The top 5 retro vans for sale at the moment, unfortunately being as what often happens when things are for sale they do sometime actually get sold and so therefore if you are reading this post a week or so after it was posted (19/10/09) these vans are probably no longer for sale. But that does not mean this post is irrelevant, it can still be used as a guide for what you can buy if you are looking for an old skool van or camper. Van rental must have been a whole different ball game back in the day when these things were considered the norm!
First off mainly just to get the obvious out of the way we have this 1966 Dove Blue Panel Van VW Splitty on Ebay. It is a Classified Ad and the asking price is £8,950
A left hand drive model from Sweden with a 1,641 cc engine with only 3000 miles on, it looks to be a very tidy and straight van, which the owner has admitted to only restoring to a solid and straight usable van rather than an OTT concourse finish, remember this is a used van at the end of the day. Some rust coming through but only in cosmetic places and all past welding done by the owner who is a professional welder.
I think this is a pretty tidy van and is amazingly devoid of any scene shenanigans and would be a great basis to work your own magic on. The price tag is sadly reflective of the astronomical prices splitty’s command.
The second van is a rare little find, which i think is brilliant but it does have the looks only a mother could love. It is a 1959 Standard Atlas Classic Camper that has a Buy It Now price of £1,995.
It is a project with no MOT but for £2k someone will get something very different for the same price as a half decent Mk1 Golf. It starts and drives but needs some rust attention to the floor pan and only has a handbrake at the moment. It has a 1622cc B series engine, so replacements should be fairly easy to come across if needed and overall looks like a project that could be completed quite quickly.
Now for something a little bit more French how about a Citroen HY van, up for a starting bid of £5.5k and a Buy It Now of £6.5k but you will have to be quick because it only has one day left.
Built in 1959 it has recently been recommissioned after being a barn find in Charente. Most of the Mechanicals work and it just needs the interior camping part to be built, because it is in daily use at the moment with only little bits such as interior and screen rubbers that need doing. It has a sound chassis that is waxoyled and all new brakes, exhaust system, H4 headlights and all four tyres.
The only bad part is it is in France but that really isn’t too far and because it is a van it would mean you could do a booze cruise when bringing it back over. I think I am correct in saying registering cars from other European countries is a relatively easy affair so don’t let that put you off a great van.
Now for a van that has been gaining popularity a lot recently, the Commer PA camper van, these are quite tricky to find especially in good condition like this. It is currently at £3,800 reserve not met with one day to go.
This 1962 Commer sounds like it is perfect to use as is and has an MOT till August next year, with only 4 owners from new and no rust on the body at all! the 1500cc Rootes engine is an old workhorse so there shouldn’t be many problems although it won’t be exactly fast. It is fully fitted out as a camper with hobs, grill, sink and electric tap all fitted. To make the van even better, it is Brown! retro-tastic!
Depending on how much it ends up going for this looks to be an excellent buy and would just need a few little mods (*cough* slam it!) to make a show stopper.
And lastly one of my favourites and something quite a bit smaller a Ford Anglia 307E Thames Van at £3,212 reserve not met and a day to go.
Sadly there isn’t much information on the car in the auction except OMG WAS USED IN HEARTBEAT! But it does say that is taxed and tested (no idea for how long….) and is said to be in good condition. Definitely would need a good looking over but I have to admit to this being my favourite because I am a Ford man through and through and would love to get my hands on this and slam it over some Lotus steels and fit a nice hot X-Flow in it.
Special Mention has to also go to a rather lovely looking Triumph Courier Van for sale at £4,800 that looks ripe for a twink conversion….
I would have liked to include a Mk1 Transit but they are getting silly rare now with most of them being scrapped long ago.
