For the rest of this week we’re keeping this message up, for all Australian readers of our Register Blog:

Gooday Boys
Next Sunday is the Historic Commercial Vehicle show again. We are looking for a better than last year’s 7-vehicle show. If we all turn up we will make it – so here is the call to arms!
The show opens 9.00 am, so if we all make it around that time or soon after, and see if we can get the same spot as last year, we can make history: THE BIGGEST J VAN DISPLAY OUTSIDE THE UK…
That should also get us a front page on the J-Register website, so we will be world famous.
It is also the 65th Anniversary of the J Van so it will be a fitting culmination for the year.
See you there, John Brooksmith.

On to news of a ‘new’ find in Australia. Early indications are that this is a contender for the ‘oldest surviving van’ title currently held by Tony Clipstone’s beauty. It will, however, take some verification. From the photos we can glean:

Early engine cover is a good sign, it can be seen in the back of the van. Round sidelights. It looks like the shock mountings are later. The front panel fitted in one shot obviously carries witness of a later Morris badge, not in itself much of an indication of age as they’re so easy to swap. This van also has the later chrome petrol cap rather than the screw-on brass one (which the Clipstone van has…)

I think we need the new owners to do the glass test on as many pieces as survive on the van. Locate the Triplex Toughened Glass logo etched into the surface of each piece (if original). Look for a dot below one of the letters in the word TOUGHENED. Original glass from 1949 should have a dot below the letter D. It’s not foolproof, but a good indication if all logos on a van are found and compared.

The Nuffield body number plate seems to be there, which may well help too.
My guess is that the van may have been in an accident and had repair work carried out that used updated components. Even if the Clipstone van loses its ‘oldest’ claim, I’m sure it’ll be a while before it loses its claim to be the ‘oldest running van’…
We are told that the van’s owners will restore the van with a respect for its history. Great to hear!