LDV PILOT/SHERPA. How terrible are they?

[Lankytim]

In a parallel universe in which I don't particularly think about road safety, i'm slightly perving over LDV Pilots, specifically the crew bus type ones with an additional row of seats which gives them seating for 6 but leaves the very useful loading area free at the rear. Its the thinking mans Ford Galaxy!

 

I have heard that these things are pretty dismal in the driving stakes and have a top speed of 43 MPG and do 0.8 MPG but are they livable with? They look great VFM and i'd imagine their multi-role capabilities make them amazingly useful, plus they're narrow enough to fit in the average supermarket parking space. Best of all ex- royal mail ones are red. And I like red.

 

Check out this honey I found after 30 seconds of looking on e.bay,

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LDV-PILOT-HYBRID- ... 500wt_1156

 

(sorry, I don't know how to link pics from e.bay, it would be great if someone wrote a how-to guide and stickied it)

 

Any real- life experiences of these?

[freebird]

Think of a 30+ year old design, that has been tweaked over the years but is still so far behind the times only financial/nostalgic/masochistic/ "look how off the wall I am" reasons would be valid to buy one.

They are the British version of how the Indians would have built them if they had been shipped over in CKD kits. What the Indians did to the old Morris Oxford/ FE Victors have done nothing to make them equals of other current cars.

Expect nothing and be pleasantly suprised, expect much and save yourself aggro by buying a Transit or something. Much better vehicles.

[dollywobbler]

Pretty dreadful. I thought the dashboard looked a right lash up. Then I remembered that I'd driven an MG RV8 with a lot of the same controls... (that shared heritage between MGB and Sherpa just kept going!). Kingpins aren't really ideal for a van being built as late as 2004 (I think?). They're slow, unrefined, ill-handling (especially in snow) and I doubt they're that fuel efficient. Get a Maxus instead if you want a shite van that's actually capable.

 

Despite all the above, I'd have a Leyland Daf 200 like a shot. Didn't seem quite so ancient for a 1980s van.

[KruJoe]

... pics from e.bay, it would be great if someone wrote a how-to guide ...

Can't sticky it but here's how, Tim (firefox on XP). I think some users on mobile gadgets can't do this, so we'll forgive them!

 

1 Click the thumbnail you like on the listing

2 Click 'enlarge', it will open up a new window with the larger image

3 Right click on the image, and select 'View page info'

4 Click on the 'Media' tab

5 The relevant line should be highlighted, if not scroll down to it

6 Right click and 'copy'

7 Go back to your AS 'Post a reply' box, click the (Img) button, and paste

8 Don't forget to also copy and paste the link for us all, and click 'Preview' to check you have it right.

 

Sounds complicated but it's second nature when you've done it a few times. Hope that helps.

[KruJoe]

 

Back on track.

[Tayne]

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[Craig the Princess]

Sherpas are gr99!

 

Well my 400 series is, not sure on the later pilots with the modern (non-Metro) instruments. 40mpg should be possible and oh so much nice than an ex-taxi Galaxy.

[wuvvum]

If you're seriously considering one of these, it has to be a pre-LDV 200 series with the Perkins Prima engine - far more economical than the later XUD-equipped vans, and seem to be more commonly available with sliding cab doors, which are FTW. If you're lucky you may even find one which has had a Montego turbo diesel lump fitted, which will enable you to keep up with traffic, in a straight line at least. As others have said, they have zero cornering ability and zero traction, and the steering is also heavy, but in their own way they are still entertaining to drive.

[Lankytim]

 

(sorry, I don't know how to link pics from e.bay, it would be great if someone wrote a how-to guide and stickied it

 

Are you taking the piss?

 

There's a picture guide sticky'd at the top of the forum.

 

No i'm serious!*

 

Actually i'm on a pretty ancient MAC, linking pics from normal sites is fine, but it seems to have trouble with pics on e.bay.

 

Are the pug engined ones really worse than the prima variants? They seem to be be the most numerous and most likely to be in a decent condition, anything with a prima fitted tends to be a knackered rotten builders hack.

[dollywobbler]

I haven't experienced a Prima one, but I guess the reason you don't see many is rampant rust. And the later ones are just as bad. There's a 54 plate near here and it's really quite badly rotten. As in, next MOT might be end of life. The sills are a right state. That explains any "won't need much for an MOT" or "needs a little surface rust attending to" comments in Ebay ads...

