Three variations of the bus body were produced.
The 12 Seat Personnel Carrier had rear
seats running lengthwise along the sides whereas the Standard Estate Car had 2 crosswise
rear seats, the rearmost one being accessable via 1/3 of the frontmost
seat pivoting forward. Two optional folding single seats were mounted
inside the rear doors giving the 8/10 seat title. A Deluxe Estate Car was also produced
with chrome bumper overriders, chrome body trim,ashtrays,map pockets
and 2 tone external and interior
finish.
In England the estate cars were classed as
passenger vehicles and taxed as such whereas the personnel carriers
were classed as commercial vehicles making the estate cars a more
expensive purchase.
In export markets the deluxe estate appears to
have been called a Thames Express Bus according to sales brochures, but in Australia the whole
range of buses seems to have been called Express bus.My deluxe estate
has an interior badge saying Thames Express Bus whereas the only other
bus I've been able to locate (which was a personnel carrier) in Aust.
hasn't
My 1963 Deluxe Estate Car
(Thames Express Bus) showing the forward opening side door and fold
down step. There is another deluxe estate in America but beyond that
there seems to be no other known examples left .If you know of the
whereabouts of any (in any condition) please
E-mail.
This bus was modified in
the late 70's with a Datsun 6 cyl and Zephyr front disc brakes. The
motor had been removed and it had been in a backyard as a storage
shed for the last 18 years. I've fitted a standard Thames motor and
4 speed box and currently working on the interior and side
windows.
Colour is two tone purple
(very 70's) and the wheels are chrome 12 slots. Used on Australian
Ford Falcons but also used on Ford Torinos and
Mustangs.
Some close ups of the
chromework which really accents the Thames styling. Hope to have it
registered and on the road this year.
The only other bus I've
been able to locate in Australia. This is a 1960 12 seat Personnel
Carrier (lengthwise seats) which is now being restored by Jim Havaar
in Melbourne Australia.
Some photos from 1975
showing the difference between a bus on the left and a van with
windows on the right. The bus windows are recessed into the body
sides.
Update 20/01/03 Mark
Hoyer of California USA is restoring this 1958 Estate Car. The bus
is in good original condition with little rust or dents and only the
side sliding windows needing some work.
Interior photos showing the amount of space the forward control
layout gives. Mark is currently rebuilding the motor and hopes to be
driveable in a couple of months. Check back for
updates.
Mark has
recently had new manifolds fabricated which allow the motor to
breathe properly as well as looking extremely cool.
Peter
Swale photographed this bus on his recent trip to
New Zealand. It appears to be either a 10/12 personnal carrier or a
standard estate car. Hard to tell which without the rear
seats.
The rear
sliding windows appear to have been replaced with single pieces of
glass probably owing to the original window frames rusting out which
is a fairly common problem.
A modified bus from Melbourne in Australia
owned by Greg Barton. The bus has a mid-mounted Ford 302 V8, C5 auto
and 9" Ford diff and has also had the sliding side windows replaced
with one piece glass.
