Ultimate commer

Jostein said:
I know I shouldn't say this, as you might think that I had lost my interest/enthusiasm/devotion/love for our Bluebird Highwayman - which would be so far from reality as you could possibly get.

But my ultimate Commer would be an early 60s Maidstone (or Caravan/Caravanette as they were called in some export markets). To me, they are the brilliant, practical vans both from a "people mover" as well as a camper perspective, as the interiors are simply ingenious - and made with high quality fittings and materials. And the layout is just fantastic and so well planned. All this within the standard van/bus body, avoiding the bulk of the coachbuilts. The best compromise if you can live with it. Certainly not as roomy as the coachbuilt variants, but more beautiful as they are standard vans and sufficiently rare to be very desirable. I love them!
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I googled "commer maidstone interior" and got this ..

http://www.rapinteriors.co.uk/wp-co...terior-design-by-rap-interiors-2-1500x701.jpg

Wow you're right Jostein, that is a fab design ! :-D
 
Got that same solution in mine, only done 150 miles since a full rebuild with a few tweaks - still loosening up but feels pretty quick
 
My sister Cherry (Sistervation), has a 1961 Maidstone called Rupert. The best I could manage is the model I made of Rupert (in my avatar), but that now lives on the dashboard of real Rupert.
My ultimate Commer would be a 1967 Wanderer with a few mechanical updates.
 
Edward (OnTheRoadAgain) has the blue Maidstone Martin had for a while. It's pretty damn gorgeous:) It wasn't restored but had a fresh coat of paint in the original colour so it's very original - except for the SU conversion and six speeder;)
You beat me to it Edward
 
There's certainly somthing special about a Commer, that's why I got mine in the first place. It used to turn heads, and you heard it coming.:)
 
Panky said:
Rapier lump with an 1 3/4" SU on a custom manifold (made by commeracer) with K&N, gas flowed twin down pipe exhaust manifold, straight through 1 3/4" exhaust, dumped the old water pump in favour of a Davies Craig electric one, electric fan, electronic ignition, overdrive and that's about it. All bolt on bits and nothing too dramatic, more power, more torque and more economical - what's not to like:D
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How does EWP cope with running a heater or have you got a booster pump?
Also have you ditched the manual fan completely in favour of the electric one or is the original still there?

Regards

Mike O
 
It copes easily, there's a lot more flow than the standard pump. The flow is constant (unless you fit a speed controller) even at idle, and they don't suffer from cavitation as the mechanical pumps can at high revs.
Original fan has gone but I've fitted a bike rad in the heater return as the fan was cutting in and out occasionally when tonking it on the M'way. The fan just operates if sitting in traffic now as you would expect.
 
Panky said:
It copes easily, there's a lot more flow than the standard pump. The flow is constant (unless you fit a speed controller) even at idle, and they don't suffer from cavitation as the mechanical pumps can at high revs.
Original fan has gone but I've fitted a bike rad in the heater return as the fan was cutting in and out occasionally when tonking it on the M'way. The fan just operates if sitting in traffic now as you would expect.
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interesting! did the electric fan make much difference to noise/power, as they are reputed to ?
 
I did a few mods at the same time (including fitting the Rapier engine) so cant compare before and after on Harvey's installation - but it does go well and pretty sure I've saved a few horses with the fan and pump. I did an experiment years ago when I was running the original engine, I took one of the fan blades off the original fan and it did make a noticeable difference in noise levels, the engine got a bit hot though:rolleyes:
 
Hi panky long time no chat. Good to see commervanfan is still alive and kicking. Electric water pump, did you adapt or remove the existing water pump, thermostat and do you use a controller or is it on with ignition ?
 
Blimey where did you spring from:D
Yes we're still kicking and screaming and will hopefully be around for a long time yet:)
I took the guts out of the existing pump and got Tim to weld the open bearing housing up, so basically it'd just an elbow now. I didn't bother with the speed controller, just drilled a couple of 1/8" holes in the stat to make sure there's a little by-pass so it will see the water temperature as it rises.
You thinking about the same mod?
 
Hiya. Yes I'm back. We've had a turbulent few years but me and Ralph (Commer pb 74) are still together. He was up and running last year but had a year waiting for time and money. Usual story. Anyway managed to get him running last Friday, thought he'd blown an exhaust valve. Had the compression checked and the leads, sparks, cap, rotor arm replaced as the coil was new last year. Still wasn't right and after 8 hours of scratching heads found the wire from dizzy to coil had broken down slightly. Anyway I never have liked the fan and figured if I'm upgrading fan to electric then water pump makes sense too, as I already have an eberspacher hot water boiler attached and rear fan and coil to heat the rear. Whilst I'm on subject I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon and get bodywork done is there anyone specialising in that ?
 
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