I have been into old cars for as long as I can remember and light commercials have always a special interest. The only excuse I have had for forays into LC ownership however have been a couple of Commer campers, the first about 20 years ago. The seller assured me it was a 'Good solid van'. Solid filler.

Most of my holidays were spent lying on my back replacing just about all the chassis, jacking points, and cab floor. It was a home made conversion built from 3/4" block board that must have weighed a ton because the van always had a tail down attitude even after the springs were replaced.

Why then did I buy another you ask, well about 15 years after the Waa, as it was christened by my then then 2 year old daughter, was sold I found Harvey the RV, a 1971 Auto Sleeper. I must have had my best rose tinted Raybans on that day I reckoned a quick service, wash and polish and ready for the summer.

I should have known better it was April 1st 1998 when the deal was struck. A weekend shake down run to Anglesey was planned and all was going well until about 2 miles from the campsite when the exhaust decided to part company with the silencer. A swift repair was carried out by sliding a piece of pipe, normally used for extra leverage on the wheel brace, down the broken exhaust and into the silencer. It was a surprisingly effective repair that had little affect on the already wheezy engine. There have been two more shake downs runs one aborted after 5 miles because of serious overheating (Que engine rebuild).



Much work has been carried out on the interior and I started rebuilding the doors when a change of job seriously cut into my free time. Harvey was taken off the road about five years ago for a quick rub down and respray but apart from designing various ways to keep the weather off little progress has been made and the final restoration looks to be heading for a retirement project. I've no intention of parting company with Harv and still looking forward to the day when we can trundle off to Church Bay again, I've still got a piece of that pipe left just in case.