What a treat! 1958 Ford Thames 400E bakery van -

This Fifties beauty was coachbuilt in London, began its working life in Blackpool and ended up in St. David's - Britain's smallest city at the tip of west Wales. Now lovingly restored, it proved a very enjoyable classic commercial to drive. #classiccommercials #ford #roadtest
Lovely merchandise can be found at HubNut.org - thanks.

[@helge.]

This tells so much more about ordinary people than any sports car! Love it!

[@scaleop4]

yep

[@1gerard47]

Will khan appreciate this vehicle?

[@jorgefernandez-mv8hu]

That is a wonderful restoration done to the vehicle. She looks beautiful and is very useful. She sounds like a sweet runner too. Thanks for the ride along.

[@mpersad]

What a lovely vehicle, and what a terrific restoration by it’s owner, incredible work given the condition it was in when he bought it. I love it that commercial vehicles have such a fan base and enthusiasts community to keep them on the road. Top video, thanks Ian.

[@scaleop4]

I agree

[@ptonpc]

That is a beautifully restored vehicle. Here's to many many years of happy motoring with it.

[@borderlands6606]

One can only marvel at people who drove the Transit equivalents of their day, especially over long distances. Imagine crossing Shap in winter, with a plastic cushion on the wheel arch, the engine as a middle passenger, and a 3-speed box. Truly heroic.

[@anthonymetcalfe7801]

This brings back memories of my Late date he did door to door selling bread cakes etc My Saturday job going around with him. Froze to death in the winterThe brakes were rubbish he tried to avoid a car pulling out in front of him once and ended up going through a shop window cream cakes, bread etc splattered everywhere. Happy days RIP Dad

[@PenryMMJ]

It's great to see classic commercial vehicles that have survived. When vehicles are built for work they tend to get used hard, run into the ground and thrown away.

[@jamesmiller6977]

This has brought back memories of a long day trip from Cambridge to London in a Thames 400E Luton van in the pre-motorway late 1960s. It was quite an old van then.

[@davefrench3608]

That’s what I love about a HubNut review, always a different vehicle often very rare.

[@jarthurs]

There is a Thames van on a driveway in Stourport I've passed a couple of times recently, it looks like it's been there quite some time. I love the vans of this era, it was evident everyone was just trying stuff out and nobody had found a winning formula and as a result there are some real characterful designs out there. I remember my Grandad's Bedford CA van and him telling me about driving in the very bad fog with the passenger door slid open so he could see where the kerb was.

[@kenh3344]

Is there a address to this van you have seen . Thank you .

[@travelmaster101]

Is the van still there please?

[@anticat900]

It seems vehicles of this time would be far more suited to our 20mph towns now, than the actual vehicles we drive.

[@robertlambert8719]

What a beautiful little van! I can just remember them during the late 1960s. That sound is what really takes me back! All credit to the owner for saving it.

[@01jvb]

The standard Thames 400E on which this is based was always quite narrow and tall so susceptible to being blown around a bit. When I was young, a neighbour who was a builder bought one of these new, and then found he couldn't get it in his garage because it was taller than his previous van. So he raised the roof of the garage so the new van would fit inside.

[@wacholder5690]

Thanks for sharing. I recall having seen these vans occasionally during holidays in Denmark in the early 1970s, as well in Britain in 1975. When I visited UK again in the 1990s and 2000s Transits dominated the traffic. A real survivor !

[@firsteerr]

i spent most of my child hood rolling around in the back of vans on family days out or holidays to clacton

[@robertdnero2217]

Dad borrowed one when we moved house in the 70's. I sat, with my brother, in the back on a sofa travelling along the M3. I loved that van.

[@jeremytoms5163]

Brings back memories of our local greengrocer driving around town selling straight from the van. These, Commer vans and Ford Transits with sliding doors used to go all round town and the surrounding hamlets selling all manner of groceries. Even had a fish van as well. Simpler times indeed.

[@cwt5654]

Don't forget the Bedford CA's! There were plenty of those around during the 1960's.

[@mattw8332]

That looks magnificent. What a great restoration. So pleased it was saved from getting scrapped.

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

This is what i love about the channel, a great variety of cars and vans on test and somehow you fall in love with them. Excellent road test as always Ian.

[@WilliamClegg-iv9sl]

My parents had a Ford Thames converted as a camper van. 3 forward gears & a reverse. Took 3 days to get to North West Scotland from Manchester . Happy days .

[@alexangus9966]

This is brilliant, my late father had a Thames van when i was around 14/15. I actually learned to drive in it around a million years ago

[@michaelkeen5010]

What a superb van and a very rare example of a Ford 400E.

