Worth a punt ? A30 Van
Discussion
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Seen this on flea bay and dont it look good. Going to put a bid on, any idea what they are worth ?
edit to add, my dad had one and was the first car I ever went above 50 in with my Mum shouting at my Dad "you will kill us all", it was later sold to get a ford Thames van and we did the magic 60 mph. Lucky my mum was not in the van ......
Seen this on flea bay and dont it look good. Going to put a bid on, any idea what they are worth ?
edit to add, my dad had one and was the first car I ever went above 50 in with my Mum shouting at my Dad "you will kill us all", it was later sold to get a ford Thames van and we did the magic 60 mph. Lucky my mum was not in the van ......
Edited by marc.l on Friday 13th February 15:47
stu67 said:
I don't know what it says about me but that is very cool! I'd be very tempted to carry out some "work" to the engine. Cannot remember the guys name who races one at Goodwood but it is competative and a great crowd pleaser!
Rae Davis is the guy who has developed them for racing and I think he's built quite a few for others people as well. I couldn't belive how fast they were at Goodwood, would be good fun to see off a new mini cooper in your A30 van !!
mph said:
stu67 said:
I don't know what it says about me but that is very cool! I'd be very tempted to carry out some "work" to the engine. Cannot remember the guys name who races one at Goodwood but it is competative and a great crowd pleaser!
Rae Davis is the guy who has developed them for racing and I think he's built quite a few for others people as well. I couldn't belive how fast they were at Goodwood, would be good fun to see off a new mini cooper in your A30 van !!
AJAX50 said:
When I was at college in the 60's one of the guys I shared a house with had one of these. He always complained about the lack of traction out of low speed corners so I suggested he took off the rear anti roll bar. Cured the traction problem, but my the body roll was quite something.
As far as I recall, they never had anything as sophisticated as an anti-roll bar on the leaf sprung rear axle. I doubt if they had one on the front either.They had lever-arm dampers though, perhaps your house-mate took those off.
The brakes at the rear were mechanical and hydraulic at the front. Again, time has dimmed my memory, but the master cylinder was mounted under the floor in a sliding frame arrangement, so that pressing the brake pedal moved the cylinder and frame to operate the rear brakes whilst still generating pressure in the cylinder. I believe '50s Rileys had a similar arrangement.
That van in the ad should have a fixed choke downdraught carb, not an SU, to be original. Still, the SU is probably more efficient and much easier to service 50 years on.
Paul
Edited by B16 RFF on Saturday 14th February 16:22
Edited by B16 RFF on Saturday 14th February 16:22
I had an A35 van as a daily driver about 10 years ago and it was brilliant - 40 mpg once I'd changed the diff out for an MG Midget one, although my van was 1098cc rather than 800.
I'd say go for it - I'd be tempted myself if I had room. I'm pretty sure that all of the Frontline upgrade bits should fit with a little persuasion. You could certainly get a K series and 5 speed box in there, plus disk brakes ( I can confirm that the existing brakes will be hydraulic on the front and mechanical on the rear)
Loads of room in them to cart stuff around too...
Edited to add that mine was incredibly reliable in daily use - just regular maintenance and occasionally adjusting the brakes (simple). You'll need a grease gun though.
I'd say go for it - I'd be tempted myself if I had room. I'm pretty sure that all of the Frontline upgrade bits should fit with a little persuasion. You could certainly get a K series and 5 speed box in there, plus disk brakes ( I can confirm that the existing brakes will be hydraulic on the front and mechanical on the rear)
Loads of room in them to cart stuff around too...
Edited to add that mine was incredibly reliable in daily use - just regular maintenance and occasionally adjusting the brakes (simple). You'll need a grease gun though.
Edited by smn159 on Saturday 14th February 16:59
They had no front anti roll bar but a rear one, at least the A35 did, not sure about the A30. The rear brakes were operated by one slave cylinder on the axel with a rust prone mechanical link.
They had lever-arm dampers though, perhaps your house-mate took those off.
The brakes at the rear were mechanical and hydraulic at the front. Again, time has dimmed my memory, but the master cylinder was mounted under the floor in a sliding frame arrangement, so that pressing the brake pedal moved the cylinder and frame to operate the rear brakes whilst still generating pressure in the cylinder. I believe '50s Rileys had a similar arrangement.
That van in the ad should have a fixed choke downdraught carb, not an SU, to be original. Still, the SU is probably more efficient and much easier to service 50 years on.
Paul
B16 RFF said:
AJAX50 said:
When I was at college in the 60's one of the guys I shared a house with had one of these. He always complained about the lack of traction out of low speed corners so I suggested he took off the rear anti roll bar. Cured the traction problem, but my the body roll was quite something.
As far as I recall, they never had anything as sophisticated as an anti-roll bar on the leaf sprung rear axle. I doubt if they had one on the front either.They had lever-arm dampers though, perhaps your house-mate took those off.
The brakes at the rear were mechanical and hydraulic at the front. Again, time has dimmed my memory, but the master cylinder was mounted under the floor in a sliding frame arrangement, so that pressing the brake pedal moved the cylinder and frame to operate the rear brakes whilst still generating pressure in the cylinder. I believe '50s Rileys had a similar arrangement.
That van in the ad should have a fixed choke downdraught carb, not an SU, to be original. Still, the SU is probably more efficient and much easier to service 50 years on.
Paul
Edited by B16 RFF on Saturday 14th February 16:22
Edited by B16 RFF on Saturday 14th February 16:22
When I were a lad, growing up out in the sticks, when life was cheap and bits of motor car were even cheaper and being stopped by the Police was a rarity...
Very occasionally an A35 would be seen driving around the lanes - mostly at night - making a wonderful noise and with the driver and co-pilot apparently sitting in the back.
Taking up most of the front was the 3-litre straight six engine and gearbox from an Austin Westminster.
Very occasionally an A35 would be seen driving around the lanes - mostly at night - making a wonderful noise and with the driver and co-pilot apparently sitting in the back.
Taking up most of the front was the 3-litre straight six engine and gearbox from an Austin Westminster.
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