One of my house mates has been looking for a van for sometime
and was on the verge of buying the neighbours vanagon with
med/hard rear damage for 250 pounds and having it mended until
an advert in the Midlands Autotrader showed a 76 camper
in Leicester (about 25 miles way). After a quick phone call
for directions, Gotch (my house mate) and I ended up at a
farm virtually underneath an M1 (motorway) bridge.

The owner had two campers, a totaly pristine whesty of
around 78 vintage; everything about it was superb, the motor
purred, the paint gleamed, and the sliding door could be opened
with a dab of your little finger....

However it was not for sale, so we stopped drooling
and got down to the serious business of deciding whether
or not the 76 was worth buying. First impressions were of a nasty
greenish colour camper in reasonable condition. The chasis was virtually
rust free (which was a good start), but rust could be found in all the
usual places (round the bottom of the windscreen, bottom of the
front doors etc etc. None of it too serious though. 

The inside was very a very nice camper style, with all 
the usual fridge, cooker, sink bits. I think the conversion 
looks like a Danbury style to me, but I couldn't find a plate 
to say who had done the conversion. A nice touch is that the 
boxes behind the front seats (the ones that make
up the front of the bed) can be slid backwards into the middle
of the bus, so that anyone that uses it as a seat can be forward
facing during the journey. The lifting roof is hinged on one
side and provides the usual two extra berths.

Starting the camper up showed that it was blowing slightly from
cylinder head for 1&2, but not too badly, so it was time for a test drive.
Being a post 71 it had the later steering box which gives a much lighter 
feel to the steering. This coupled with the fact it was so quiet
on the road made it feel so civilised against my 70 bus which
is incredibly noisy and well, just plain agricultural by comparison.
I was suitably impressed.

The engine did not impress one bit however. Whether it was because
it was blowing or just that I've forgotten how gutless the 1600
is, it just felt as flat as a pancake. It would eventually manage
a reasonable cruising speed but it took several days to get there.

We went back to the farm where it let Gotch and the owner
throw prices at each other for a bit, and they eventually
settled on 540 pounds cash, which I thought was a very
good deal. Especially as the owner threw in a spare cylinder
head, piston and barrel and gave me a rear bumper and hub cap
for my bus for free!

So in summary a little bit of work needs doing
but all in all a good buy I think.

Marcus
'70 bus
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Marcus Grant
mty016@uk.ac.cov