Bongo Fury

Last Friday I at last got a chance to drop by and look over the setup at BongoSpares facility at Sowerby Bridge. I needed a replacement electric offside folding mirror as mine had gone wonky (as they do – I’m now on my 3rd one in 12 years) and they kindly plucked a pair off a breaker for me (I might as well get a nearside one for when that also fails ha ha). As I was returning home from flying gliders in Yorkshire it made sense to drop off en route and pick them up. And wow, what a setup they have.

Longstanding readers (Ben - where are you ) may remember how I used to go on c2006 about how the Bongo was a legend in the making: I felt that it was due this accolade and liked to play my part in promoting the idea. Well, all these years later, the arrival of a business like Bongospares is testament to that I think. And they tell me they have recently moved to larger premises to cope with demand, that they are busier than ever and that people are beginning (in numbers) to consider that an old Bongo is something worth sinking a sum of money into to get it welded up and working right. Their facility at Sowerby Bridge is both extensive and comprehensive. Rack upon rack of spare parts of all sorts taken from breaking Bongos (an irony that many of them being neglected and becoming uneconomical to repair is what improves the prospect of keeping the cherished ones going). They have a genuine enthusiasm for Bongos and drive them as their own mounts. The good thing is that as well as being able to undertake all sorts of work on Bongos themselves, and as well as refurbishing and selling Bongos (and now even running a Bongo hire service), they can supply other Bongo garages (maybe more local to a Bongo owner) with parts for work needing doing. And we still have people like Ian Taylor in Stoke on Trent, Wheelquick in Wigan, Adrian at Japandirect in Bury, Discount Trucks in Newbury, Allans in Plymouth, and several good specialist Bongo dealers and independent mechanics (and others who I may have overlooked to mention but please give them a shout on here if so) focused on Bongo maintenance. So I think that, overall, the future looks as good for Bongos as we can expect in an uncertain world.

Long live Bongospares, and all the other Bongo specialists also.

https://www.bongospares.co.uk/

Sounds great Bill.

We've been away Bongoing for a week near the West Somerset Railway so not on here much.

The site was fantastic and only a tenner a night, owner agreeable to us having a Meet there so watch this space.

They are good lads (and lasses) indeed. But being a parochial northener, can I point out that they are located in Rishworth, about four miles from the vast metropolis of Sowerby Bridge. You did well to land a glider in their yard, though...

Mark Wilson wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:23 am They are good lads (and lasses) indeed. But being a parochial northener, can I point out that they are located in Rishworth, about four miles from the vast metropolis of Sowerby Bridge. You did well to land a glider in their yard, though...

Ha ha yes. I gave their address as Sowerby Bridge as i felt that non parochials were more likely to be able to get a rough fix on location from that rather than by referring to location as Rishworth, fine place though it is (I love the name also ). Mind you, at 5000ft in a glider even Sowerby Bridge might be hard to identify - happily I was au Bongo avec Satnav (which doesnt care what place its going to as long as it has a postcode)

Forgot to mention in my original post that there is an excellent sandwich bar with car pull-in at the top of the access road to Bongospares, and an excellent car park by the reservoir up the road where you can pull in to eat said sandwiches whilst gazing at all the traffic pushing and shoving on the distant M62 that you will shortly be rejoining

While they were servicing mine I walked the four miles to Sowerby Bridge and had an excellent bacon butty in the market cafe, then caught the bus back. And they think we don't know how to live it up in the north...

Mark Wilson wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 11:21 am While they were servicing mine I walked the four miles to Sowerby Bridge and had an excellent bacon butty in the market cafe, then caught the bus back. And they think we don't know how to live it up in the north...

True that. And I speak as a southerner, now native to these parts

I'm all bacon buttied out after a few days at Yorkshire Gliding Club, where my usual lunch is one of their bacon and egg barmcakes with the best fresh farm eggs you can get

P.S. have amended topic title to read 'nr. Sowerby Bridge' - seemed a sensible compromise though it seems i cant change the main title

Bob wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 9:42 pm Sounds great Bill.

We've been away Bongoing for a week near the West Somerset Railway so not on here much.

The site was fantastic and only a tenner a night, owner agreeable to us having a Meet there so watch this space.

Sounds promising Ben - will await developments

Nice to hear of Bongo parts places doing well and that you have a positive view of future Bongo ownership. You can get a bit of an impression with the "Bongo gone, sold up" and "My Bongo has turned into a pile of rusty dust cause I have done zero maintenance on it." posts that they could becoming a bit of a less interesting vehicle to own.

We still love ours dearly and they really are so comfortable to drive, small yet perfectly formed. Now my squeally brakes are sorted it
pulls up silky smooth and silent ! It it also so much more economical round town and on long journeys compared to the old 2 litre petrol
we owned.

The top tip is to try and get a good un' at the outset. Drive them gentle and with respect and they seem to endure pretty well.

Mine is in "dry dock" at the moment having the clunk repaired! Must have it right for another long trip.my bongo. In the time I have owned my bongo I have driven 280000 kilometres. It has over that time needed a reconditioned engine and two cylinder heads. It has also had two radiators. In the time of my ownership I have a "depreciation fund" into which goes a sum of money equivalent to the depreciation an ordinary car would have lost and I am still well into profit. No other vehicle I have owned has given so much for so little!

Yes I have had used parts from the companies mentioned. A tow bar from Wigan, a back axle from Sowerby Bridge, bits from Plymouth. And elsewhere.
Is my bongo going to become a classic. I would like to think so but that ain't why I am keeping it. Having bought it I simply could not imagine life without it.

I have a suspicion that the really early Bongos were made with Japanese steel whereas the ones built after say 1999 were made with inferior steel from China and therefore succumb to rust much more readily. It has needed some welding over the years but nothing like some of the horrendous photos seen on here. I suppose the earlier ones like mine might well acquire classic status that wee bit sooner than the later ones.
Yours ian G

"Having bought it I simply could not imagine life without it". Yup I know that feeling. Its a very practical classic

Back home! No more clunk! Front propshaft securing bolts were the issue. Drilled out rethreaded and all is now O K with the world and my Bongo.
Ian G

Sound.

Bob wrote: Fri May 31, 2019 7:17 pmSound.

No Ben, sound gone. Errrr sorry, have I missed something

Dohh...

They are great aren't they!

And situated just off the half way point of my trans-pennine (M62) commute, so a nice detour at Saddleworth if there is a log-jam ahead on the way back home. In fact an attractive alternative to a Motorway service station rest stop.

kbg