This is just a short presentation of my 1991 Mk3 Transit Rat. I did a lot of things in the past already, too many to mention but i'll add some photos so you guys can see by yourself. I am not lucky enough to have a garage on my own, nor did i ever have lots of money to spend on my project so this is kind of a survival project. Everything i know about cars so far i have learned from this van. The Van has been in the family from the beginning, has visited 12 countries in Europe and the Balkans and will get ready for a tour through Africa in the future (hopefully). It has survived my bad treatment in the past:
- engine block frozen in the winter because of too few anti-freeze and -10 C temperature (head gasket repair afterwards)
- a 10km ride without water because of a leak in the system
- broken transverse link during a trip
- nearly lost a tire due to wheel bearing problems (ended up in smoke..)
- ran over 20cm 5cm diameter pipe which was probably a cutted roadsign bracket (wtf!!?) during parking --> it got stuck behind (!) the steering gear! --> no further damage!
- got buried in the sand a few times on beaches
- lots of drifts in snow & on wet road
- few car crashes in the Balkans (they drive like hell here, no rules at all!) which mostly damaged the other cars more than mine, thanks to Ford "Chuck Norris" quality!
I guess i forgot some things now.. The fact is that the old lady survived everything, mostly with easy repairs or no damage.
And if anyone out there lights up a nuke and due to EMP all electrics die, i'll probably downgrade the old lady to some WW2 wood gas mechanism (if i survive)
Eeeehm.. So..
Technically it's a stock 2.0L Pinto enginge with carb and 78bhp with only few modifications and 230.000km. I changed the water-system from original to some kind of selfmade pipeing system with welded T-connectors and high pressure water pipes (20bar i think). The visco-ventilator got distorted after an accident and i couldn't find a cheap replacement. So i bought a 10 euros opel astra electric ventilator and fitted it to the cooler. It works great and has more than enough output to keep the water cool (never had heat probs!). The thermostate-case had a crack and living in Albania for a while i couldn't find any replacement there. Shipping doubled the price of the part, so i decided to weld some pipes on my own until i found a solution. It worked well, anyway now i got it new. The metal got welded last month and is in quiet good condition. Maybe because this was always a summer car, not driven in the winter. Now i will rebuild the engine in a while and fix some small problems inside the van. A lot to do, like always with those old cars. But it's great fun
Anyway, this is my ride. Like it or hate it
2010
Before welding
During welding
After welding
Some new pics
