It has been years since the SAVA J4, a van with a simple design that managed to dominate much of the small-scale urban goods transport market. It was manufactured in Spain in Valladolid by Sociedad Anónima de Vehículos Automóviles between 1965 and 1989, under licence from the British Morris Motor Company. It was derived from the Morris Commercial J4 model, which was also initially sold as the Austin J4 and Morris J4, and later as the BMC J4 in the United Kingdom. Following ENASA’s acquisition of SAVA, it was sold under the name Pegaso SAVA J4 and, by the 1980s, simply as the Pegaso J4.
It was available in different body styles to cater for a wider market; these were: a fully enclosed body, a fully glazed body for 9 passengers, and a combination body for 9 passengers.
There were three series of this vehicle:
The first series manufactured by SAVA, which was identical to the British model but with the steering wheel on the left; its trade name was the SAVA Austin J-4. Interestingly, the gear layout was reversed (British style) and the driver’s door was a sliding door. It was also available with conventional doors.
In the second series, in 1974, the bodywork of the J4 was redesigned and it was named the SAVA J4, 5730, a black front grille was added, featuring square headlights integrated into the grille and the Pegaso logo; later on, the rear lights were replaced with rectangular ones. A new 1800 engine was introduced in 1977, and the model was renamed the SAVA J4 1000, fitted with a 1800 diesel engine, whilst the SAVA J4 700 was fitted with a 1500 diesel engine; the designation «700» or «1000» refers to the net payload the models could carry: 700 kg or 1000 kg.
Third series 978 and early 1979: the bodywork and exterior appearance were modernised, with the introduction of new rear doors featuring larger windows; the windscreen wipers were moved from the top of the windscreen to the bottom, the instrument panel was updated, and a solenoid-operated key-activated engine cut-off was introduced, as, until then, the engine had been switched off by pulling a cable that cut off the fuel supply to the injection pump; front disc brakes were subsequently fitted.
The J4-700 model was renamed the ”J4-800” and the “J4-1000” was renamed the J4-1100. The change in designation is due to the increase in the maximum permissible technical weights, although the maximum authorised weights remained unchanged.
Remember that at Vallor Trucks you’ll find the lorry you’re looking for; we have a wide range in stock:
