JB's- JB: 2011

Tuesday 20 December 2011

A J type get together.

Now in fact at this little J van get together there were 5, Yes 5 vans, the other 3 were hiding in a not quiet on the road kind of a way. So John and Andrews van met up and then went over to see Mikes three vans, two of which are big projects but he will get there one day.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Pictures from previous owners of our van.

Now our van had an Austin 101 grill but from these pictures it seems there was a Morris grill in the back, also looking through the open door window there is another J type van, I wonder what happened to that?

Now click HERE to see further rally pictures when 3, yes 3 J types met up at the recent HCVC commercial rally.

Thursday 13 October 2011

Out and about at the weekend.

Last Sunday, period vehicles and steam. What could be better.

Monday 3 October 2011

We have recently added some seats to make our van more comfortable, and the Van is now registered as true 4 seater (For the first time in its life)
Not truly authentic, but practical and safer for this day and age
We removed the rear seat that came from the Van's last owner and put in a Mate's Seat and a double seat
We managed to buy all the seats out of a Toyota High Ace commuter bus (One three seat, 3 two seats, and 2 single seats all nicely cloth covered) and as the package was with all the lap seat belts, the driver's seat has now go a lap belt as well !
We even managed to sell all the leftover seats and make a profit.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

I came across this booklet, dated December 1951.

I came across this booklet. I had not seen one of these before so have uploaded it on-line so all can view it. Click on the links on the right hand side to download a selection of J related manuals. Did you know that the pre-war MG TD rear axle has the same internals and brake drums (if fitted with steel wheels not wire wheels). You can get NEW crown wheel and pinions in 4.875 to 1, 5.125 to 1 and 5.444 to 1. All would be better than the 5.625 to 1 that is standard fit now that our vans are used on more longer trips than the start stop delivery work it was designed for.

Thursday 9 June 2011

Improvements to the steps.

After a couple of trips in the van, one being in the rain so improvements were needed to the step area. Not least to keep the water out thrown up by the wheels.

Step finished.

Step with plywood base.

Step with stainless steel insert, with all the edges well sealed with silicon.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

The van is ready for the open road.

After a lot of trouble and inspections by three different garages, I finally got the Van a roadworthy certificate (MOT to you guys in the UK), and it now has a new set of number plates
I guess we can now say it is past its renovation period and into its showing off period.
We took it out on its first outing yesterday, a club picnic, but it was forecast to rain and we were joined only by 2 modern cars
The door step on the drivers side hasn't been properly made, and in the rain water comes off the front wheel, in through the step and onto the roof in the inside at the back. The water then runs forward on the channel holding the top section on, and lands on the driver - that is me.
A new foot-well plate inside both front doors is a must before it goes out in the rain again
The Van has new signage - on my Side "Mr JB's JB" and on Annette's side "Mrs JB's JB" It looks rather smart
For those of you that haven't followed all this blog my first name is John and my surname begins with a B - That is why I HAD to have a JB Van
I have been promised photo's of the van (by the vendor two sellers ago) when it was undergoing a bare metal respray a few years ago, so these are coming, and lots more trips with other MORRIS vehicles are planned. The Club we take this out with has lots of Morris cars, but most are 1920 so our Van is really young.

The JB grill fitted some time ago and still sporting the old rego plates.

The History of this van and the plan of work that needs to be done.

All about the owner.

I have 2 Australian built Mokes and have seen the J series Van around in car museums / at show for some time. Our Mokes have been restored and are in original condition, but all the J Vans I had seen were “Restorers” –too much for me .

The J Van is rather cute, and everybody who has seen ours thinks the same. My initials are JB so I bought 3 “Corgi” J models off EBay

While I was browsing the internet I came across “Roland’s” blog site and a Blue J restored van in UK was on eBay UK . I tried to contact the seller, but got no response and the Van subsequently disappeared off E Bay. Another, a Red J ute turned up on eBay UK, and that too disappeared before the end of the eBay auction. A virtual shell turned up 200 km from here, but that would have been too much work for me.

