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A mysterious motorhome

Letter to the editor

 

My name is Daniel Hadad and I'm from Tangier, in the north of Morocco. My city was an international condominium until the late '50s, with a heterogeneous large colony of expatriate people. The English, Dutch, Italians, Portuguese, Germans, Poles and especially French and Spanish arrived on this shore of Africa and their presence was notable until the end of the '70s. Some of them had to be the initial owner of this motorhome that I discovered when I was a child and I have recently rediscovered in a greenhouse. I remember that it still had the original gasoline engine but I do not know the origin of the chassis and coachbuilder. It does not have any visible emblem that identifies it. I think it had to be built on a Ford chassis from the early 1950s and some specialised coachbuilder did the bodywork. The interior still has all the original equipment with two beds, a fridge and a sink. I would like to know the origin of the chassis/engine and the authorship of this special bodywork. I would appreciate this information which would further clarify the diversity of vehicles that existed in my city. Best regards!

Publiziert:
Samstag Februar 10th, 2024
David Marklew
25 Februar 2024, 21:53
Eight studs holding the wheels on looks like a heavy commercial, not a BMC K8 or LD. Here is something similar but quite a bit smaller on a K8 chassis.
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Daniel Hadad
10 Februar 2024, 20:21
This motorhome continued to languish until a few months ago when a friend decided to buy it. Then I was able to examine it more closely and have access to documents that uncovered its entire history. The motorhome is built on a French Ford F798W five-ton frame by the coachbuilder Marcel Assomption in Rennes, France. It was first registered in 1947 as a flatbed truck and then converted to a motorhome in 1951 for M. André Delangle.

M. Delangle was the owner of a bicycle factory, Cycles Delangle, at 11 & 13, rue du Sergent-Bauchat, Paris (see encycloduvelo.fr). His bikes broke several records and he ordered this motorhome for his African travels. Registred 4848J75 in Pau, France, it was then exported to Tangier, Morocco, in 1958.

Marcel Assomption was a coachbuilder who specialised in very luxurious caravans and motorhomes for travellers or directors of major circuses of the time (see caravanecirqueforain.e-monsite.com). Luis Mariano and Charles and Roger Spiessert of the Pinder Circus had Assomption motorhomes. This motorhome has changed hands but is still in the same condition waiting to ride again.
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Daniel Hadad
15 September 2020, 14:40
Thanks for the answers! It is definitely a BMC vehicle and not a Ford as I thought. The LD van seems too short and I think more of a larger chassis like the Austin in the attached picture:
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MICHAEL ROBINSON
11 September 2020, 22:39
Looks very much like a BMC LD van very much modified
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Alec Lowe
10 September 2020, 23:31
By the pedal rubbers it looks like Austin or Morris. They always had that circular pattern.
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