Cohort Outtakes: Ice Cream Trucks, Tall and Long

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Stanislav Alexeyev shot a couple of vintage vans reincarnated as ice cream trucks in London. The first one, a Morris Commercial J-Type, looks like it might fall over in a gale. It’s short, narrow, but has a mighty tall roof. The J-Type was built between 1949 and 1961, was rated at 10 cwt (1/2 ton), and was initially powered by a 1476 cc side valve four, working though a three speed transmission. After 1957, it got the 1489 cc B-Series ohv four, and a four speed gear box. Sporty! The ones used by the Post Office had rubber front and rear fenders. Practical too!

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The other one he shot is different in just about every way possible. It’s French (Citroen H Van), had FWD, independent suspension all-round, and is of course longer, lower and wider. Especially longer. This is a…long wheelbase version, one I’ve never seen before. Lots of ice cream hiding in this truck.

The H Van, which we’ve covered in depth here, was a rather revolutionary design when it arrived in 1947, unlike the profoundly traditional Morris. The H Van used the FWD drive train from the Citroen Traction Avant, but flipped front-to-rear, thus hanging the engine out front, Audi-style. Along with trailing arms for the rear wheels made for a remarkably low floor, so it really doesn’t need a high roof. I don’t think I’m taking much risk in predicting that these two vans have very different handling characteristics. But the real question is which one has better ice cream.