VAUXHALL BEDFORD SUZUKI JOINT VENTURE
Bedford was the
commercial vehicle side to the Vauxhall car operation and began
making trucks in 1931, basically to a Chevrolet design from the
late 1920’s. The operation was very successful and grew and grew
until by the early 1980s the range went from the HA, Chevanne and
CF vans to the export only TJ, the TK, new TL and heavy duty TM as
well as the M Type all-wheel drive military trucks and coach
chassis. In 1983 Bedford was split from Vauxhall Motors Ltd and was
amalgamated into the General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle
Corporation and reported to the GM Truck & Bus Group in the US.
The Midi was launched at the Motor Show in October 1984 to be
built and sold alongside the CF2. In 1985 the truck and LCV van
production units were separated and all medium van production was
centred at a separate plant next to the main Vauxhall plant in
Luton.
THE FIVE
DIFFERENT BRANDS THE RASCAL WAS SOLD UNDER IN DIFFERENT
MARKETS
Unfortunately, because of a lack of significant product investment over the years, sales of Bedford truck built at Dunstable were sliding fast and after a lot of negotiations a merger was almost agreed with the also flagging Leyland trucks that would have saved both companies, unfortunately the Thatcher government got involved and screwed it all up, just like everything else it got involved with. Having totally pissed off GM the inevitable result was the announcement that the Dunstable plant would cease production of Bedford trucks in July 1986. The plant, and truck operation, was eventually sold to AWD early in 1987 (which then went on to go bust in 1992). The Luton van plant continued with production of the CF2 and Midi but with CF2 sales declining an additional product was added through a joint venture with Suzuki which GM had a small stake in at the time, the result was the Suzuki Carry micro van began production in April 1986 along with the almost identical Bedford version which was called Rascal (just who was it thought of that name?)
THE IBC LOGO USED FOR THE NEW
PRODUCTION COMPANY
AT
LUTON
The van plant was still losing money and the CF2 was about to finish production, the loss of which would undoubtedly add to the losses. A new way forward was needed and it came in the form of a radical joint venture with Isuzu and a new separate company was formed in 1987 called IBC Vehicles (Isuzu Bedford Company). At the time Isuzu were seeking a production base in Europe and General Motors were looking for a commercial vehicle presence in Europe not solely in the UK. The deal meant radical changes in working practices and was nearly voted down by the unions but it scraped through and the deal was signed by Jack Smith of General Motors and Mizusawa-San in October 1987.
The micro-van market was
one of the few growth sectors in commercial vehicles both in the UK
and in Europe and the new Bedford Rascal was the first to be
offered by a British manufacturer and got off to a successful
start, Suzuki sales of the Super Carry also increased but in the UK
the Rascal outsold it by a large margin, in Europe the reverse was
true where the Rascal was sold as a Bedford or a GME Rascal
(General Motors Europe) depending on the market. Sold from 1986 to
1993, the Rascal / Supercarry was a small and economical van and
pick up, intended for many purposes. The vehicle's strengths were
its diminutive size, lively 1.0 engine and maximum payload weight;
550 kg for the van and 575 kg for the
pickup.
SIGNING THE DEAL TO LAUNCH IBC - JACK SMITH (GM) AND MIZUSAWA-SAN (ISUZU) - IN OCTOBER 1987 AT LUTON
The principal visible difference between Bedford and Suzuki versions is the front trim: the Super Carry has two separate plastic headlamp surrounds and the Rascal has a single full width one with "Bedford" moulded in the middle. In 1990 the Bedford name was dropped and the Rascal became a Vauxhall with a plain grille with Vauxhall stickers above and below.
LEFT: THE 970cc SUZUKI 4 CYLINDER SOHC F10A ENGINE WAS THE ONLY ENGINE OPTION AND FITTED TO ALL VERSIONS OF THE RASCAL, IT WAS MID MOUNTED AND CANTED OVER TO THE LEFT. ABOVE: A DETAILED CUTAWAY PICTURE OF THE ENGINE
All vehicles were fitted with a 4 cylinder water cooled 970cc Suzuki F10A SOHC engine mounted longitudinally and inclined to the left, with the transmission mounted at the rear of the engine. All models were rear wheel drive, and have either a four or five speed manual transmission. Throughout the range, the suspension layout was coil-over-damper struts at the front, and leaf springs with dampers at the rear. In addition, van derivatives were fitted with a front anti-roll bar. On all models braking was servo assisted, utilising drums at the rear and discs at the front.
