1979 Commer Van from UK and Ireland - Comments

I had a Dodge spacevan from 1995-2000, when I lived in East London. It seemed happy to be left for months at a time and it would always start with a bit of bradex easy start and the jump leads and then run happily for a few days until it was next layed up. It was a "w" reg so probably one of the last made, an ex BT in buttercup yellow with heavy duty ladder racks and a faded silhouette of buzby on the side. I only paid 100 quid for it in 1995 and sold it for 90 quid in 2000. It would just about crack 60 mph and you could lift the interior engine cowling and adjust the tickover whilst driving! I was very fond of it, it had a lot of character aand was pretty spacious for a small van.

Hi, I'm currently restoring a Commer camper 1971. I don't know if it's a PB or Dormobile as I have little knowledge, but it was love at first sight. anyway, got her through the M.O.T and I am now doing the interior, I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on bench seats (for the front) and hammocks for in the roof. Cheers. Rachael.

Hi Rachel.

I too have started out on a restoration project of my 1965 Commer PA. I would be happy to converse with you (perhaps about getting an English Commer site going too as I am sure you have found no definitive resource online like me!)

John@johnyboy.com

John.

In Holland we have a large Commer enthusiasts club as well as a Rootes car club. The Commer club is catering for the large Commers and Karriers from the Walkthru type on wards. The Rootes Club caters for the smaller vans like the Commer PB and PA, Commer Imp Van etc.

For contacts and spares:

Www.rootesclub.nl

www.commer.org

www.rootesparts.com.

Hi to all.

My name is Gary, I am 43yrs old and clearly remember commer pb and dodges traveling our roads. And glad to say, I have recently become the proud owner of a Dodge Chrysler Spacevan (hi-line).What a beauty she is! The previous owner named her "BESSIE".She had been lovingly hand painted and well known by local people, with her name sign written by the owner across the front.

Sadly, he passed away last year and the van came up for sale back in Feb 2005.That is when I got lucky and became the new owner. There are not too many spares about, but the previous owner,had left a spare,well everything windows/doors/switches/brake shoes/bulbs,sadly no body panels.The van/minibus as it was,is in for a respray and we are finding lots of filler from previous repairs.It looks like it may become expensive,but what the heck,you only live once.Thanks for listening,I will let you know how it goes.By the way,I agree about a web site,good idea..Gary.

Got myself a 1982 dodge spacevan, one of the very last vans ever built. it has been converted to a camper with the roof and interior from a 1970 highwayman. the van was very badly handpainted and has been difficult to do much with, 5 coats of white gloss are not easy to get off. the sills along both sides had been poorly repaired in the past and an absence of replacement panels has forced me to fabricate some myself, alas without the wonderful original grooves. the handbrake was seized, but I have managed to have a new cable made as no one stocked a new one.

She starts first turn of the key and drove 60 miles home without a problem.

Just slowly working through to the MOT test.

Hi all, Gary here.

Well in my last comment, i mentioned my 1979 Dodge Chrysler was in the paint shop, and we were finding a lot of old filler present. The decision was made to pull her out and put her through an M.O.T.test just to assess the situation.

Guess what?she failed. But the good thing about this is, i now know what needs doing to her in order to pass. I was told (and shown) the only place where corrosion had been a problem was at the tail end of the chassis, within 300mm of the rear leaf spring hanger. (where chassis meets rear valance.) This means I can get the welding done, and get her back in the paint shop A.S.A.P.

As the last person has said, (didn't catch the name) i have also had to lose the defining swage lines along the sides, as a previous welding job along the sills had warped the panels (hence all the filler in the panels),they also forgot to include the floor into the welding. So I have had to cut into the side-panel/sill joint, and weld in a narrow strip to join in the floor. This has taken out the swage lines. A few pots of filler later and we have some nice flat side-panels for spraying. This also meant on the side door as well. Anyway I need to close now, see you all again soon.Cheers, Gary.

Oops, never realised I hadn't put my name to my post gary.

Been all over (and under) the dodge and I reckon it's just about ready for the MOT. got it booked in for 11.30 on monday.

I had a bit of a panic attack with the steering box as it had a lot of play in it. when I read the service manual I realised that it wasn't wear, but the built in tolerences, phew!

Had some real fun with the greasegun, some time ago I bought one that is air powered. 2 pots of grease later and I think its all done, I was finding nipples everywhere.

