Ollerton VAN BLEASDALE

Gross vehicle weight is 2,550 kg, kerb weight 1,593 kg, giving a payload of around 957 kg, a solid figure for a box van of this size. Wheelbase is 3,630 mm and width 1,840 mm. Vehicles of this version were registered between 1988 and 1994.

At 2,550 kg gross weight the vehicle clearly falls into EU class N1, and at the time could be driven on the ordinary licence then in force, with no extra category needed. The long wheelbase combined with a comparatively low kerb weight points to a voluminous but lightly built box body, of the kind used for parcels, tools or goods delivery.

On a box-body conversion of this age, thirty to forty years old, checking the roof and wall joints deserves particular attention, since moisture ingress damages the structure from the inside, often long before it becomes visible outside. The rear door seals and hinges, the condition of the load floor and the mounting of the body to the chassis should be checked, as should corrosion on the rear wheel arches, where moisture and cargo act the longest. It is also worth checking the body-to-chassis mounting bolts for corrosion and looseness, since a working box body flexes slightly with every load and can work its fixings loose over decades of use.