THE UNDERSIDE OF THE RASCAL SHOWING THE ENGINE AND GEARBOX LOCATION AND SUSPENSION COMPONENTS
The Rascal / Carry has been marketed under several different badges around the world: Bedford Rascal (UK &some of Europe), GME Rascal (Germany, France, Belgium), Daewoo Damas (Worldwide), Chevrolet Super Carry (Colombia and Venezuela), Chevrolet CMV/CMP (Central America), Holden Scurry (Australia), Maruti Omni, Maruti Versa (India) Ford Pronto, Mazda Scrum, and Mitsubishi Colt T120SS (Japan). Although production ceased in the UK in 1993 to make room for increased Vauxhall Frontera production it carried on in production in Japan until 1999. As an aside in 1998 GM purchased the Isuzu share of the IBC partnership and renamed the plant to GMM Luton (General Motors Manufacturing)
THE IBC VEHICLES LTD PLANT AT LUTON IN 1996
ACCESS FOR ROUTINE MAINTENENCE WAS GAINED BY REMOVING THE ENGINE COVER INSIDE THE CAB
THE RASCAL INTERIOR WAS QUITE WELL EQUIPPED & FINISHED, JUST VERY SMALL!!
ABOVE
LEFT: EVEN THE GLOVE BOX WAS SMALL, ABOVE RIGHT: THE OPTIONAL CARGO
LINER, ABOVE: THE DASHBOARD WAS FAIRLY
BASIC
SOME OF THE OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT THAT
COULD BE ORDERED FOR THE RASCAL
A SELECTION OF THE BADGING THAT
WERE USED ON LUTON BUILT RASCALS, THE MOVER WAS A LIMITED EDITION
VERSION LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER 1989 & AGAIN 6 MONTHS
LATER
THE HOLDEN
SCURRY WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE UK
RASCAL
THE CHANGAN WAS BUILT IN
CHINA
THE DAEWOO DAMAS WAS BUILT IN
S.KOREA AND EXPORTED ALMOST
EVERYWHERE
THE FORD PRONTO WAS SOLD IN
TAIWAN
THE MARUTI OMNI WAS BUILT IN INDIA
BY SUZUKI
THE CHEVROLET SUPER CARRY WAS SOLD
IN COLUMBIA & VENEZUELA
FOR THE
UK AND MOST OF EUROPE THE SUZUKI SUPER CARRY WAS BUILT BY IBC AT
LUTON
THE LIFAN WAS ANOTHER VARIATION
BUILT IN CHINA
SUZUKI BUILT THE SCRUM
FOR MAZDA IN JAPAN
THE CHEVROLET CMS WAS SOLD IN
CENTRAL AMERICA AND TUNISIA
SUZUKI BUILT THE MITSUBISHI COLT
120SS FOR THE JAPANESE MARKET
SPECIFICATIONS:
Production: April 1986 to July 1993
Factory: Vauxhall Bedford Luton van plant >October 1987 / IBC Vehicles
Luton October 1987 >
Model ID Model Description
Bedford Rascal Van 970cc
Bedford Rascal Pick-Up 970cc
Vauxhall Rascal Van 970cc - 1990 onwards
Vauxhall Rascal Pick-Up 970cc - 1990 onwards
Engine ID:
Suzuki F10A 970cc
Power & Torque:
45.0bhp (net) @ 5300rpm 55.3lb-ft @
3200rpm
(Comp Ratio = 8.8:1) manual choke
Transmission: 4 speed floor change = no cost option
5 speed floor change = standard fitment
Clutch = 7.10 dia Final drive ratio = 5.13:1
Suspension: Front = Independent MacPherson struts with coil springs &
Rear = Semi-elliptic 4 leaf alloy steel springs with
double
acting shock absorbers
Anti roll bars front
Brakes: Front = 8.5ins dia discs
Rear = 8.7ins dia drums
Dual circuit with servo assistance, load sensing proportioning
valve
Fuel tank capacity: 8.10 gallons
Exterior
Dimensions:Length
= 129.70ins
Width:
= 54.90ins
Height: =
70.10ins
Wheelbase = 72.40ins
Turning circle: 30.20ft Steering = Rack & pinion
Wheels / Tyres: 4B X 12 155SR x 12 reinforced radial tyres
Curb Weight: 798kgs Mover
755kgs Van
745kgs Pick-Up