Morris Minor Gown Van Oddity

Here's something you don't see every day, or indeed, in my case, ever at all.  Its a Gown Van based on a Morris Minor LCV.  In this case it appears to be the rare and short lived Austin version as well for extra weird points.

As the name suggests, a gown van was used to deliver fancy ladies dresses back in the day when long gowns were de rigueur for polite society events.

This odd little van has curious proportions and hopefully will be restored by an enthusiast of odd light commercials.  Its certainly started cheap enough on its eBay listing but who knows what the reserve may be?

If the van's a rockin' don't come a knockin'

There is rarely a car on eBay which makes me audibly go "wow" or laugh out loud.  This Marina van did both.  What we have here is a proper old school custom mini van Brit style.

When I were a lad, and all of this were just trees, the local disco lethario would drive a van like this.  Its all there, the draylon, the porthole windows (in the shape of a heart for crying out loud, its perfect) and the curiously inappropriate performance hard-tuned engine.

It all appears in good cosmetic order, the seller claims long term storage and knowing what 1970s British Leyland products are like for rot if exposed to the elements I can only assume this to be the cause of its survival.

The white paint is curiously restrained.  I would imagine when built the van should have been treated to a full custom stripe, candy, flake, eerie des, vreeble and fogged paint job.  Maybe it was built late in the van fad or maybe it was never finished?

Whatever the story this van is a wonderful survivor of an era when enthusiasm was more important than taste.  I miss those days.  I think I might sneak a bid.  It's here for another 2 days...  

Whoever buys it has a wonderful oportunity to either preserve it as it is or perhaps finish what waa started with some nice paint (not matt black puuuuh-lease) and a little detailing.

Retro Throwback Morris Minor hot rod truck

If you've been reading this blog you'll know I am a bit of an enthusiast of the 70s/80s customs and rods.  I especially like it when old cars turn up again. So I was happy to spot the Morris Minor LCV on eBay

This is truly redolent on an era.  That looks like Triumph brown to me, as seen on many T2000s and Dolomites when I was a lad.  The flip front, Daimler Hemi and bias ply tyres are all period delights. Appliance Wire Mags are definitely the winning wheel on a car like this.

Those wheel arches could only have been formed in a time when taking hallucinogenics in the garage was an acceptable pass time.

Needing work to recommission its currently bid to a little over a grand.  No IVA worries here on an old build like this.

Auction is HERE and was still active at time of writing.