Jack,
Good question. There were only four British commercial vehicles
commercially imported to the US; the Morris Minor, the larger Austin A40,
the Ford Thames (Anglia based) and a few Commer (Hillman Minx based). All
but the Commer were available as a van and pickup. The Commer was available
as a sedan delivery and a flat fronted forward control van/bus (kind of
like a cross between a VW and a Ford Econoline. Come to think of it the
Thames came as a van/bus as well.
All are pretty small and all are very rare, even in the UK. There was a
fellow in California who, back in the early 1980s who built a 10 wheel semi
tractor/trailer combo using a Morris minor pickup. removed the bed,
extended the frame and added another axel then constructed a 17 foot long
flatbed trailer. It was beautifully done, stainless side stack and all,
and looked like a 1940s American truck way farther away! He used it as a
car hauler for his Morris Minor repair business for over a decade and
100,000 miles. The truck still exists but I doubt that the owner will sell
it. He'd rather let it rot away cause he's just that kinda guy! Pity.
My suggestion would be to either buy a Austin or Morris van for advertizing
and haul American or you will have to think about droping a more available
Morris pickup cab body on an extended Toyota pickup chassis. I've seen
this done - better you should use a cab section from a rotten Morris woody
(6" longer than the pickup for more legroom) and bolt on the cab back from
a Morris pickup. You also could consider using a Austin FX4 taxi as a base
for a truck conversion. Good luck on your quest.
Cheers,
Rick Feibusch
Venice, CA
Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2000 21:46:59 EST
From: "Triumph Nut" <triumphnut@hotmail.com>
Subject: In search of British truck
This might be a little off the wall, but who better to give advice on this
subject. I own a small restoration shop in Hollywood, Florida we restore,
you guessed it, British cars. We have been thinking of buying a flatbed to
replace our car hauler trailer, but I would rather create something more
unique, find a British truck cab and modify the rear by extending frame,
etc.
Jack Levy
www.driveableclassics.com
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