[@TudorSmith]

Considered undesirable - you are funny 😂

[@johnkeen2345]

My Dad had one of these in the early 60s. As a child, I was mesmerised by how the ribbon speedo worked. I remember sitting on the engine cover when we went for a drive. My backside would be roasting after 10 minutes and not the safest place for a 5 year old to sit.

[@tonycox5625]

I remember doing the same in my dad's one, we were tough in those days! 😂👍

[@philhealey4443]

Yes on the innovative heated seating, but in ours we had loose bus seats in the back. The Scout Troop had one also , featuring a chiseled hole in the engine cover/ child seat, I think to assist early diagnosis of a coolant boil-up.

[@andrewmalyon5699]

That van is beyond cute,thank goodness it was saved,fantastic,very enjoyable video.

[@alanlansdell7533]

The owner's done a cracking job.

[@basswomper1785]

Had a Thames van as a band van in the mid '70s. The 4 speed gear box gear linkage was prone to jam. I once had to jump out at a set of traffic lights in York with the trusty hammer, crawl under and give the linkage a thwack to get us moving. Happy days!

[@redditchscroller7049]

That's a nice little van, very well restored by the owner. I was thinking a van like that could become the Hubnut weekend camper and show merch carrier.

[@tuperz]

My godfather, who owned a meat market in the 1960's, had one and used it as a delivery truck. As a kid, it was a joy to be on the passenger's seat. Great memory. Great video.

[@douglasfur3808]

"Such a jolly way to get around", the perfect shot of this was the exterior view of the blue and white van against the green field, stone wall and trees, with the blue sky with fluffy clouds in the background. Such a quintessential British countryside image. Thanks.

[@micheltebraake7915]

Great that this moving history has been saved!

[@brianjohnson5789]

My uncle had a mobile shop, I used to sit on that engine as a young kid, such happy times

[@colvinator1611]

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and thank you very much. It's much more than a van isn't it. A great piece of motoring history. Please extend my thanks to the owner .

[@robingray1302]

What a jolly nice roadtest, HubNut delivers the goods yet again !!!!

[@660einzylinder]

When I was a nipper, a local garage had a 400e tanker for delivering paraffin, the whole vehicle being pink, great memories.

[@James-ld2jc]

Love the faffing about with the camera mount near the end. Classic Hubnut

[@HubNut]

Very HubNut...

[@derektarrant9232]

Lovely van - and I can vouch for the RAF museum , I went there expecting to spend an hr or so, but ended up spending 4 hours listening to the volunteers stories 🙂

[@damianleah6744]

My dad bought a thames camper van in the 70s to ferry us kids around (1of 6 kids), as it had bench style seats either side. Happy memories of going to the seaside in it. Nostalgia always sells . 😂😎

[@5dTraveller]

I bought two of these back in the 1980s, made one good one out of the two and used it to carry bands and equipment all over the Highlands for a few years. It eventually got so rotten it couldn't go any further but the engine never let us down. It was great fun but had no power steering and with a lot of the weight over the front wheels it was very hard to steer when it was full! By the time I'd driven a hundred miles or so on very twisty roads, played drums for a couple of hours and driven back home I'd be completely knackered.

[@davidking9707]

What a brilliant vehicle. Well done to its owner for the restoration and use.

[@grayfool]

There was a mobile green grocer my parents used in the early seventies who had a very similar Thames van. Very nice.

[@cme2cau]

My dad drove a standard Thames van as a service van. He made wooden stools and my sister and I sat in the aisle, surrounded by forklift parts. It was fun, especially on a trip from south London to Margate.

[@terencehawkes3933]

Glorious! You get the most interesting vehicle to drive.

[@sonextcentury]

Brilliant road test. My Dad bought the panel van version PHJ 965 in 1962 when I was 5. His was a 10/12 (half ton) version instead of a 15. He cut the sides and installed windows and then converted it into a small camper, with side mounted seats that became beds and a single ring cooker complete with Calor gas bottle. We used to holiday in Devon and Dorset and leaving Essex on a friday evening, the first stop was always Heathrow airport where I was allowed to stand on top of the van in my jim jams and watch the planes come in. He also had an overhead music system, but it consisted of a wire frame where he slid our Bush transistor radio that we used at home. I've ridden 100's of miles sitting on the metal engine cover with my feet on the dash. I caught one of the engine cover retaining hooks once and gashed my shin, I've still got the scar to prove it.

[@MrButtonpresser]

What a gorgeous van. A real credit to the owner and a very enjoyable review.

