Everyone seems to have a story about the Ford Transit, and I’m no different. Mine starts when I was about eight years old, sitting beside my dad in his Mk 1. This would have been around 1970, and his job was delivering record sleeves across London.

I remember him getting me to change gear for him through the crash box. Of course, it was a different time then. It’s not something that would happen now. He’d pull up into a car park and, with me on his lap, show me how to drive. In those days, there were no seatbelts, and on a warm day we’d drive along with the sliding doors wide open. It was so cool; a real feeling of the open road.

“For me, what makes the Transit so special is that it’s classless. It’s an icon for everybody.”

TV presenter Mike Brewer

I’m only a year or two younger than the Transit itself, and I feel like we’ve grown up together. Right from the word go, it handled like a car. They were comfortable, and you honestly could have been behind the wheel of a Mk 1 Escort. But then you’d look behind you and see these enormous barn doors that could swallow a whole pallet.

A Record-Breaking Celebration

That feeling of connection is why it was such a pleasure to be part of the recent Transit Festival. It was incredible. We weren’t just celebrating a manufacturer; we were celebrating one specific vehicle. And it brought out thousands of people: families, builders, trades, craftsmen, professionals, and race teams – all with a single common interest.

To top it all off, not only was it the sixtieth birthday, but we also broke a world record for the longest parade of vans. It’s not an easy thing to put together – getting hundreds of Transits, from old Mk 1s to brand-new tippers, all driving at the same pace is like herding cats! The Ford team did an amazing job, and I was so proud to be a part of it.

The Classless Icon

For me, what makes the Transit so special is that it’s classless. You’ll see pictures of rock stars from the 1970s jumping out the back of a Transit. In another photo, you’ll see a bricklayer unloading rubble. It’s an icon for everybody.

That’s why, wherever I am in the world, the Transit is there. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Malta or Morocco, you won’t have to wait more than a few minutes to see one go past. People don’t say “van”; they just say “Transit.”

My Life in Transit

There always seems to be a Transit in my life. I’ve owned a lot of them over the years, but the most famous was the one we featured on Wheeler Dealers, a former fire engine from Germany. The job was to convert it from left-hand drive to right-hand drive, and by the end of the show, I knew I had to have it. I bought it, and it came everywhere with me.

My TV life means a lot of my time is spent on the road, and I’ve had to say farewell to a lot of my collection for now, the fire engine included. But as soon as I can, I will build the collection up again and right at the top of the list is a Mk 1 V4 Transit.

Transits are still a huge part of my working life. As part of my restoration business, I’m buying and selling dozens of them. And while the Transit has an amazing past, it’s clear that with new electric vehicles alongside diesel and petrol models, it has a wonderful future ahead as well. After 60 years, the Ford Transit has never looked healthier.

Mike Brewer is a TV presenter and journalist