Certainly time to add some interesting stuff that has turned up this week.

Of major interest is a van previously unknown to the Register, which has surfaced after at least a decade in storage. It is a 1957-registered, low-mileage, one owner from new van prior to being purchased by its new owner. We await more details but do know it was one of a pair of vans used as ice cream vans although it doesnt have a raised roof. The standard steel body, which seems to be in remarkably good condition, has a serving hatch in the side windows. We are told that more info and photos are on their way…

From Australia Peter Bateman writes:

“Those blokes from Oz must have a special brew in their water supply. Only months after reporting the magnificent Queensland V6 J type Hot Rod (blog June 22, 2014) 1200 kilometres away in New South Wales another Morris JB van is being admired. The upholsterer Will Hughes not only has saved this van but is driving this 1958 JB EVERYWHERE!
Carrying the livery The Upholsterer is chassis # JB/R 41298 and was one of the Golden Crust Bakery fleet from Goulburn in southern NSW. It had been “grazing” in a paddock for many years when it was bought at auction with heaps of farm machinery. Will glimpsed it one dark night whilst it was being carted to his local metal recycler. One can only ponder the magic of chance on that important evening. Will grasped that serendipitous moment and now has a working gem, a beautiful restored JB”.

We have also received photos of PAF 764, the  ex-Bryn Jones’ van now carrying neat graphics for ‘A Steph Back in Time’. Thanks to Ken Bennett for these.

What a difference a week makes! Just seven days after owner Gary Sumner had to admit defeat with getting SLO 234 to Gaydon for the Classic Van and Pick-up Show, the beautifully restored Mail van performed the task of delivering the bride to church on time at the wedding of Lucie and Alwyn. What a great way to start married life!

From a pristine van to one in a sorry state. This photo was emailed to us by Lisa Snow in New Zealand. It shows a J-type involved in an accident in Napier, New Zealand. Ouch! Photo courtesy of Pete Bullivant.

Members and enthusiasts can see that some owners braved the horrendous rain to attend the event. On the day we achieved four J/Bs and an Austin 101. In the circumstances it is surely remarkable that four of the vehicles were driven to the event, with only XRH, the Star of the Show, being trailered – with good reason – all the way down from Hull.

Our thanks to:

Heather Sumner for supplying the commemorative mugs and presentation plaque…

Abi Pitcher for creating the XRH cake, which everyone reckoned looked fantastic and tasted really nice…

Bez Pitcher for baking the cakes for Abi to create with..

Tom Caren, Show Manager at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, who is confident that the show will be repeated next year!

Thanks also to all the Register members and J-type enthusiasts who helped turn the couple of hours of dry weather in the afternoon into a special occasion for Ken Cooke, who has owned XRH for 50 years.

Click on any photo to see larger image!

Register member Peter Page has sent us shots of his van MSK 194 being ‘branded’ as part of the Worshipful Company of Carmen’s Annual Cartmarking ceremony, in the Guildhall Yard in London. This year’s ceremony was held on the 16th July.

Also note that the latest issue of the J-type Review should be dropping through member’s letterboxes over the next few days.In it we mention that the Classic Van and Pick-up Show at Gaydon on August 10th neatly coincides with the 50th anniversary of Ken Cooke purchasing his beloved Austin 101 XRH 885. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are planning on bringing a club vehicle along. It is only a fortnight away!

This photo of the coachbuilt J-type owned from new by Carlsberg Breweries and on display in Copenhagen was taken by Nikki Perry, and was sent to the Register by commercial vehicle enthusiast Stuart Taylor. Many thanks to both of you.

The Queensland rural town of Warwick in far away Australia had a population of about 10,000 in the early 1960s. It also had about five Morris J type vans. One, JR 32164, suffered the ignominy of being crashed and became a firewood store in a suburban backyard. There it sat for over 40 years before being saved by Graeme Collins. Graeme’s Dad, Stan and a wartime chum, Roy Willi had started a garage in Warwick in 1948 and sold Jowett cars and Fiat Tractors. That garage, Fitzroy Motors prospered and soon they sold Austin vehicles. BMC came next, then Leyland. It was during these years Graeme was born.

Graeme recalls his dad selling three Austin 101s to the local milkman. That would have been in the late 1950s of course. He can’t remember exactly but he had seen the wrecked J type in that back yard for many years. It took over thirty-five years to procure that van. Eventually Graeme was able to take the firewood out and the van found a spot in Graeme’s shed and his long held dream of “dropping a J type on the floor and putting something serious inside” was able to start.

