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browndog

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  1. yep Zephyr/Zodiac CWP is what you need. 3.5 seems to work well with a Pinto. Lots of complete diff swap options available, but if you want to keep it simple then the CWP swap works best. Side gears are different on the Transit, so you need to build the Transit diff head with the CWP from the Zephyr.
  2. grey/red/brown wires are for "cigar" lighter, small light goes into heater control, plugs in RH end IIRC?
  3. Nice reading, looks like an interesting conversion! If I may offer a couple of observations, (and I really hope not to offend here) ........ 140 amp alternator will take a lot of hp at full load. A single V belt may struggle, you might find it will eat belts, or slip unless it is very tight. Or both. The engine mount cradle might give problems. Engine mounts welded to the middle of that rectangle box section are imparting quite a big bending load right in the middle. I think they will bend/sag downwards once you hit a few bumps and potholes in our fine NZ roads, of which there are many. Maybe some triangulation will help. I probably would have made a cradle bolted through chassis rails, downwards to pickup engine mounts, then underneath engine, in a U shape. Will be infinitely cooler than it was, keep up the good work!
  4. Been driving it around a little bit, and "new" rear brakes are a big improvement, you can hit the brake pedal very hard now and it won't lock the rears, and consequently stops much better, as there is more pressure to the fronts due to the fact you are on the pedal much harder So I have started on the fronts now. I measured and drew up the front caliper bracket as best as I could, then broke it down into "layers" so that I could get it laser cut from mild steel, and then bolt it together - it is my cheap way of prototyping before I get my machinist to carve up an expensive billet of aluminium Trial fit tonight, and it is fairly close, but needs some tweaking. So have just redrawn it, and will get it laser cut again for trial fit #2. Browndog's 1972 V8 Transit - Page 4 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz
  5. Just completed the rears today, no more locking rear wheels - yay! Needed this sorted before OS drags in December, wouldn't be fun locking up the rears at the end of the 1/4 mile!............ Previous Lincoln brakes, massive, bigger than the fronts! new billet aluminium bracket/bearing retainer: and "new" Pickapart Mondeo caliper and disc fitted:
  6. About to start on the front brake conversion on my Mk1. Currently has Falcon XA-XF brake discs (DBA slotted) fitted with early Falcon/HQ PBR calipers. Going to fit AU3 PBR calipers in place. AU3 caliper sat on back of discs to give an idea of size, it is massive compared to the early Falcon caliper! And thanks to being aluminium, instead of cast steel, it is about 1kg lighter than the early caliper. Fits inside 15" alloy wheel easily, and appears to be correct diameter for the disc. Brackets will be tricky, but I think I know how I will do them. I will update this thread as I go. Should be a good upgrade.
  7. I picked up the van today, all fabrication/panel work now complete! I got him to cut and add a filler piece to the crossmember above the gearbox so that I could fit the T5 gearbox in, which is much taller. I also go him to weld in the mounting plate for the Mk3 power steering box. I also bought a turbo and exhaust manifold off an FG Falcon, and am thinking about building a turbo 4.1 at a later date. Super happy with the work so far, just need to try and find some time to work on it myself now! Browndog's 1978 Ford Transit Sundowner #3 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz
  8. Progress has been a bit slow on this lately, with lockdowns etc. But I went to have a look last week, and we are getting close now. Really pleased with the quality of the work, it has not been a cheap exercise, but at least I will not be having to do it again the future! Still need to finish welding in the rear valance, repair some rust in the front spring hangers, rear seams of the front fenders, fit the mounting plate for the Mk3 power steering box, and notch one of the crossmembers to fit the 5 speed box, and that will complete this phase of the project.:)
  9. Pickapart reopened yesterday in Auckland, and there was a mad rush for all of the good stuff! I have never seen it so busy, queueing to get in, car park full, big queue getting out. Bloody hot day too, I think I suffered a bit of sunstroke in my mad rush to grab the good shit! (this was only a small part of my parts haul below BTW, lots of parts for my race car were had too!) Anyway, the point of this trip was to get some better brakes for the Mk1. They have always been a bit scary - anything more than moderate pedal pressure will lock up the rears, not ideal! After some measuring, I discovered that the rear pistons on the Lincoln calipers were 65mm, whereas the fronts on the old Falcon XA calipers were only 61mm. The brake discs are similar size front to rear. So it actually has more braking on the rear than the front, which explains its tendency to lock the rears, not ideal for any car, especially a van with a relatively light rear end ! So, the solution I reckon will work is Mk4 Mondeo rear calipers with integral handbrake, discs and cables for the back end, and AU3 Falcon 2 pot front calipers, which will fit nicely on my existing slotted DBA rotors. I will rebuilt and paint them, and need to make some suitable mounting brackets, but hopefully that should sort the brake issues! All for around $250 https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/
  10. Photoshoot on Tuesday at the Whitford Wharf for NZ Classic Car magazine. These are a couple of my crappy iphone pics, no doubt theirs will be much nicer, but you get the idea https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/
  11. I have been trying to sort the ride out a bit lately on the Mk1. I replaced the rear multi leaf springs which were really stiff (5 or 6 leaves? ) with a pair of 2 leaf springs I nicked out of one of my Sundowners. This lowered the rear 40mm, and softened the ride up at the same time. At the front, I replaced the multi leaf springs which again were really stiff, with a pair of single leafs out of Mk2. This lowered the front about 20mm. The rear already had an ARB fitted, so I fitted an ARB to the front axle to give some balance to the front/rear roll stiffness. I had to fit the front ARB virtually inside the front axle beam, to clear the sump pan, but it all seems to works well. It drives and rides much better now, and grip has improved somewhat. Okay I probably won't be able to load 600 kgs of cement bags in the back now, but its working days are long over! A few pics of the front end: I also got rid of the hydraulic throttle, which was always getting air bubbles in it, and limiting throttle opening. Being bottom hinged made it feel quite awful to drive, a bit like an old VW or Porsche with bottom hinged pedals. I replaced it with a Lokar pedal, and fitted a matching pedal pad to the brake pedal. Browndog's 1972 V8 Transit - Page 3 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz
  12. A small update. Left rear wheelarch repair panel welded in, and lower rear inner panel repaired and welded back in. There is a small triangle panel which I was waiting for which is the lower inner arch, now the this has arrived my guy can weld it in, as well as the lower outer rear quarters, as well as the rear valance. Super happy with the quality of the job so far, it is really nice when you find someone who does this level of work
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