home

  

the studio

work>>

the studio

paintings
  

Welcome to Studiocommer - the nut behind the wheel here goes by the name of Kes Jones and has been producing artwork for folks in various guises in the Pembrokeshire area when not busy surfing, being musical, walking and generally being nice to people.

Having been a Pembrokeshire based artist & illustrator for more years than it's decent to mention I have made use of whatever I happened to be driving as a mobile studio which has proved to be ideal studio space surrounded by natural light with an assortment of incredible views available for inspiration.

'Bessie' turned up in 2005 - a Commer PB Autosleeper Deluxe conversion now complete with drawing board to convert it to a perfect mobile studio with a brew always to hand.

As well as her use as a studio, Bessie has also been known to make appearances at local classic & vintage shows and plays a humble part in the growing online commer community on the commervanfan forum - which, as Bessie is a very typical Commer, has proved vital in her rolling restoration & daily use.

 

  

commer van

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

A Very Brief Commer PB History

The first prototypes were built in Dunstable in 1959 and tested extensively in Mexico, Spain, and Kenya. These developed through varying changes to design, engine size & cooling improvements to form the PA which arrived in 1965 quickly(a term not often applied to Commers) followed in 1967 by the PB. The Deluxe was introduced for the 1971 range which offered improvements to the cab, this even included the sheer decadance of a cigarette lighter.

Production moved from Rootes to Chrysler which saw vans also released under Dodge & Fargo badges and a name change to the 'Spacevan' in 1977 the Spacevan was given a makeover with plastic bumpers & full width plastic grille. Peugot took over production in 1978.

The Spacevan was supposed to be dropped in late 1981, but a huge contract from the GPO (Post Office) kept it alive for well over a year. The GPO and British Telecom had bought more than 27,000 of the series since 1970. They were also used by the Television Licence Detector unit (with automatic transmissions).

The last Spacevan was built on February 17, 1983. It had a long and distinguished career, and had been popular with motor home builders, but lack of investment by Rootes and, later, by Chrysler and Peugeot, had let it fall behind.