Thanks to the forebears

BigMonkeyMan

BigMonkeyMan

0
My van (Jessica) has had 19 owners before me. Some were good, some enjoyed taking bits off and throwing them away and some were very bad at parking.

One however was an absolute star. I'll probably never know who they are, but they were thinking of me all those years ago.

What am I rambling about? Well I decided to do some more tidying this morning and there were a couple of bits of insulation tape round the front bumper irons which had been nagging me so I took the knife to them, and under the off side one I found a little package.

Once I unwrapped it I discovered this...


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yes, they were once keys!

Now as some of you may remember Jess came without keys so I set about changing the locks (thanks www.speedyspares.co.uk and Jules http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BREAKING-1973-COMMER-PB-AUTOSLEEPER-CAMPERVAN_W0QQitemZ160232995335QQihZ006QQcategoryZ36798QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

The only thing I don't have a key for was the fuel filler and guess what - its the only one that survived!

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www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
Great story Rupert!

A long time ago a friend was driving his Austin 7 over the "Pass of The Cattle" into Applecross on the north west coast of Scotland. Half way up he broke the crankshaft (this happens a lot in A7s!). Not wanting to repair in on the mountainside he removed the engine, pushed the car into a nearby barn and with the help of a friend, took the engine to the campsite that they were staying on.

Whilst mulling over the options for repair a few days later in the pub, a local man said he knew the whereabouts of an A7 locally and for £20 my friend could have the engine! They went off in the man's car and after a while arrived at the same barn my friend had put his own car in....the local was seen the following day with a black eye...

The crank was replaced with another and the hole in the crankcase was repaired using a flattened out tin of McEwans Export and some Araldite ( I have the photos to proove this!), all done on a campsite whilst being bitten to death by midges...nothing to do with keys but hopefully of some interest.

Cheers

Ruairidh
 
Wow Rupert - think the Commer fairies were looking after you today, that sure is a wonderful find:D

Highland touring sounds fun too - one of those epic journeys by the sound of it

Bessie - four star commerdation
 
dunno, maybe people who like a drink when they are commering and just know they are going to loose their keys!

whoever they are - I salute them!

Oh and I can probably give you a shortlist of 19 people (actually 18 - the last owner who lost the keys probably didn't put them there)

Rupert

www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
Great find, but how have you been getting petrol in up until now? [:eek:)]

Incidentaly, I have just clicked on the link and had a look at your website - very nice and well worth a visit. I shall keep up to date with your tales. :)
 
when i bought my camper van, i dutifully made a full set of key copies, then my sister in law stole them and threatened to steal my van (a bit extreme but she is italian). i eventually got them back via some smooth negotiation and blackmail, then in a rage my new girlfriend threw them in the bushes outside my work. it was summer so i decided to look for them in the autumn, however hard i look i cant see them. I wish i had dowsed them in oil and taped them to the bumper....:)
 
renaultvation, the all the locks (including the petrol cap) were undone when I got the van - now if that isn't a bit weird/dodgy I don't know what is?!

lancealot, metal detector! I think greasing the keys before you stash them would be a very good idea (if only previous owner # X had thought of that!)

Rupert


www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
quote:
Originally posted by SantaHul

Who tapes the keys to the bumper?

"You were only supposed to blow the bloody tyres up!"


it's a bit like it use to be, leaving your doors unlocked or key under door mat[V] keys to camper attached :) great story [8D]

"RAN"the van FORSALE. "SYBHIL" & N0.1 Probably won't get restored unless I win the lottery.
 
I wonder if anyone else has found a 'time capsule' of any kind in their van. I was repairing the inner front valance and was busy bashing the worst of the rust away when something dropped out. It was an 'Eversharp' propelling pencil that must have dropped off the dash and got wedged in the trough where the cab floor meets the valance. A bit of a clean up revealed it was engraved with the name C.G. Paterson so must have been special to someone, it still has a few old pencil leads inside. It's propelling days are well gone but I'll keep it and put it back on the dash from where it fell all those years ago as a reminder of Harvey's past, once he is back on the road of course.

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'Harvey the RV'
 
Would be great if C.G. Patterson one of the previous owners, which sounds more likely than a previous passenger - you never know - Harveys' pencil might be worth a mention on 'lost and found' in case Mr/Mrs Patterson ever wonders what happened to their lovely old commer:)

One of the most surreal days of my life was spent in a hay field with a metal detector looking for my car keys wearing 17th century battle dress with a spitfire flying low overhead - quite a weird weekend altogether - long story:I

Surfing involves squirreling your keys away somewhere on bumpers/wheel arches etc - but you generally need to take them back out again to drive home

Bessie - four star commerdation
 
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