1989 Bedford Rascal from UK and Ireland - Comments

Horn failure @ 88000 miles (£35 repair).

Water pump leak @ 96000 miles (£30).

New rear brake drums @ 94000 miles (£65).

Usual bulb failures, battery replacement and exhaust rust...

Although dog slow and very noisy, this has got to be the greatest vehicle I've ever owned.

Easy to drive and park, never likely to be stolen, (would you nick one...!!!) and very cheap to run and insure...

It cost just over £5000 new, has lasted 11 years of hard work &, apart from the recent onset of rust, still remains as reliable as ever... Since buying this van in 1989 I've owned 8 different cars at a total cost of about £70,000. All of these have been replaced but the Rascal still stays.

If well looked after it will last forever but make sure you've got ear plugs if you exceed 60 mph and don't EVER try to overtake anything in it...

I agree, I find the Rascal a perfect vehicle, it is fine for transporting a small load, economic and the space in the back is fine for 'personal use'.

Anybody had any trouble with an intermittent fuel pump problem?

Hi, the fuel pump on the Rascal is about £75.00 to replace, but you can buy a alternative pump from most outlets from around £25.00, but you will need to make a bracket to hang it on as I did and it works well.

Regards, Phillip

Just got my 2nd Rascal Van (oops just remembered how bad the old one was!), this one has 100 000 miles on clock - I know someone with 200 000 on their van.

What's wrong with them - rusts badly (wheel arches), back door rattles (adjust rubbers on the side of door to cure), some kids pushed ours over in the road (maybe they just sneezed!) - at least you can lift it up again on your own - did I mention it rusts?

We ran a new Fiat at the same time as our old van, the Rascal was slower, noisier, but it was far cheaper to run (and broke down less). OK so it ain't all bad - did I mention it rusts?

I own the Bambi Motor-caravan conversion and have nothing but praise for its reliability.

It is slow, but what can you expect from 970cc pulling 27cwt!

Only gripe is tyre wear, but that may be something to do with the weight of the conversion.

I have owned a Rascal for four months and its excellent apart from the noisy gear box. I have got some Wolfrace wheels going on it EXCELLENT.

Good Morning fellow Rascals.

I've just picked up my new (sic) 1989 Rascal having bought it off ebay, for 300 quid I expected some rust- but goodness me the wheel arches are in a terrible state. Does anyone know a good garage in the Southwest (Bristol) that would sew some new ones on for me. Glad to have found this site- I will check back regularly.

All the best.

Ben (b.grassby@hefce.ac.uk)

My dad spotted our 1988 'F' plate Rascal in our local scrap yard in 1998,can't remember why he was at the yard to start with, but hey it's a story! The van wasn't in the yard as such, but kept in the "too good too break" section, which was nice! After some negotiation the large owner of the scrap yard took £150 from my dad in the return for the little van. After getting it home and then informing me of his purchase. I, being a mechanic, found the body to be sound, but the head gasket to be blown, with the mileage showing 87000.

The van was painted in a local decorators... decorations and on scanning the log book found the previous owner was a florist in the local area! So we were now the third owners.

To cut a long story short, we had the van painted in its original red, I replaced the head gasket, but not before removing the sump and replacing the piston rings because it smoked badly as-well, (at the same time finding that the engine had been replaced by an 850cc at some point in its life, so the mileage was more like 120000 miles at the wheels)

The Rascal was used extensivley between '98 and 2001 where it performed its tasks reliably and as its such fun to drive, with a smile on my face.

The little Rascal now sits in my garage, dry and cosy awaiting my restoration.

Not much to be done, the door bottoms need replacing, as do the wheel arches as well as some minor repairs.

A classic van some day, and I've got one. And I won't part with it. I've made that mistake before!

Hi just bought a rascal, but the heater doesn't seem to work, is there a switch somewhere I need to turn on, or has anyone got any suggestions. any answers would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Dave david@mills1129.freeserve.co.uk.

Hi iv'e got a 1989 bedford rascal van, but am not sure if it's leaded or unleaded could anyone help.

Can anybody help me with the timing settings on my 1990

rascal thanks.

Can anybody help me? Do you know what the settings are for the points as I am having some problems finding out. Thanks, Shaun.

All rascals from 1986 run on unleaded fuel.

Does anybody have a rascal van to sell (with rascal side sign). Thanks! Sarah.

Hello rascal fanciers, I've just bought a cheeky little rascal after searching for 3 weeks, trouble is I keep popping out in it and my girlfriend is getting fed up, she might have to go, but the rascal stays-GLYNN.