[@kevinwhelan8126]

I rode briefly in a flat bed version of these once. The takeout memory for me was the awkward looking handbrake arrangement. I love the distinctive engine sounds in these. Thanks for sharing, Ian.

[@pauldavies6037]

What a great piece of history brought back to fully working life thanks Hub Nut enjoy the ride

[@tonycox5625]

My old dad bought the mini bus version new in 1960, in Purbeck grey. Great vans, brought back many memories. 🙂

[@michaelwright2986]

Those controls and the 45 mph comfortable cruising speed take me back. I think the position of the indicator controls would still be viable, I think; I remember seeing, though never driving, cars where it shared that position on the top of the wheel boss with the manual ignition timing control. Kids these days. But there's one thing we should be really glad has gone: vacuum driven windscreen wipers. For those who have never experienced them, they were driven by the inlet air pressure, well below atmospheric on a light throttle. But there was the classic, terrifying scenario: rainy night, and you come up behind a slow vehicle that you really need to pass. As you accelerate, the opening of the throttle reduces the pressure differential in the inlet, and the wipers gradually slow--to a halt, if the system is not in the best condition. Terrifying. However much you value authenticity, they have to be replaced in any vehicle that goes on the road. That was delightful--and for all of the appeal of the past, modern vehicles are so much safer.

[@farken7467]

Ian, all your reviews of vehicles are at least very good to excellent, this one and the Matra Rancho were sublime. Thanks for your efforts. Isn't it strange that the older Ford brands of Thames, Anglia and Granada are the same as ITV companies of years past.

[@graemew7001]

What a lovely relaxing drive that was, I can see why you would want to drive it for a few hours. I like what's been built into the back as well. I wonder how many who watch this are gutted that there's only one left? I know I am.

[@islaws4589]

What a survivor. So much more sedate compared to a modern van. That is a lovely part of the world too!

[@richardnevillewalker672]

I love it. The drag coefficient of a potting shed on wheels and in a frontal collision the driver is the crumple zone. But I love the simplicity of it and that commanding view of the road.

[@robertmaitland09]

That has to be one of the most characterful vehicles you’ve tested in a long time, lovely.

[@hectorshouse7348]

What a beauty…would be a great addition to the fleet😃

[@HubNut]

Doubt the owner would want to sell! Far too nice for the likes of me.

[@adeandtrish]

Just love Ian's commentary on his videos. Sometimes I have to replay them a few times as I've missed some quips. His dead pan delivery is classic and always makes us chuckle.😂 Keep up the good work Hub Nut, Miss Hub Nut and minis too👏👏

[@user-dk5ol8yf5z]

What a brilliant video of my van Ian. Thank you for reviewing it and nice to meet you.

[@HubNut]

It was a joy. Thank you!

[@neilbucknell9564]

Oh that brings back memories! My dad had one for about 12 years from new as a farm van. He did some market gardening, and used it to take vegetables to local shops. His had uprated suspension giving it a one ton payload (though still with the 15 on the front badge). He gave up the market gardening, but it remained as the farm van, until eventually he traded it for a nearly new Escort van in 1971 (the first motorised vehicle I ever drove). My siblings and I would sometime ride in the cab on the metal engine cover, if necessary one facing forward on the front, another on the back facing the back (makes you shudder now!). I can still hear the noise - it was noisier with the conventional all-metal body. The garage that acquired it kept if for their own use, but not long after a rear wheel fell off while they were using it, and it rolled over....

[@HubNut]

Aw!

[@brentboswell1294]

Wow, I had no idea that any UK vehicles used three-on-the-tree (that's what we call 3 speed column shifted manuals over on the other side of the pond). Although having the shifter moved over to the left side of the steering column would probably throw me off a bit 😂 By the way, the horn is very Ford sounding, it sounds like the one from my grandfather's 1964 F100 pickup!

[@HubNut]

Three on the tree was very common here for a time, but did seem to fall out of fashion quite quickly. Some French and Italian cars had five on the tree!

[@brentboswell1294]

@@HubNut I have a friend who was my friend when I was in college. He told me about a missions trip he took to Eastern Europe around 1991, and that he was tasked with driving his missions team around in a brand new Ford Transit. It had 5 on the tree 🙂

[@Jimbo-gi7xn]

When I was at school there was a 1985 Toyota Hiace minibus and that was my first time of seeing a column change

[@TheCardiganR]

Ive seen that van around at various local shows for a few years now and fell in love with it the minute i saw it down at a small show in Bronwydd Arms. ❤

[@michaelfields8981]

The Self Preservation Society gone LARGE. Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful video.

