Meet the Owner – Adam Lancaster and his Police Mini Van

Sometimes, a classic car joins your fleet as if by magic. Adam first saw his 1979 Police Mini Van 30 months ago. “Fast forward 2½ years and I had just completed the new recovered interior on my 1994 Rover Cabriolet and vowed, ‘No more – that’s it!’. Then I heard a knock at the door”.

Adam had seen the Police Mini Van “sat under a cover on a drive” said to its owners if they ever wanted to sell it, he would like first refusal. “Two and half years later, they were on my doorstep, and I had to call my wife at work to tell her the Van owners had accepted my offer!”.

The Mini has a long tradition of serving the public. The Armed Forces employed them, serving as transport for medical professionals, and the AA and RAC used fleets of Vans. In addition, police forces across the UK used the Mini in a variety of roles – the Cooper and Cooper S on traffic patrol, the 850 as a Unit Beat ‘Panda Car’ and the Van for a myriad of duties.

Adam has long been a Mini devotee. In addition to the Cabriolet, he also owns a 1999 Cooper that he acquired new at the age of 15, with the help of his parents, as well as the front half of a GRP project car in the garden. “When I was growing up, my dad had American cars, but when I was aged 13, I saw a Mini Mayfair in a bodywork shop”.

The Mayfair became part of the Lancaster fleet for a few hundred pounds, and Adam furthered his practical work with Minis by undertaking work experience at Clarks Rover near the Longbridge factory - “I also worked there on Saturdays.”. As for the Mini Van, police car groups are assisting his ongoing research:

At the rear, the Van has rubber bungs by the petrol tank, which could be to accommodate extra wiring, and the roof has been strengthened to accommodate the blue beacon. The body also contains a coachbuilding plaque, and people at shows have recognised it as a West Midlands Police Mini Van.

As for the Van’s road manners, Adam says:

It was not running at all when got it. I had to tow it to my house on a rope then set to getting it running. First, I had to put fuel in the fuel reservoir to turn it over then set to work on it. When I drive the Van, the refinement levels are very different compared with the 1999 Cooper! In terms of police equipment, I have installed a Tannoy system, and I am bench-testing air horns to achieve that authentic 1970s two-note sound. Naturally, I cover the blue lights and attach ‘Not in Service’ signs when out and about.

The Mini Van’s most recent adventure was starring in a show at RAF Cosford - “I actually slept in it; I removed the passenger seat and put a mattress in the load bay!”. Naturally, Adam finds whenever he visits a petrol station, “I am there for ten minutes with people coming up to me and saying, ‘I remember those!’”.

And that is why Adam’s police Mini Van is so important - it is part of the fabric of so many people’s lives.

With thanks to Adam Lancaster for his time.

With thanks to Adam Lancaster for the permission to use the images in this blog.