Bedford /vauxhall rascal

[Mikey D]

. Anyone know much about these , ??
Parts availability etc

My other half daughter has found one for sale , last MOT d 2017 failed on corrosion in front suspension mount and master cylinder/ servo mounts ......oh and emissions .
It is a petrol engine doudt they did a diesel version

Her last car a mk 2 polo got stolen / burnt out in Manchester , I did a load of work on it too .

Anyone any experience of them , would be fun to drive I guess not sure on long distance tho ...... Or would it just be noisy and slow


Cheers Mike

 

[fizzy]

Having seen one in a crosswind I would stay well away

 

[Other Daniel]

Used to have one as a workshop runabout.
Fabulous fun to drive, and with two of you in it, you could do "endies", by stomping on the brakes a bit hard.

 

[Cobbler]

Someone I know had an electrical business, one of the employees had the use of the van to & from work. They found out it was being used on a regular basis on the weekends to go all over the place. The van was changed for the slowest most basic version of the Rascal. That cut the weekly mileage quite a bit, money well spent.

 

[Blobber]

I have a few customers I supply parts to, some of it is getting very difficult, stuff you cant get like brake master cylinders, brake modulator valve, carbs, just had some stuff Ive managed to source for a customer and delivery took 6 weeks!
No different to any vehicle of its age really

 

[julianthegypsy]

Isn't it a rebadged hyundai? There were thousands of them in Indonesia back in the day, in all sorts of configurations from flatbed to van to mini people carrier. There's also a tiny campervan built round them, the bambi if I'm not mistaken. Good bits of kit for the money!

 

[Mick Annick]

Having seen one in a crosswind I would stay well away

Drove one from Portbury to Oxford up the M4 in a breeze, never again…

 

[eddie49]

The Bedford Rascal is a "Kei-class" van, similar to the Honda "Acty" ( of which I have two ). It has a front-mounted 4-cylinder 970cc petrol engine. Description and photos of an exceptionally nice one here:

Bedford Rascal Van

Probably the best existing Bedford Rascal Van with just 15,525 miles from new.

www.kgfclassiccars.co.uk

[ The Acty is powered by one-half of the Honda Gold Wing GL1100 flat-four motorcycle engine, mid-mounted under the rear floor. Not a lot of people know that.]

 

[zx9]

Talking of micro vans, there used to be a Suzuki Carry knocking around South London with this permanently on top of it.

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Why I don't know.

 

[jimbo84]

I've always liked the look of them but can't get past the fact the driver/passenger are the crumple zone.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

The steel is thin and can be a burger to weld.
The engine is supper simple.
A good service and a blast should blow the crud out.
Air filters housing clips rust, for some reason.

Hand brake cables fray and stick.

Oh yes. Bin the radio.

 

[pedrobedro]

My wife used to drive one for a local car spares delivering parts. They were brilliant for the local runs but down the A38 in a strong wind were a bit frightening she said. They were Suzuki Carry petrol versions but they did have one Daihatsu diesel which nobody wanted to drive as it was dog slow.

 

[jenki]

Agree with jimbo84 not a vehicle to have an accident in you are the first thing after the front panel knee repairs are difficult.

 

[lotus_esprit_s1]

My friend has the rare 4wd Honda pickup version. 1998 I think, parts nightmare now, it’s been off the road for weeks waiting for electrical components.

 

[Tim.S]

I had the Suzuki Supercarry , same van different name, had it on two wheels more times than I like to remember, it used to blow around in a stiff breeze eventually I blew a big end cap out the side of the engine, it was still running but it didn't sound good.

 

[Mikes]

A friend had a Suzuki Carry in white and due to its size and shape was nicknamed the toaster!

 

[bourbon]

Ages ago, I had the mad idea of bolting panels on the sides to make a small version of a Matador

 

[Barking Mat]

The steel is thin and can be a burger to weld.
The engine is supper simple.
A good service and a blast should blow the crud out.
Air filters housing clips rust, for some reason.

Hand brake cables fray and stick.

Oh yes. Bin the radio.

Imagine trying to weld a burger.

At least if stuck you could eat the engine.

 

[mart]

Certainly a risk of turning over if driven by a young person.

 

[Mikey D]

Thanks for your experiences opinions and anecdotes so far guys ,

May go for a viewing if it's still available ,