Bedford VAL Race Transporter - Very rare - once in a lifetime opportunity to own!

Bedford VAL 14 Duple Vega Major Transporter/ Motorhome Project.

Imagine rocking up to a festival in THIS!

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a very very VERY rare beast to either keep as a racetransporter with living area or go for a full living conversion.

For British passenger transportation there are two icons – for Buses – its obviously The London Routemaster Double Decker and for Coaches – The twin-steer Bedford VAL as featured in the Italian Job and Beatles Magical Mystery Tour movies.

The VAL is unique in having twin steering front axles with smaller wheels all round making its floor and overall height lower – making it the perfect choice for conversions into race transporters and horse boxes.

This beast started life as a 1966 Duple Vega Major bodied coach before being converted to a horse transporter in 1977. From then until now it changed use again becoming a motorcycle stunt teams transporter up until 2006 when they retired. It was then put in dry storage and was recently rescued by us its current owners.

Its a two berth and as you can see in the photos has a retro, comfortable and spacious interior with cooker, sink fridge etc, the rear section has a huge side opening door which would make a great living room opening out to a fold out deck – it also of course has the rear ramp. The scope for converting this area is amazing due to the extra height and openings.
As you can see in the photos it has a full length roof rack. We aren’t sure of the load rating of this so it would need to be properly structurally investigated before turning it into a roof deck!

This is a VERY rare vehicle and is probably one of only a couple in existence in the UK, however, due to a few other projects that we currently have, including another Bedford VAL, We are reluctantly going to offer this one for sale, as a running, driveable & ongoing project, which will require some TLC before going back into proper use.

This one still retains the original Leyland 400 Power Plus engine, coupled to the 5 speed gearbox, and it literally starts on the button & it runs & drives really well, other than a slight clutch judder. It has been properly registered as a motor-caravan/ historic vehicle with DVLA, so it is now tax & Mot except, & I have a current V5C document in my name.

Although it’s currently road legal, it would require to be moved on a low loader, unless it was only going a very short distance, as the tyres are old, the brakes could do with a full overhaul, as the brake effort is not great, & ideally it needs a good service, etc, due to the fact it has been laid up in a barn since 2006. However, I did recently take it to a local classic show, & it drove faultless on the 10 mile round trip, but I don’t think that I would drive it much further than that sort of distance, until it has been properly inspected with the appropriate parts being replaced. This can be driven on a car licence if you have a pre 1996 licence.

Ideally it would benefit the purchaser to have the facility to store & work on the vehicle inside, as the UK weather can be cruel at times, and it would allow any work required to be done undercover & in the dry, so please bear in mind the size of it when thinking of buying it, as it’s 11m long.

Viewing can be arranged by prior appointment any weekday between 9.30am & 18.00pm, or Saturday between 9.00am & 13.00pm.

Please see the videos below for an inside and outside walk-around.

https://youtu.be/cvj8WUZX3U8?si=gPQzLfEXHYgx3Wlb

https://youtube.com/shorts/1CuATpUtY14?si=-ByxI5-0NZUiwB6f

Payment/ collection terms:
A £500 non-refundable deposit is to be paid by bank transfer on purchase and the remainder of the balance is to be paid in full within 7 days of this deposit being paid.
I can securely store the vehicle for a period of 30 days after purchase, to allow the buyer to arrange suitable transportation, and storage facilities for when it arrives, but after 30 days a storage fee of £150 per week will apply until collection.

Just to be clear, the vehicle is located in Perth, central Scotland a PH1 postcode, so bear this info in mind when bidding, or if you need to obtain transportation quotes.

I can recommend a very professional & reliable transport company to transport the coach anywhere in the UK.