I checked out the brakes and was quite pleased to see that there are 4 very new looking cylinders fitted and I also found that most of the underside was undersealed, the chassis outriggers and jacking points are in good order.

I've sprayed the van in 2pack ford diamond white, it's not the best finish, but its much better than what was on it when I got the van.

I've painted the sills with black hammerite, in fact I followed the sill line all the way round and I cleaned up the bumpers and painted them as well. I got some black bumper paint and tarted up the grille and light surrounds.

The overall effect is quite pleasing.

Heres to a pass on monday, nigel.

Gary.

Are you thinking of selling any of the spares you inherited?

I managed to get hold of a few repair panels for the lower half and luckily that means the lovely louvres remain in place!

I expect to get her back from the welder next weekend and then in for her toughest MOT in years!

Still trying to find some time for the website, but will post as soon as there is something worth telling you all about.

John.

Hi there. I'm very pleased to have found this site as I was the very proud owner of a 1969 Commer Campervan last year and I drove him (he was called Sam) all around New Zealand. He was just brilliant, although getting parts and passing the MOT could sometimes be a problem.

Anyway, the point of this post is that I am nearly back in the UK and would dearly love to buy a Commer camper again to restore etc, etc. Any ideas of where to look for one or is it just a case of luck? I will be based in Southern England.

Many thanks.

Jo.

Hi.

I'm a long-standing Rootes enthusiast, but I'm drifting more and more towards the Commercial variants these days. I have several examples of the larger Commers and Karriers from 30 cwt upwards and from 1939 to 1970. My favourites are the Superpoises, but I'm also a fan of the poultry models (Bantam and Gamecock).

I believe that the final Talbots and Dodges were produced under the ownership of RVI (Renault Trucks) at the old plant at Dunstable. This means that it is just possible that some spares can be found through Renault dealers as well as old parts specialists.

I have two sites of my own to support these vehicles:

Www.rootesgroup.com

www.oldtruckspares.com.

I have never owned a PA/PB, but I have some parts available, including a few panels and quarter bumpers.

A few tips for PA/PB owners (done from memory, please don't sue if I'm slightly wrong about any details) :

Engine and gearbox are essentially the same as Hillman Minx or Hunter with detail differences.

Front suspension shares a lot of parts with the larger Humbers (Super Snipe and Hawk) and also the earlier Sunbeam-Talbots, but most of the later Humbers had disc brake front hubs.

Rear axle is also a parts bin special with many components shared with the Humbers.

There still seems to be no UK club for all Commers and Karriers, but the PA/PB is well supported by the Classic Camper Club.

Hi

I have a Commer Camper Auto Sleeper which I would like to sell. It has a fully fitted interior, is sound mechanically with many new parts and a years MoT. The bodywork is good. I was thinking of respraying it, but will sell sprayed or unsprayed. Any offers?? Phone 07751484485 Simes.

My Spacevan flew through its MOT and was subsequently sold. Apparently its now in the Bristol area. As a result I have in my possession one brand new (still packaged) front handbrake cable (handbrake to equalizer) and one used front cable (in GWO).

I also have one new (still packaged) brake cable from the wheels to the equalizer.

These parts are for the Commer PB/Dodge Spacevan and are almost impossible to find, the cable from the handbrake lever gets covered in crud from the front wheel.

I have a pair of used, but good rear shocks c/w arms and a pair of PB rear light lenses.

I bet that someone is desperately searching for some of these parts.

Nigel.

Here are some part numbers that may be useful to somebody.

BRAKE SHOES TO FIT COMMER PB VAN REAR

SHOE WIDTH 2.25" (57mm)

UNIPART PART NO GBS763

LOCKHEED NO LS191 (LBXL191DC260)

DON NO SL21.

CONTACT BREAKER SET UNIPART GCS111 SAME AS LUCAS DSB101.

Front wheel bearing kit, original Automotive Bearings Ltd ABK101 for the following applications. Set comes complete.

Applications:

Commer / Dodge: PB Van (1.5, 2, 2.5 ltr) 1961-81.

Nigel

Hi All.

Just to let you know I have set up a forum where the Commer van can be discussed and all sorts of useful information exchanged...

http://forum.commervanfan.co.uk.

Not many of us there at the mo, but I encourage everyone to help make it the number one resource!

John.