A GPO J type van for sale on e-bay.

A J type is for sale on e-bay, an ex- GPO van that is a good basis for a pick-up restoration.

Here are the details and pictures from the e-bay advert.

Morris j type NO ID to this one
but is belive to be 1950s
side valve engine
easy made into a pickup
PLEASE DO NOT BID IF U DONT WANT IT
buyer to collect within 3 days end of auction
contact within 24 hours
this is advertised else were so can remove at any time
cash on collection

Winter is coming.

Some time ago I dug my Morris Post van out of hibernation. It had been in constant use for about five years and then I laid it up to give it a rest. I knew it need work doing to the brakes for its next MOT but I did not bother. Having recently had a shift round of vehicles  I awoke the slumbering CBY358D. Well I could not understand it, the brakes were poor when I parked it up over a year ago and now they were non existent. You would have thought they might have healed themselves in the last year resting but no such luck. I had all the parts I needed on the shelf in the garage so it did not take long to fit four front wheel cylinders, two flexible hoses and to start changing the brake fluid.

Well the brakes are much better but as money is a bit tight I felt a new tyre for OBL432 was more important than getting an MOT for CBY358D. I was not intending to use the CBY over the winter so the van is back in the rented garage. With the first frost of the winter upon us I have been looking at car covers. What a price they are, having checked various firms to have a custom shaped cover for the j type made, some firms were talking £350, in the end I bought small one made for a caravan. Its made of breathable three layer material and cost £49 plus p+p. Its a bit baggy at the front, because of the windscreen slope but with added padding to the rear drip rail and wiper motor shafts (to stop the sharp bits damaging the cover) it not a bad fit and should keep some of the frost/snow/rain from getting in.
The Minor saloon has also been treated to a cover. So that's me broke for the next few months. Still, I'm using the motor bike for work and at 65 mpg I'm saving some petrol money and knocking off a good 10-15 minutes on each journey to and from work.
Both the blogs for HBF 263 and the Austin 101 have been updated, their progress on their projects is staggering. Two new J types to watch out for on the rally field next year I think.

At last another vehicle blog.

Another blog but with a twist an Austin 101.
LSV 492 at last has found an owner that will give it the much needed TLC. A fantastic amount of work has already been undertaken and the owner has launched a blog site to chart its rise. Here are a few pictures of LSV from my vehicle album on this computer, over 11,000 vehicle pictures are in it, no wonder I can never find what Im looking for.

First registered as YMJ 702 this combination was issued from 1959
This plate would have been issued by Bedfordshire C.C. (currently Luton).
http://austin-jb-van.blogspot.com/

Help required for a fellow J type owner.

Can anyone help Bob with his restoration of the 1961 Tipper truck HBF263? He is in need of door handles and headlamp/ side-lamp bases.
e-mail him direct if you can help, bobskibikes@hotmail.co.uk

Latest period J type pictures.

What more could you want, a J type, period cars and a steam engine.

OYC997 waiting in the High Street.

The latest TV advert for Ancestry.co.uk features this J type, you have to be quick to spot it, only on screen for 3 seconds.

I had to do a double take, one of my old Albions is for sale.

Since I owned it the speedo panel and steering wheel have been changed for earlier items.
The driver seat I recovered badly.

Sporting a cut down Foden front bumper, the front wings I repaired still look good.

The tow bar has been added and apart from the front wings the body was Cream  and the strange  Brown  that I had to have mixed to match the HOVIS colour.

Nice Art deco, I spent many many hours cleaning it all as it was all brown from the  cigarettes.

I replaced some of the side windows, these were very heavy but each passenger had a handle and could wind the windows up and down, they worked very well.

I had to do a double take while looking  on a classic vehicle web site to find my old Albion bus was for sale. One of two I owned/saved back in the late 1970's.
From the sale pitch.This KCD 697 is an Albion Victor FT3AB was completed in November 1949. It was initially used a demonstrator by its body manufacturer, Harrington’s of Hove, Sussex. It then passed to St. Dunstan’s home for the blind, just outside Brighton, and worked there for many years. The vendor believes that this bus was used at the World famous Star and Garter Hospital for injured serviceman in Richmond-upon-Thames and then after changing owners, this Albion was the subject to an external restoration sometime in the Eighties, painting the bus in the Hovis colours, which she is presented here today. The Art Deco style interior is completely original and in very good order. The vendor purchased this Albion in 2002 and added it to his collection of commercial vehicles and has had very little use since. This 26 seat bus is supplied with a V5 registration document and a Class V MoT test certificate. Please note if the coach was to be used for fare paying passengers it would require a full PSV standard test certificate.


