25 replies to this topic

[tampaguy]

Hi to all, I have a 1958 English Ford Thames 800 E400 van that I would like to restore as a Lotus F1 support vehicle. If you have a photos of this van used as a support vehicle for any race team I would love to see them...........Thanks

[Leigh Trevail]

In the early nineties there was a Thames pick up made into a replica Lotus transporter, I seem to remember that it used a 6 cylinder Zephyr engine and it was owned by a chap named Bill Friend.

[bradbury west]

I have a couple of shots of my own from that time, but will take time to find. PM me with your e mail address and I will send other copies which I cannot post.
Roger Lund

[Gary C]

I'm sure I saw that pick-up at Brands in the last couple of years, looked great too!

[Leigh Trevail]

Here is a picture of an STP Thames van. I apologise if anyone has copyright on it, but I cannot remember where it came from!

[jph]

It might be worth contacting SMTS Moels (via smtsmodels.co.uk) as they are planning to make a 1/43 scale model of the Team Lotus support van, so presumably they will have sourced some reference pictures?

[Peter Darley]

Hi to all, I have a 1958 English Ford Thames 800 E400 van that I would like to restore as a Lotus F1 support vehicle. If you have a photos of this van used as a support vehicle for any race team I would love to see them...........Thanks

Pages 43 & 48 of my book "Jim Clark - Life at Team Lotus" may help

[David Force]

Isn't there already a recreation of this in the Netherlands ?

[Macca]

Seen at Coys in 1995 (my photo, free to all)


Paul M

[tampaguy]

Seen at Coys in 1995 (my photo, free to all)


Paul M

Thanks to all for the info and photo's. I have seen the photo of the lotus transporter but the STP shot is a surprise. That is a product that I thought I would have seen in the States ? Any info on that photo ? I would like to find a photo of a lotus van not a pickup as I do not want to cut this van up........Thanks

[Leigh Trevail]

"Any info on that photo"................ Like I said; I have no recollection where that picture came from, but nowadays I find this happening more and more!
Using the car to date the photo (I will let someone else idenify it) I would say that it was early seventies. This would have made the Thames the best part of ten years old, possibly older. I have no idea when S.T.P. was first introduced into the U.K, as a guess I would say mid sixties.

[cedricselzer]

Bill Friends replica is a poor copy. The original PMT 903 had extra seats behind the front seats . Subsequently the cab was longer. I have in the past driven many thousand of miles and suffered many break downs. I loved PMT. We could tow a trailer (2 cars in total plus spares) at over 80mph all day when it worked.
Cedric Selzer

[Bjorn Kjer]

tampaguy , use the search button for Transporters , you'll find some.

[llmaurice]

Bill Friends replica is a poor copy. The original PMT 903 had extra seats behind the front seats . Subsequently the cab was longer. I have in the past driven many thousand of miles and suffered many break downs. I loved PMT. We could tow a trailer (2 cars in total plus spares) at over 80mph all day when it worked.
Cedric Selzer

I remember an unhappy drive down to Lisbon when we broke down in Burgos (northern Spain) in the thing with 2 cars on the trailer in 1959.
The best place to be seated on that journey was in one of the 16s on the trailer to keep a little cool!
The original 3 speed gearbox was pathetic and from memory , we mated an Alvis gearbox in place of it with a most unusual remote linkage .
Jim Enduweit did a great job on the extended cab however .

[Bjorn Kjer]

Can anyone please help me out here , I need at least the dimensions on the Thames van , Width, Height, Length and preferably wheelbase , please ?

It is for finding the exact scale of the Matchbox model.........

[Bloggsworth]

I can understand how you got in the second row Cedric, but I don't suppose you ever managed to get Bob Sparshott in there. I recall the Lotus Christmas dance when we had some interlopers; I was trying to persuade them to leave quietly when Bob came over "Having trouble?" While I was explaining the situation, one of the ***** said "What are you going to do about it?". Bob took hold of his collar, lifted him clear of the floor, and carried him to the door one handed, "This" was all he said. They did not return...

This has nothing to do with transporters, but I was suddenly reminded of the incident; and when I think of it, Bob was still working in the service department when those Thames wagons were in use.

Cedric, I'm told you live about a mile or two from me, piccolo mondo, as they say at Ferrari. (Sorry to be familiar, given that we haven't met since about 1964).

Edited by Bloggsworth, 17 July 2010 - 09:25.

[arttidesco]

Not so sure what this one is doing in a flower patch, if it is real or a very big model, or when or where it was taken much less if its an 800 E400 but it is a Ford Thames Van in Lotus colours :-)

[Bloggsworth]

Not so sure what this one is doing in a flower patch, if it is real or a very big model, or when or where it was taken much less if its an 800 E400 but it is a Ford Thames Van in Lotus colours :-)

I recall ones with Lotus Components on the side, but I don't remember one with Lotus Cars on the side - It may of course be down to a failing memory - and where's the second row of seats?

[arttidesco]

Forth picture down one Thames Van with a second row of seats BUT I doubt it's what your expecting or that it is necessarily as labelled but it is a Ford Thames with two rows of seats even though it looks like a bit of a cut and shut special :-)

[redturner37]

Forth picture down one Thames Van with a second row of seats BUT I doubt it's what your expecting or that it is necessarily as labelled but it is a Ford Thames with two rows of seats even though it looks like a bit of a cut and shut special :-)

We had a 12/15cwt Thames pick up with a crew cab. This of course gave us 4 seats if we needed them. It was an ex local authority vehicle. We fitted a 6 cyl Zephyr engine and fitted a front panel from a Thames diesel truck. Did a lot of miles in that one.

[arttidesco]

We had a 12/15cwt Thames pick up with a crew cab. This of course gave us 4 seats if we needed them. It was an ex local authority vehicle. We fitted a 6 cyl Zephyr engine and fitted a front panel from a Thames diesel truck. Did a lot of miles in that one.

Just incase I come across another any even vague idea what the registration might have been ?

[Lemnpiper]

Wow ,

That 1954 Mercedes-Benz Rennabteilung has to be the wickedest car hauler of all time . COE to the extreme.

Any idea how many of them were built? Glad to see at least has survived.




Paul

[Catalina Park]

Wow ,

That 1954 Mercedes-Benz Rennabteilung has to be the wickedest car hauler of all time . COE to the extreme.

Any idea how many of them were built? Glad to see at least has survived.




Paul

One built and none survive. The current one is a replica.

[olav glasius]

The replica flat bed transporter built for Bill Friend
is at the moment in Belgium.
I own the Thames panel van sign written Lotus Cars
with a Zephyr straight 6 2500 cc engine.
To trailer my Lotus racing cars.
Go to Essen Motor show Lotus and you can see pics

Olav Glasius,Holland

[arttidesco]

Looks like by the time 882 YPL made it to wikipedia in 2008 someone had managed to replace the missing windscreen wiper arm

[colinsays]

A very interesting pic form the Team Lotus Ford Thames van...not pick up one
http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/