Amethyst on MK7 Transit

by harry h Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:51 am

Does anyone know how many Amethysts were built on the Ford MK7 Transit? Will be on the short list when we come to replace ours, but have only seen 2 in the last 2years. Have seen plenty of other Autosleeper models on the MK7 chassis.
Harry.

by Peter Brown Sat Apr 09, 2016 12:11 pm

I've only seen a couple of that era, I don't think many were made.

I can only find one for sale http://www.findacaravan.co.uk/motorhome-details/autosleeper-amethyst--19658 - no idea if this is on a reliable website?

by gemdeco Sat Apr 09, 2016 12:39 pm

Hi
I saw one last year on Ebay for sale but that is the only one I have ever seen,I do not think Peter's site is any good ,That Amethyst has been on it for ages
Good Luck
Alan
PS I really like the "Proper" wood finish in those vans

by harry h Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:22 am

OK thanks they do seem rare. The site is MDG motorhomes in Poole Dorset but the Amethyst is not on the used stock list.
PS The interior wood finish on our Amethyst is still solid.

by **roli** Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:00 pm

There was a Marquis version I think it was called a Gem, nice colour scheme too.

by Dave 418 Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:14 pm

Not sure but I think the Rienza like ours ran on to the Mk7. Ours is nicely finished maybe a bit bigger than the Amethyst. The rear lounge was what sold it for us. Each to there own choice but we were looking for a Gatcombe. rolleyes

by CC Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:42 pm

roli wrote:There was a Marquis version I think it was called a Gem, nice colour scheme too.

Posted a pic of this one on the forum sometime ago Roger, they are a lovely van for sure smile!

Saw one at the Newark Spring show in the camping ground last weekend, they are fairly scarce though.

CC

by gemdeco Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:25 am

Hi
Looking at the MK6 Transit I think it is a better looking MH,I do not know what the mechanical differences are between the MK6 and the MK7 though,go luck with your search have van will travel
Alan

by steamdrivenandy Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:47 am

The main thing that changed was the front with the new look, which I'm still not happy with after 9 years. The Mk6 front looked much nicer to my eyes. The Mk7 cab interior was a great improvement however. Under the hood the standard FWD engines became 2.2 litre instead of the 2.0 litre's in the Mk6, but A/S continued using the 2.4 litre RWD power train.

On the standard panel van the only difference at the rear is that the indicator lenses in the light cluster became clear plastic with an orange bulb, whereas the Mk6 had orange plastic lenses. Useful info for the Transit anorak when following one in traffic wave

by harry h Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:03 am

That's a nice looking van. I will keep my eye open, must be rare, no one on forum seems to own one either.

by **roli** Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:08 am

Cant remember the handle but someone either on here or was on here had a Gem with a Mk7 under it I met them at a show.
You are right Harry h it is a nice looking van either as a Mk6 or 7

by harry h Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:20 am

He may want to sell it one day. I would think that the parts availability should be ok even considering the lack of numbers that seem to have been made.

by Dave 418 Tue Apr 12, 2016 2:03 pm

We hired a Mk7 in New Zealand last year and it didn't seem much different to our Mk6 to drive. I think it was a cosmetic update by Ford to keep up with the sales tactics. The only silly thing that was better was the gear change being moved up to the dash. Having long legs and big feet I do get a bit tied up trying to get past the gear lever to move into the back of ours.
When looking for a van, as we were, we couldn't find what we wanted but by chance spotted a Rienza. It looked too big but looking closer it started to grow on us very rapidly. On checking the advertisers there were newer Rienzas about for less money than Gatcomes .
A big seller for us apart from the rear lounge was the habitation door being in the middle. Kitchen one side lounge the other. Also we found the bed in the Rienza very easy to make and very comfortable for my 6ft frame. Beds across a van have there limits, you cant hang feet over the end and cold walls on feet are not nice.
There are Mk6 coach builds out there, if you want Ford widen youre search you may be surprised. I think the Hampshire was one of the last Mk6, dealer special I think. They have electric operated beds. rolleyes

by m8form8 Wed Apr 13, 2016 3:01 am

Saw Amethyst on a Mk7 for sale in Dereham a year or so ago. But compaired with our Mk3 it did not have such good woodwork in it,they seemed to change the layout slightly and it had a very boxy TV cabinet that frankly looked awful with sliding doors. No bulkhead seating meant it would only have 2 seat belt positions in front,unlike ours with 6. Just concluded they dont build them like they used to. Still miss our old Amethyst was a better ride than our brand new fiat ducato. if they had done a fixed bed version in the 90s id still rather have the old ford base.their only draw back being rust.

by harry h Wed Apr 13, 2016 1:18 pm

I have seen quite a few MK 7 Transit A/S but mostly coachbuilts. I think the Windsor has the same layout and similar dimensions as the Amethyst but two I saw had Eberspacher heating. I agree the Ford has a very good ride and are quite reliable. I wonder if Autosleepers lost many sales by choosing not to build on Ford chassis. Hymer and many other foreign builders did at the time and still do, so it could not have been lack of availability of the Ford chassis.

by steamdrivenandy Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:19 pm

I know there were supply probs on the Mk7 when Ford switched to Turkish production and maybe A/S got cheesed off with the hassle. Also Ford abandoned their automatic gearbox well before the Mk 6 ended and never did fit one to the Mk7. I believe the Mk 8 is finally getting auto this year. This probably accounts for the switch between Ford and Merc. Having no auto box isn't really an issue with core Transit type van users but is requirement fairly high on the list for a motorhome/camper builder.

by **roli** Wed Apr 13, 2016 3:58 pm

AS did loose business by stopping using the Transit, they stopped for "commercial reasons" I think they had to source through Ford dealers as Bristol Street Motors certainly supplied AS with our chassis and maybe they had to pay for them on delivery where as Puegeot UK will supply direct and offer terms

by harry h Thu Apr 14, 2016 5:43 am

I thought Transits were still being built at Southampton in 2009 2010 and through to 2014. I understand the lack of automatic and also having to go to Bristol Street Motors for chassis is not ideal but it left another option to build with tooling already in place. I think A/S are dropping VW now as a chassis supplier.

by steamdrivenandy Thu Apr 14, 2016 5:54 am

According to Wiki Transit production at Soton was reduced by half in 2002 when the Turkish factory went on-line.

In 2012 production of SWB/MWB/Tourneo versions transferred to Turkey completely and Soton produced chassis cab versions only.

In July 2013 Soton production ceased completely.

by Campievanner Sun Apr 24, 2016 5:21 am

I could bore the pants of the whole forum with some Transit facts if you want..

Anyway here is the last UK built Transit, that we signed at the factory. It was a base spec swb.

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