Herc the c15

[dets]

In January 2017 I was scouring the classifieds and auction sites for a cheap as chips van to help me move my beloved vespa and some other stuff from Kent to Normandy. I stumbled across an ad on eBay for a vandalised ex fleet citroen c15 1.9d I put in an offer of 125 English pound notes but was turned down my missus discovered what I'd done and gave me an ear hole bashing for wanting to buy what she described as a death trap.The listing ended and I thought the little lost soul of a c15 had sailed off into the sunset to be put to work again and abused but 5 days after the listing ended I got a message (and so did the missus as it was her eBay account lol) saying, the buyer hasn't bothered to get in touch am I still interested if I want it I can have it for what the listing ended at (5 quid more than the 125 I offered I said yes the missus screamed no followed by a barrage of expletives) so off we trundled down to the coast to pick up the said death trap, when I got there it was worse in the flesh than in the pictures it looked like a gang of 4 year olds had been unleashed with blue and red spray cans and told do your worst I shook the seller's hand after having a quick look round he said that he took it as part ex in December and only had the green part of the V5 I took his word for it and parted with the money he said oh I've also stuck a stereo in it for ya and just to let you know the blowers are constantly on hot not a problem bearing in mind we'd had snow a few days before got into the van started it fired up first go off we go home to Kent I pulls up at the front of the house for the boss woman to say don't embarrass me park it to out the back so I did. The time comes to depart blighty and head for our new home in france to be told by Mrs boss lady you are never going to get that bloody scooter in there it went in with space to spare as did a flat packed wardrobe and various other household items. She said I'll follow you for when it breaks down so off we set at 5 am heading to portsmouth my eldest son as a wing man. We got to pompey no probs out the other side gets to lower normandy no problems only using a quarter of a tank of diesel, this little van is now part of the family and I am now in the process of getting it fit for a controle technique and it's french registration. Oh and if your wondering why it's called Herc it's after steptoe and sons horse hercules

[dets]

Since being in france i have become accustomed to the fact that these vans are as common as wine I think every home has one, now a few weeks ago I got talking to my inlaws neighbour a very friendly and very helpful guy called Michel who had a dump c15 on his fieldesk I managed to ask him in very bad broken frenglish if he would sell me some bit's from his van before he scrapped it he agreed to meet me in the field the next day I had a quick scout around the van and managed to persuade him to let me have both back doors the bonnet which was better than mine though still a bit worse for wear the original roof rack the grille for behind the seats the side windows and possibly the wings he said to follow him to the house which I did he then preceded to one of his many out buildings toing and throwing from one place to another he then told he had these bits too if they were any good 2 immaculate wings, bonnet in great condition, front slam panels both and a box of bits including both headlights though one had a busted lense seat belts various stalks spare wheel starter motor, alternator speakers and various other bits n pieces. Now I'm think it's going to cost me a fortune when I asked him how much he wanted for it all imagine the sound of my jaw hitting the floor at an alarming rate when he said 50€ I know a good deal when I see one but I seriously couldn't fleece this fella I gave him 120€ I think he was just happy for the free space. I came home and began cutting the bonding on the side panels to put the windows in unfortunately it was 9 pm when I started so I had to resume the next day at 7 am I was outside fettling the side windows into their new residence, next I gothink the bonnet off and fitted the new one only to realise that the bonnet I'd bought was from a visa so It had the wrong nose end trim which wasn't a problem as I'd already salvaged the original from the donor van but the clips just snapped as soon as I tried fitting it so it was a case of getting the one off the original bonnet and putting that in place with bolts as it was fitted this way when I got it I cunningly left a cpl of mm gap between the trim and bonnet to save the nose from perishing in the rain, so all was going well until I realised the c15 and the visa have different catches and bonnet support I haven't got around to changing that over yet although I did reuse the original lever and catch. That weekend I fitted the rear doors and sprayed the roof rack a matt black, fitted the grill and mounted the spare wheel in its holder. So far that is where I am upto now I have decided to rat the van and the state of the paintwork is dreadful so I am on the hunt for ideas for when I come back from holidays

[dets]

A couple pics of it at the moment getting an exhaust system from uk

[Zelandeth]

Sounds like you've got a great buy there, and a great little workhorse. Was about to say that parts should be easy to come by in France, but sounds like you're already finding that!

As for inspiration for paint etc...it's got one wheel too many, but I can't unsee the van from Only Fools & Horses now... It's a well known fact that I have a predisposition towards yellow vehicles anyway...

[dets]

in big neon letters TITs lol

[dets]

Couple of things I forgot to add it has 86k on the clock and is a 55 plate

[van ordinaire]

Ah - THAT's why it looks better than mine: only done 1/2 the mileage - WTF! - this forum's really getting on my TITs now: can't be bothered to rewrite the bulk of my post & finish it!

[ekjdm14]

Ah - THAT's why it looks better than mine: only done 1/2 the mileage - WTF! - this forum's really getting on my TITs now: can't be bothered to rewrite the bulk of my post & finish it!

And it's the last of the late registrations too surely, being a 55 plate?

[van ordinaire]

Theoretically, there's a few 06's - or were!

[dets]

So I'm back from my jaunt in the UK and alas I didn't manage to get the exhaust in time so looks like I'm gonna have to suffer a good kick in in france to get a full system put on Herc I'm thinking replace the headlights then chuck it in for the ct to see what needs doing before parting with not far off a bag of sand for a full exhaust. On the plus side Herc is now 99%watertight all bar a small hole in the roof.

[van ordinaire]

Doesn't matter which side of the Channel you're on, those of us in the know (i.e. the Visa forum) get our exhausts from Poland, well back boxes anyway - not sure if they do full systems IF that's what you really need. In any event, you might just find carriage from here might be less than French prices.

[dets]

I'm so new to this lol

[van ordinaire]

We all were once & I doubt that anyone has forgotten that (says he who's only been around 5 minutes).

I'll try to find a link for you or, at least, enough details to identify the source.

[dets]

Cheers for that

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Oh what a brilliant post, made me laugh out loud a number of times.

I'm reminded of my own little 'motorbike' escapade: 125cc smalll wheel motorbike into 405 does go (and not a short trip either).

Try some Cellulose Thinners for the Graffiti: I buy mine from Wilko (keep it in the fridge once opened as it evaporates at room temp), about £2 for a small-ish bottle. Apply with kitchen roll.

Very old pix added of my own "you'll never get a motorbike in there" scenario