Good grief! For a virtually untouched CF thats in amazing shape. In the right hands that can be sympathetically restored beautifully and retain the majority of its original paint too. Once again - brilliant content. 👍👍
Always liked the CF.my dad's late mate Harry had a red pickup version.always loved a ride in that as a kid. This one looks really good.great to see it make the journey back to the workshop!!
That van deserves to be restored,repainted,I think you would get a lot of TV work with a period van like that,I remember the gas board ones back in the day,I had a ex gas boss Sherpa van,white and blue.
I ran one of these new in the mid 1970's. It was a company vehicle reg no HHE 23L. I can honestly say that it wasn't the best of vehicles. It had repeated gearbox problems with vabrations and went back to the dealers several times but it never seemed to get fixed properly and which eventually led to the casing cracking where it bolted to the bellhousing. Shockers also were weak, I suspect they were just car ones as the suspension was always a bit bouncy. I only had it a couple of years and can honestly say it was the worst vehicle I've had owt to do with. OK it had decent power from the 2300 OHC engine and could easily maintain a 70 mph cruise speed, but it just kept breaking down. The vehicle I had before was the BMC 250 JU which was underpowered, sluggish and not known for comfort , but it was 100% reliable and never let me down.
I can remember my late father bringing home a new 1973 2.3 CF with slam doors which was a newish idea for a van I was 11 at the time they used it for fruit and veg and will over loaded it for the markets and with the 2.3 engine it went will he used to say everything under the bonnet was Sharp like if it hadn't been finished off properly when working on it cutting his hands I think they was cheaper then the transit to buy at the time
Hi Al. Here in Australia they fitted the late 70's Bedford vans with 2.8 or 3.3 litre straight 6 Cylinder engines. Same with Transits of the same error they had 3.3 or 4.1 straight 6's. Marc From Australia. Love your channel
Lovely little van and in incredible shape for a 1983 company vehicle. I am having trouble believing there was a time were not all vans were diesels. But I guess I am too young or something.
I think the Mk1 Ford Transit (for example) was just 2 Diesels for every 1,398 petrols lol. And then of course Diesel vans gradually got more popular over the decades, to the point where someone posted on a forum about problems they were having with their petrol Vauxhall Vivaro, and none of the other members had heard of such a thing!
My uncle had an ex demo CF2 back in 1984, 2.3 diesel with "BEDFORD MEANS BUSINESS" on the side, I think it was a 4 speed. Did a whole 73mph flat out. Didn't even have a radio. It got wiped out in a M-way pile up a few months after he bought it.
Nice. Brings back memories of being an apprentice back in the late 90s. My boss had one. 3 speed auto and god it was loud on the M25. If you tried to turn the radio up loud enough to hear it the radio cut out completely. Nice to see you got it going. Great video.
Totally know what you mean about the M25 noise. I did nearly a full circuit of the M25 in a CF not long after it was completed, when it was all concrete slab surface. I had a pounding headache for a day after. I'd love to see this CF undergo a full resto, she looks like a great base project.
When I was an apprentice I used to drive an M reg ('73-74) CF Bedford with sliding front doors & barn rears. 1.8 Slant 4 petrol engine but it only had a 3 speed gearbox. Great for nipping around town but hopeless at anything above 50mph.
Really wish I had of taken better notice and interest when my late father tried to show me about cars/mechanics etc .. I'd love to be able to get a non runner running again 😂👍 great videos btw 😁👍
@@nostreamavailable9090 i never owned either a cf or transit myself but did get to drive both belonging to 2 dj friends, i drove both short and long wheelbase trannies but much preferred the cf, nicer drive and more go
I seen on the road just down to your workshop, there's a house with a load of aerials on it. A radio amateurs house. I'm into that madness too lol. Cool van! Nice to see you as always.
Fantastic, I really enjoy watching your channel and the work you do is very informative as well as interesting. Your so lucky to be in such a beautiful part of Dorset, I know it well. Keep up the good work. I myself am looking for a project trike just for fun. I really enjoyed the Viva HB SL amazing cars . New cars don't have any character give me a classic any day .
My god what a find most of these disappeared years back my dad drove one new as a company van back in the 80s great video will look forward to seeing more
Great video. I used to drive Bedford vans when I worked on the railway. Most of the CF's were diesels, but I did like the slant four cylinder petrol. I owned a Victor 2300S for a good few years, and drove Bedford HA vans too. If I remember correctly, the last of the CF vans had the Vauxhall CIH engine, like the Mk1 Cavaliers.
