A cold snap.

No rain this weekend but a cold Sunday night and when I came to use the J van for work it was both frosty inside and out.
Even the cobwebs inside the cab had frost on them.

Spares saved.

 Spare front axle, two drums and two back plates plus brake and clutch pedals saved from the scrap- man.
These parts were given to me some weeks ago and have been bouncing about in the back of the van all this time, now in storage in yet another rented garage.

A waste of time!

Today I got up early and took the van off to Slough, It had to be there by 9.00am. A Dr Who event was being held at an hotel.

 There the van parked up outside the hotel, the traders awaited the crowds inside in one of the function rooms with all their Si-Fi goods for sale. Tickets cost £25 to get in and then more money to spend on all that loverly merchandise.
One slight snag, a very poor turn out, yes plenty of people in the hotel but not there for the Dr Who convention. I left just after 11am. You could not even blame the weather, it was dry for once!

A Morris JB grill badge is for sale on e-bay.

Morris Commercial J Type Van from 1949 –1961, 1950s Bonnet Badge Extremely Rare
The name MORRIS is shown on the front of the badge.
It is made of pressed metal angled to fit above the radiator grill on the front of the van. Would have been chromed with red background around the letters.
Saved from a red scrap ex Post Office Morris Commercial J-type 10 cwt van in the early 1970s.
Stored for 40 years.
Needs re chroming - still some traces of red paint on inside edges of badge.
Rear retaining pins in place.
No damage to shape
Ideal for a Morris J type Van, restoration project or just for display.

 These are rare, so should fetch around £70.

Custom van update.

Some years ago, a picture appeared on the web of an early J type van, location unknown but the write up was in french.

Further details and pictures have been found on an Australian custom car forum site.
Seems apart from some of the body work everything else will be modern, so it would seem there are some very early J type vans spares going begging. (square side lamp model).

Thanks to Gray for finding these extra pictures.

Classic van and Pick up.

In the current edition of Classic van and pick up there is a brief write up of the J vans history, I think a couple of typo's have crept in but here it is in full so have a read and then go out and buy a current edition.

So Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
The joint writers of this blog are both away over the Christmas period, normal or abnormal service will be resumed in early January.

1000's of J type vans found in Australia.

Yes you read it right, 1000's of J type vans are flooding the shelves in Australia.

A picture of one of the recently found J type vans, seems it was a Cadburys  Chocolate delivery van from the faded sign writing and traces of chocolate and wrappers found inside.
The chassis number is un-clear but it seems to be a late production van. Further details of the van will be released as soon as I've finished eating.

June 1952 J type van for sale.

“This is a 1951 Morris J Type, dry stored for the past 38 years, still fitted with its original 1500cc side valve engine, 3-speed gearbox and back axle. The van is rolling easily, steering is working, gearbox is selecting all gears, but the engine is not turning. No major rust problems and the chassis is sound. Condition overall is very good. This is a genuine unmolested Irish van, ideal for restoration. The van is located in Co. Cork"

I just love the early front Morris minor bumper used as a rear bumper, some handles, gauges, glass etc are missing but are readily available. The nearside step looks a bit suspect but it is a good project. First registered in Dublin in June 1952.

Asking price is 3500 Euro's. 

The bad flooding on the east coast of the UK.

Sorry to hear about the bad flooding but its nice to see that some old vehicle owners braved the conditions and coped.

Is that a water cooled HRD?