Sadly I’m half thinking it might be time to let Snail find new owners. It’s not fair to keep her locked inside so much. I've hardly used her over the past 5 years. She had some attention this time last year and i did a weekend away in Dorset (140 mile round trip) followed by a weekend in Brecon (300 mile round trip) and all worked as it should. Many smiles and waves. The truth is I could really do with the garage space for other hobbies.
£15k would buy her now without the number plate (not original), a fresh MOT and loads of spares. We can haggle / consider swapsies. I could also undo some of the mods if needed. Van located in Odiham Hampshire (with a few spares still in a barn in Dorset I think). If the right adoptive owners can’t be aligned, I’ll take her to a couple of parties later this Summer and then she’ll move to a friend's barn.
I bought her in 2009 after I’d spent some time sailing in the South Atlantic on a rather pokey boat and was slightly obsessed with the idea of creating a perfectly organised and formed adventure machine. Didn’t want a VW as they are so cliched, already had a Sunbeam Alpine, so the Commer looked like a good choice – I viewed most that were available at the time and finally bought the Snail. She’d been bought new by an Italian chap (he probably didn’t like VWs either) who used it to travel back to Italy every summer. He spec’d an extra low diff to help on those mountain passes… He sold it to his next door neighbour who went all over the UK and then finally to the daughter of another neighbour, then to me. I have the original bill of sale and a notebook (‘the Captain’s Log’) evidencing some of these early adventures.
When I bought it I had been freshly resprayed, retrimmed (by an ex Rolls-Royce trimmer apparently) and had had new wooden window frames fitted. Critically it hadn’t been welded. Mechanically it was tired and totally standard.
There is a fairly extensive build diary The Snail | Commer Van Fan Sadly most of the early photos are gone as they were initially hosted on myspace – properly retro.
Initially I fitted an uprated engine and overdrive gearbox and rewired it. Then a systematic rebuild / upgrade of every mechanical component. After a few years heavy use (Glastonbury, Big Chill etc etc) I bought a full set of ‘fluted’ panels and a few other parts from Martin Maltus and undertook something like 140hrs of welding. Best look at the photos to understand what was done. Since then the back axle has been rebuilt with a 4.77 diff (as tall as you can get), a 6 speed CommerRacer Lexus gearbox has been fitted and quad motor cycle carbs fitted and tuned. It should be about 100bhp in its current tune – more is easily achievable, but I’ve built it to drive smooth, not racey.
From memory the full spec is something like this:
- 1966 Commer PA Autosleeper – Wooden window frame version – same as the one in the Beaulieu museum (uber rare). It has a front bench seat that folds down to form another bed.
- Rover P5 Rostyle wheels – new tyres fitted in Covid
- Rebuilt rear axle, 4.77 diff, new shoes fitted in Covid. Spax adjustable shocks
- Rebuilt front suspension, new king pins and swivel pins. Shortened springs. Adjustable Spax shocks. Later (&thicker) spacevan anti roll bar fitted
- Rewired, twin batteries, multiple extra gauges including wideband O2, oil temperature, rev counter etc, genuine flux capacitor etc
- Brake servo, modern style master cylinders (& clutch), remote reservoir and mostly braded aeroquip hoses (£100s worth)
- Interior wood sanded and yacht varnished. Insulation added to backs of cupboards
- Retrimmed cushions and seats
- Thumping stereo, amp and 10 inch subwoofer built into the dash
- 1725 Made in France engine block (one of the last made), rebuilt, sceptre cam.
- Holbay alloy head, rebuilt, matched to inlet manifold, runs unleaded
- Quad GSXR600 Mikuni carbs
- Additional electric fuel pump (helps it start easier and provides a degree of redundancy)
- 2 speed wipers
- Electric water pump
- Electric fan
- High output alternator
- Trigger wheel / TPS – all wired into the data logger that is part of the wideband O2 sensor / gauge set up – can be connected to a laptop
- 6 speed manual Lexus gearbox
- Stainless Steel exhaust – modified Sunbeam Alpine performance item
- Custom aluminium and beech roof rack
- Loads more
- Loads of spares
- Custom waterproof breathable cover – though rather tatty.
Bad bits
- These projects are never really finished…
- The paint work looks good at a distance, but this is a camper and you wouldn’t want to take it camping if you were worried about scratching it right?
- Starter motor is a bit lazy, been meaning to fit one of those hi-torque one, but never got around to it.
