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Bedford’s full circle
I was trawling through old issues of Classic Car Weekly and was most interested in a piece about van conversions in the 1950s and ‘60s because my own motoring life has been book-ended by such vehicles.
When I left school in 1954 I had a job with a local Vauxhall agent that resulted in my father placing an order for a Bedford CA Utilabrake. It had no windows for tax reasons but the five seats folded completely into a false floor. A window kit was also ordered, which came direct from Martin Walter and was fitted by our local engineer. This was followed by a far nicer bay-window CA, which we kept until the CF model finally came along.
After my national service I had a rather splendid Standard Vanguard estate, which was followed by a brand-new Vauxhall Viva HA and various other cars, including four Vauxhall Cavaliers and five Alfa Romeos.
Now things have gone full circle, with my Alfa Romeo 156 gathering dust in the garage and my daily transport being a Fiat Doblo that’s been converted with a ramp for my scooter. Like the CA, it’s a van conversion, but it’s a far cry from the days when even trafficators were an optional extra! ❚
A blast from Škoda’s past
I found the following write-up in a 1972 copy of Motoring News detailing Škoda’s support of dealer-supported rally teams, having no competition programme of its own at the time.
It reads: ‘For two successive years a Škoda has won its class in the Scottish Rally, Richard Hudson-Evans using the Czechoslovakian car this year to beat models such as a DAF 55, Peugeot 504, Datsun 100A and various Minis and Imps. He drove for Simpsons of Wembley, using Semperit tyres and Duckhams oil.’
