Is Rick Wakeman really so famous that just being in his presence elevates a Ford van to celebrity provenance? (Hint: no.) And to be fair, Cheffins isn’t suggesting that’s the primary selling point of their 1965 Ford Thames 400E 10/12cwt Van. No, that would be “awesomeness,” but they do mention Wakeman and we can’t let that go unmentioned. Long-haired YES-men aside, that’s one cool, nicely restored van, part of Cheffins’ BK Museum sale on May 14 at Hepworth, near Diss, Norfolk, in the U.K.
But it’s a bit of a melancholy sale, too. The BK in BK Musuem is Bart Keaney, who followed the dream of many enthusiasts, about 10 years ago, when he turned his personal collection into a museum. As he told EDP24,
I live in London and come up at the weekends and I just do not get the time to do anything and I am trying to make time to drive my E-type. There is so much to do, and it is a bit annoying that I do not get the time to enjoy them.
It is not easy, but it has to be done. As long as I made up my mind what to keep, I had to blank out the ones that are going. It will be nice in a funny way. Once they are sold, people can sit in and drive them away.
Cheffins will have 387 lots from Bart’s collection, 26 of them cars. Almost all of those are pre-1970 English automobiles, and many of them were restored by the Museum or Bart himself. Let us know if you end up with one.