browndog

I picked up my rims today from Steel Surgeon, they turned them around in 4 days, and did a good job.Fronts widened from 5.5" to 7", and rears to 8". Bit of a dummy trial before I get them painted and fit the bags on: Brown dog checking them out : Quite happy with that, they sit just inside the wheelarch. Ordered the tyres today from Top Town, BFG T/A's in 225/60x14 front and 245/60x14 for the rear:)

build thread: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/41654-mk2-ford-transit-van/ discussify here:)

Spent some time yesterday removing the engine & trans. Turns out it was fairly straightforward. After unbolting the exhaust, the gearbox nearly dropped to the ground- the gearbox mount was very much broken! Removed exhaust, driveshaft, rad, intercooler and disconnected a few hoses. Hooked a strop around the engine and plucked it out with a forklift. Turns out both engine mounts were very broken, so didn't even need to disconnect those! Anyway, here it is, fortunately nothing broken apart from the mounts Just sold the remains of the car today, so a nice tidy deal.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the original signwriting - "Jim Rust Panelbeaters and Spraypainters" - hilarious I can imagine the comments back in the day, "here comes Rusty in his rusty truck......" Even that signwriting has some old school coolness about it. What engines do these things run? Blue Flame six?

hahaa, bring your wallet over, I am sure we can sell you plenty for the XB:) The hotwires are so very cool, but might be a tad wide for a sedan. They fit mint on a coupe though. Or how about nice supercharged Thunderbird SC engine? That would be different!

You can pick up a BA engine anywhere from $1500 up, but at that price level there are usualy parts missing, especially turbos which fetch good money on their own. The BFII and TT engines are much better, as they have the uprated rods and valve springs. The FG engines are probably the best, but the stock 270 kw spec. have a smaller turbo than the earlier engines. The F6 310 engine reverted back to the earlier "large" GT3540 turbo. I have just advertised the TT engine on TM for $3500 res. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=683590894

yes:) do you know him?

The guy I sold the first (new) engine to, was fitting it into an XY, and doing a lovely job of it. But your XB will be more valuable left bog standard if it is a low kms grandad car (but not as much fun!)

From what I have read, the blocks and cranks will take almost anything you throw at them, and the heads are very good out of the box and flow very well. Then it is down to the normal things, like cams, springs, manifolds, turbo etc. The 310KW is still a fairly tame tune, running only 0.9 bar of boost (about 13psi) Remembering that Ford still have to give these a 100 000km warranty. It should still be more than enough to scare the crap out of me in an old Transit van:) Here is a cool youtube clip showing a Nizpro engine on the dyno making 1163hp- yeehaa! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2eWHNSaSZU

I agree, I have driven a few, and very underrated! What a shame the end of the line is near for them:( I will probably flick that off. It is a really good engine, only done 63kms vs. 135kms of the F6. The F6 FG has a rear sump, where everything prior had a front sump, including the TT. I will have to fit a front mount sump to the F6 engine to clear the front axle. But shouldn't be a big deal, basically any BA/BF sump should fit.

//oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/41653-brown-dogs-transit-van/ After searching for a couple of years I have finally found the transmission I was after - a ZF 6 speed automatic. I drove down to Rotorua today to pick it up. A , a minor problem being that it still has a car attached to it It also has an engine with a very pretty blue cam cover, I think I like this one better than the black one of the Territory engine

yes of course, happy to help in any way possible. PM me and I will give you my email addy. I think it should have gone better than it did. Possibly retarded ignition timing, or stuck distributor advance weights? The old pre- crossflows did not rev, but had loads of torque. From memory the engine sounded quiet, and was not smoky, so I would check those things out first. Even with an auto, that thing should haul along quite nicely. I would investigate further before contemplating an engine conversion. I don't have those parts (might have an indicator stalk) but should be able to find them without too much problem. cheers conrad

I looked at this van maybe 4 or 5 years ago, near P Nth. Quite bizzarely, it has a fibreglass bullnose grill and bonnet. Somebody must have been making these panels in fg back in the day for people who wanted to do do engine conversions. At least it won't rust! (It took me bloody ages to find the bullnose for mine, and the bonnet took even longer to find. Then shortly after, I found another one of each, typical! ) It seemed a bit gutless when I drove it, probably just needed a tune up I think. The nine inch diff conversion was a nice touch. I have a few spares here and there if you need anything.

yep thats the plan, totally stock looking, but with a "little" bit more power than the 75hp 2.0 V4 put out:)

thanks for the kind comments guys, I have had some weird looks from people when they ask what I am doing with it, but nice to see a bit of support here yep, I like the diesel front and the dually rears too, thats why I looked so long for a a LWB! yep, absolutely correct. Good thing is, the Terri Turbo didn't come out until mid 2006, so all TT's have the uprated "Typhoon" or BFII spec. engine, another reason I sold the BA engine:) Well it has a nine inch diff in there already, so that should handle it:) Forget leavings 11's, bring on the 1111's! Not sure about liveries at the moment. Something period for sure. . Supervan 1 was a SWB, and quite plain. I like the Supervan II livery, but that was a Mk2 (well a 7/8's replica bodyshell on a C100 sportscar chassis) so I won't do that either. I like the livery on the model above, with the blue stripe. Will probably use it as a tow vehicle for the Cologne Capri we are building, so it will have to tie into that somehow.

