunder especially every time you drove the bastard round a corner, I wonder if thats the reason they standardised the high roof on the later models?

 

I never knew Autosleepers did a conversion on one, thats the first pic I've ever seen of an Autosleepers Freight Rover big Sherpa, interesting. Also I actually prefer that old dash to the 400 and Convoy dashes which are about as solid as my faeces after a night on the wine and just as good looking.

[Guest]

[freebird]

Dunno to much about all the ins and outs but i can tell you that that Ford lump transformed the LDV.I took a 54 plated Luton across to Barcelona and back in the summer of 2006. The heater was stuck on and we had to wind the windows up going up hill to stop any possible "drag" and maintain speed. It was still the same old, same old uncomfortable pile of crud that handled like you were trying to canoe a turd through a sewer BUT I fell in love with the old shit heap. Fully laden at 2.am i was hitting 95 heading through France and a huge mileage was covered within a matter of days. The hire company wasnt totally pleased to have it returned with shagged brakes and dubious looking tyres tho..

Basically, the last of the LDVs are top quality shite, highly recommended, tough as fuck, not overly comfortable, look like a 70s throw back and go very well.

[shite_meister]

 

Hahahahahahaha mildly amusing hahahahahahahahaha

[Jon]

Strange how modern the wide Sherpa looks from the back, as I'm struggling to see anything they changed other than the windows and eventually clear indicators; not bad over about 22 years! The 2.4 Transit engined Convoys were seriously weapon, especially compared to a real Sherpa (Pilot). But that's not saying much, I suppose. I remember getting some really cushy job on overtime one night at Royal Mail, checking the fuel guages of all the delivery vans and then going and filling all the empty ones up at the local petrol station about 3 miles away - well, it was the only one open at 2am or whatever. I'm in a 2.4 Convoy but with a short body and high roof, which really shifted, especially when empty. Snooty looking lady in a Mk4 Golf arrives at the lane to my left at traffic lights and I just know she'll be cutting me up before the next lights, as her lane turned off left to a small housing estate. She launches it from the lights and does indeed cut me up, then goes to the same petrol station I'm on my way to. Only, I've already been numerous times that night and know that it's unlikely that she'll know that all but one pump has been switched off. Cue a 'tortoise and hare' moment as I cruise up and start filling with diesel while she's still fumbling around trying to work out what the issue is.

 

Oh and I never really got on with the couple of Maxxus I drove, though they were only introduced to the RM fleet a short while before I left. Maybe I was just expecting too much but they didn't feel as fun to drive as the equivalent Transit and the central speedo was utter gash. The engine also seemed to lack low down power, though I'm guessing that much like those swoopy Renault Trafics they were more attuned to high speed motorway driving than blatting from postbox to postbox.

[oman5]

I drove one of those old "big" sherpas with the land rover diesel engine. truly,truly awful.

Also had a go in a maxus..actually pretty good, tho not a fan of the central speedo. I agree, it's defo more at home on the motorway, it feels too big and unwieldy for town work

[warren t claim]

Where did it all go wrong for LDV? Once they had something like 70% of the 3.5t market that's now dominated by the Mercedes Sprinter. Surely they must of made a profit somehow?

[dollywobbler]

Where did it all go wrong for LDV? Once they had something like 70% of the 3.5t market that's now dominated by the Mercedes Sprinter. Surely they must of made a profit somehow?

 

You've answered your own question. Sprinter came along and suddenly the LDV looked like the overblown Austin Cambridge that it is. Actually, with their independent front suspension, I'm being harsh on Austin Cambridges...

 

Drove a LDV Convoy Luton with the Transit lump to France and back. Certainly cruised at 70mph comfortably for hours on end, but hideous steering shake made that not very pleasurable. Maxus feels worlds ahead, let down mainly by shite quality. You daren't touch a panel for fear of denting it. Great engine though...

[Tayne]

.

