Darren Kempton (L), the 1,000th member of the Ford Transit Club, with club founder Peter Lee (R)

Seven years after its foundation, the Transit Van Club is celebrating the signing of its 1,000th member.

Darren Kempton, who owns two classic examples of Ford’s finest, is the “millennium member” and he was presented with a commemorative certificate from club founder Peter Lee.

Classic Enthusiast

Darren, whose 1986 Mk II long wheelbase Transit is in daily use with his signage and vehicle graphics business, DJK Signs, was delighted to find himself a milestone member: “It’s a great honour,” said Flitwick, Bedfordshire-based Darren:

“The Transit has been part of my life since I first started driving one in 1996, and now I have bought a second classic model, a 1969 Mk I camper van, as a restoration project.”

The Transit Van Club was founded by Peter Lee in 2005 to mark the van’s 40th birthday. Peter owns  nine classic Transits, each used regularly, and said:

“I never imagined the club would grow so quickly to reach 1,000 members, I think that says everything you need to know about the Transit and its place in people’s hearts.”

Charitable Club

Club members regularly display their vans at classic commercial vehicle events around the country and often use them to raise money for charity – the club recently donated £1,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. The next big events planned are the Classic and Vintage Commercial Show on 9/10 June and the 20/22 July Transit Van Club annual rally, both at Gaydon in Warwickshire.

47 Years Of Transit Success

My fondness for Transits is no secret and I have owned two. The Transit has been a market leader throughout its 47 years of production and I believe it is still the best all-rounder on the market. This looks set to continue with the new Transit Custom, which I suspect will bring a whole new level of sophistication to panel vans, outdoing even the Mercedes Vito and VW Transporter.

The UK remains the single most important market for the Transit; of the 6.3 million Transits that Ford has sold around the world, more than 2.1 million were sold in Britain. Although some Transit production now takes place abroad (in Turkey, I think), the Transit is still designed and engineered at Ford’s Dunton, Essex site. Some of the 7,200-plus current Ford Transit model variants are also still made at the Southampton plant, with engines built at Dagenham and transmissions from Ford’s Halewood plant.