Due to the shunt the nose had gone and the chassis was crooked. The Oz ‘J type grapevine’ led Graeme to Far North Queensland and he found a ‘paddock feature’ through Alan Hurst who had saved a J type which had sat in a paddock beside the Redlyncyh to Cairns road for yonks. Enter JR 22909, only 18,000 kilometres away. No sweat.

All you really need to know is this finished J type Rod still has an original J type chassis (JR 22909) although much strengthened. Graeme started the rebuild by asking a local tradesman to have a look at the project but realized this dream project could only be successfully completed by a mob of pros. He sent it off to Queensland’s Gold Coast and the famous bunch at Oz Rods. Many quality Oz Hot Rods have left these artisans and JR 22909 is no exception.

It has Ford Econovan underpinnings at the front. A Flaming River steering column connected to a Billet Specialties ‘Outlaw’ steering wheel makes direction changing a breeze. There is a set of leather trimmed Mercedes Benz Sprinter van seats to make long Oz distances pass comfortably. The entire interior is trimmed but behind the trimming are kilograms of Dynamat, which keeps this van very quiet on the inside. At the rear a four link suspension holds the Econovan’s rear axle/diff assembly and that holds a set of 255 70 R15 Maxxis Bravo tyres. That is slightly more rubber than the 600 x 16s of an original J type.

And under the front seats is a Holden V6 3.8 litre engine coupled to an automatic transmission. That combination makes this very mild J type van into a very great Morris J type Oz Hot Rod.

Peter Bateman

Australia July 2014

Check the Oz Rods website for the build photographs

http://www.oz-rods.com/Graeme’s%20J%20Van.html

There are two J-types for sale at the moment, a GPO Planning van in the UK and a pick-up that appears to have been a cut down van, in New Zealand.

The Holden V8-powered Pick-up is on the ‘TradeMe’ website, whilst the GPO (the youngest surviving Morris J/B) van is for sale by auction (Lot 145) at Charterhouse Auctioneers sale on the 15th June in Shepton Mallet.

Royal Mail vans SLO 234 (owned by Register member Gary Sumner) and YLH 449 (owned by Register member Gordon Wilson) came together at the Post Office Vehicle Club’s gathering at The Milton Keynes Museum on Sunday 27th April 2014. Gary and Gordon have promised that both vans will grace the J-type Register stand at the Gaydon Classic Van and Pick-up Show on August 10th 2014. We are hoping to get a number of vans to this one!

We have also trawled through Register archives to add a few more shots of vans in service in the ’50s and ’60s and will add more as and when time permits.

http://www.jtypevan.com/history/long-gone/

Wendy Clipstone spotted this new Easter advert which features the Cadbury’s Joyville J-type van in the opening sequence. Happy Easter to all J-type enthusiasts!

Check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQJ863JqGM8

The Joyville van also appears in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQAJIY2uQIk

and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNV_a14VAyA

one more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6G13W5OHGA

and another… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SoO9u5q4ys

and yet more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLhZ14-zTGM

Peter Bateman sends this update regarding a couple of vans currently being worked on in Australia:

The Oz J fraternity have about 12 J’s in reconstruction this year. And that is not counting the V6 Hot Rod just completed by OzRods in Brisbane.

JB 41298 is to be sign written ‘the Upholsterer’ and is almost ready for its trip to the New South Wales registration department following a two year rebuild. This van is almost original. Will Hughes, upholsterer and custodian of the van, hopes to visit Mr Ferguson, the original owner, on one of his first drives. It will only be a journey of 250 kilometres, lovely distance to get to know the van. The Ferguson family had 14 J type vans in their Golden Crust bakery at Goulburn, NSW.

The second revitalisation is of the old Golden Galley Clothing van from central NSW. This van, whilst keeping a very original J type look and feel is fitted with a Ford Mustang V8 coupled to a Jaguar rear end. As with many Oz J’s using a larger engine we find the Mitsubishi L300 a convenient chassis to use. Those who have never been in a J type with disc brakes, power steering and a surfeit of Vrooooom AND handling will be left with a big grin on their faces.

To those who have sentiments of sacrilege at such a thought I’d just like to say the custodian of the V8 has another two J projects and both will be original.

By the by, the 12 projects mentioned are those currently in progress. There are others just a little further away. There is no stopping the J in Oz.

Peter Bateman Sydney March 2014

Peter was also surprised to see Kelly Ashton’s son AJ playing on a computer game that featured a J! Go to

http://kizi.com/games/rich-cars-3 to see what it’s all about, but don’t expect to understand how to play it!