Where are the 50s/60s and 70s vans?

[dinkel]

Rare as hens teeth:

The 50s/60s/70s middle class van has disappeared. The bakers, grocers and plumbers of Europe expanded their business with the help of cars they threw away after 5 years to buy bigger and better. Try to find a Daf pick-up to find none. This one is mint and drives on a regular basis.


Or an early Renault R4 van for that matter. No where to find but gone to dust. Parts anyone? Ooof...


Basic inside of a Peugeot D4B Pignose. FWD trucks have the huge advantage of a flat floor. There's not only a vast space to pack but also a good chance the goodies won't smell of oil. VW bus: why were you so populair...?

A mate has 30 of these gems in a collection and it's a time travelling experience.

[Wildcat45]

Those that mostly survive are camper conversations, probably done when new. Transits Sherpas Marinas etc.

I guess as you suggest its down to the hard life of the average van. A tool of the trade. How many 1960s, 70s angle grinders fridges or electric drills are still around?

[Yertis]

Obviously not many, but I still use my Dad's 1964-vintage Black and Decker electric jig-saw fairly frequently. It still has the same distinctive smell as it did when I was a toddler. I probably needs a service but I'm worried they'd condemn it on some grounds or other.

[Turbobanana]

I guess with the increasing prevalence in goods these days (automotive and domestic) of complex electronics, stuff is just viewed as disposable rather than repairable. A tool (or a van) that doesn't work, is junk and will be replaced to ensure the operator can continue his / her business.

Also, most vans are on some sort of lease / contract hire so there's a natural churn after 2-5 years.

I've occasionally considered staring a small business: if I did, I'd look to invest in a classic commercial rather than go new, assuming I did most of my driving locally and not on motorways.

[john2443]

Vans tend to have a hard life, first owners might look after them but as they work their way down they become cheap enough that the final owner uses it for the sttiest jobs and when something expensive breaks they scrap it.

There are a fair number of Morris J vans left, still a small % of the 50,000 that were made http://www.jtypevan.com/, because of the iconic design they've always been interesting and people wanted to keep them, more recent vans all look very similar so no one's going to care much.

Also, it used to be that vehicles went into scrapyards and sat there for years - we recovered 2 J types from a scrappy in the 90s that must have been there for 30 years - since changes in regs for yards (eg stopping fluids leaking into the ground) they don't have space for keeping things so it will be unlikely in 20 years time to find a noughties van waiting in a yard to be rescued.

[Ardennes92]

This belong to a guy that attends the POJ meet at High Ercall who also has a saloon that is in far better condition (the van is his current project)

[lowdrag]

Renault 4's are common as muck still in France and are used daily. I saw an R4 van the other day at the tip, throwing loads of stuff away. Prices are getting dear, as are 2CV's, but still affordable.

[Mr Tidy]

Commercials were tools of the trade - mostly had a hard life and when they needed major work done it usually wasn't economic. And for a commercial vehicle economics is obviously the main concern.

Because of that those that are left are pretty desirable, and not cheap!

I did see a Morris Minor van earlier this month at the Black Swan Classic Car meet, but sadly didn't get a photo.

But I did get this one at Castle Coombe in 2015.

[Darren390]

There was a lovely dark blue Mk1 Escort van on Ebay last week. Exactly the same as my grandads when I was growing up, even the colour was the same. The price? £20K.

I still regret not saving my grandads, he owned it from 1969 to 1999. Unknown to me until it was to late, it was scrapped in 1999.

[gshughes]

Mr Tidy said:

Commercials were tools of the trade - mostly had a hard life and when they needed major work done it usually wasn't economic. And for a commercial vehicle economics is obviously the main concern.

Because of that those that are left are pretty desirable, and not cheap!

I did see a Morris Minor van earlier this month at the Black Swan Classic Car meet, but sadly didn't get a photo.

But I did get this one at Castle Coombe in 2015.

Happy memories of one of those that my Dad had as a runabout when I was little. My brother and I sat in cushions in the back which I still mention from time to time to wind my Mum up, but I guess was normal in those days.

[dinkel]

lowdrag said:

Renault 4's are common as muck still in France and are used daily.

The 80s cars: yes. Very early 60s R4: nope...

[gregs656]

lowdrag said:

Renault 4's are common as muck still in France and are used daily. I saw an R4 van the other day at the tip, throwing loads of stuff away. Prices are getting dear, as are 2CV's, but still affordable.

2cv vans survive quite well.

My friend uses his old AK all the time, been all over europe in it - it's on a 68 plate but I have a feeling it's older as it was a Belgian import.

[grumpy52]

I see a few around my area , so much that I tend to forget about them .
My mate has a bull nose transit complete with harvey frost crane that he uses regularly in his scrap business.
One of the local fishing boats has a Thames Trader drop side that is worked regularly.
A local HGV mechanic has an immaculate mini van that he shows along with his immaculate FS1E .
My mate has just painted a 7k miles minivan that is still with its original owner and a local courier has a Fiat Fiorino van that is used for local work .

[lowdrag]

Sorry, but every time I think about these types of vehicles the - revised -old song "Where have all the Transits gone, long time passing" comes to mind. "Gone to graveyards every one". And it isn't far off true since they were but workhorses and used as such.

[hilly10]

My mate owns a body shop and finished this off this year for advertising the business

[Mr Tidy]

gshughes said:

Happy memories of one of those that my Dad had as a runabout when I was little. My brother and I sat in cushions in the back which I still mention from time to time to wind my Mum up, but I guess was normal in those days.

Thanks, that made me laugh.

Back in either 1964 or 65 I went on a family holiday in Herne Bay with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle and 3 cousins and we all piled into my uncle's 1964 Cortina Estate for outings! All 5 of us kids would pile into the boot and squabble over who got to sit on the wheel-arches, so it wasn't unusual then!

[Gojira]

Hee, hee, hee

Back when the world and I were very young, the old man had an old Ford van, almost certainly a Thames rather than an Anglia.

With two extra side-facing seats for me and my kid sister, that 'elf and safety would have kittens about nowadays.

He too the family out to wales for the day, and I really don't remember the time in The Land of The Rising Sheep, but I do remember, when we were almost home, and he hit the Old Main Line canal bridge at Dudley Port a bit briskly...

Both me and my sister banged our heads on the roof!

[QuadCamCapri]

Haha, brings back memories. In the late 60's early 70's my dad had a Morris J4 Van and my seat at the age of around 5-6 was the engine cover between the front seats !

[williamp]

Remember gong to school in the back of Dads Morris Marina Van, sitting in the wheel arches When his welding bottles rolled over my foot is was, somehow MY fault!!

[P5BNij]

This '68 Minivan lives not far from me, see it out and about sometimes...



When it was first modified by the young lad who owns it, he fitted wide Wood & Pickett arches and 6x10 alloys.