New to commer van fan

Congratulations, Tom & Kim. You've inherited something very special there!

There aren't many Maidstones about, and particularly few being as early as this one. You can tell by the solid front panel with no vents, and the three horizontal chrome strips.

Take well care of her, and you will soon realise what a jewel you actually sit on - even for ingenious interior layout signed by Rootes themselves. You may or may not know, but this is the original Commer camper manufactured by Rootes themselves - of which production stopped in '63 or so when demand had by far exceeded Rootes' production capacity (in their Maidstone plant, I believe, which kitted out the campers). All Commer campers from then on were van, bus or chassis conversions done by other companies - without exception. Some of there were endorsed by Rootes and found in the official Commer price lists and sold with Rootes warranty. But none of them were Rootes campers like yours.

Wishing you all the best with your Maidstone.
 
Thanks for all the kind words of help and encouragement :)

We will update progress as soon as we can, van is currently under a caravan cover to keep dry :)

Hearing all the history is great and I’m sure Weve only heard a small part of its life.

Only thing we have noticed not there is the bunk bed bars/hammock. Any ideas on replacements or drawings so can get new set made.

We Have been given all the original documents, workshop manuals and supplements. They don’t make them like that anymore!! Few letters dated 1960’s with replacement parts from the original.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!
 
We also know that the engine has been changed to 1725 from a hillman minx.

What oil will be needed for the engine as I know you shouldn’t put new style oil in an older engine.

Thanks in advance
 
On the issue of the hammocks, I'm sure there will be a handful about so that you could get details on how they are and how the brackets are made up etc. I'm afraid I don't know how the setup is in detail on the Commer Maidstone/Caravan.

User "Renaultvation" 's sister own one with a very nice and intact interior, and you may want to contact her in order to get some more details. I'm not sure what user name she's got here on the forum, but p.m. Renaultvation and you will get the details, I'm sure. Seeing her van will probably also give you some inspiration on your project, which always is a nice thing when you're embarking on a project like this one.

The replacement of the old 1.5 litre engine was probably a wise one, as I seem to have heard that the original engine was pretty weak. I think we have pretty much the same engine in our '65 model, but by then the displacement had been increased to just under 1.6 litre - but even that is probably as far as you could possibly get from a rocket... The 1725ccm engine which pretty much all the Commers use (from 1965 autumn production onwards..) is a much stronger and prowerful engine in its own right, and also a reliable unit.

:)
 
Thanks for the info on oil :)

The van has the slots for the hammock poles to slot into but I don’t know any of the layout or hideaway for anything yet. Another wet weekend meaning no time to get her running.

Looking forward to hearing the van for the first time!! Il contact sistervation for few pictures.
 
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