after getting a lot of hassle from macks, i thought i'd best stick a thread up of at least one of my A-series...

i bought a nice(ish) 1971 AKS400 from Limoges last March, not long after getting it back i stuck it on eBay with a 99p start bid. Needed the cash at the time, but have kicked myself several times a day since.

Just before christmas this van appeared on eBay; it was being flogged en France by an ex.pat & seemed to be fairly tidy - i emailed the seller to see if he knew of any 400s in his area (Limousin), he didn't but did say that the Acad was pretty solid & that he was looking for a RHD 2cv to take back with him when he next came over to the UK. At the time i hadn't thought about selling the beachcomber, but after an exchange of emails & photographs we decided to strike a deal... Early December the Acad turned up outside my council rented lock-up being towed by a Merc Sprinter.



a quick look over it & it was off the trailer, drove the beachcomber on, exchanged documents & that was it - a real flying visit!



first impressions were that it was filthy - it was covered in road salt despite being washed at one of those eastern european petrol station car wash jobs the night before. seemed to pretty free from the dreaded tin worm - Acads seem to rust like fook when compared to most other A-series, must be the inferior metal used by the Spanish - reckon they must've been built using recycled Lancia Betas!

Good lad. Keep it up. Maybe you will get a 400 one day.

it won't be out to play this year, gonna take my time & hopefully have it looking tidy & sorted mechanically in time for next years season.

There are a few localised bits of rot, nothing too bad from what i can see. Both corners under the windsreen have holed & been filled with bathroom sealant - i've whipped the dash' out & it would appear to be solid in behind which is a bonus. The other spot is the leading edge of drivers side rear wing. Chassis looks to be totally solid, the van box is very tidy, the floors are original and look nice & solid. This is my first experience on an Acadiane, but it doesn't take long to see why the don't last long over here; there very little in the way of rust protection & loads of water traps built in. I reckon if i'd just got a ticket on it & drove it everyday in this climate it'd last 2-3 years before it failed an mot on rot!

before i start using it i'm gonna buy a job lot of Bilt Hamber Dynax wax & go to town on all the box sections, chassis & everything else! I've already pumped 1.5 ltrs in the side rails & rear doors.

I Like it! Shame it wont be coming out to play though.

plans? well, i'm just gonna tidy it up, maybe change the gearbox as first gear is very noisy! I'm not gonna bother boarding it out & making it into a camper as i'll be worried at what rot is occuring underneath all the fixtures. my mates VW van was a right mess when he stripped his interior out.

Ideally it'll have a set of Ami super slot rims & will (hopefully) be slammed on its Ar53 but properly this time & not how i usually do it!

Hi Neil, u got a nice one! I just bougth to my wife one like that last month. Same year and colour, but not that rust free... R u keeping it 2 seated?

Nice Aca Neil! Hope you keep it original. Are you gonna look for a front bumper?

Hey Pete, Yes, it isn't in bad condition as Acadianes go - a few bits that need sorting & i'll get those done before they get too bad! I will be keeping it as a 2 seater

cheers

I will keep it original as possible, the only thing i want to do is to lower it & find some Ami Super wheels, nothing that can't be put back to original! I have the front bumper, i took it off to clean it & to straighten out the kinks in it...