The 1935 Ford BB van that appeared in the original BBC TV series Dad’s Army has been given a full mechanical overhaul by apprentices at Ford’s Dagenham plant.
The platform of Ford apprentices who worked on the 1935 Ford BB van.
Under the control of Ford’s heritage vehicle technicians, the van needed recommissioning for it to star in the big-screen version of Dad’s Army.
The team fixed the running gear of Jack Jones’s famous van – in the same building at Dagenham that it would have left the plant more than 80 years ago. The work included a full engine rebuild, new clutch and new wiring looms.
First seen on the small screen in September 1969, the ‘J. Jones Family Butcher’ van appeared throughout the series’ nine-year run. It was bought by the Dad’s Army Museum, Thetford, Norfolk for £63,000 at auction in 2012.
Stuart Wright from the museum says: ‘It’s fantastic to see the van operational again and we hope it will capture the imagination of younger visitors as well as triggering happy memories for the older generations.’
Karl Carter, trade and skills director of the FBHVC applauds the project. He says: ‘Apprentices taking the FBHVC Classic Car Restoration course are being taught all the skills required to restore a Ford BB van such as the one that has been renovated by Ford apprentices.
‘The course is designed specifically for historic vehicles and they would have more relevant skills than apprentices trained on modern vehicles.’