The slant 4 with electronic ignition ( 1984 New Zealand ) I drove with 4 speed ZF box 📦 😀 with dual wheels ( CF350 jumbo ) was tough as old boots 👢 and very strong for towing a little weak in the drum brake department, front drums required a lot of emery paper.🤔⚠️
I had two of the pre-faclift, the first one blew the trans too, had to change it on a gravel pad in front of the house...but the motor ran like this here also, many cut outs while crusing...the second one was swapped to a 2.3 V6 Ford, wasn't that great also...but I guess today I would see both of them as a project, back then they only disappointed me... 🤔
For the age of the van and the fact she's been stood for a while..... she's running remarkably well despite being a little rough round the edges. Nothing that a good bit of TLC won't solve :)
Some of the Sprinters in your previous videos I sold new when I worked for Lancaster Truck and Van and then Commercial Motors in Yeovil. The 06 plate Sprinter with the huge Wessex Luton body on it new to Falcon Self Drive in Taunton and the 54 plate Sprinter 311 LWB Dropside in orange originally to Wealdon District Council in Hailsham in Sussex, there were 3 of them originally, fitted with tool hire type beaver tail bodies from Gardners in Kent. Love your videos, it’s like going down memory lane for me. Also the Bedford CF, used to sell them at Wincanton Garages in Yeovil. Happy days and keep them coming!!👍👍
Fantasy fella the massive luton just been sold on Saturday I got it in Kent .did think at the time random it’s a Wessex one !! They’d just built a body for one of my customer lol and the orange flat be I’ve know from second owner !! Small world hey 👍
@@6DDIESELSDorset It certainly is, Wessex have just built me a box and tail lift on a new Atego chassis and it’s going out to the customer this week, they are also building a new Sprinter Luton body on a new chassis for me this month, have been dealing with Nigel and Alex well over 30 years, probably one of the best bodybuilders in the UK currently. I also have a 64 plate Vito 122 V6 Sport Dualliner of my own, proper bit of kit. As you may gather, I love my Mercedes commercial vehicles!!😍
What a find! Driven a few, 1800 and 2300s, and the CIH Opel engined CF2's. The 2 litre Opel engine was a tad nicer to drive I thought, with the dogleg 5 speed, The utterly "wonderful" GM diesel, can't remember the capacity think it was 2.2, about 50 horses... couldn't pull the skin off your custard, but sounded lovely with the old skool diesel clatter.
The GM 2.3 diesel had 61bhp. Lots of people got the 2.3TD out of Carlton's and Frontera's to make them faster. My local ice cream man had a CF2 with the 2.0 Opel CIH engine and that just kept going.
Brilliant video. That CF is surprisingly tidy! They were usually rustier than that after only a few years! I remember my uncle having a couple of CF's, they were crap so we went back to Transits.
My aunt and uncle had a green one as a family van in the very early 80s, then they replaced it with a 1984 Toyota HiAce that they had for about ten years, replaced with another HiAce that lasted about 20 years I think. Then they downsized to a tiny Auris.
I used to drive a 1982 Bedford CF 2.3 when I worked for the milk marketing board back in the 80s. The gearbox in the CF were never the best even when they were new. They were also prone to an occasional misfire especially if they got damp.
Like the petrol Sherpas, you could always hear these from a couple of miles away. Kent County Council had a fleet as work vans in the day. (So I always see them as white over blue). A pity they (General Motors/Vauxhall) didn't properly replace them.
I had one in England with of of those straight six engines and an auto gearbox. I brought it brand new and unregistered from a motor caravan manufacturer who'd already had fitted a fixed fibreglass high roof to it. It cost me Four grand and made a fantastic mobile workshop vehicle for my garage business. Was well capable of giving an XR3 (not the I version) a run for it's money in the traffic lights grand prix. Spares for it were available from my local Vauxhall dealer as the Bedford ambulances of the time were fitted with the same engine. Mine looked the same as that one except it was on an E plate.
@@mikeymike3634 I'm pretty sure the Aussie versions used The Holden "red" motor rather than the UK 3.3 which I guess was a version of the straight 6 fitted to Vauxhall Viscounts and Ventoras etc.
@@BigPaul62 Well thanks for that bit of info Big P I was told by both the vendor and the dealership that I took the van to for it's pre delivery inspection that the engine in it was a Holden engine and never questioned that. It did have hydraulic tappets though and I'm sure the U K straight six didn't. if it has any bearing on the situation the engine was painted in a light green colour.
it's in fantastic condition for it's age the old Bedford CF van how much were they when we're new I'm guessing you'll want double bubble for it now like all you video spurs fan ❤😅
Where did all those CF's and CF2 's go, the roads downunder in New Zealand was full of them. Your 1983 model should have electronic ignition with the proverbial last of the slant 4's. In New Zealand it was possible to find either Opel, Holden or Vauxhall under the bonnet, rather spoilt for choice 😂
