Motoring Discussion > Ping Commer Driver Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 14
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 Sun 2 Jul 17 16:30 
 Ping Commer Driver - Bromptonaut
Spotted this on Borough High St Yesterday:

goo.gl/photos/N3SYaP9tqXgDd1DZ7
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 Sun 2 Jul 17 18:48 
 Ping Commer Driver - MD
Only 45 yo!
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 10:17 
 Ping Commer Driver - commerdriver
there's a few of us still about. I still think it looks pleasing to the eye.
Not often you pass another on the road these days.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 12:54 
 Ping Commer Driver - Stuartli
It's a Southport registration - WM was the other one.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 13:08 
 Ping Commer Driver - commerdriver
>> It's a Southport registration - WM was the other one.
>>
by 40+ years old it could be based anywhere now.
Mine is a GT registration which was SW London in 1974 but it spent 11-12 years in Kent then moved to Marlow, where it has been kept since.
I could point out some other geeky things but I'll spare you the details
Looks in good nick tough
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 Tue 4 Jul 17 00:37 
 Ping Commer Driver - Stuartli
>>...by 40+ years old it could be based anywhere now...>>

But that's the point I was making - the photograph was taken in London (as far as I can make out)....:-)
Last edited by: Stuartli on Tue 4 Jul 17 at 00:38
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 13:06 
 Ping Commer Driver - Dog
I droved one of those (diesel) on and orf back in the 70's + it's bigger bro the Commer walk-through.

Bedford CF was nicer to drive IMO.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 13:12 
 Ping Commer Driver - commerdriver
>> Bedford CF was nicer to drive IMO.
>>
Both Bedford CF and Mk1 Transit were nicer to drive but the Commer had more space inside than either of them. It drives OK for what is basically a 1950s design. The narrow track makes it fun doing twisty roads quickly.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 13:43 
 Ping Commer Driver - Dog
>>the Commer had more space inside than either of them

That's interesting because the Tranny and the Bedford looked bigger.

I never liked the God-awful V4 engine in the Ford, although later in life I got to work on many a V6 Tranny, which were nice.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 14:22 
 Ping Commer Driver - commerdriver
Both the CF and the tranny lost length to the engine, it was only a few inches but when you looked at motorcaravan bed & cupboard size in contemporary conversions from the same converter, the ones in the Commer were slightly bigger.
The multiple bigger versions of the Tranny (or CF) were, of course much bigger as well as being quicker, better to drive etc.

The Commer did alright considering its competition at the time it was introduced were the CA Bedford and the Ford Thames. By the 1970s it was near the end of its life and only really sold as a motor caravan base and to large fleets like GPO/BT.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 14:23 
 Ping Commer Driver - Boxsterboy
They look cute but I can imagine they might be a bit of a chore to drive in modern traffic? I am old enough to remember the days when the roads would be full of GPO vans of this type!

My parents had a very early Transit, converted by Dormobile into a camper. No air-con of course but sliding front doors opened up on a hot Italian autostrada was pretty effective at ventilating the inside.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 14:32 
 Ping Commer Driver - commerdriver
>> They look cute but I can imagine they might be a bit of a chore
>> to drive in modern traffic? I am old enough to remember the days when the
>> roads would be full of GPO vans of this type!
>>
Less than you might think as long as you have a relaxed mindset.
It will sit on Motorways at 60+ usually in the inside lane coming out only to pass slow moving lorries. I have had it at 70+ but is's not really geared for it compared to a modern car and I always bear in mind its brakes and handling are 1970s design even iff they have modern materials in them.
On country roads I usually take it fairly steady and pull in if I start to get a queue.
Wouldn't want to take it abroad now but it has been to France, Switzerland and Scandinavia.
Last edited by: commerdriver on Mon 3 Jul 17 at 14:33
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 15:16 
 Ping Commer Driver - Dog
I used to deliver reams of paper to the printing trade back then. My little van was quite often fully loaded and, although I was a brilliantine stick insect, I had no moans about driving it in London traffic or on the motorways.
The load on the back obviously made the steering very light!!

I hated - absolutely hated driving the bigger Commer walk through.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 15:29 
 Ping Commer Driver - Hard Cheese
>> That's interesting because the Tranny and the Bedford looked bigger.
>>
>> I never liked the God-awful V4 engine in the Ford, although later in life I
>> got to work on many a V6 Tranny, which were nice.
>>

My first job during studies was at a builders' merchants, late 70's, most of the builder's favoured Transits pickups and vans as they apparently were more powerful and better to drive. Though the V4s suffered fuel vap problems on hot days, you'd load 10 cwt cement and a yard of sharp sand and then it took 2 or 3 mins to start.
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 Mon 3 Jul 17 16:53 
 Ping Commer Driver - Dog
This place www.cornishcampers.co.uk/ hires out VW campers which I quite often see coming and going to a local winery which regularly holds wedding receptions etc. etc.

Saw two leaving on Saturday while I was 'walking the dogs/s'. One was a slit-screen jobbie and I was explaining to the ole woman howl I'd tuned and road tested plenty of those back in the day - totally gutless and with a gear change akin to a long spoon in a bowl of trifle!
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