I just bought a set of mags the other day. These are Cheviot "Turbo" and this is a set of very rare (especially for Transit) 15x8 size. They need a a full refurb, and new tyres, but will tidy up nicely. I am not convinced on the "look" however, so I am having a spare set of my steel rims banded and some wide tyres fitted. Anyhoo, some pics for ya' all:) Conrad discussion://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/41989-brown-dogs-mk2-transit/

Here are some pics and a build thread of a Mk2 Transit I bought earlier this year. It is a 1979 100 with 2.0 ohc.Only 61000kms from new, originally owned by an old couple who had a poultry farm just outside of Dunedin, and used it for hauling eggs once a week from the country into town (as you can see by the cool hand painted graphic on the side!) Interior is near mint, upholstery, door trims, rubber mats etc all very good with no holes etc. Engine is amazing, quietest Pinto I have ever heard, no smoke, knocks or rattles. Unfortunately the old boy I bought it off (second owner) lives by the sea, and the last 7 years has been a bit hard on it. Surface rust over all of the mechanicals, and on the roof. A few small rust holes around the wheelarches. Fortunately underneath is all solid original Ford steel, so no work required there. I have a lot of NOS parts for it, like indicators, lights etc and a side loading door without window. So I will strip the whole thing back to bare metal and repaint, probably back in white again. Might give it a repower too, although the engine is in good nick, the low comp. pinto is no powerhouse! wrought iron radio support bracket is something your grandad would be proud of hand painted chicken and egg graphic - nice! discussion://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/41989-brown-dogs-mk2-transit/

Here is another one of the parts in my latest shipment - power steering! This is a power steering box from a LWB Mk3, and it was only an optional extra on those, so even in the UK they are very rare to find. Which about brings me up to date. I hope this long post didn't give you a headache, I will keep it updated as work is done. Should be a bit of humour when it is finished Conrad

Some of my Ebay purchases next. had a large shipping crate turn up yesterday from England, mostly full of NOS Transit parts that I had been collecting over the last year or two, and sending to a friend of mine in Birmingham, who stored them for me and crated them all up. It was like an early christmas Anyway, I will post some pics of the parts over the next few weeks. First up is the brakes. In the shipment was my long awaited for "Black Diamond" grooved brake discs. Now to be honest I am not sure if these things are just a bunch of marketing hype, and a nice pretty black coating with some grooves in them, at twice the price of a normal set of brake discs, or if they really are a super duper product as claimed. A few magazine reviews would seem to suggest they are the dogs bollox, so I am sure I will find out! One of the discs with a front hub sitting on it: Next up are the brake calipers. These are 4 pot AP calipers from an LDV Convoy. Conveniently enough, they have the same bolt mounting pattern and offset, so they bolt straight on to the Transit stub without modification. I have bead blasted them, had them gold passivated, and have new stainless pistons and seal kits to go in. But the really cool thing about these is they are larger than the Transit calipers, but still fit inside the stock wheel rim (just!) They have 46mm pistons (compared to 40mm on the Transit) and a brake pad that is about 30% larger. I ordered a set of Mintex M1166 race compound pads, which have an operation range up to 750°C, so it will be interesting to see how they cope LDV pad on the left, Transit pad on the right: [url=http://s56.photobucket.com/user/conrod1/media/164-6410_IMG.jpg.html]