Quiet a bit of its history seems to be missing, St Dunstan's sold it to Rank Hovis who used it for the sports/cricket  club. I bought it from them. While in their ownership they removed the 6cly petrol engine and fitted a 4 cly diesel.
Some of the jobs I did on it, some new side windows, rubbed down all the interior wood work and re-varnished it all with four coats. Had some seat covers repaired. Recovered the roof as it leaked badly. Made an exhaust for it. Repaired the fuel gauge, magnet/float inside the fuel tank was sized. Rewired, repainted the whole of the outside. Had it sign written Hovis, front back and sides along with the motto "don't say brown say Hovis" on the rear doors just as it had been in service but was removed when they sold it.
New tyres and brakes, engine hoses but it never let me down in 8 years of ownership. Glad to see it's still around.
I sold it to a "mate" for £350, to a good home, he had it less than 6 weeks and he had made £1000 when he sold it on. I only sold it as I was buying my first house and was short of money that's also when I had to sell my first Morris JB van, VOU 562 which is also still about I'm glad to say.

My latest trip out.

I recently took the JB van to London. The trip was to assist a fellow JB owner with his restoration. He had been working "blind" as the vehicle he started off with was very poorly, so many parts missing and corroded.
Vital measurements needed to be taken from an actual vehicle as having only vehicle pictures to work from did not give a true idea of how a J type is constructed.

Driving up the M4 motorway to London, traffic rather light.

Earls Court, roadworks and we moved forward about two vehicles at a time with each changing of the traffic lights.

A posh London restaurant on the corner of the Kings Road, at least something nice in the window.

Battersea Power station can just be seen over the distant trees. Yes more heavy traffic.

An interesting tyre supplier, they stock remould Taxi tyres in 16 inch. ( why they want to break shock absorbers, I do not know) I think the sign writer meant Brakes, not Breaks. Just me being very picky.

A full lunch was provided as a thank you for bring the van to the restoration workshop.

Is that the MI5 building I spy ahead?

Over Vauxhall bridge on my way home, more heavy traffic as one day cricket at the Kennington Oval.

Mini cab driver gets in the way of the London Eye as we crawl home. Still the JB got me there and back and a very interesting day and I hope a few more J type friends made. Thanks to "Bob" for making me very welcome on the day.

Late summer holiday.

I will be on holiday for the next week or so, need to have a break from the ongoing family troubles. So off to sunny Norfolk, spend some time on a boat and long walks on the sandy wind swept dunes.
I hope to pop in on a couple of J type owners on my travels, watch out for some interesting pictures when I return. Do check out the HBF263 Blog, its been updated, more great progress.

A feast of period Pathe Pictures.

A Police J type.

All in a days work, walking pass at least 28 GPO J type vans.

Opening windscreen on the J Type in the background.

What a way to treat a van.

Add caption

Four period pictures from Mr MYtH. Featuring a GPO J Type and the GPO TPO Trailer.
Traveling Post Office.

Copy and paste these links into your browser to see the Pathe films in full.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74096

http://www.britishpathe.com/thumbnail.php?img=32&media_urn=92521&stills=140&time_offset=1&record_id=74096&title=MOBILE+POLICE+STATION
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=75362

http://www.britishpathe.com/thumbnail.php?img=241&media_urn=71092&stills=425&time_offset=1&record_id=75362&title=ALL+IN+A+DAY+reel+2

http://www.britishpathe.com/thumbnail.php?img=242&media_urn=71092&record_id=75362&stills=425&time_offset=1&title=ALL+IN+A+DAY+reel+2

http://www.britishpathe.com/thumbnail.php?img=254&media_urn=71092&record_id=75362&stills=425&time_offset=1&title=ALL+IN+A+DAY+reel+2

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=1260
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=1261
My thanks to Mike Parry for sending me all these links to J type items on the Pathe site. Do check them all out.