I bought an abandoned van from Only Fools and Horses for £1,000 – I’m going to make it worthy of Del again
A CAR nut who bought one of the vans from Only Fools and Horses now plans to restore it to its former glory.
Colin Smith, better known as The Bearded Explorer, claimed he could sell the iconic three-wheeler on for about 10 times what he paid.
Colin, who wows viewers with his urban exploration videos on YouTube, recalled coming across the Reliant Regal Super Van while checking out a vast collection of abandoned classics.
The little motor had been parked under a tree for almost 40 years and was littered with cobwebs and branches.
Part of the tree had even collapsed onto the bonnet and had to be cut away.
Fortunately, Colin and the former owner were able to set it free and load it onto a truck within an afternoon.
Sitting down with Sun Motors, Colin said: "I went to a barn collection...and I could see a house.
"I walked around and knocked on the front door and the guy was still living there.
"I ended up buying a three-wheel van from Only Fools and Horses.
"It's a 1973 van, it was one of the donor cars for the set but it never got used.
"So it was always on the back burner ready in case it was needed."
The bright yellow Reliant used by Del Boy, played by Sir David Jason, is one of the most iconic vehicles in comedy history.
The one that made it on screen was sold for more than £40,000 last year.
Colin's light blue example, though, has just 43,000 miles on the clock but does require a bit of work.
All he's done so far is put a new engine in as the old one had seized but he plans to get it back into working order in the coming months.
Del Boy van sells for £40k
The original yellow Reliant Regal that made it on screen in the hit '80s sitcom sold back in May 2023.
It had racked up 97,000 miles by the time it went under the hammer and could only reach 55mph flat out.
Nonetheless, the treasured piece of TV memorabilia attracted plenty of interest from bidders.
A private collector shelled out £41,625 to buy it from John Mansfield of the BBC.
And despite it's battered appearance, it could actually still be on the road.
The listing confirmed that the van had been given new tyres, overhauled brakes and a reworked fuel system to leave it complete "roadworthy".
He added: "I'm going to try and get it back on the road later this summer and start using it.
"I'm in two minds at the moment...remember Mr Bean?
"He had the famous blue van he used to keep rolling over.
"I'm either going to turn it into that or do the Only Fools Del Boy van.
"Nobody's done the blue van yet so I'm tempted to do that."
However, once he's returned the van to its TV glory, Colin plans to enjoy a few trips out before selling it.
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He claims to have seen second-hand models for as much as £10,000 online, which would return his investment tenfold.
It comes after a vintage Ferrari owned by a TV and radio star went up for auction at a whopping £1.5 million.
