Description
MERCEDES 208D VAN
Here we have what must be one of the very last Mercedes TN 208D vans to be seen on the roads of Britain today. When did you last see one? Mercedes introduced this van to the market in 1977 and built it with no changes whatsoever until 1995 when they introduced the Sprinter. Although one of the last built in 1993 she is therefore still very much a Classic van of the 70’s. She is a simple old 2. 3 litre Diesel with no turbo or ECU’s or catalysts to worry about and could be maintained by a blacksmith. She is a little frilly around the edges, needing a little cosmetic work, but her chassis and floor pan, with semi-elliptic cart springs and beam axles is vintage and very sound, making for a sturdy and very strong workhorse.
When replaced by the Sprinter in 1995, operators in the Western world were ecstatic. Here was a van that drove like a car, with power steering and full creature comforts, and with its modern Turbo diesel with its all singing and dancing electronics went like the wind. Its smart suspension systems, with load sensors and all, was from the space age. However, operators in Eastern Europe, Africa and the third world were horrified. This new vehicle needed computer technology and computer savvy technicians to fix it if anything went wrong. They had none of those things, so they set out across Europe and the UK in search of decent 208D’s and shipped them out to their foreign lands. Therefore within 2 years they had nearly all disappeared from the roads of Britain. As I asked earlier, when did you last see one?
These vans were not the quickest off the mark, but that is missing the point; she will do 70mph all day long, but she won’t do 71. However she does almost 30mpg! Yes really! With 156, 000 miles on the clock she has a lot of work left in her; these vans are good for over half a million miles with only the minimum of servicing. Just change the oil and filter every 10, 000 and she will go for ever. There is nothing to go wrong. She comes with 8 months MoT, having just had new front brake callipers and the front brake pipes renewed. Her tyres are all good and her gearbox was rebuilt some 2, 000 miles ago. All works well now and she is a joy to drive.
She would make an excellent camper van. She has no bulkhead, so you just stand in the cab and walk through into the rear accommodation, which at around 3 metres in length is plenty. This arrangement allows you to integrate the driving cab into your living space. Because she looks like a working van, with none of the satellite dishes, bike racks and roof ladders you see on many coach built conversions, you could go “wild camping”, stopping anywhere you liked without arousing local fears that the pikeys had settled in their midst!
So, if you fancy a bit of adventure and a change of life, just call me on the details below and offer me around £2500. You won’t be sorry you did.
David.
