RE: Shed Of The Week: Leyland Convoy

[RobinBanks]

Didn't someone on here start a thread that they lived in one of these and it hadn't run for years and they needed advice on starting it up?

Might have been a Leyland 400 Series

[StoatInACoat]

Our Scout group had an H reg version of this in 17 seat minibus form. Had no power steering, a petrol engine from a strimmer, no brakes and a manual choke with the peg mod. The last time I drove it the peg had disappeared and I had to execute a 3 point turn in front of a load of worried parents. I have never driven anything that felt so close to just falling apart and exploding like that scene in the blues brothers film.

Process to turn it was thus:

- Push down to get it in reverse so full weight on gear lever to force it in
- Hold choke out
- Keep revs up
- Hold brake with left foot
- Cling onto the steering wheel and use body weight to get it to shift and attempt to rock the van with a combination of throttle and brake without letting it stall to get it to break traction enough for the front wheels to start turning.
- Remember not to let go of the choke
- Depress throttle to avoid stalling
- Repeat three times. Almost die form exhaustion and petrol fumes entering via the "colander spec" doors and floor
- Cheer from Scouts. Wringing hands from parents.

Went all over the country in this thing with between 10 and 15 lads in the back and all their kit for a weekend on the roof, sometimes with a massively overloaded slightly illegal trailer as well. Everything on it was rusty and the panels with the least rust seemed to warp as if they were cardboard that had been left in the rain so they didn't really fit anymore which meant the side and back doors wouldn't shut properly and sometimes fly open on the motorway. The fuel consumption took the piss as well. Radio didn't even work so there was an old JVC boombox bungeed to the dash.

Awful, awful contraption that seemed to be based pretty much on the old Sherpa van which itself was a nasty outdated pile of arse when it was new. I can only assume that LDV where kept alive solely by the public sector buying shed loads of the turds (presumably at a massively discounted rate) for so long as you would have to be mental to buy one yourself. The only thing our one didn't do was break down very much which I suppose says something for the strimmer engine which I assume was nicked from a Model T Ford or a motorized wheelbarrow anyway.

Edited by StoatInACoat on Friday 7th August 14:08

[wanacoop]

We bought one I'm of these beasts some years back. It was a crappy blue colour, had the pugeot td engine in. Four of us spent loads of time doing her up, did the general lee replica thing. We did two trips around Europe in it, it slept 5 easy, loads of room for storage, the extra high top is great too.

We then got fed up with the shakey old diesel, and stuck a rover V8 in with a ss custom exhaust! Sounded awesome. Took her to Le Mans twice, such a great van.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EyXebDVGna8

We named her 'General LDV'she's also tackled the Nurburgring twice!

Edited by wanacoop on Friday 7th August 14:30

[MadDog1962]

Well I guess we are entering "silly season".

This is the worst shed in a while. You are having a laugh Mr Shed.

(I suppose that's what SOTW is all about anyway)

[Mr E]

The AU had a couple of these at Uni in minibus format. They were preferred to the (dreadful and old) Fiat bus that had 200K+ on the clock because they were new.

3 of us once drove from Yorkshire to Fort Willam in it. With 10 drunk people in the back. And all their gear on the roof. And a trailer with 14 canoes behind us. Slow didn't cover it.

[marshall100]

I can only assume the posties are still on their walks and the stories of burying one in a hedge on it's roof will come later this afternoon.....?

[Digga]

marshall100 said:

I can only assume the posties are still on their walks and the stories of burying one in a hedge on it's roof will come later this afternoon.....?

Or of how the gear selectors used to break from the weight of rubber bands 'stored' on the gearstick.

[cookie1600]

The Crack Fox said:

I've always wanted a slightly rapey old van. Form an orderly queue, ladies.

If Clarkson couldn't get away with his truck drivers quote, I'd be surprised if this one got through

[Rumblestripe]

williamp said:

If it had a VW badge on it, everyone would be gushing at its cheapness and useability. Buy it, trun it into a retrocool camervan nd youll be fine or the proms, goodwoo, glynborne ect

Yes we would, and there's a reason for this. Actually several reasons

1. It would actually be OK to drive

2. It might actually look alright when converted to Campervan/Dayvan/Whatever (assuming competent spannering)

3. You could reasonably expect it not to fall apart inside the week even with Starship Enterprise mileage recorded.

Great write up, truly horrid form of transport.

[Fastdruid]

pSyCoSiS said:

_Deano said:

For someone that wants to take their bike, and their mate bikes to the track, this would be awesome.
You could also fit in spare tyres, tool, parts, medical station, kitchen in there too.
All for £750, what's not to like?

It's st, that is what's not to like! If you look around here are far better vans for that sort of money.

Exactly this.

I have driven a shed load of various vans for trackdays, VW's, Renaults, Fords, M-B's etc and the LDV is without a shadow of doubt the very worst of them by a massive margin. Uncomfortable, loud, slow, terribly vague steering, poorly made with bits falling off, this was despite being all but new (IIRC the one we hired had only 1500miles on).

