This is my back dated build thread, i bought the van about two years ago now, i did all the wrong things, bought the first one i looked at and i definitely overpaid, its a 74 Devon that was exported to Poland, so it started life as a RHD and was converted to LHD it also has a 2.3 Ford Cologne as fitted to Capri,s and Granadas, i have since converted it back to RHD, if it had not been RHD originally i wouldn't of bothered but all the brackets etc were in place, the only thing i had to alter was the LHD beam which was just a case of moving the brake servo bracket, if i remember correctly i bought a Dashboard, speedo cluster, steering box, gear lever and pedals, about £200 in all second hand It came with quite a few spares thrown in the back most of which have now appeared in the ads , it also came with the most fantastic bit of fantasy i have ever come accross namely a Polish MOT!, now if you want any half sane mechanic or in my case welders to literally ******* them selves with laughter this is what you need, i also managed to restock my local plumbers when i started removing the downpipe and fittings masquerading as some kind of heating system
Anyway i got it in about Aug 2011, so after that mistake i decided to commit another, i stripped out a lot of stuff and handed it over to the welders, we agreed that it would be an “as and when” so i knew it wasnt coming back soon, what i didn't realise was that meant it reappeared in Oct 2012, but they do have a sense of humour, apparently i went from being ****ed about to advanced ****ing about! The only reason i got it back was that it needed some welding by the engine mounts so they thought it was better if i removed the engine Now i had it back i could actually do some work on it, i swopped over the petrol tank for the spare and painted up the engine bay, fitted the Eberspacher BN4 that came with it after a service and paint job, it had the original pipe work that should exit through the sloping bit, as i intend fitting a R’N’R bed i couldn't see that working so i have piped it in under the seat/bed but it is a work in progress, I stripped out the rear brakes and bearings and ended up replacing most of it, i replaced the bowden tubes for the handbrake, throttle and clutch and fitted some 22mm copper pipe which takes the wiring loom, i will get on to the heating later J The wiring was a mess so i cut it as it enters the engine bay, fitted a 25 pin connector and then remade the rear wiring along with some extra for the Eber. I moved forwards cleaning and undersealing as i went, at the front it was a case of replacing most moving parts, shocks, bearings etc then i swapped over the pedals and steering box
The rad was suspended between the chassis rails although badly fitted it seemed to work ok so i have got a new rad and will put it back in the same position, the heater matrix was just flopping about in the rear, plumbed in but not bolted down, i couldn't see much point in it been there as that is where the Eber will exit and im a firm believer in looking after number one so i want the heat upfront, a bit of research showed that a VW Polo matrix and fan was a good option so i ebayed one of those, fitting it took a bit of thought, the main heater tube has been removed to fit the rad but i still had the front portion, so just after the squashed section i took it up between the seats along with the 2 heater pipes, cable and power, i then bought a 17 litre coolbox and fitted the Polo set up inside it and sealed one side from the other, the cool box has a vent fitted for air intake and the holes were lined up with the ones between the seats, the cool box fits neatly and hides the fact its the heater although it is lid on its side, it also means the heater controls operate pretty much as it should, i fitted a Kenlowe i had lying about to check out the heating system and it seems to work OK but until its up and running its hard to know for sure. One of the first things we bought was a JK roof cap but after a bit of inspection and the garden hose it was just some rivets leaking and some of the ally cross members had broken, so i drilled out all the rivets and replaced them, beefed up the roof support with angle brackets then replaced the polystyrene and covered with foil bubble wrap. After reading a thread on here i resealed the rubbers with some silkaflex primed the roof and painted on the recommended Rustoleum.
That is about as much as i could do without another trip to the welders, so about a month ago it went back,. The only things i could get on with was the engine which got cleaned, serviced and painted and some of the furniture, with a V6 engine there is no point in me trying to stick to original so i had already bought a Westfailia continental interior (local and cheap) and i decided to revamp that, i used to run a wine shop and i have a large collection of wine labels dated from 1904 onwards, a few years ago when i was trying to think of a use for them i came up with the idea of sticking them on a table top and giving them a few coats of varnish, these sold well around the local pubs so i decided to do the same thing to the furniture, not really as garish as it looks in the pics and i prefer it to the original sick colour, that pretty much brings it up to date, should be back from the welders soon and it will be on to sticking the engine back in and sorting the wiring
Nipped into the welders today to see how they are getting on, not finished but this is the bolt in rear piece
Hurry! its back, welding done, now to finish painting the engine bay, underseal the welds, then in with the engine, thats when my headaches will begin, the wiring and the cooling
I thought I saw an interloper on your drive this evening. I put it down to an excess of Old Speckled Hen! So the Keith Bus is back and the hard work begins!
Well i got the engine in today and the radiator mounted, i also knocked up an air scoop but that is going to be trial and error when fitted, im thinking of having some stiff rubber angled down from the front so that the frame isn't too low but it adds to the scoop, it should avoid problems with speed humps or at least it wont be the main body grounding
Bolted the rear valance in, so i can work out the exhaust brackets Bit tight for space Some pics of the rad i put in yesterday, got to get the scoop welded as i cant do ally
The rad itself is no lower than the steering bits and the sump but the scoop will be, that's why I'm thinking of a stiff rubber leading edge, something replaceable
Exhausts on, everything plumbed in except for a rad pipe which i need a joiner for and a new piece of Eberspacher ducting, just the electrics left to do in the engine bay although i will fit a Kenlowe in there tomorrow, forgot i had it
Well i stuck the scoop on tonight, plenty of room for adjustment so its going to be trial and error to start with, same with the rubber leading edge, piccys seem to make it look lower than it is
nice work. So did you do the conversion or it was already in? I like what you have done with the removable rear valance. in Central and Eastern Europe cut and shuts are still acceptable practice so i'm not surprised you bought something with a laughable MOT certificate. I've seen many a car in the Czech Republic crabbing down the highway with a different coloured front to the back and a primered line across the roof... I used to have a 2.4i V6 granada, a lovely smooth engine
Yeah, thing was i inspected it and saw what i was letting myself in for, then when the guy delivered it he produced an MOT?, think he may have phoned a friend for that one. The engine was already in but done very badly, initially i wanted it so i could put a diesel in as i make biodiesel and run our other car and works vehicles on it, but after a few drives up and down the road (better add private road, just in case ) i decided the engine was probably the best part of it
