J types at the NEC this weekend.

The big classic car gathering is happening this weekend at the NEC Birmingham.
Here are a couple of pictures of the stand being set up on Friday.
The stand is in Hall 11, so do make a point of popping in to see the 3 J's on display.

749 VRF captured  on its way to the show. Picture taken by Mr Dave Gothard and posted on the CCMV Yahoo group site.

Period J van.

Period J van in action.
http://youtu.be/Kiax2s5F0D4

The 6/80 & MO car club.

The 6/80 and MO car club who cater for our side valve engine vans have produced a new calendar for 2013. Featuring two JB vans in the calendar with OBL being Miss July.
Price £5.99 + p&p contact Colin Poland, e-mail publicrelations@680mo.org.uk to order yours.

Another Australian J for sale.

Another early van has emerged out of the undergrowth, looks like the Dravleys Dry Cleaners van need some TLC. I do hope this very early (square side lamp) J type van is saved.
It on e-bay Australia http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/morris-commercial-rat-rod-/170931946515?pt=AU and it is up to $300 dollars, very cheap. Its well worth saving.

An up date on the green Morris JB van at the top of the page.
Its a 1959 model and according to the DVLA,

Seems it is still recorded as being in its old colour of grey and has not been taxed since 1990, I wonder if we can solve this little mystery.

Spending money.

I have been out spending money, very easy to do even when your feeling a bit short.
I have up-graded the storage site (on this blog) where the down-loadable manuals are stored, this will mean bigger files can be stored and the downloading speed should improve.
Please feel free to download and print out any of the documents there.
I have also been buying various J type spares, you never know when these parts will come in handy.
Also if anyone is interested in doing the rear axle ratio swap I have purchased another good second hand crown wheel and pinion, its a 4.55 to 1 to replace your 5.625 to 1, complete with all roller bearings and thrust bearings.
If you want to know how to replace the differential parts check out this blog post http://ratioswap.blogspot.co.uk/.

Purchase Tax in 1950.

Another snippet from a commercial vehicle magazine tells me that purchase tax went up in July 1950, this forced Morris motors to increase the price of the 10 CWT van (J type) up to the staggering price of £72 19s 5d.
If they were that price now, how many would you buy?

Commercial Motor Mag 7th March 1952.

The ice-cream dispensing vehicle has been converted from a MorrisCommercial J-type van, the original roof being replaced by one of' hand-beaten aluminium. Coachbuilt doors replace the original sliding doors, and the whole Of the body sides above the waist rail are fitted with 'sliding windows.

Interior fittings -include two aluminium lockers, one on each side of the body, and aluminium counters. 

A Stuart Turner electrically driven water pump and a Perspex sink are fitted to the off-side locker, whilst two jellymould roof lamps provide interior lighting. A Flettner ventilator is fitted in the roof.

A high degree of manoeuvrability is a useful asset to an ice-cream dispensing vehicle, and this feature the J-type van possesses to a greater degree than many other types.

Another mention of the the JB van, this time 23rd September 1960,

TODAY'S announcement of a new range of Austin and Morris I0-12-cwt. forward-control vans sounds the death knell of a vehicle that pioneered the many small forward control vans built by many European countries. This was the Morris-Commercial J type, later known as the Morris JB. The J type was introduced at the 1948 Earls Court Show, and was revolutionary in being the first 1/4 -ton van not to be derived directly from a private car and bearing no resemblance to a car.

It has remained popular to the end, the G.P.O. alone having several thousand in service. With its large body capacity, neat lines and good manoeuvrability, the J type was a winner from the start. The only major change it suffered was the replacement of the original Morris Oxford side-valve engine by a more modern overhead-valve unit. In its development stages, however, the prototype once had a flat horizontally opposed engine, designed for a car and then dropped. One example was also built as a battery-electric milk float.

The latest on Bugly the van in Australia.

Bugly has changed hands but Im glad to say his new owners are keeping us all updated with its current restoration.
I understand they are up against a tight time table.
I cannot say who the new owners are but I will say Chocolate and have a look at the colour of the wheels, that should give you a clue.

The GPO rally 15th September.

A good turn out of vehicles but few people.
Here are a selection of pictures of the J type mail vans that were there and also the Telephone van within the cramped museum.
Enjoy.