Micro Work Van: 1960 LLoyd LT 600
As we have been gathering up parts and transporting them to the shop for our Mustang, we have been thinking about how great it would be to have a dedicated parts hauler. The SAAB is more than capable of hauling just about anything we throw at it, but it would be nice to have something that got the job done in a bit more style. It isn’t that we don’t enjoy the SAAB, but how great would it be to roll up in something that looks like it just came out of a barn? We don’t really have the budget to buy it right now, but we think this 1960 Lloyd LT 600 would make a perfect BF parts car! Not only is it barn fresh, but it is one of those oddballs that would leave every other driver on the road scratching their head. Have a look at it for yourself here on eBay, where it is being offered with a BIN of $8,900.
We have featured a few Lloyds over the years, but this is the first LT 600 Panel Van that we have ever seen. This windowless variant is quite rare and we doubt there can be many left on the road. Before building this little van, Lloyd was building even smaller cars. The company had a long history of building affordable transportation. Some of their first cars were actually built of fabric and wood, but by the ’50s they were producing more conventional steel bodies.
As with most micro cars, Lloyds were quite basic on the inside and their work vehicles were even more so. Like the outside, this one is rough on the inside, but everything is still there. The wood dash is in great shape and looks fantastic. The rest of the interior wood also looks to be in great shape. The floors on the other hand, not so much. The seller claims it came out of a dry midwest barn, but based on all the rust we see, we aren’t convinced it came out of dry storage. We would assume most of the rusted panels will require fabricating replacements, as there probably aren’t many companies manufacturing reproduction pieces.
Like most of Lloyd’s cars, this van is powered by a very small two-cylinder engine. This 596cc motor is good for about 20 horsepower and supposedly runs. The seller even goes as far as to claim it drives down the road. They admit that the brakes will need work and that everything needs to be gone through for it to be safe to drive on public streets. We’ve never worked on a motor like this one, but we doubt it would be much of a challenge. Parts might be a little more difficult though, but given how many parts were shared between the various Lloyd models it shouldn’t be impossible to find most everything.
We love the way this van looks, we just wish it were a little less rusty. It really would make a great parts hauler and even a great little car to take to local events. We can only imagine the interest and conversations it would spark up. If it were a little less rusty, we would be seriously tempted, but we already have too many projects stealing our attention. Hopefully one of you are looking for a new project and will save it from further deterioration. If anyone here does jump on it, please let us know!
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now2 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now2 days$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now2 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now4 days$10,500
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now6 days$750
Comments
That’s a cool find, but I think the only alternative with this is to restore it. There’s too much rust to leave it with the rat look. And I don’t think you’ll be hauling anything too heavy with a 20hp 2-cylinder pulling you along. :-)
Very interesting find, but the first 8K miles (w/ the exception of the cargo area?) were rough on the old girl.
I especially like the wood dash!
This one should be restored to it’s former glory.
596cui or cc ?
Thanks for catching that Henrie, all fixed!
2-cycle or 4-cycle? If 2-cycle, it’d make a great mosquito street fogger…
Barn Fresh.? hahahahahahaha…………
“The most recent public sale was by RM in 2013 in which a Lloyd LT 600 transporter for Pan Am was sold at almost $50,000. That van was in the same mechanical condition as ours. It did, however, have a slightly better cosmetic condition as we have spoken to the previous caretakers of said van.” (from the ebay listing)
————————————————–
Here’s some info & pics about that Lloyd 600 Pan Am transporter sold by RM mentioned in the ebay listing:
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/default.aspx?carID=21949&i=8
Err, “slightly better cosmetic condition” than the ebay van??? Well I guess it depends on how you define ‘slightly’ and ‘cosmetic’.
OK, time to go to work….
The upside:
– 600 CCs, 19 HP, so it’s good on gas
– it runs
– looks reasonably complete
– nice looking wood inside
– comes with books
– scarce vintage vehicle
The downside:
– 600 CCs, 19 HP, will have trouble keeping up with any traffic, anywhere
– barely runs
– clutch needs to be slipped with open throttle to maintain forward motion for 8 seconds
– lots of rust perforation
– suspension allows lots of camber change—not good in strong sidewinds
– non-original front sheet metal = the least concerning thing about it
– needs everything
i think this has been for sale for sometime. nice to look at but for same money you could have a lot of other vans from the 1960’s. i would go with a VW myself. for a parts hauler i would go with a land yacht stationwagon ( like the one i just sent in ) which are low cost to buy and own.
I remember a time in the mid eighties/ nineties that NOBODY wanted these (mini buses, vans, station wagons, etc.).
You could barely get rid of these for scrap.
Not me, I always liked this odd-ball unusual stuff.
That’s when I bought my fleet of Mercedes-buses and station wagons.
WHO is it that buys these vehicles now ?
They have not become better handling or more powerful with age.
Or is it just a dream price here ?
that you-tube video is funny….
Question of the day :
did the camera quit before the car or did the car conk out and the video was edited afterwards ??
but sure has a unique sound (and probably smell to it, inside and out !)
A cool van Jesse, but as far as hauling parts with it, with its 2 cylinder, 20 hp motor, you may just be able to carry the weight of an air filter with it!! : )
Only if said air filter wasn’t clogged. That’s some serious neg camber at the rear.
Hayabusa engined version anyone?
A 2 cyl, 20 hp engine [like a 2cv] will haul any parts you want–it just won’t do it quickly.
The Lloyd uses a two cylinder, 600cc, four stroke engine, not a two stroke. Also, the 2CV is also a two cylinder, 602cc (earlier versiosn were 425cc), four stroek engine.
Kind of reminds me of the Subaru 360 Vans from 1970. Looks to me like a metal body on a wood frame.
Worth restoring for the love of it if not for the money. This is a really nice example of a rare van. Borgward clubs are pretty active worldwide and I’ll bet the needed parts could be sourced with less trouble than we might imagine. The only issue for actual driving, as mentioned above: that tough little 19-hp two-stroke. Still, I’d go with that and use the old van for close neighborhood grocery runs and other jobs. That would be fun.
The 2-strokers were of 400cc, the 600 was a 4-stroke with overhead camshaft, you can clearly see that from the picture of the engine, the fuel pump is driven from the centre of the camshaft on top of the cylinder head (note: the engine is tilted forward 90 degrees)
Its a slant 2,I have 2 lloyds now,and have had others previously.parts are close to imposible to find. and its not a Briggs and stratton,they are tricky to work on,and dont like to sit,they freeze up more than they dont.Borgward people are not too interested in these.You wont get that much help from them,You’ll have to get help from friends of Lloyd.And the little motors have a lot of power for their size
Funny, I had one of those with fresh woodwork that I eventually took $600 for. That was a few years ago. Oh, and it ran too. I sort of liked that little four stroke.