My first van
This is my first van which I brought around 1992 at a vehicle auction in Merthyr Tydfil for £550. It was old and I couldn't even drive it away from the auction without first doing some repairs, but eventually managed to coax it back to Bristol.
We named it 'Ni-Nor' and I spent around £350 on materials to fit it out, doing all the work myself. I made a stove out of an old gas cylinder, getting a garage to weld a metal pipe to the top for a flue. It was wide enough to sleep across (over 6') so I built a full size double bed against the back doors which doubled up as two bench seats during the day with storage underneath. It also had a full size sink, cupboards, shelves and a wardrobe.
Ni-Nor hits the road
One of our first trips was up to Blackpool to see some friends. The starter motor had packed up so I had to park on a hill wherever we went so that I could bump start it on the way down.
This is Cheddar Gorge. I painted a hippy pattern on the window and put curtains around the cab for more privacy.
Glastonbury Tor.
Festivals
Back in the early nineties everybody had a van, caravan, hippy bus, truck, gipsy caravan or something. Do you remember the hippy convoys and free festivals? This was a free festival at Chipping Sodbury, it was the only place the convoy could find to rest up for a while without getting harrassed by the police.
As an avid van enthusiast, I was naturally in my element! Here's some pics of some fantastic vans that were there:
Here's a bus with a van welded up top as a upper deck.
This live-in vehicle has it's own porch built on to the back. Exellent place to kindly wipe your muddy boots before going inside - it's all good housekeeping.
This pic just so doesn't do the van justice. The paint job must have been a labour of love.
Remember the school bus? Those bastard travellers kids never did learn anything, certainly not any manners.
That's because they were too busy playing truant and trashing police cars. These brats above nicked my hat but were too quick for me to catch and smack their heads together. In the end we had to bribe them with half a can of larger for an exchange.
End of an era
Trouble is that every time we went to drive anywhere, she nearly always broke down. I'd replace or repaired so many parts, radiator, carb, petrol tank, starter motor...we were still sad to see her go though. She'd carted our stall around so many festivals, we had fond memories. My tips is though, if you're going to go to all the trouble of converting a van, make sure she's not an old banger!
This is Daves van - ex post office Leyland DAF. It's still going strong now, must be getting on for 10 years now. He's had it sprayed since this pic, it's now dark green and burgundy. Inside it's all tongue and groove and it's small enough to park in narrow city streets.
