MEET THE OWNER – BILLY HEALEY AND HIS 1962 BEDFORD CA ROMANY

The year is 1962, and you have fully prepared your new Bedford CA Romany De Luxe for a holiday in Dorset. The cool box contains a supply of UHT milk while the cupboards bulge loaves of Sunblest bread, jars of Bourn-Vita, and tins of the finest Heinz tomato soup available to humanity. Best of all, Frank Ifield singing I Remember You playing on Radio Luxembourg, accompanies the journey along the A35 to that holiday camp in Swanage.

That is the world of Billy Bob’s CA, which he acquired in 2012 after seeing an advertisement in Classic Car Weekly. Bedford introduced their new light commercial in March 1952, with the independent front suspension and major sales points. The 1,508cc OHV engine from the E-series Vauxhall Wyvern meant the CA was lively by the standards of the day, and its styling made Ford’s rival, the Thames E83W, look extremely dated. Commercial Motor described the CA as “The Roundsman’s Joy”; the tester also referred to the water temperature gauge as a “luxury”.

At that time, it was not uncommon for market traders to put cushions into their vans to take the family on a Sunday outing. This attracted the attention of the coachbuilder of Martin Walter of Folkestone, and by the early 1960s, they offered a variety of motor home conversions. Their claim that their campers were “easier to drive and manoeuvre than many a private car” was not unfair; many drivers found the CA easier to use than a Thames 400E or a BMC J4. In addition, as the government classified a motor home as a van rather than a car, the Romany was exempt from Purchase Tax.

The specification included a cooker with a two-ring gas hob and grill, a sink, and a wardrobe. You could arrange the seating to form four single berths or two singles and a double, while the elevating roof gave 7ft. 11ins of headroom. The camping equipment in Billy’s CA is the standard factory specification, including the original elevating roof, the furniture, the water bottles, the stove and the wonderfully named ‘Easicool’ food locker. There is also a chemical toilet, an optional extra at that time.

CA production ended in 1969 with the introduction of the replacement CF. Billy uses his Romany for camping a good deal, and he observes:

The van is very original and has never been welded. Unfortunately, when I bought the Bedford, it had lost its original number plate. Last year though, I managed to reclaim its initial Durham registration. After 11 years of ownership, I was in the process of reclaiming its original number when I posted a picture of the van on Facebook. I was then contacted by a chap whose late dad owned the CA. I told him the original number, and he told me the original plates were in his father’s garage, so now it is wearing its original plates from new. The steering column change is the optional four-speed and is easy to use. And the public love the CA - it makes people smile and talk.

Or as the brochure put it – “Travel Where You Will”

With Thanks To: Billy Healey.