The CF Bedford Van

I thought my next custom project would be on a Model A Ford delivery or sedan.
While I thought vanning was dead in New Zealand, I figured, why not build another custom van. Not many around, so can be different.
I didn't think there were any van clubs still going, let alone any custom vans running around. Seems I don't get out enough. I found out there are still plenty of van clubs still running. Take a look at Van Association of New Zealand (VANZ).

The plan:
Get a CF Bedford van (SWB), give it a 4inch roof chop, throw in a Chevy V8 and add some fibreglass flares and spoiler, done.

What happened:
Got a CF Bedford van (SWB), gave it a 4inch roof chop, customized all the doors, mid mounted a 350 Chevy and 350 turbo trans behind the front seats, jag rear end, heavily modified everything.

The story as it happened:
I found a "reasonable" conditioned CF Bedford van and started to work on it, as with any customizing project there is always the restoration period where all the rust first needs to be dealt with.
I started at the back and worked forward, repairing the rust and chopping the roof as I went.
I also purchased the remains of a CF2 Bedford (later model - square front); this van was to be the donor van for panels and pillars etc. I was very tempted to build the CF2 instead of the other as it was in slightly better condition, but the curves of the early van won out.
What was to follow was a nightmare, as I got to the front of the van I found it had a really bad chassis (frame) repair that wouldn't pass the strict engineering cert process we have here in New Zealand, so the only option was to send it to the van place in the sky/ground (where ever scrap metal goes).

I hunted for a few weeks for another van body, as CF Bedford's are becoming hard to find in NZ. Most were over priced, camper vans or a jumbo LWB.
I found another van that a friend of a friend had brought to cut the front off for his camper rebuild he was planning to do, so I offered the front of my van (he didn't need the chassis) in exchange for his shell, he agreed and the rest you'll see in the following pages.

Follow the journey from start to finish.