Lot Ended
Description
From a
deceased estate; two owners from new, the current for 54 years; only 4,801
miles; Ford 3.0 V6 engine; CIM Wayfarer motorhome conversion; time warp
condition; what a find!
First registered in October 1966, this
remarkable Ford Transit Mk1 Custom originally left the factory fitted with a
York 2.4 diesel engine and was first owned by a Ford Dealership in Cheltenham
who planned to use it as a standby vehicle for delivering spare
parts.
The current owner acquired it from the dealership in 1971 by which
point, according to a letter on file, it had still only covered 56 miles. A
professional mechanic who owned a garage in Gloucestershire, he ditched the
asthmatic diesel engine in favour of a fully rebuilt Ford 3.0 V6 Essex engine,
also replacing the rear axle with a Zodiac unit with a high ratio diff for more
relaxed high-speed cruising. He also rust-proofed the chassis to ensure it would
remain in good shape for many years to come.
In
1972 he had it converted into a Wayfarer Campervan by CIM of Poole, fully kitted
out with all the amenities of a luxury motorhome including a pop-top roof, large
side windows and sleeping arrangements for four adults and two children.
Five old MOTs on file show that it was only very
lightly used, covering a mere 3,640 miles by 1986, shortly after which it was
put into storage where it was to remain for the next 36
years.
In August 2022 it was taken out of storage
and recommissioned to get it through an MOT which it passed with no advisories
recorded. The MOT states the mileage as 4,814 but this is a mistake and it was
presumably 4,801(4), the odometer currently showing 4,801(7) miles. The MOT was
done so the owner could remove his personalised number plate from the van, JUL
6, now replaced by the number PUB 818D.
Starting
promptly and running well as we have moved it around on site, with a notably
sweet engine, it will doubtless benefit from some precautionary checks before
going camping once more due to how little it has been used over the last four
decades.
Repainted at some point in the
not-too-distant past, this remarkable survivor has never been welded and must be
one of the lowest mileage Transit Mk1 vans on the planet.
On offer here from a deceased estate, this early Transit, dating from
only the second year of production, is a proper time capsule and your only
dilemma will be whether to enjoy it for camping holidays or preserve it in an
air chamber. What a find!
For more information please
contact: james.booth@brightwells.com