[@adamfaith2321]

I remember the Thames van used in the original film the Italian Job. The restoration of this one is amazing. I went straight to Ford Transit MK1 1973 plate and 1976 plate 2.0lt V4 engine, LWB and they were great on motorways at a constant 70mph at 16mpg between London and Devon. The Thames would of struggled I thinks.

[@markredman5032]

What an absolute beaut. Always had a thing for these 400E's...a very familiar sight in my childhood.

[@profrumpo]

That was great what a beautiful van and a superb restoration.

[@laurieharper1526]

What a beauty. The moment I saw it, before you opened the rear door, I thought it would make a wonderful classic motorhome. Our first family car was a Thames 7cwt van. My father made a seat to fit in the back for my sister and I. It was nearly 60 years ago and I still remember the reg. no - 608 JKK.

[@jdtseventyfour]

What a beauty. Credit to the owner for restoring her to such a high standard. I think so many commercial vehicles are treated so hard in there working life that many get scrapped when they reach the end of what owners class as a useful life. shes a beauty and as always thanks for the highly detailed video!!

[@alansmith1770]

A lovely van Ian. I can remember these being around when I was young.

[@ThreeCoos]

What a lovely old bus, great video - thanks.

[@warweezil2802]

I had a green and cream one around 1979 in Pembroke Dock. Bought it from a scrap dealer in Pennar. Sadly it went back to the scrappy in 1980 as I lost my storage just after I took it off the road because the back door fram was collapsing. Same 1703 cc lump as the mk2 consul - mine was a 4 speed but the gear change was as sweet as the zephyr 6 I had. Happy memories

[@paulsheehan2998]

I absolutely effing love this

[@Aehzur]

What a absolute gem, such a unique motor 😊

[@Hound87]

Another great vehicle featured, love stuff like this!

[@arieplomp8906]

Wow what a cool 😎 van! I have a weak spot for them! My dad drove a lot of different vans and I in the meantime all so! Morris minor vans, Fiat 238 , Hanomach Henschel ( my favorite) Renault 4’s Citroën 400 , Acadiane, Visa C15 , Berlingo’s , Nissan Vanette , Vanette Cargo, Mitsubishi L300’s , Ford transit , Seat Terra ,Opel ( Kadet) combo , Corsa combo , Vivaro! They all have their charme ! And were dun to drive!

[@RWBHere]

The outtake...oh my! Been there; done that! 😉 Thanks Ian. Those vans used to be everywhere, so it's really surprising to learn that this one is the only U.K. survivor. Especially with it having such an appealing and practical design.

[@neildaniel8232]

I think the wipers are more 'We'll sort of clean this bit, for the rest you're on your own!' but then at low speeds it's not really that much of a problem. Lovely little, characterful van. Love the time taken to set the camera up perfectly then fail to stop in the right place 🤣

[@davidjones332]

Garners, who built the body, were an interesting firm in themselves. Started in Moseley, Birmingham in 1908, the initially imported Continental-engined lorries from the USA and sold them as Garners, never revealing what they really were. From 1925, Garners used British components, Kirkstall axles, David Brown gearboxes and Dorman engines, though they later used Meadows, Austin and Perkins diesels. In 1935 the business was bought from the receivers, relocated to Acton, London, and continued building lorries from proprietary parts, including some 4x4 army lorries with twin Ford V8 engines side-by-side under the bonnet(!). During WW2 they built parts for torpedoes and other items, and 10,000 truck bodies. After the war they built a few tractors, but largely concentrated on coachwork until they went bust in 1968.

[@martinhudson2552]

Brilliant video. My father before I was born had a Thames Van. His must have been the four speed as he said it used to have problems with the selector. He also sat on an orange box as there was not a drivers seat. He let the clutch out a little quick one day and ended up in the back of the van. He also said how the drivers side sliding door fell off the runners and ended up lying in the road. 😂

[@Gent82]

Great to see Carew Airfield again. Home to west Wales's best carboot sale!

[@bsimpson6204]

We had one at our depot in the early 70's, great fun in the summer driving around with the doors slid back (nobody fell out), auful in the winter trying to start it with damp start and a failing battery.

[@curmudgeone]

The Morris J4 (also the Austin J4) that I remember from our milkman’s float/van had sliding cab doors and that model I remember had BMC badging. I remember the milkman letting me sit as a little kid in the 1960s in the driving seat, which still makes me want to get into that van (and the Thames Trader, Bedford and Commer vans that I saw many of on the road - so many Bedfords were ice cream vans, too!) and take it for a drive. Oddly as a little kid when I saw the first Ford Transit vans I wasn’t enamoured of their looks and larger-looking size, their 60s/70s ‘plastic battery torch’-look headlights on the squarer looking wings. Time softened my heart, though. Like cars, all those designs had more soul than today’s - if only they could be combined with the safety features, efficiency and reliability of today’s vehicles.

