Kiwi

[kiwi_commer]

I've been checking in to Commer Van Fan for a while now, and I thought it was time I posted a few pics of my ride.

I bought it in 2011, usual story - ummed and ahhed for a while but I knew I was going to buy it before I actually saw it.

Some young chaps were selling it on behalf of their Granddad, who I believe had just gone into a rest home. It was described as needing a couple of things fixed for a WOF (Warrant of Fitness, or MOT to you Poms), such as a bit of rust in the roof, and a leaking wheel cylinder or rear wheel seal.

Here are the pics from the advert:

 

[Aussie Commer]

Hi Kiwi & welcome,Looks to be a good one. nice and sound.
A good find in that condition, well done.

Good luck with it.

Think different
www.commervanoztour.blogspot.com

 

[kiwi_commer]

Didn't look too bad from the pictures, check out that flash sunroof. But the pictures didn't show that the old feller had owned the van for over 25 years - the boys selling it told me they remembered going on holiday in it as kids, how cute. The pictures also didn't show the brush painted exterior, the bubbles in the roof gutters, the lack of metal in the front inner step/sill, or the riveted patches on both left corners and both front floors. But I bought it anyway!

I didn't get many pictures, but here's what I did take:

Dash looks pretty good, apart from the household light switch which has been hacked in. The dash has some neat patina, as do the front doors. Yes that bug was my daily ride, I'm a VW guy at heart - I only got the Commer because split screen Kombi's would have set me back a year or two's wages and an early bay window kombi wasn't far behind. And then they needed rebuilding! Turns out Commers have about twice the useable space as a VW (I can sleep sideways in it), and a normal engine/drivetrain layout ripe for transplant, oh and they are less than 1/5 the cost of a VW.

Floor to ceiling carpet ensured good insulation:

25x10mm bracket for a florescent light seemed a bit overkill:

Yum:

Oh, what's that behind the carpet and curtains? Rust? Hmmm.

And more on the other side?

At least the rear corner floors were mostly solid:

Mostly solid:

More pics will follow as things get repaired. Progress has been slow, as I have not had a proper garage lately:

 

[THE ICEMAN]

Hi kiwi and welcome. Where abouts are you? I am up north in whangarei. By the look of that strange white stuff id say you are deep south...
There are very few of us kiwis on here at the moment. A few years ago there were about six or so.
This place (and the vans) are quite an addiction!

I just need a good rootes...

 

[renaultvation]

Hi Glen, welcome to the madhouse. Despite the problems you have identified, it looks like you have a fundamentally sound van there.

Don't worry about having come from the darkside, you are not alone. Many a Commer is owned by someone who started out looking for splitscreen or bay window and happened upon this amazing van which combines the essential character with useable space inside.

I look forward to seeing progress.

'I intend to live forever - so far, so good'

 

[Panky]

Hi Glen, what you've got yourself there is good solid base for an eminently useable van[^] They all pick up 'history' along the way and yours is no exception - I quite like the dash switch Is the string steering wheel cover one of yours, I like that as well[8D]
Oh by the way they're not light fitting supports - thems a roll cage

Summer's Coming

 

[commeracer]

Welcome along Glen

Looks like you got a pretty solid van there, should be a good project. [8D]
That,s a very serious light bracket indeed [:0]

"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"

 

[woolfy]

lovely van.id have it any day.mmmmslurp.welcome to the mad house mate.

Big Bad Woolf

 

[Aussie Commer]

I don't know how rare Commers are in Kiwi land but they are getting that way in Aust.My only advice is to keep it original as very few Commers here still have their original drive chain, most have had Holden conversions and that's OK, but it can make licensing and getting insurance difficult these days.
In my opinion,[8)] originality also helps the resale value.
Not that i would ever part with mine
Anyway, if you do transplant the motor. don't scrap it. Believe it or not, someone out there will want it.

All the best & love the van.[8D]

Think different
www.commervanoztour.blogspot.com

 

[paulcloke]

i notice you and me have something in common. we are both the only known owners of a commer with a sunroof in our countries welcome to the cool club lol

Dolly Commer Is Here http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6833

 

[kiwi_commer]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I agree - compared to some of the rotten steel I've seen on this forum, my van looks pretty tidy!

I haven't updated yet because I haven't had a workshop. Real estate is rather scarce in post-earthquake Christchurch at the moment, and those people who did have spare garages either have people living in them now, or have all their worldly belongings stored in them while they wait for their houses to be repaired. Makes it hard to find a place to work on projects... Anyhow, here is a picture that most of you are familiar with:

No, we didn't break down, we are on our way to a new workshop.

All settled in now, time to start work, yes that is a split screen VW parked up next door, but I can't say that word around here can I ;-) The plan is to keep it mobile and work on the body before tackling the mechanicals. I will be sure to post pictures and updates as I get stuck in

 

[Lulu]

I know exactly how you feel, in 2011 I bought a van without seeing it as it was too far away, but according to the
advert it was in tip top condition so I took the risk, and believe you me it was the worst thing that I have
ever done, I should have stuck with the VW. At least with the VW I could use it for going on holidays.

