browndog

yes correct. I prefer the blue colour, no other reason.

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Hmmm, I think you might have a point there!...................

obsession, illness, or " fuck me, what a great collection!" Discuss here

So fast forward to early February, and discounting the various other hiccups in between, the mighty van was finally delivered to my place! Turns out it was an ex plumbers van, and even came with all of his old stuff still in it. I googled his name, and found he had died in July 1979, aged 81. The van had probably been sold by an executor of his estate or similar. So it had been used as a work van, and was fairly beaten up in the back. But as with most Aussie vehicles I have bought, rust was fairly minimal for something of this age. First job was to remove all of the shelving and other crap with had been Tek screwed/rivetted/welded in!

I am well into this project, and just realised I hadn't started a thread for it! So I will begin with the back story............. Way back in November 2019, before the world knew what Covid was, I was trawling through an Australian damaged vehicle auction site, and stumbled across what I think is one of the holy grails as far as Ford Transit vans go! It was an early 1978 build Sundowner in Midnight Blue, with blue stripes. I have not seen that colour on a Transit before, or since. Same with the blue stripes, only one I have ever seen. To add to the difficulty, the van was in Tasmania, didn't start or run, and had no keys! Still, I like a challenge so........ come auction day, I bid until I owned it. It wasn't expensive, but I knew that was only the beginning of the spending! I managed to get a transport company to collect it and deliver it to an auto sparky. They struggled to get keys cut, so I removed an ignition barrel and switch from one of my vans and sent it over to them. The fuel tank was squashed, probably from being forklifted around, and was half full of water anyway! So a plastic fuel container was jury-rigged in the engine bay to supply fuel, and after a new battery was fitted, it started and drove, just! I needed it running so that I could get it sent here on a RORO ferry, otherwise I was in for a whole world of pain!.......

can I ask why you want to see that?

you can now, bubble open !

yes it did. I put a little poster on each of the side windows telling its life story, and I think a lot of people enjoy that. I was walking past at one point and overheard one guy say to his friend "it's the Westside van!" World famous in Noo Zulland!

a few more pics......... Browndog's 1972 V8 Transit - Page 3 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz

completed last week, and took it to the Auckland All Ford Day on Sunday Browndog's 1972 V8 Transit - Page 3 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz

I thought it was time for an update. Been a bit busy on other things, so the Mk1 has not had a lot of attention lately. But just cracked into it a week or two ago, and it is nearing completion now. Lots of NOS parts being fitted, which is always fun. A few pics to show the progress.

I spent a few hours today bolting on some parts; lots of NOS parts which I have been collecting for this project. Headlights temporarily fitted, new bezels, bumpers, clear front indicators, tail lights and rear reflectors. The headlights I bought a few years ago are an interesting thing for trainspotters like myself; a pair of Cibie Biodes. Invented in the late 1960's, before the H4 dual filament halogen bulb was invented, they take 2x H1 halogen bulbs. There is a separate reflector in the lower part of the headlight (which you can see) that is the high beam, and the upper bulb, which has a shroud and is not visible is the low beam. These were the choice of works rally teams in the late 1960's and early 1970's such as Ford Escort, Porsche 911 and Mini Coopers. Although very old technology, they are still give off an extremely good light output, even by todays standards. I was quite lucky to find these, they are extremely rare and sell for ridiculous money on Ebay.

thanks guys. A lot of new shiny parts to go on, so this is really where the fun begins

First job, get some bling on! Browndog's 1972 V8 Transit - Page 2 - Project Discussion - oldschool.co.nz

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Santa's sleigh just arrived! https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/

Merry Christmas everyone! I picked up my Christmas pressie on the 24th, after months of being at the paint shop. It has been painted Ford :"Ermine White" although it does appear more creamy than I think it probably should be. No matter, I am quite happy with the result, it has been many years, decades actually, since this van was one solid colour! https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/

I checked up on the Mk1 yesterday. Panelbeater is doing a great job, and it is getting very close to final paint! https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/

yep mine was the same colour, same engine etc as that one. But none of the sound equipment! I did the YB conversion on that wagon too, I had forgotten about it to be honest!

I removed the Cossie engine and sold it separately, put the awful twin cam back in, then sold the car! I think it is still around?

I had one of these (actually I have had several!) but the last one I had was the most memorable. Magenta in colour, I removed the horrible 8V twin cam and repowered it with a YB Cosworth, put the Cossie suspension in, with Escort Cosworth wheels. Boost turned up a bit, it was pretty badass.

After delivering it to the shop for panel and paint, we decided that to do the job properly the van should be media blasted. There was still layers of paint and filler which had accumulated over the years (which would take days to strip off anyway) and blasting gets in all of those cracks and crevices where mechanical stripping does not. SO, another week or so later, another invoice paid, and the van was media blasted! I immediately took it back to the paint shop, hoping it would not rain on the bare metal, and a coat of etch primer was applied over all of the blasted areas. Fortunately the blasting did not reveal too many hidden nastiness. Mainly just one area around the fuel filler/left rear wheelarch where there was a hole and a lot of filler, so that will need a repair, as well as various small dents which will requite tapping out and some filler before paint is applied. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/45289-browndogs-1972-v8-transit/page/4/