Birmingham, CV Show, NEC 24 April, 2012 – Seven years after its foundation, the Transit Van Club is celebrating the signing of its 1,000th member. Darren Kempton, who owns two classic examples of Ford’s finest, is the “millennium member” and he was presented with a commemorative certificate from club founder Peter Lee.
Darren, whose 1986 Mk II long wheelbase Transit is in daily use with his signage and vehicle graphics business, DJK Signs, was delighted to find himself a milestone member: “It’s a great honour,” said Flitwick, Bedfordshire-based Darren. “The Transit has been part of my life since I first started driving one in 1996, and now I have bought a second classic model, a 1969 Mk I camper van, as a restoration project.”
The Transit Van Club was founded in 2005 to mark the van’s 40th birthday. “I never imagined the club would grow so quickly to reach 1,000 members,” said Peter Lee. “I think that says everything you need to know about the Transit and its place in people’s hearts.” Peter owns nine classic Transits, each used regularly.
Club members enjoy displaying their vans at classic commercial vehicle events around the country. The next big events planned are the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show on 9/10 June and the 20/22 July Transit Van Club annual rally, both at Gaydon in Warwickshire.
Members display their vehicles to help raise charity funds, often for children’s causes. The club – web address transitvanclub.co.uk – recently donated £1,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Like the owners’ club, the Transit shows now signs of slowing down. Ford has sold more than 6.3 million examples around the world, more than 2.1 million of those in Britain. Some of the 7,200-plus Ford Transit model variants are made at the Southampton plant, with engines built at Dagenham and transmissions from Ford’s Halewood plant. Transit is designed and engineered at Ford’s Dunton, Essex site.
The Ford Transit has been market leader for its entire lifetime; 47 years of success
