Ooh! I love these Commer PA shaped things, not just because "the lady in the van" bought one after her CA died, but because they have the engine in the right place but, unless someone shoved an O series in the engine hole, it's surely a 1725cc Rootes lump that lives in there, not a Leyland engine..
They came in automatic flavour too with, if memory serves, a BW45 4speed transmission as found in some Arrow series Hunters, Humber Sceptres, etc. Rare birds they are these days, and like the cars the majority of the automatics came with just the three gears (BW35, BW65 in very late ones maybe?). But even though they're not massively tall, these Rootes vans don't feel quite so stable if you're young & daft and manage to enter a corner too quickly. That's where the tall Toyota surprises me, by tolerating corners in the manner of a 2CV and exhibiting body roll that looks dramatic from the outside but not falling over even when catching a kerb mid-bend. Would I like a Commer PA though? Too right I would, they're a great looking alternative to the ubiquitous Type 2 and, IMHO, possibly as lovely to behold as a very early CA, with the split screen and the tail fins as seen on some of the camper conversions.
GHT, the Maestro may be tempting but fortunately, you probably aren't looking to buy one right now. The blue car was once owned by the friend to whom I sold my Corolla Liftback, itself now 30 years of age and still as free from rot as it was when I acquired it in 2015.
The Maestro was sold on when the friend in question experienced some, erm,
teething troubles with it. Clutch cable adjustment my backside! These always seemed to have an (often unmanageably) high pedal but this one must be slipping by now and I'll eat my favourite half inch drive ratchet if there's any adjustment left in that cable!
I'm pretty sure that the owner in between my mate and the unemployed chap who now feels the need to get rid of the thing, parted with it after a very short relationship with the evil blue car.
I feel for the guy selling as he's clearly having a spot of bad luck but, employed or otherwise, the car would have been moved onto its next victim sooner or later in any case. I was just surprised that it managed to get all the way to Bristol, which is some 400ish miles from the Northumberland area, where it was first registered. It was at least rust free back then, Bristol must have made it corrode..