This is my 87' Rascal, shipped up from Cornwall to Dundee after buying it completely unseen on Gumtree. So no surprise it was in much worse condition than the photos let on. Its came a long way since I bought it 3 years ago now, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Full of rust, many shades of red, damp and full of sand and grit for some reason. But I saw the potential, and the little engine had just 48,000 miles on the clock. Plus theres not too many Demountables on the roads these days so it was worth the effort to put it all right.
Most of the rust was either covered up my duct tape or poorly filled with filler and just primered over. My welding skills are not the best, so got in touch with a local guy who got it all sorted on the driveway.
With all the welding taken care of it was off to the paint shop. I decided to go for a yellow instead of the original red. But I didn't want anything too bright. I settled for Countrypolitan Yellow from the Fiat 500 colour charts. It was a bit more of a retro yellow and matched its 80's vibes.
This is the day it rolled out of the paint shop
Fitted some Lucas style wing mirrors as the originals had rotted away. Also colour matched the Bedford logo. With its new paint and new MOT, I treated it to some new wheel trims while I save up from some proper 80's alloys. Took it on a trip down to Edinburgh to pick up a wardrobe and test out its hauling capabilites.
Thought I'd have a bit of fun with the interior and covered the roof, door cards and back panel is fuzzy yellow material. The original headlining was missing, the door cards where torn, and most panels had mismatched resprays and covered in old tape, so why not.
Next job was to fix the indicator and fog light on the instrument cluster. They worked, but didn't show up for some reason. Thought since I was doing that investigating, why not just haul out the whole dash and give it a respray.
You can see the state of the floor which still needs sorted, and I discovered two more rust holes hiding under the windscreen.
Found the issue, two snapped connectors. Couldn't find a replacement plug or even the wee metal tabs the wires connect too. So I just jammed a piece of wire in the gaps and it worked!
I haven't been able to source an engine cover for the bed, and I'm not the greatest with metal work yet, but I am handy with woodwork, so this is the solution for now..
So that's kinda where I am for now. I'm in need of a rear window, so I've had to settle for a Plexiglass one I whipped up on my bandsaw, not prefect but will do for now.
Future/Soonish plans are;
I'm sure there will be much more to add to the list as time goes on. And of course I still have all of the pod/camper/living area, whatever you call it, to refurbish, but I am going to focus on the Rascal itself for now.
P.s if anyone knows anyone breaking a Bedford Rascal Pickup I'm after some parts
Thanks for looking
Full of rust, many shades of red, damp and full of sand and grit for some reason. But I saw the potential, and the little engine had just 48,000 miles on the clock. Plus theres not too many Demountables on the roads these days so it was worth the effort to put it all right.
Most of the rust was either covered up my duct tape or poorly filled with filler and just primered over. My welding skills are not the best, so got in touch with a local guy who got it all sorted on the driveway.
With all the welding taken care of it was off to the paint shop. I decided to go for a yellow instead of the original red. But I didn't want anything too bright. I settled for Countrypolitan Yellow from the Fiat 500 colour charts. It was a bit more of a retro yellow and matched its 80's vibes.
This is the day it rolled out of the paint shop
Fitted some Lucas style wing mirrors as the originals had rotted away. Also colour matched the Bedford logo. With its new paint and new MOT, I treated it to some new wheel trims while I save up from some proper 80's alloys. Took it on a trip down to Edinburgh to pick up a wardrobe and test out its hauling capabilites.
Thought I'd have a bit of fun with the interior and covered the roof, door cards and back panel is fuzzy yellow material. The original headlining was missing, the door cards where torn, and most panels had mismatched resprays and covered in old tape, so why not.
Next job was to fix the indicator and fog light on the instrument cluster. They worked, but didn't show up for some reason. Thought since I was doing that investigating, why not just haul out the whole dash and give it a respray.
You can see the state of the floor which still needs sorted, and I discovered two more rust holes hiding under the windscreen.
Found the issue, two snapped connectors. Couldn't find a replacement plug or even the wee metal tabs the wires connect too. So I just jammed a piece of wire in the gaps and it worked!
I haven't been able to source an engine cover for the bed, and I'm not the greatest with metal work yet, but I am handy with woodwork, so this is the solution for now..
So that's kinda where I am for now. I'm in need of a rear window, so I've had to settle for a Plexiglass one I whipped up on my bandsaw, not prefect but will do for now.
Future/Soonish plans are;
- 80's alloys
- Cassette player
- Paint more interior parts black
- Re-trim the seats
- Fuzzify the A pillars
- Treat and paint the chassis
I'm sure there will be much more to add to the list as time goes on. And of course I still have all of the pod/camper/living area, whatever you call it, to refurbish, but I am going to focus on the Rascal itself for now.
P.s if anyone knows anyone breaking a Bedford Rascal Pickup I'm after some parts
Thanks for looking
A stuck thermostat, holey radiator and a coolant leak have all combined to toasting the engine. Was a sad sight sitting at the edge of the M90, sun rising, with the wee Rascal smoking and sizzling away, with sympathetic looks from passing motorists. 
looking foward to seeing this evolve ...
