Does anyone remember the "Sunny Citrus"?

Stunning van. I do love the RAT LOOK and have never seen a Commer with it - I know that it probably wasn't the intention but it looks briliant all the same. Commer's look great lowered too with fat boy wheels on. But listen....Do yourself a faveour and get some sleep, all that hard work will take it's toll on you. Drop it off at my place and i will take the burdon off of you and give you £100 for your expenses;-) HAHA.

Classic Addicts
 
Wow! This is a hot van. The VW boys will be doing a double take when they see this! You can show off about the factory stock narrow front beam! That's seriously thin rubber on the front too! I would love to have this beauty on my driveway.
 
:D:D:D:D:D

I love it- I love this look

Just out of interest..the wheels do they fit on a stock Commer or have you got differnt hubs etc

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commer-1.jpg

Percy-1975 Highwayman
 
Cheers for all the positive words guys!

Before we flipped the axle I put it on at standard height and we reckoned that Sunny Citrus sat a little higher at the rear than my camper. I guess that's down to the weight of the interior...I didn't need to cut the floor but I did remove a short piece of the top hat section which sits just above the diff under the floor to give 10mm extra clearance. The chassis is notched by about 30mm. To strengthen things back up I seam welded a piece of angle iron down the side of the chassis and boxed the notched piece in. I used the section I removed to create the top section of the boxing in which means that the original bump stops are back in place and now kick in just before the diff hits the floor. I have also reused the standard shocks but am looking for a stiffer alternative at the moment because it's just too bouncy. I might experiment by putting a softish permanent bump stop in place which would stiffen things up a bit but I'm not sure yet...

The front is sat permanently on the 4 small domed bump stops for the wishbones. I'd prefer to have a little bit more clearance here but it's impossible to do that and keep the stance looking right without then raising the back up a bit. Now i've seen it this low I couldn't possibly raise it up!!! The lowest point of the front subframe sits about 30mm off the floor and I've clearance the wishbones so that they're about the same. Again I'm on the hunt for some stiffer shocks to stiffen this up a bit because it does make quite a harsh noise when you hit the ground on an undulating bit of road!

I will be offering this as a service in the not too distant future but I want it to be completely perfected first. I'm just about to start the slam job on my Auto-Sleeper but this is going to sit about 50mm higher so that it retains a bit more practicality and will not have the chassis notched and not need any clearancing at all anywhere which I guess will be much more attractive to most people here. I reckon I will be able to set the suspension to just about any height you want. Watch this space..... Oh and I can take the rear wheels off without dropping the leaf springs! There's a special technique but it's not impossible as it had been made out to be....

The wheels are Jag/Chevy pattern which is 5x4.75" whereas a Commer is 5x5" however the wheels were drilled for 16mm collared bolts whereas the commer only uses 1/2" studs so they just about slid straight on. I then used a ball ended grinding stone in the drill and created a domed recessed seating area for the bolts to sit in. It's not perfect but it works and is just like an American uni-lug wheel which are readily available.
 
No plans for the interior. Just keep it as is. Commercial style! I run a company that restore old VW camper vans so a panel van is a pretty useful tool at times...

A friend just sent me this link....

http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=550450

The darkside are starting to appreciate Commers!
 
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez! I just realised how damn low it is!!!!!

That is a seriously great looking van!
 
always nice to be appreciated[^]....some nice comments in there, seems like there's hope for those darksiders yet[}:)]:D:)

Bessie - four star commerdation
 
Looking good there Bobby. I went with the clear indicators at the front too. Looks lots smoother.

Did you manage to get all red lights at the rear? I have red lenses bit i don't know how to make the indicators flash orange - any ideas?

Gotta say I can't help wanting to go over the autosleper with a tin of primer and a tin of ford diamond white....

Rupert

p.s. does this mean that my van is worth more?

www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
I`ve known bobby for many years and have had work done by him on many of my early 50s vans, lowering jobs or heavy chassis work none of which ever seem to be a problem or great expense.
I saw this van during the week of it`s modifications and assembly, as a fully trained mechanic i was consintatly impressed by bobs and ches`es mechanical ability baring in mind these guys are purely vw orinated lifesyle for the last fifteen years, you need to see this months ultra vw magazine to understand the extend of his passion and master of his work for early vehicles!
Seeing sunny citrus at big bang confirmed my desire`s for an early commer pannel van after being spent out by the increasing vw prices!!
 
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