[freebird]

(sorry, I don't know how to link pics from e.bay, it would be great if someone wrote a how-to guide and stickied it

Are you taking the piss?

There's a picture guide sticky'd at the top of the forum.

No i'm serious!*

Actually i'm on a pretty ancient MAC, linking pics from normal sites is fine, but it seems to have trouble with pics on e.bay.

Are the pug engined ones really worse than the prima variants? They seem to be be the most numerous and most likely to be in a decent condition, anything with a prima fitted tends to be a knackered rotten builders hack.

No they are not! Sometimes people over analyze things. The Pug lump saw my Dads old van go through 100,000 miles with only routine servicing. They are good performers and not huge fuel drinkers. Look, does it REALLY matter what lump is under the bonnet? Unless you can prove that its been meticulously maintained with a full and comprehensive FSH, it will make no difference whatsoever. Both engines have their own issues its pointless comparing the two .

Why not wodge a bid in?

Good luck.

[AnthonyG]

I didn't think they were as bad for rust as a Transit, but I guess the fact that people actually want to buy old Transits they get welded up rather than scrapped, which happens to most LDVs after about a decade.

 

You never see old Renault/Citroen/Fiat/Pug vans of that size much either, I guess they lunch their engines/driveshafts/gearboxes after about 7 or 8 years.

[Cavcraft]

The PSA engined ones (as you linked to Tim) are a bit slow but bloody reliable engine wise. Usual checks for h/g fail (look for bubbling in the radiator) and it looks like one of the duel purpose Post Office mail and minibus ('Postbus') versions used in rural villages.

Kingpins, nasty interior plastics, wheel bearings and grot are the usual favourites, plus of course a lot of these were hammered mercilessly by the drivers, though the Postbus ones probably slightly less so due to passengers.

 

What seems to happen with the ex-P.O vans is they get sold on to the second owner who uses them almost as a test van, they get even more neglect and hammering then get pased on through various mingebags each giving them less and less attention. Obv. they're not all like that but it certainly seems to be the fate of most of them.

 

I can tell you now the Perkins ones were shed loads faster and had plenty of torque but I never owned the two I drove long term to say about reliability. Like I say though they were seriously quick old things but people do rate the PSA engined ones for reliability. If you do an internet search there's a company in Liverpool somewhere (Bootle possibly) who are the experts in them and break them for parts. If it's cheap enough and the rear seats have proper belts ('genuine' crew buses just had shitty wooden benches and no belts) then a decent one should last you a while with basic maintenance.

[CreepingJesus]

Our old 'bus was ex-PO, but had been brush painted blue. What a shed. Unbelievably noisy, wouldn't go past 55mph, and had a constant stream of random problems.

On the upside, the economy was ok (I never bothered to measure it properly, but about 25mpg was a good guess), and problems are easily fixed, as they're so simple/crude (delete as appropriate). Parts backup is fantastic, and usually cheap; and there's much interchange-ability with PSA (ours was the XUD type) and various Rover group heaps.

Dunno about handling issues: I never had any trouble chucking ours around. In fact, it held its' own on the tighter backroads hereabouts, due to it bouncing around like Zebedee over every surface!

Having 6 kids, and 2 large hounds, it was the only truly practical transport we've had: I'd have another one in a heartbeat. I might even paint it, and sort the interior for insulation, if I had the cash for a return visit to LDV-land.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Has anybody attached a 1.9TD to one of these?

[AeroNautiCal]

I preferred an older, ratty, abused Transit to a later, well maintained LDV.

 

The Transit just wanted to go (albeit not that fast) and just felt a better working/driving vehicle.

 

OTOH, I could have been given a duff LDV.

[CreepingJesus]

XUD turbo was going to be my next move with ours. Should be piss-easy to do, there's loads of space to bung the blower in, and still have space for an intercooler.

I did contemplate doing it properly tho'; using one of the LR/RR conversion kits, and putting a bigger diesel in. There must be a reason more LDV's aren't going about with the turbo XUD in, which isn't the turbo XUD's iffy reputation.

Making sure you haven't got one with the shortest diff ratio might help too!

[Lankytim]

All of this is just hypothetical BTW, I'm not in a position to buy one just yet, but should something dreadful happen to the Audi and i'm in the market for a family load lugger that can double up as a large van i'd seriously consider one.

