Old rides - CF Bedford

This was the last van I ever did, 48 modifications were done to it, things such as:
4in roof chop, recessed mark 4 zephyr tail light, sunken number plate surround, deseamed, smaller door in rear (width of side door), rear door on solenoid opening and electric motors for opening and closing, flares, side skirts, roof spoiler, sunroofs, Morris marina front door handles, electric windows, central locking, XC Ford Fairmount grill and headlights, reverse opening bonnet, 350 Chevy V8, 350 turbo transmission, Ford 9in diff, front disc brakes, clam shell side door (electric etc like rear), swivel seats with locks, retractable seatbelts, custom interior ...

I had plans of putting a 671 blower on this 355 rat engine, I wanted a shot at the New Zealand van speed record at the 1/4 mile drag strip, to which was later beaten by a cheat. Rules state must be driven off street and down strip; this guy changed diff gears and removed all mirrors etc.

This van sadly didn't have a good future; months after these photos were taken the van was damaged by a flood. You may not be able to gauge, but looking into the second picture you can kind of see the grade of hill behind our house.
One wet winter the storm water drains behind our section blocked and flooded the whole area (4 houses), the outside of the van was in primer but underneath and inside was mainly bare steel.
The van was completely under water. With the van holding water and mud for several weeks it soon began to show signs of rust.
I cut my looses and decided to wreck the van rather than strip it all down and rebuild it again. It was heart breaking but when you spend the hours it takes to build something like this it's like loosing a family member when something bad happens to it, the life support had to be switched off.