Man was given forgotten old Commer van for his 18th birthday and ended up turning it into a 400hp beauty

This Commer van had been sitting dormant for 30 years, before a man was gifted it for his 18th birthday and worked on turning it around.

Resto Revival paid a visit to Luke, a man who had been gifted a 1974 Commer PB van for his milestone birthday.

After spending decades in a garden, it’d fallen into bad shape – and even had a tree growing through its front bumper!

But fortunately, Luke was able to get this van back on the road, and it looks a whole lot better now.

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This Commer van needed some serious TLC

You know a vehicle’s been sitting a while when a tree is growing through it.

We’ve seen enough cases of that to know that – just take a look at the cars in this Michigan junkyard.

And who can forget this abandoned Saab 96?

It’s a sad state of affairs, and a clear sign that a car needs all the help it can get.

This 1974 Commer PB camper van had been parked in 1986 and was then given to a man called Luke many years later.

Steve Wilson, a friend of Luke’s dad, had gifted it to him on condition that it go back on the road.

This van had been bought by Steve’s mum, Eileen, and it was named in her honor.

So what sort of state was Eileen the RV in when Luke got it?

Well, it wasn’t looking good – Luke had to invest thousands in order to fix up the windscreen surrounds, pillars, door skins, steps, sills, and rear quarters.

Because of the Coomers’ reputation for being rusty, many shops refused to take it on.

Fortunately, a friend’s workshop agreed to work on it, but it still waited for years to get its much-needed paint job.

In the meantime, Luke weighed up multiple engine setups, including a rebuilt Rootes engine and a diesel Escort swap.

Ultimately, he landed on a Mercedes 0M605 2.5L five-cylinder diesel with a big mechanical ‘super pump’ and turbo, capable of making between 380 and 420hp.

All in all, he spent the equivalent of a ‘decent house deposit’ on the van.

But it was a labor of love, and you can’t put a price on that.

How did ‘Eileen’ look when it was finished?

The van looked beautiful now, decked out in a lovely cream color and marked with tributes to both Steve and Eileen.

But more than being a piece of eye-candy, this van held a lot of sentimental value for Luke, as he told Resto Revival.

“It’s like having a cat,” Luke said.

“It takes your mind away from the problem at hand, and you focus on this, it puts your mind elsewhere.

“It saved me. Cars are very good for your own sanity, this is proof of that.”

This serves as an important reminder of how important cars can be.

And it’s not just conjecture either – there’s psychology backing this up.

To learn more about this Commer van, visit Resto Revival’s YouTube channel.

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