Next “Roland’s” site turned up a Austin 101 in Sydney. I rang the seller and he really didn’t know much about the vehicle. He had bought it, in 2007 as a reasonably restored body, with mechanicals “to be restored”. He was not mechanical so he sent it to a very reputable “Morris Minor” repairer in Sydney. After some six months or so of being in that repairers garage the Van appeared and was registered in Sydney for full road use.

I told the seller I would have to come and see it (Sydney is 1000 km away) and I was subsequently diagnosed with cancer. An operation fixed the cancer and a month or so after, I went to Sydney. The body had been done up, a bit on the cheap, but not bad. The mechanicals were terrific (with receipts to verify the good work)

I told the vendor we would think about it and next day, with a pile of cash I my pocket, I phone and suggested I call and speak. The vendor was too busy that day, so I offered a lot less than he was asking. I think he nearly fell over, but agreed to think about it for the weekend. He rang an hour later and told me he had sold the van to the mechanic who repaired it for the price he was advertising, and if I wanted to bid higher I could have it. I declined.

Two weeks later, he rang my partner, we had used her phone when we spoke to him before, and advised the sale had fallen through and "was I still interested". I had expected the call as the Van was still being advertised for sale, and I really didn’t think the mechanic would want to buy it after charging for his work over the past three years.

I delayed calling for a week or so, and over the following weeks got the vendor to accept a low price. The Van was picked up by a trucking Company in Sydney and delivered to Melbourne.

I got the details of (and have visited) the seller who had the Van before it went to Sydney and have managed to piece the following together

The van is defiantly a Austin 101

The Van was delivered new to a Company called “Federal Springs” in Brooklyn (An inner Melbourne suburb) who made springs for cars, trucks etc

I have also found a plate on the Van saying

Ausdis Pannel and Engineering Pty Ltd

Stubb Street

Kensington (This is another inner Melbourne suburb)

The Van was then discovered near Geelong (50 km south of Melbourne) by a “Car restorer” in 2000. It had been a "Paddock car".He had the body repaired, and in 2007 sold it to my Vendor who took it to Sydney on a trailer.

A Sydney “J” enthusiast (Peter) was aware of the Van in Sydney and he advises it is defiantly a “JB”.

I am in an inner Melbourne suburb, so apart from 3 years in Sydney, the van has been all its life within 50 km our home., in its early years within 5 km of here

That is the story so far, and is yet to be confirmed. It can’t be both an Austin 101 and a Morris J so I have requested a search of the factory records in UK based on the chassis Number – the original engine was replaced in Sydney with a 1622 cc BMC “B” series engine so I can’t search on the Engine Number

I understand the Morris Commercial records are just about non existent, so if it can’t be traced it must be a Morris – probably 1959 JB

If it can be found it will probably be a 1959 Austin 101 (Which would be quite rare)

It was registered for the road in Sydney as a 1952 Austin 101 – all the paperwork form the original owners is lost, and the Austin 101 was not produced till the introduction of the JB in 1957. In brief we have a few contradictions to date.

I may have to look for a new Front Panel and grill to make it JB’s JB or it may have to be JB’s 101

I really must acknowledge the help I have had from Roland, or I would not have found it, or been able to find out what I have found so far.
In the UK the chassis number would have been stamped on a small tin strip and mounted by the radiator filler cap. It would have been stamped with a prefix of either JB/MR 45066 or JB/AR 45066 (M for Morris, A for Austin) the chassis dates the van as being late 1959 production. The Australian plate misses out this vital prefix. Maybe this is not important, maybe the fact that another 50 years old vehicle is out there being enjoyed and used for what it was designed for.
Plan of work.
Well I would like to investigate the steering set up as to me there is rather a lot of play in it, rather like steering a boat. I just intend at the moment to enjoy my new toy, take it to a few rallies and with luck meet up with another J owner and compare vehicles.
Watch this blog for more postings about its history, restoration/improvements under taken and rallies/shows attended.

Road legal and ready for 90 days of fun in the sun.