Brett grow up in Morpeth, Nothumbria, with Cabstars. When older, he searched for years to find a suitable F20 Cabstar (like his dad had used) to restore. Eventually he found one in Newbury, Berkshire. Seeing the state of it he took a step back, swallowed hard, and tried to be realistic about what would be needed to restore it – it was in a dreadful state. When new, as a chassis/cab, it was made into a motor caravan – the bodywork added panel by panel rather than having a purpose made unit lifted onto its back.
This work involved the overcab section being screwed to the Datsun’s cab roof, the chassis extended to take a longer body, all resulting in a gigantic, very top heavy, ugly looking thing. The rear bodywork looked as though it had been done professionally incorporating several parts marked up as ‘Plaxton’ a well-known bus and coachbody builder in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, but these may have been second-hand parts. Most propriety motorhome bodies tend to be heavy despite the extensive use of lightweight materials because owners invariably cannot travel light. So, hollow rubber helper springs above the normal leaf types at the back were found to be necessary. The massive front and rear axles and chassis frame are definitely truck rather than car based.
The Cabstar has a relatively narrow track so manoeuvring would not be nimble and