[@_autoverse]

Vantastic video! Nice to see one of the coach-built examples has been given another life.

[@bentullett6068]

I like how the owners of classic flat bed trucks are utilising their vehicles as well. Some are adding what looks like a tarpaulin sheeted load on them, but under the tarpaulin, there is a portacabin box where they can sleep and eat in.

[@dungbetel]

They used to go really well if I remember correctly. Piece of Ford history

[@darrensmith6999]

That is beautiful! Remember the mini bus version from the Italian Job

[@jmdoutdoors5729]

Awesome Van I love it when you show cars like this. Thank You from Fresno California.

[@skodakatie7341]

What a cute little van, I’m sure it was the van to have in its day. It’s been very well restored, looking resplendent in its bakery livery. Great review, Mr Hubnut, I really enjoyed watching it❤.

[@clarebrookes314]

Heal n toe- cheeky 😊 great commercial smashing sunvisors! What a credit to the owner, glad he saved it, Great vid. 👍🏻

[@tubaman66]

My late father had a standard Thames van and the vacuum wipers were quite hilarious in their uselessness. Once you got to a steady speed they would go extremely slowly and would then speed up each time you lifted off of the throttle. I also remember that the passenger footwell floor was totally rotted out so there was a loose piece of metal over that which I used to take delight in lifting up and watching the road going by through the holes.

[@Spheredalai]

it's so cute! it looks like it belongs in the thomas universe because of its face, also period correct

[@user-jo3gj1jx3e]

I drove the pick up version of this around 1964. Always dreaded having a front end collision as your legs were the crumple zone. Lovely drive but it caught fire on my way home on Christmas Eve and I never saw it again.

[@TheBasementChannel]

Lovely. What a stellar restoration.

[@mervynprice7009]

I have the feeling you proved what I realized years ago. The male of the species prefers a van to a sports car all day long. Why is obvious, you can cart stuff around. Be it lathes or motorcycles. Wardrobes or sheds. Even tents & kids. This is why it put a smile on your face & mine. I really enjoyed this one. We clearly need more Vans for you to test & being very selfish me to enjoy. The other thing I notice is that years ago the quality of restorations was poor now I am amazed just how good they are. This is one of the very best I have seen.

[@jamesportrais3946]

Must say Ian, that looked like a lot of fun and so much more interesting than the VW equivalents that have caught fire in recent decades.

[@rayfordham9230]

All the controls and dials you will ever need. My father had a 1961 Zephyr 6 and the column gear change on that was very good I loved it, far better than the sloppy change on my Cresta. I do miss a column gearchange I'm sure they could be used to great effect on modern cars and free up a lot of space. and then there's the possibility of the reintroduction of the bench front seat a boon when entertaining your girlfriend. There's a lot to be said for the automotive transport of the 60s.

[@tony-yp6qk]

Nice vehicle another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍

[@ianmax69]

Ian Thanks for sharing Haden's delightful 400E with a Garner body... It reminds me of the 1959 Commer Karrier Bantam Mobile Shop which I helped to save two years ago It was an ex Murton and District Co-operative van and only had about 30K miles on it as it had mostly stayed local to Murton in County Durham... It now is in the safe hands of Beamish Museum where it is intended to become a fixture in their new 50s town once it's restored

[@brianfd622]

A blast from the past, never managed to drive one of these, plenty of Commer, Bedford CA's, J4's, and JU250's bread vans but never a Thames 15 although my own first vehicle was a Thames 5 . Now my favourite HubNut review.

[@titaniam88]

Thanks for the memory - my family had a truck - flat deck - version of this - it was 3 speed but had indicator stalk to the right of steering wheel and a conventional speedo so perhaps slightly younger - I am sure it was called a Thames 800 in New Zealand

[@darwenrover8910]

Granada, Anglia and Thames. Regional ITV stations that Ford used as nameplates of their cars. Continuing the theme, Vauxhall had the Carlton; Peugeot with Meridian as trim level for the 306.

[@GryphLane]

Southern Ford dealers sold the Fiesta Meridian special edition around the launch of Meridian TV, around 1992-93. It came in light blue or purple metallic and had the Meridian logo on the boot lid.

[@RichieReportsUK]

Superb restoration & conversion, brilliant drive too, simple but functional transport! At around 2:30, who noticed the 'backwards' clock on the bulkhead in the back?

[@AndreiTupolev]

I've always liked the Thames Trader trucks, particularly in tipper form, with the front end that looked sort of like a beak