Whatsapp me on zero triple severn, five nine for, three ate nine tree with any qs
£15k would buy her now without the number plate (not original), a fresh MOT and loads of spares. We can haggle / consider swapsies. I could also undo some of the mods if needed. Van located in Odiham Hampshire (with a few spares still in a barn in Dorset I think). If the right adoptive owners can’t be aligned, I’ll take her to a couple of parties later this Summer and then she’ll move to a friend's barn.
I bought her in 2009 after I’d spent some time sailing in the South Atlantic on a rather pokey boat and was slightly obsessed with the idea of creating a perfectly organised and formed adventure machine. Didn’t want a VW as they are so cliched, already had a Sunbeam Alpine, so the Commer looked like a good choice – I viewed most that were available at the time and finally bought the Snail. She’d been bought new by an Italian chap (he probably didn’t like VWs either) who used it to travel back to Italy every summer. He spec’d an extra low diff to help on those mountain passes… He sold it to his next door neighbour who went all over the UK and then finally to the daughter of another neighbour, then to me. I have the original bill of sale and a notebook (‘the Captain’s Log’) evidencing some of these early adventures.
When I bought it I had been freshly resprayed, retrimmed (by an ex Rolls-Royce trimmer apparently) and had had new wooden window frames fitted. Critically it hadn’t been welded. Mechanically it was tired and totally standard.
There is a fairly extensive build diary The Snail | Commer Van Fan Sadly most of the early photos are gone as they were initially hosted on myspace – properly retro.
Initially I fitted an uprated engine and overdrive gearbox and rewired it. Then a systematic rebuild / upgrade of every mechanical component. After a few years heavy use (Glastonbury, Big Chill etc etc) I bought a full set of ‘fluted’ panels and a few other parts from Martin Maltus and undertook something like 140hrs of welding. Best look at the photos to understand what was done. Since then the back axle has been rebuilt with a 4.77 diff (as tall as you can get), a 6 speed CommerRacer Lexus gearbox has been fitted and quad motor cycle carbs fitted and tuned. It should be about 100bhp in its current tune – more is easily achievable, but I’ve built it to drive smooth, not racey.
From memory the full spec is something like this:
- 1966 Commer PA Autosleeper – Wooden window frame version – same as the one in the Beaulieu museum (uber rare). It has a front bench seat that folds down to form another bed.
- Rover P5 Rostyle wheels – new tyres fitted in Covid
- Rebuilt rear axle, 4.77 diff, new shoes fitted in Covid. Spax adjustable shocks
- Rebuilt front suspension, new king pins and swivel pins. Shortened springs. Adjustable Spax shocks. Later (&thicker) spacevan anti roll bar fitted
- Rewired, twin batteries, multiple extra gauges including wideband O2, oil temperature, rev counter etc, genuine flux capacitor etc
- Brake servo, modern style master cylinders (& clutch), remote reservoir and mostly braded aeroquip hoses (£100s worth)
- Interior wood sanded and yacht varnished. Insulation added to backs of cupboards
- Retrimmed cushions and seats
- Thumping stereo, amp and 10 inch subwoofer built into the dash
- 1725 Made in France engine block (one of the last made), rebuilt, sceptre cam.
- Holbay alloy head, rebuilt, matched to inlet manifold, runs unleaded
- Quad GSXR600 Mikuni carbs
- Additional electric fuel pump (helps it start easier and provides a degree of redundancy)
- 2 speed wipers
- Electric water pump
- Electric fan
- High output alternator
- Trigger wheel / TPS – all wired into the data logger that is part of the wideband O2 sensor / gauge set up – can be connected to a laptop
- 6 speed manual Lexus gearbox
- Stainless Steel exhaust – modified Sunbeam Alpine performance item
- Custom aluminium and beech roof rack
- Loads more
- Loads of spares
- Custom waterproof breathable cover – though rather tatty.
Bad bits
- These projects are never really finished…
- The paint work looks good at a distance, but this is a camper and you wouldn’t want to take it camping if you were worried about scratching it right?
- Starter motor is a bit lazy, been meaning to fit one of those hi-torque one, but never got around to it.
Whatsapp me on zero triple severn, five nine for, three ate nine tree with any qs
Sam and Snail are like me and red wine - the two just can't be separated without some serious therapy. But if it's got to be I can recommend a good shrink