adamcjay
Member
So it’s about time I introduced you all to my van, Elton. He’s a 1970 sunroof deluxe microbus and he’s bright pink.
He came over from the USA (Oregon) in 2010 in a fetching light blue, to be used by the National Lottery as part of a nationwide advertising campaign titled ‘Britain Has Balls’. 5 bays were used altogether, one representing each of the five colours of the balls; blue, white, yellow, green and pink. Elton drew the short straw and his lovely original blue paint disappeared beneath the candy coloured mess you see before you. They also stuck a fibreglass pop top on him and attached it with screws and silicone sealant. I’m not sure whether it was for visual continuity with the other busses in the convoy, or whether it was because the sunroof leaked, but whatever the reason the things coming off! From what I understand the five busses went in convoy between the major UK cities and set up shop in each city centre for a day at a time. See below for a video of Elton on the ‘Britain Has Balls’ tour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzeQVSHxVYg
I’ve owned him since early 2011. When my friend and I went to collect him he was the only one of the five lottery vans that hadn’t been sold and it’s not hard to see why. I saw through the dazzling paint job to the fairly decent bodywork below and was happy enough to put up with it until I can afford a respray. Colour aside, the van was pretty good. Strong points were the bodywork and the engine, weaker points the electrics and the brakes. To this day the electrics remain the weak point of my van, but several wheel bearings, brake cylinders and new ball joints later, the mechanical bits are looking better.
For two of the three years that I’ve owned him he was pretty much off the road in storage due to working abroad and financial constraints, but now I’m very excited to have him back with me up in Manchester. I was delighted when he cleared the garage door by all of 5mm, with the pop top off. Current project is to clean up and paint the roof and sunroof panel, as these are currently left in their original (rusty) paint having been stuck under the pop top when he was sprayed pink. The sunroof drain channels need some TLC but this will have to come at a later date, I’ve just cleaned them up and painted them for now.
So there you are. I just don't know how long he'll remain pink. Maybe it'll grow on me...
Adam
He came over from the USA (Oregon) in 2010 in a fetching light blue, to be used by the National Lottery as part of a nationwide advertising campaign titled ‘Britain Has Balls’. 5 bays were used altogether, one representing each of the five colours of the balls; blue, white, yellow, green and pink. Elton drew the short straw and his lovely original blue paint disappeared beneath the candy coloured mess you see before you. They also stuck a fibreglass pop top on him and attached it with screws and silicone sealant. I’m not sure whether it was for visual continuity with the other busses in the convoy, or whether it was because the sunroof leaked, but whatever the reason the things coming off! From what I understand the five busses went in convoy between the major UK cities and set up shop in each city centre for a day at a time. See below for a video of Elton on the ‘Britain Has Balls’ tour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzeQVSHxVYg
I’ve owned him since early 2011. When my friend and I went to collect him he was the only one of the five lottery vans that hadn’t been sold and it’s not hard to see why. I saw through the dazzling paint job to the fairly decent bodywork below and was happy enough to put up with it until I can afford a respray. Colour aside, the van was pretty good. Strong points were the bodywork and the engine, weaker points the electrics and the brakes. To this day the electrics remain the weak point of my van, but several wheel bearings, brake cylinders and new ball joints later, the mechanical bits are looking better.
For two of the three years that I’ve owned him he was pretty much off the road in storage due to working abroad and financial constraints, but now I’m very excited to have him back with me up in Manchester. I was delighted when he cleared the garage door by all of 5mm, with the pop top off. Current project is to clean up and paint the roof and sunroof panel, as these are currently left in their original (rusty) paint having been stuck under the pop top when he was sprayed pink. The sunroof drain channels need some TLC but this will have to come at a later date, I’ve just cleaned them up and painted them for now.
So there you are. I just don't know how long he'll remain pink. Maybe it'll grow on me...
Adam
