John Mason International has recently re-acquired a 1960s breakdown vehicle, a Leyland Comet, that they will use for marketing purposes.

It will make appearances at shows such as the BAR vehicle procession show, where John Mason staff member Pat Reilly will be driving the classic van.

                            
The vehicle has an interesting history and originally started life being used as a general removal van.  It was registered in Liverpool in 1962 as a Platform/Container type body and had a matching draw bar trailer capable of carrying containers and crated goods to UK ports, this included work for the  I.O.M Steam Packet Company.

The van also had a demountable pantechnicon body that could be craned on and off at the company’s Wavertree Depository. To facilitate this, the cab was custom built at Woodward’s Vehicle Builders at Southport and was the only one of its kind in the country.

In 1975 the chassis was shortened and the vehicle was converted to a tow truck and remained in service until 1991 when it was transferred into museum and enthusiast care.  The vehicle was returned to John Mason in January 2013. During this 22-year period the van travelled approximately 15,000 miles to classic and commercial vehicle shows around the UK and Ireland. It has been re-furbished and painted several times during this period but has retained the original John Mason livery.