Garry Fitch owns several Bedford lorries, but this 1990 Rascal is a little different. Peter Simpson explains.
Garry Fitch’s love of the Bedford marque is, it would probably be fair to say, already well-known within commercial vehicle preservation. That is, though through a collection of vehicles which are, shall we say, a teeny bit older than this 1990 Rascal. With his late father Alvar who sadly passed away in 2021, Gary restored a 1936 WTL, a 1952 OLBD and a 1958 D6L, and we’ve featured these in the past.
This, though, is something a bit different. So the first question was, obviously, why? His reply was that he is a “Bedford nut.” Dad had always been interested in older stuff. He woudn’t, apparently, add a TK to the collection because he considered it “too modern.” Garry’s intersts however, are somewhat wider. He also points out that when Dad bought his first lorry (a WLG) for preservation back in the 1960s, said lorry was 35 years old. That is the same age as the Rascal is now.
Reason for a Rascal
There was a practical reason too; until 2022 Garry and wife Jeannie had a Jeep Grand Cherokee which was used as a family workhorse. It was a vehicle which besides providing personal transport could be used to carry anything; oversize furniture, rubbish to the tip and so on. Once, it moved a load of railway sleepers from High Wycombe to Staines for a garden project. Anything, no matter how dirty, could go in it. Said Jeep was, however, coming to the end of its life and the family wanted something a bit nicer as personal transport. A 2016 Audi SQ5 was purchased. That, however, couldn’t be used for the same range of domestic jobs as the Jeep. So something else to do all that was clearly needed.
And Garry has for some years had something of a soft-spot for Bedford Rascals. He cites several reasons for this. The first is that it’s a cute yet practical vehicle and fun to drive “people often smile and wave when they see it.” He was also something of a fan of the Sky TV series “Brassic”, filmed around Greater Manchester where he grew up, and in which the leading characters use a Rascal.
The Rascal was a joint project between General Motors and Suzuki, with vehicles made in Luton between 1986 and 1993. Bedford and Suzuki-branded versions were made here, with the latter sold mainly in continental Europe where the Bedford brand was less well known. In 1990, when the Bedford brand was discontinued, UK-spec vans were rebranded as Vauxhalls. UK production and sales ended in 1993, but manufacture was moved to Japan where the vehicle continued being made until 1999.
Rascal Rust
Garry’s Rascal is therefore one if the last ‘Bedfords’ made – another good reason for owning it! He bought it in February 2022. The good news was that it was a low mileage van – at that time it had done 46,000 miles – and was in extremely solid condition, having had extensive repairs carried out to all the usual rot-spots by the previous owner who was a retired Vauxhall technician. Areas repaired included the wheelarches, door bottoms and the areas around the lower door sliders. Rascals were somewhat rust-prone, to put it mildly!
However, and unusually for a low mileage vehicle, G409HOJ had had eight owners from new. Of greater concern though was that it seemed to have changed hands a lot recently. This is often a sign that a vehicle has ‘issues’ and that was true in this case. The Rascal wasn’t running properly. Specifically, it hesitated badly when placed under load. The only way to make even half-decent progress was by, in Garry’s words “revving the nuts off it.”
Rough running
This isn’t that uncommon with Rascals. Most people assume the issue is carburettor-related,but often it’s down to a fault with the vacuum advance/retard mechanism. Luckily, Garry found a “proper old school mechanic” who understands such things in the shape of Dave at Wards MoT and Service centre in Egham who was able to sort Garry’s out. Now the van runs very well – better in fact, Garry says, than the Audi.
Garry clearly enjoys driving the Rascal immensely. He describes the seating position as “beautiful” and loves the way in which “Rolo” really will carry almost anything. It can also get into places he wouldn’t take the Audi. It’s used “to pick up or deliver anything that won’t fit in the Audi’s boot”, for tip runs and various other domestic duties. He has made one change to the original specification. The standard radio has been replaced by a modern Bluetooth-compatible unit so he can connect modern devices such as his phone for hands-free operation.
Unsurprisingly Garry has started assembling as collection of Rascal-related memorabilia. Now is probably a good time to do this, before it all disappears. This includes a Rascal-branded duffle bag and hot flask, along with original dealer colour shading cards. Christine Thomas at the Bedford Enthusiasts Club has supplied a complete set of original handbooks and a factory workshop manual.
Semi preserved
So there we have it. I totally get the idea of having a dedicated ‘semi preserved’ vehicle for tip runs and the like. In fact I’ve got one. Mine is a Volvo 240 estate; I’ve been a Volvo fan for most of my driving life. Garry has been a Bedford enthusiast for a similar amount of time. This example of one of the final Bedfords made is clearly cherished and cared for. But that isn’t just because of what it is. It’s as much because of how useful it is and the way in which it still does what it was made to do. Yep, I love it.
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