Before I had the experience I didn't used to bother checking what the actual van was as long as it was big enough, after that I checked what the van companies were hiring and refused to have another LDV.

StoatInACoat said:

Awful, awful contraption that seemed to be based pretty much on the old Sherpa van which itself was a nasty outdated pile of arse when it was new. I can only assume that LDV where kept alive solely by the public sector buying shed loads of the turds (presumably at a massively discounted rate) for so long as you would have to be mental to buy one yourself.

This too. I wasn't surprised and didn't shed a tear when they went under.

[Itsallicanafford]

suffolk009 said:

I remember renting and driving one for a couple of days, full of fellow Uni students in the late 90s.

It had a cassette player, the radio didn't work, and we had to listen to the same Oasis tape for two days.

tell me it wasn't 'Standing on the shoulder of giants'

[NickM450]

Rumblestripe said:

williamp said:

If it had a VW badge on it, everyone would be gushing at its cheapness and useability. Buy it, trun it into a retrocool camervan nd youll be fine or the proms, goodwoo, glynborne ect

Yes we would, and there's a reason for this. Actually several reasons

1. It would actually be OK to drive

2. It might actually look alright when converted to Campervan/Dayvan/Whatever (assuming competent spannering)

3. You could reasonably expect it not to fall apart inside the week even with Starship Enterprise mileage recorded.

Great write up, truly horrid form of transport.

There you go folks, perfect example of the difference in build quality.... sorry, I mean marketing, between VW and LDV

[KTF]

StoatInACoat said:

The only thing our one didn't do was break down very much

I wonder if this was the reason why the Post Office and co bought the things. When its doing to get ragged every day and be worth nothing when you get rid, why not get the cheapest thing you can get your hands on. As long as it doesnt leave you stranded, who cares if it falls apart along the way.

If they bought them just because they were 'british' and they were unreliable, then I would have thought the repair bills for keeping the things going must have outweighed any cost savings in the long run. Or maybe they just didnt care...

[geeks]

I have one, converted into a camper, it's not actually as bad as everyone is making out. Has the same 2.5 Di "Banana" engine that the transit boys rave about. It's never going to win any form of competition but it does what it does very well, doesnt go wrong, never fails to start and goes wherever i point it! Has the mechanical bosch fuel pump that has been wound up, egr removed and it goes alot better than it did when we picked it up! Cost a third of the price of an equivalent transit, vw or merc and does exactly the same things, it was really noisy when we bought it but that is because it didnt actually have any sound deadening, so i purchased and fitted some and that sorted it out.

Also a guy is touring Europe in one and loves it!

http://vandogtraveller.com/

[Cfnteabag]

I believe that the PO bought thousands of these to prop up the british commercial vehicle industry and the same reason the MOD ended up replacing the Bedford MJ with the Daf 4 tonner.

We also used to have loads of these as white fleet minibuses, best thing about them was that they didn't have speed restrictors fitted which their replacements did. Many a time have I been in a rusted out LDV minibus full of squaddies trying to hit the magic 100mph!

[CDP]

Rumblestripe said:

williamp said:

If it had a VW badge on it, everyone would be gushing at its cheapness and useability. Buy it, trun it into a retrocool camervan nd youll be fine or the proms, goodwoo, glynborne ect

Yes we would, and there's a reason for this. Actually several reasons

1. It would actually be OK to drive

2. It might actually look alright when converted to Campervan/Dayvan/Whatever (assuming competent spannering)

3. You could reasonably expect it not to fall apart inside the week even with Starship Enterprise mileage recorded.

Great write up, truly horrid form of transport.

My T25 VW transporter had four cylinder heads (not gaskets) fail; they cracked such that combustion gases ended up in the cooling system. This was a very common problem.

[StoatInACoat]

NickM450 said:

Rumblestripe said:

williamp said:

If it had a VW badge on it, everyone would be gushing at its cheapness and useability. Buy it, trun it into a retrocool camervan nd youll be fine or the proms, goodwoo, glynborne ect

Yes we would, and there's a reason for this. Actually several reasons

1. It would actually be OK to drive

2. It might actually look alright when converted to Campervan/Dayvan/Whatever (assuming competent spannering)

3. You could reasonably expect it not to fall apart inside the week even with Starship Enterprise mileage recorded.

Great write up, truly horrid form of transport.

There you go folks, perfect example of the difference in build quality.... sorry, I mean marketing, between VW and LDV

I take it you haven't had the pleasure. They really are as st as they look and everyone says they are. I don't have huge experience of VW vans but the Transporter a friend of mine uses that is a similar age to this one has a CD player, doors that keep the rain out and a roof that doesn't rattle like a load of tent pegs in a washing machine.

[surveyor]

I remember driving a hired mini-bus version of one of these from Bristol to London. It was not very old, but it was st.

Did not help that it broke down in a jam.

Awful awful things.

[leedsutd1]

These were horrible to look at when new and even worse to drive , 10 years out of date when new , buy a transit

[morgrp]

Ripe for a V8 conversion