Item description from the seller
"Here we have a very rare and most desirable 1986 Bedford CF2 CF350 LWB twin wheel rear axle van requiring some renovation work.
It was a Scottish Highlands and Islands fire engine originally although nearly all trace of that has disappeared. There's basically only a switch panel next to the dashboard that's still present. It was certainly based at Baltasound in the Shetlands for some time. Looking up the numberplate C834 AAS on Google does throw up a few photos of how it used to look during various phases of it's life with some details of its life too. All very interesting and nice to have a vehicle with a traceable history.
The van is designed to work up to a maximum gross weight of 3500kg (3.5 tons). I bought it just over four years ago to tidy up and use but for one reason and another I never got around to doing it. I'm offering it up for sale now as I don't see me doing anything with it in the short term and it's better to let somebody have some fun with it now instead of it just being potentially sat around for a few more years. Here's a summary of the vehicles details:
ENGINE
The engine is the 2.3 Opel diesel and it runs very smoothly and cleanly. Bit of smoke on start up as you would expect running cold but disappears within a few seconds. I've uploaded a video of the engine running. I have replaced the front engine mounts, the old ones had had it.
One point of note is the fuel tank is in exceptionally good condition and the sender unit works properly on it too giving accurate fuel gauge readings. Often these don't work at all and are very difficult to source.
DRIVETRAIN
The gearbox is the ZF dog leg 5 speed gearbox with "overdrive" 0.81 : 1.00 top gear ratio. Very good for motorway cruising etc. All gears select ok although I've only driven it around the industrial estate where it's been kept at low speeds. Everything feels and sounds good though, no knocks or vibrations etc. Same with the axles, no hint of noisy bearings or axle whining etc.
BRAKES
Brakes worked well until recently when the brake pedal went straight to the floor. Turns out the short metal brake pipe that connects the two wheel cylinders on the OSF hub has pinholed through so the brake fluid drips out of it. Replacing that should restore full functionality again.
ELECTRICS
Most of the electrics work ok, a few bulbs will need replacing etc. Battery is not much good but I can jump start it ok.
BODYWORK
Not surprisingly with an old Bedford this is where the majority of the work is required. The really good thing about this van, and it can't be overstated, is quite how extraordinarily straight all the panels are. Often old vans come with a multitude of big bangs, dents, scrapes, general abuse etc but this one is remarkably good. I've taken some side photos from the front and rear to try to show that. The front doors and bonnet have all been replaced at some point but they're all in remarkably good condition too. The rear doors do have a few minor shallow dents in that I've tried to show in the photos but they could be fixed easily enough or be replaced with better doors.
There are areas that need work though and they are as follows:
The nearside roof immediately above the gutter needs some attention, there are a few areas where there's small holes and from the inside there's more surface rust too. There's also some rust patches around the top of the nearside roof pillar and down it too. It should be possible to fabricate repair sections to address this. There are also pockets of rust and the odd hole that will need localised repairs underneath. I've tried to show the main ones in the photos. I have more photos which I can send via eBay messages. The offside sill is detached from the inner sill and will need addressing. The nearside sills seem pretty good.
WHEELS AND TYRES
The wheels are all straight and I recently cleaned up and painted the outer surfaces to show the van in a better light. Ideally they would all want shot blasting and repainting/powder coating etc. The tyres have decent legal tread and hold their air. They are a bit tired though and some have some cracking in between the treads.
Summing up this a very rare opportunity to pick up a really good basis with which to make quite a special van. Sad not to be doing it myself but there we go.
I'm not working the week after the auction end so I can be flexible with collection times although having decided to sell it a quick collection is best. If collecting in person then cash would be best. If sending a 3rd party to collect it then unless they can bring cash with them a bank transfer is preferential. I don't want to entertain PayPal as the fees would be collosal.
I must stress that due to the brakes not working this van will need to be collected on a transporter trailer or recovery truck. Driving it away absolutely is not an option.
I have owned the van for just over four years and the log book is in my name. No history with it sadly but some of it can be looked up online.
The auction will run for the full 7 day duration to give everyone a fair crack at it, I will NOT be ending it early.
Think that pretty well wraps it up. If I think of anything else I can always add it. Will answer questions as helpfully as I can.
Thanks for reading the description. Please study the photos carefully too as that's just as important.
HAPPY BIDDING."
Item location: Huddersfield, United Kingdom
Starting bid: £0.99
eBay item number: 204351358847