 

Transits are probably the better vehicle and are pretty nice to drive but the Sherpa is smaller, more suited to my needs and IMHO has much more character.

 

Engine wise i'm open to whatever is available, which seems to be all pug engined diesels, which are also the newest, most numerous and more

likely to be in good condition.

[Cavcraft]

This place is pretty good Tim, lots of advice and there certainly used to be the odd bargain to be had. I'm sure someone on there once put a 1.9TD engine into their's and did a build thread...

 

http://www.ldv-sherpa.co.uk/index.php

[Pete-M]

I've not driven a 'proper' Sherpa for ages, but I did drive a few LDV 400s a couple of years ago.

 

They were both '54 plates I think, with the Transit lump. Not very quick, bloody noisy and pretty shabby examples. Both had diffs that whined mercilessly. Managed to wind 'em up to 80 odd eventually, but it's not something you'd want to do often for the sake of your ears, nerves, and what remains of your sanity.

 

Got to be the last resting place of loads of BL switchgear, and one even had a really shabby 'Rover' branded radio cassette - that played through the one working speaker in a mega-tinny crunchy way. I think the speaker was killed trying to compete with the diff.

 

Damned cheap though, especially for wheeled barns. I think they were £800 each.

[Tayne]

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[Lankytim]

I've read though the instructions again and after a while trying to find something with JPG on the end have found this...

 

 

Hope it works, if so THANKS TAYNE!

 

TBH I had read the instructions a few times before and the pics would either fail to load or take so long I forgot what I was suppost to be doing

 

Humm, it hasnt quite worked.... still, its a start!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

They're not so bad. A mate and I drove one from T'North down to Dover, got on a ferry and drove it to the Dutch/German border with a load of cargo on board. She was a wide body Sherka tipper, a later one with the 2.5Di Transit engine. It did the job, and hurtled along at 80 there and back.

[andrew e]

Get PAS. Same with any large van really. My mate still hasn't legalised his L series one yet - the latest snaps, and his words:

 

 

Intercooler (Transit Mk6) and Radiator (Renault Scenic) are mounted on bespoke steel frame.

 

 

 

 

Baby air filter is temporary.

 

 

Accelerator Pedal Position sensor and injection pump throttle lever are linked by cables. I'm not 100% happy with this so will probably be modified at a later date.

[Tayne]

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[warren t claim]

KSL in Simonswood, Kirkby are the main specialists in Merseyside.

 

I ran a P reg 9 seater as my daily for nearly a year and found it to be a useful tool. The 1.9 unit isn't as slow as you might think and PAS is fitted as standard. They certainly rust less than Transits but you need to keep on top of the kingpins with your grease gun every 1500 miles or so.

[catsinthewelder]

Like Pete I've never tried the LDV in 200/Pilot/Sherpa flavour but we've got a couple of Convoy minibus's at work and I've hired a local Luton version. I find them fine to drive, they've all had Ford 2.5 TD motors but completely different characters.

 

The old blue one has about 80k and serious rust around the gutters. To the point where I recently fixed the problem with the radio by removing all the rust flakes from the magnet of the speaker. Its a 98 T plate and feels fairly lively, the needle heads up its rev counter with reasonable speed and it rattles along at a fair old rate. It does suffer from vibrations though, we've lost count of the times that the wheel bearings have been inspected to try and cure it (and tyres balanced etc).

 

The newer bus is a 54 plate in white, it has epic rust around the lower edges and one ripped seat back but is otherwise pretty smart. I've mostly used this one since I passed my D1 a couple of years back. It feels a good deal slower than the blue one but as I can't legally take it over 50 anywhere local this is mostly academic. Acceleration and braking are noticeably affected however with a full football team on board so a fully loaded van can't be much fun.

 

I haven't spent enough time in the rented luton to get to know it as much as the bus's but it was more like the white bus than the blue one and I was fairly careful around corners.

 

In all fairness writing this I'm not entirely sure what I'm comparing them to. The only other commercial vehicles that I have driven are 2 Daihatsu Hijets and an F50 fourtrack, my VW T2 and a 4.25 tonne Iveco mini-coach that I took my D1 test in. The Iveco was the only really modern vehicle in this group and it didn't half show.

[trigger]

If only we had a resident LDV specialist on the board... still...

 

If there is one thing i can recommend and that's get one with power steering, the non-PS model will break you, if the steering doesn't first then the clutch will.

 

Oh and watch out for rust of course!.