A 400E minibus at the beach.
George kindly sent this photo over, scanned from his family album and originally taken on a family holiday to the seaside in 1964. Two vehicles are present, the aforementioned Ford Thames 400E, in minibus guise, and an E-Series Vauxhall Wyvern. Note the inflated tyre inner tubes, in which the assembled friends would bobble about the waves in - simple seaside fun, with no sign of a mobile phone or jet ski anywhere! Just off to the left are the seaside beach huts. All it needs is some donkeys and a period ice cream van to complete the scene!
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The 400E light commercial was Ford's belated replacement for the upright E83W range, built throughout the 1960s until such time as the all-new Transit was ready for market. Several versions were available, including the basic van, pickup, and of course the estate car (minibus) as shown here, made famous as one of the initial getaway vehicles in the film, The Italian Job. Camper van versions of the Thames 400E were also numerous on the roads of the 60s and 70s. Several outside firms converted 400Es for this purpose, including Calthorpe, Kenex Coachworks, and perhaps best known - Martin Walter Ltd, already well established in the field of converting basic vans into campers, estate cars, and other useful multi-purpose vehicles, or MPVs..
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