Some of the NOS parts I have been collecting. I also have a new diesel grill panel now, rear valance, cab sills (just in case!) diesel front bumper, rear bumpers and rear wheelarch flares. I still need a diesel bonnet, diesel front valance, and the front bumper infill panels, if anyone knows of any new or mint used parts please let me know. I can arrange collection from just about anywhere if required in the UK. Originally I bought this engine, a brand new never-been-run BA Falcon "Barra" Turbo six. This engine produces 320hp and 330 lb.ft in stock form, with a measly 6psi of boost (plenty of scope for more ) I then found a similar engine from a Ford Territory, slightly more power (330hp) but it was a better package I felt, as the top mount intercooler would work better in the Transit, and it was a complete package, with all wiring, ECU, electronic throttle, alternator, starter etc. So I sold the original Turbo engine. The plan is to paint strip the entire bodyshell, and start with a nice bare metal shell to commence the build. I want it to look basically stock from the exterior, I will fill in the side windows, fit the diesel front, and it will run the original 14" wheels with dually rears. Fitted the 6 stud front axle back in, and the correct wheels back on. Diesel front just sitting on there at the moment, there is a bit of work to do on that lower panel. Have been bought a lot of NOS parts and panels off Ebay lately, and they arrived recently. Popped all of the side windows out, they will be panelled over, as I like the look of the panel vans. Cut both front guards off and there was the usual rot around the headlight area. Underneath not so bad, some rust on the bracket that I assume the side loading door stopper attaches to, and a hole down the bottom at the front end of the sill. The engine bay is fairly clean Made a "prototype" of the dash panel, there are some nice gauges available from the US that you can "customise" online - they then make them to your specs. Finally took the engine to the lockup, and sat it in front of the van so that the two could get aquainted slowly This shows the front crossmember cut off, it will be getting the diesel "bullnose" front, but I may make this removable, to make engine installation/removal easier. Did a trial fit of the engine, and reasonable happy with it. Its a big old lump though! Looks like I will be better off to put a front mount intercooler in there, the top mount intercooler is a long way belong the bonnet and would require a large duct, and they are not that efficient anyway as the engine tends to radiate heat upwards through it. The sump pan is the right shape to clear the front axle and steering drag link. Obviously quite a bit of work to do as far as fabbing up an engine cover goes. Also will need to make engine mounts, and a front crossmember for the rad and intercooler to sit on. I will make this and the front valance removable, I don't think I could get the engine in otherwise! Rad and intercooler pipework will all have to be custom, as the original pipework simply does not fit. I still have to find a transmission too.

I managed to find a 9" diff, already converted with Transit axle tubes and brakes: and bolted into place: Originally it had been panelled over in the rear with a moulded fibreglass panel, I think someone was going to convert to a campervan? Ten minutes with a skilsaw dealt to that, fortunately all of the door shuts had been left intact. So I found a pair of rear doors, and they bolted straight in:

Discussion Thread - //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/41653-brown-dogs-transit-van/ Okay people, at the request of literally thousands two people I will start a build thread for a project I started a few years ago. This first post is mostly a "cut-n-paste" job from a build thread I have done on a pommy Transit forum (yes they have those, there is actually TWO!) so grab a coffee, as its a a bit long to kick off. Things will appear to happen more slowly after this as it is only something I work on in my spare time, which seems fairly scarce these days. I have always like the old Transit vans, and searched for many years to find a Mk1 LWB that wasn't full of rot, much harder than you might expect! Plenty of SWB vans by comparison, but I always liked the look of the LWB, with its big flared rear arches, plus it has a lot more room, making it much more practical for hauling stuff. I found this "gem" in Wanganui, the guy was advertising the mag wheels on trademe, and I asked if the van was for sale. He said it was, and it had no rust (yeah right!) Anyway, after a long trip from Auckland to Wanganui to check it out, a deal was made, and I returned a few weeks later with a trailer to pick it up. I took it to my mums place in Te Puke, as I did not have space for it at the time, and spent the next couple of years collecting parts for it. About 6 months ago I secured a good workshop in Kumeu, so brought the van up, and have begun work on it. The van itself is a 1975 LWB, originally a 2.0L V4. The previous owner had begun to fit a Falcon 4.0 SOHC six cylinder into it. He had chopped a big hole in the floor, sat the engine in the hole, and that was about it The body is fairly sound, there is some rust around the headlights, a few small bits on the gutter on each side, and a little in the lower front corners, and not really a whole lot more I think. Underneath had been heavily undersealed since new, the underside is rust free as far as I can tell Anyway, time for some pics. Trailering it home:

It will be under a panel or box, bit hard to say what the "floor" is in those cars as they are pretty much a spaceframe. I would not put it inside the cabin, even if it is in a box. But slung under the car where the back seat is, if you have room would be good. Problem is most plastic fuel tanks (like Jaz) are too tall to do this. Most race cars with mid mounted fuel tanks use bladder cells.

The replacement for the Australian V8SC will feature a fuel tank in front of the rear axle, for many of the reasons you have stated. As mentioned, you will have to enclose it in a box. It is generally agreed to be safer in this position than in the rear of the car. In the event of an accident to the rear of the car, a rear mounted fuel tank is very likely to rupture, where a mid mounted one is not. Due to the design of rollcages the "mid mounted" fuel tank is contained within the "non crumple zone" part of the cage, so although you are sitting a bit closer to all of that fuel chances are it is protected much better. And just because a fuel tank is in the back, does not mean the fire won't come into the cockpit to say hello! It is more difficult to fit a tank in the middle of the car, but as well as the safety benefits, there are benefits to the handling of the car, as you have already alluded to. I say go for it!

HIF44's also found on Rover V8's, and plenty of those about. Janspeed used to do a blow through version with twin turbos for the RV8, using these carbs, so definitely do-able.