Conrod's new Sundowner

[conrod]

My new NZ number plates turned up in the post today, old Australian plates for comparison:



and new NZ plates :

[Neil]

was the roeberk door mirrors from new or have they been added after

[conrod]

those door mirrors are standard fitment on the Sundowner

[Altransit]

Love the plates, how spooky is that, Conrad

[conrod]

Love the plates, how spooky is that, Conrad

yep, "Rad" used to be a nickname for me back in school I thought about "SNDWNR" which is still available, and I already have "CONROD" but decided to run with the original plate ''RAD250" as everything was "RAD" back in the 1970's

[Neil]

those mirrors were sold here in the 70 s by custom shops

[transitandy]

[conrod]

Replaced a couple of rusty frost plugs, fitted a new set of spark plugs, gave the engine a clean, and took it for another road test. Went a little bit better. Checked the throttle and discovered it was only getting half throttle, so adjusted it up, took for another road test, and it goes MUCH better now! Happier today

[bambi mk 1]

Pouch for carrying baby Transit http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/micha ... 3.jpg.html

[conrod]

Replaced the front indicators with a NOS pair I had "in stock", and fitted a pair of headlight surronds that I had minted up previously.



Old tail light, bleached clear by the hot Aussie sun, and badly cracked:



More NOS goodness, I am also fitting the reversing lights that I had stashed away, although not fitted to the Sundowner they were an option on the Mk2, and the wiring and screw holes are already there, so basically plug'n'play

[conrod]

Spent a few hours on the van yesterday. Decided I did not want the LPG fitted, so proceeded to remove it all. Only took a couple of hours to get everything out. Discovered the tank was full,(it was damn heavy!) and as I dropped it out on the ground the back of the van jumped up, must be a good 30mm higher in the rear now, sits level instead of bum down

[Altransit]

Even faster now

[conrod]

Yep, I reckon there was 100kgs in that lot, plus the restriction from the mixer ring is removed I don't intend to do big mileage in the van, so fuel savings will not be huge. Plus it all looked a bit ugly, and I want to restore this van to original

[Altransit]

I want to restore this van to original

[conrod]

Haven't touched the van for a while, but got back into it last week. Wheels were looking a bit second hand, so I stripped the tyres off, had the rims powder coated, and fitted the new tyres I bought, old school BFG T/A's in 225/60x14 for the front and 245/60x14 for the rear. Despite powder coating being a pet hate of mine, they were done this way from new, and painting was going to be very expensive, so I decided to go this way. I have the diff out at the moment, changing the ratio from the 2.7 that the previous owner fitted (ridiculously tall in first and reverse) to a more clutch friendly 3.45 from an EL Falcon. Van has a T5 box fitted, so will still have long legs in fifth gear. It is going to be used in a TV mini series set in the late 1970's, so getting it ready for its starring role