[AnthonyG]

The Maxus was a joint venture development with Daewoo, which LDV took about 4-5 years to get to market on their own once Daewoo went tits-up in 2001 or so. GAZ has nothing to do with it, the gangster/oligarch/Russian investor* who owned GAZ bought LDV around the time the Maxus was nearly ready to go to market. The most recent Gazelle could well be a Maxus with a GAZ badge on it.

 

*Delete as appropriate

[Mr_Bo11ox]

My understanding is that LDV were doing OK till Daewoo, whith whom they were developing the Maxus, went bust. They had to finish the development themselves and repatriate the half-finished assembly line from Poland to the UK. They got some govenrment money to help then finish the job, and against all the odds got it together and rolling off the assembly line in Brum. However they were then stony broke and went into administration, and the guy who had been running the show, some brummie businessman (who must have been pretty savvy to have got it to that point), got the boot. Then they were bought out of administration by GAZ and that Deripaska bloke, who got the factory going again and made some noises about a second maxus factory starting up in Russia, but nowt much happened under their stewardship and when the credit crunch bit and van sales dried up, he just washed his hands of it and it shut down for good. CHEERS FOR THAT.

 

These russian 'businessmen' seem to basically have NFI about anything apart from yachts and caviar, going off the performance of the TVR guy and this story, if you see one coming with a wheelbarrowful of roubles or whatever, you should run a mile, as far as I can see. I wonder how things will pan out for SAAB seeing as they seem to have got into bed with one. I predict misery.

[freebird]

So why were Nissan Serena vans rebadged as LDVs?

Have I got hold of the wrong end of the stick or was LDV standing on street corners whoring itself to all interested parties?

It does seem that, yet again, a British owned car/van manufacturer got fucked over by foreign "investors".

Mind you, the board of the Phoenix consortium, who bled MG Rover dry, have been banned from being directors for, ummm 6 years, i think. This will severely hurt the British multi millionaire businessmenn involved..

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think those Serenas were just some deal struck by the brummie bloke to give LDV a smallish van for customers who could not face piloting a sherpa. (see what I did there?)

[Tayne]

.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

They were owned by Spyker, now the spyker sports car company has been sold, Saab is owned by some hollow man outfit called Spyker Sweden or some such. They almost ran right out of money in the last few weeks but have done a deal with some chinese company and this 'Victor Antonov' (who must be shady as fook cos GM specifically stated in their conditions when they sold SAAB, that this guy was not allowed to get involved)

[freebird]

They were owned by Spyker, now the spyker sports car company has been sold, Saab is owned by some hollow man outfit called Spyker Sweden or some such. They almost ran right out of money in the last few weeks but have done a deal with some chinese company and this 'Victor Antonov' (who must be shady as fook cos GM scecifically stated in their conditions when they sold SAAB, that this guy was not allowed to get involved)

You aint wrong Mr B. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13236167

Get the feeling that taxpayers cash is ending up in somebodys pockets for fuck all in return?

Apart from massive debts, of course.

[AnthonyG]

Saab are f**ked I think. Factory being shut and suppliers not suppling are usually strong signs of death. The brand/badge might make a few million flogged to the Chinese company that bought the rights to the last 9-3 and 9-5, but they won't want a factory in Sweden that probably hasn't turned a profit on its own since about 1990.

[warren t claim]

I used to be the proud owner of an LDV Pilot and they're not that bad really. To date it's the only XUD engined vehicle that never suffered mechanical meltdown (It did catch fire due to dodgy wiring though). Very economical and it would cruise flat out all day. Being narrow had big advantages for loading and unloading as well.

 

I'd certainly buy another as a cheap hack.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Here is the 'EVO 6' of Sherpas, the 2.4 duratorq Convoy!!!

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-02-LDV-Convoy-LWB-Low-Roof-2-4-Diesel-/250807312602

 

This one's a 2002 with 86k on, £1600, looks super tidy like.

 

Seems the LDV gets this engine in 75bhp flavour, the feeblest variant of all. I wonder if you can get your LDV Pilot 'superchipped' up to 90bhp or something?