Some of you will have seen my previous thread about this little motor and so will know the background a little, but here it is for those that didn't.
Last year, an old friend of my parents came to visit, sadly because of the passing of her mother who had lived locally to us. She needed to sort a lot of things out with her father, bills, housing, care etc, and mentioned that she had come across the rental bills for a little lock-up which supposedly held her fathers old van. This is where my ears pricked up. Apparently in the early 80's, he'd decided he needed something to transport, among other things, his giant model railway and so had bought himself a little box on wheels with which to do so. She later found the logbook, which stated it was a Honda, and had a tiny little engine. The garage hadn't been opened in decades, and vandals had broken the lock on the door meaning no one could get in. At the time I'd said I would be happy to help pull the van out of it's resting place and find it a home, or even possibly have it for myself if it's in decent condition. However, the months passed by and we heard nothing from her or her family about the little Honda, so assumed it had gone elsewhere.
A few weeks ago, though, we got a phone call from her brother Michael, asking if I was still interested in pulling his fathers old beater out of it's lock-up. Obviously I was, and upon asking how much he wanted for it he told me it was 'free to a good home'. Oh, and he was heading over to start clearing the garage on my birthday. Conincidence?
10:30am on the 9th of July I drive into the compound to find Michael pulling box after box out of one of a row of flat roof lock ups, and poking it's curious little face out into the daylight is my little Honda Acty
Covered in a thick layer of dust, it appears to have survived incredibly well. A quick glance at the tax disc reveals just how long it's been hidden in there
The garage was packed with all sorts of old junk. Tools, lamps, suitcases and an old petrol lawnmwer, nothing of any real value, or even of any particular interest, but there was something a little magical about sifting through all these forgotten objects, preserved for 30 years in an old brick box.
A friend of mine and hooked me up with a transport for £30, which took it the 3 miles back to my house.
Now I got to look over the thing properly, and oh my goodness I was rather pleased. It was in far better condition than I had imagined it would be. These little vans had virtually all dissolved by the late 80's, but this one is completely solid and original throughout. There is absolutely no welding needed anywhere, and no previous repairs, the interior looks like new bar a ripped door pocket, the steering, suspension and all four wheels move freely, hell, even the tyres hold air.
37k on the odo
Jacking set that looks like it's never been used
Mid mounted 550cc two pot produces a whopping 28bhp.
Check out the 165 profile Good Year Rally Special tyres at the rear
Although entirely solid, the body is covered in spots of surface rust creeping through the ultra-thin economy paint job
Ohmygawditssooosmall!!!
Needless to say I'm loving it. It's a joint project with a close friend, who fell in love with it as much as I did when he saw it. We've been working on it in our spare time, and so far we've removed the engine for cleaning up and servicing, removed the exterior trim and applied a thick coat of Ankor Wax, got the sliding door working perfectly and removed the seized brake master cylinder. Removing the engine was fun, we literally unbolted everything, dropped the engine onto the floor and lifted the van up over top of it, and by lifted I do mean picked it up ourselves, it weighs nothing! This week we're tipping it on it's side to strip the floor of it's rust and protect the metal much better than the factory did, as well as bolting some new service parts to the motor before lobbing it back in the back and attempting to fire it up. After that, the master cylinder needs a rebuild (that'll be fun) and the brake system will need a thorough going over. Then tyres, MOT, tax and insurance if all goes to plan
The plan is to get it to RRG, and if possible to the Lake District a week before that. We're on a stupidly tight budget (I really shouldn't be spending money on projects at this point in my life!) so we're salvaging everything we can possibly save, and only replacing what is absolutely necessary. I'll keep you all updated with our progress, and please pipe in if you feel you can offer some advice (we're gonna need all the help we can get!)
Last year, an old friend of my parents came to visit, sadly because of the passing of her mother who had lived locally to us. She needed to sort a lot of things out with her father, bills, housing, care etc, and mentioned that she had come across the rental bills for a little lock-up which supposedly held her fathers old van. This is where my ears pricked up. Apparently in the early 80's, he'd decided he needed something to transport, among other things, his giant model railway and so had bought himself a little box on wheels with which to do so. She later found the logbook, which stated it was a Honda, and had a tiny little engine. The garage hadn't been opened in decades, and vandals had broken the lock on the door meaning no one could get in. At the time I'd said I would be happy to help pull the van out of it's resting place and find it a home, or even possibly have it for myself if it's in decent condition. However, the months passed by and we heard nothing from her or her family about the little Honda, so assumed it had gone elsewhere.
A few weeks ago, though, we got a phone call from her brother Michael, asking if I was still interested in pulling his fathers old beater out of it's lock-up. Obviously I was, and upon asking how much he wanted for it he told me it was 'free to a good home'. Oh, and he was heading over to start clearing the garage on my birthday. Conincidence?
10:30am on the 9th of July I drive into the compound to find Michael pulling box after box out of one of a row of flat roof lock ups, and poking it's curious little face out into the daylight is my little Honda Acty
Covered in a thick layer of dust, it appears to have survived incredibly well. A quick glance at the tax disc reveals just how long it's been hidden in there
The garage was packed with all sorts of old junk. Tools, lamps, suitcases and an old petrol lawnmwer, nothing of any real value, or even of any particular interest, but there was something a little magical about sifting through all these forgotten objects, preserved for 30 years in an old brick box.
A friend of mine and hooked me up with a transport for £30, which took it the 3 miles back to my house.
Now I got to look over the thing properly, and oh my goodness I was rather pleased. It was in far better condition than I had imagined it would be. These little vans had virtually all dissolved by the late 80's, but this one is completely solid and original throughout. There is absolutely no welding needed anywhere, and no previous repairs, the interior looks like new bar a ripped door pocket, the steering, suspension and all four wheels move freely, hell, even the tyres hold air.
37k on the odo
Jacking set that looks like it's never been used
Mid mounted 550cc two pot produces a whopping 28bhp.
Check out the 165 profile Good Year Rally Special tyres at the rear
Although entirely solid, the body is covered in spots of surface rust creeping through the ultra-thin economy paint job
Ohmygawditssooosmall!!!
Needless to say I'm loving it. It's a joint project with a close friend, who fell in love with it as much as I did when he saw it. We've been working on it in our spare time, and so far we've removed the engine for cleaning up and servicing, removed the exterior trim and applied a thick coat of Ankor Wax, got the sliding door working perfectly and removed the seized brake master cylinder. Removing the engine was fun, we literally unbolted everything, dropped the engine onto the floor and lifted the van up over top of it, and by lifted I do mean picked it up ourselves, it weighs nothing! This week we're tipping it on it's side to strip the floor of it's rust and protect the metal much better than the factory did, as well as bolting some new service parts to the motor before lobbing it back in the back and attempting to fire it up. After that, the master cylinder needs a rebuild (that'll be fun) and the brake system will need a thorough going over. Then tyres, MOT, tax and insurance if all goes to plan
The plan is to get it to RRG, and if possible to the Lake District a week before that. We're on a stupidly tight budget (I really shouldn't be spending money on projects at this point in my life!) so we're salvaging everything we can possibly save, and only replacing what is absolutely necessary. I'll keep you all updated with our progress, and please pipe in if you feel you can offer some advice (we're gonna need all the help we can get!)
