• Believed to have been imported from a dry climate, such as South Africa or Australia

 • A highly original vehicle with lovely patina

 • One of the first British diesel-engined light vans

 • Sold with New Old Stock rear wheel spats/covers and external sunshade

The Standard Vanguard may have been named after a ship, but it very much lived up to its name in the sense that it led the way for the for the British motor industry in the years following the Second World War. 

During that austere time of rationing and demob suits, car-makers returned to building their old pre-war offerings while racing to develop something all-new – new chassis, new engine and new bodywork. 

It was a race which Standard won with the Vanguard of 1947, which also boasted a brand-new gearbox and independent front suspension.

Compared to the rickety old ‘sit-up-and-beg’ cars like the Ford Anglia and Austin 12, the Vanguard’s sleek, enveloping fastback styling, inspired by the 1942 Plymouth, was out of this world. 

That wasn’t the end of the innovations. 

The Phase II Vanguard arrived in 1953, and was followed in 1954 by the introduction of a diesel engine – the first British production car to be so equipped.

As well as being offered as a saloon and estate, commercial variants were also built in van and pick-up guises, but all are fairly scarce today. 

With its pioneering diesel engine and bodywork in superb condition, and its appearance enhanced by a beautiful patina befitting a working vehicle, this Vanguard van offers an interesting alternative to a classic saloon or an ideal entry into the world of historic commercial vehicles.

 • First registered in August 1955

 • Purchased by the vendor in 2014, from an owner in Bristol who bought it in 2013

 • In addition to the current V5, the van comes with invoices from Moss for gaskets, clutch cylinders and an overdrive solenoid

 • Sold with a large collection of original owner’s manuals, sales brochures and workshop literature, including The Book of the Standard Vanguard by Pitman’s Motorists’ Library, a 1954 operating and maintenance book for the Laycock de Normanville overdrive and the 4th May 1949 edition of The Motor

 • The vendor also has a 16mm promotional film for Laycock de Normanville overdrive which he will happily include at the buyer’s request

 • Splendidly original and unrestored

 • Lower seat cushion may have been reupholstered in the past

 • Cavernous load space

Inside, the Vanguard presents extremely well, with its unrestored interior preserved largely as it left the factory; its beautiful and characterful patina pays testimony to its originality. 

If any restoration work has been undertaken, it looks to have been confined to the reupholstering of the lower seat cushion. While we are not certain that any work has been completed, its condition next to the backrest suggests it has received some renovation. 

The backrest is showing its age along the top edge where the leatherette covering has started to wear away, but we do not have any reason to believe this is anything more than a cosmetic consideration.

The Vanguard’s patina is probably most evident across the dash, especially on the original plastic switches. Like many plastics from the mid-20th century, they have discoloured and yellowed a bit with age, but we think this has quite a pleasing effect, mellowing the appearance of the interior. 

A small auxiliary panel housing some aftermarket electrics has been attached below the centre of the fascia.

The leatherette door cards and the floors are clean but, belonging to a commercial vehicle, are also quite Spartan. Similarly, the load space is in good condition but quite Spartan and possessed of an obvious patina. 

A suitably aged rug protects the floor, and a spare wheel and wheel brace are to be found within. Suffice it to say, the bright green paint inside the load area is not original.

 • Superb Oily Rag finish hints at a hard-working past

 • Fitted with desirable and very useful sun visor

 • Understood to be an extremely solid vehicle from a dry climate

‘Perfect condition’ typically implies a full concours restoration without so much as a single scratch in the paint or the slightest blemish on the brightwork, but countless enthusiasts would prefer a characterful and usable vehicle like this to a pampered show queen.

While we can’t be certain that the colour is original, since commercial vehicles often went through several repaints as they changed hands in their early lives, it doesn’t really matter because its finish is still obviously historic and each mark in the paint is testament to an interesting and hard-working early life, whatever it may have been. 

Certainly, though, the dark green suits the van very well. 

The patina continues over the brightwork, with bumpers, hubcaps and door handles all in good condition but with some superficial signs of age which add to the Oily Rag attraction.

Despite the rugged exterior, as far as we know the Standard is fundamentally solid underneath, which was one of the vendor’s reasons for buying it in the first place.

He tells us that when he bought it, there was “virtually no rust”, which is unusual on an unrestored British car, hence he believes it was imported from a dry country like South Africa or Australia.

If you want to use the Standard for lugging things around, you really could, and its load-carrying ability is enhanced by a tow bar with ball hitch, which is understood to be non-original but professionally fitted.

 • Diesel engine starts and runs well

 • Fitted with overdrive and a vacuum brake booster

 • Brakes will require a light service

 • Extremely low odometer reading of 1251 miles

The vendor bought this Vanguard because he had purchased two from Somerset County Garages in the 1960s and remembered how enjoyable they had been to own and drive. 

In more recent years, he acquired a small collection of Ferguson TE20 tractors, which was partly developed by Standard and used the same ‘wet-liner’ two-litre engine which was fitted in the Vanguard, all of which he says have never failed him.

Happily, the Vanguard has been every bit as good as he remembered it. He tell us, “I used to drive it all over the place. It was utterly reliable and never let me down.” 

The vendor had got as far as making his own improvements, which involved equipping the gearbox with genuine Standard overdrive and fitting an aftermarket vacuum brake booster. 

However, as other things got in the way, the Standard fell out of use, which is why the brakes now require atention. We are advised that the engine starts on the button with a dash of ether as is usual with these engines and the vendor comments, “I’d give any money it’s bombproof. He also has recollections of driving many other diesel vehicles in the past and the clouds of black smoke they sometimes produced but the Vanguard, he stresses, does not smoke much at all.

While the vendor has not MoTed the Standard during his ownership, we would mention that it passed its last MoT in June 2012 with no advisories. We would also draw attention to the extremely low odometer reading. 

At its last MoT in 2012 the mileage was 55,000, which suggests that it may have received an engine rebuild before the vendor purchased it, but we lack the paperwork to confirm this. 

Stout, dependable and attractive in a modest sort of way, the Standard Vanguard embodies an era when the British motor industry was the envy of the most of the world. 

Though once commonplace, Vanguards are an unusual sight today even at rallies and, since the lives of commercial vehicles were always that much less forgiving, surviving vans are rarer and more valuable still. This van will appeal to vintage tractor collectors as it can be sign written as an authentic "Ferguson Tractor Dealer Service Van".

Anyone can have a vehicle restored to concours condition but patina can only be cultivated over many years, and this van wears its patina so well that we wouldn’t want to change a thing. 

We’re not even sure we could bring ourselves to wash it, but we’d certainly enjoy driving it.