 

[kiwi_commer]

Buying sight unseen is always a risk, but I had reasonable idea of what I was getting into before I opened my wallet this time (years of owning VW's is good practice at rust spotting). Unfortunately the split screen kombi in the pic above is not mine. Anyhow, here's some more pics of the Commer:

Starting with the good (sorry for quality of some pics, camera ate sand so I only have iphone):

A peek at the peak is pleasing:

Front doors look OK:

Even inside:

Top of front step OK too:

Not so good underneath:

Beneath the nicely riveted patch on the front valance I found:

I wonder what is hiding under here?

Good, more rivets (both sides):

Both rear arches have met a welder:

So has one chassis rail:

But otherwise, the chassis is very solid.

 

[kiwi_commer]

A wee while back I had a go at patching a couple of areas. Thought I would start with the gutter (god knows why, maybe I thought I would start at the top and move my way down?).

The before:

And the after:

What an effing job that was. Three panels all sandwiched together. Can you say rust trap? I'm sure mine was not the first van to have rusted from the inside out. Luckily, that was the worst of the guttering, the rest was just small weld in patches. I wire brushed and rust treated the whole gutter before painting and seam sealing. I guess time will tell if I have got all the rust. That tidying necessitated a wee paint job to stop more rust (I also cleaned up and treated the panel joins), so it was bye bye to the red paint.

Looking sharp:

Until I decided to see what was under the rivets in the driver foot well. Not much it turns out:

A bit of old door substituted:

I'm not entirely happy with the fit of the floor panel, so I might have a go at redoing it yet. Not sure where to work on next. I'm thinking the front valance, but replicating the compound curve, or the alternative cost of freight from the UK to NZ for replacement panels scares me. Maybe I will do something simple and try and fit the pop top.

 

[kiwi_commer]

I thought I would chuck a patch in the rust under the front step, it looked like an easy job, just cut out the rust and weld in a new piece.

Wire brushed:

Hmm, lets look closer:

Oh for F***S sake. That rust is deep. Time to get the cutoff wheel out.

It's rooted. There is rust everywhere.

How long before that outer panel rots out?

Rust goes right back too. This shot is from inside van:

At least passenger side is not so bad.

Easy job just got major. On both sides. These dirt/salt (= rust) catchers are the culprit.

 

[kiwi_commer]

While trying to avoid looking at rust, I noticed this split. The pic is of the area above the chassis rail, inside the drivers wheel arch, backing on to the engine compartment. It looks like the area has been stressed or something. It goes right around the back of the firewall too, so that oil can leak from the rocker cover, to the firewall, to the inside of the van. Has anybody had their van split at this point before?

 

[Panky]

Yuck some work to do there[xx(]
I've never seen a crack like that, it must be a stress fracture - I guess it must have been bouncing down some very rough roads for a long time:I

Summer's Coming

 

[kiwi_commer]

I also noticed that as well as the split in the firewall, the floor is all over the place. Its up and down and looks like a lot of work to get it back to being flat enough so that I can just put some plywood down to make a camper floor. I don't know what is going on, but the chassis must be out of whack or something. But hey, at least the radiator leaks, as does the axle seal, the real main engine seal, the auto trans, the brake master cylinder, oh and the steering box, plus the vacuum advance on the dizzy doesn't work, nor does the fuel gauge, and the brakes pull hard left.

It's actually quite disheartening - at least if I spent all this time fixing up a VW, it would be worth something.

To prove my point, look what I just got for $400:

Who else has bought a van for parts, only to find it is better than the van they are trying to restore? I'll post more photos when it gets here. In the mean time, I don't know what to do. I got up close, and the body of the parts van looks better than the first van I bought. The mechanicals are rough, but it was cheap (about 1/8th the price I paid for the old van). My original intention was to cut the windows out of the new van and put them in the old van, and use the steering box and the like. But the new van looks too good to cut up, so I might end up keeping the new van and using the old van as parts! = expensive parts!

Space limitations say I can't keep both. One will have to go. Anyone in NZ want some Commer van parts/a Commer project?

 

[kiwi_commer]

quote:
Originally posted by Panky

Yuck some work to do there[xx(]
I've never seen a crack like that, it must be a stress fracture - I guess it must have been bouncing down some very rough roads for a long time:I

Summer's Coming



You might be right about the rough roads there Panky, I found a bunch of receipts dating back to the 80's where the old girl was used as a bread delivery van. The history is kinda cool (but not if it has wrecked the van).

 

[kiwi_commer]

Time for an update. Decided to get to work on rust. Was trying to decide which van to attack, but the towing company sorted that for me. What's wrong with this picture?

Thems be opposable front wheels. It turns out that with a flat tyre, putting the tow rope around the front cross member AND around the steering arm behind it is not the best idea. "Fatigue" according to the tow driver. He f***ed a perfectly good front bumper too, and dented the grill and front panel. Once he had broken the front end, he thought he would see what he could do to the other end.

Never mind. The mechanicals aren't too flash anyhow, and its got snake skin in the fuel, so I decided to make one good van out of two. Probably quite restorable by british standards but hey, I can sell some other parts off to help out other Commer owners over here.