Advice needed about Mark 1

[Paulo Polaroil]

hello guys,

I'm considering buying a German ex-feuerwehr Transit. It will have many missions, towing a '65 caravan, carrying non-self moving motorcycles, and advertising my screen-printing company.
I live I Le Mans, France, so I don't need right hand drive conversion. I just wonder if the small 1.7 liter v4 won't be a pain in the ass because of its lack of power.

Anything you may say about it would be useful, I don't know much about old transits...

Thanks !

[Altransit]

Welcome

It will be V e r y S l o o o w w w

[Paulo Polaroil]

Welcome

It will be V e r y S l o o o w w w

I know that, but how slow ? Is it possible to fit a Sierra engine with the flat nose ?

[bulls in transit]

Ex fire vans really only do 70/75 kph comfortably,80 kph + your screaming the n*ts off it,people have fitted pinto/ zetec into while keeping flat front,the rear axle ratio is very high5.67,hence low top speed.

[Paulo Polaroil]

Keeping this rear axle ratio is maybe a good idea for towing, isn't it ?

[Paulo Polaroil]

Btw, thank you for your answers

[bulls in transit]

If your going to tow with standard V4,yes,again you will be limited by ratio,my standard v4 not towing but with camping gear etc goes over the Pyrenees,San Sebastian side needing to change down into 3rd only once or twice.If your changing for a later(more powerful) engine id also look at changing ratio.Im looking to change mine because i dont tow.

[bulls in transit]

Also,as advertisement it would be great,mines still original outside,on motorways troughFrance/Spain etc ive never driven anything that draws attention like the firevan,you get people slowing down to take pictures,waving,smiling etc.lorries give you room,its not like you would think ,people dont get annoyed,they take notice,but not in a bad way.

[Paulo Polaroil]

There's a nice ex-feuerwehr Transit in my neighborhood :

[Luke]

thats nice

the fire vans original axle is something like 5.8:1 you can fit a 4.63:1 or a 5.14:1 off a mk1/2/3 and still be ok for towing the 1.7 engine is slow (and uneconomical) but it depends on how fast you want to go

it would look ace with a 65 caravan in tow

im fitting a vw diesel engine to mine

[Paulo Polaroil]

I hope it will match my vintage caravan
It's an ACC Arverne, made in France in 1965, out of stainless steel and fiberglass.

[bulls in transit]

The roof lines look like their match well!

[Luke]

and on the plus side its only a small caravan so it wont stress the v4 too much

[bulls in transit]

But do you paint the van to match the caravan,or the caravan to match the van?

[consul315]

hello guys,
I just wonder if the small 1.7 liter v4 won't be a pain in the ass because of its lack of power.

Anything you may say about it would be useful, I don't know much about old transits...

Thanks !

hi and a warm welcome to the lovely city of Le Mans first!

from own experience i think the Cologne V4 engine is nothing that will make you happy, except you want low power, high fuel comsumption and a very high break down rate (expect troubles with the fibre gears every few thousand kilometers). perhaps you can find one with a 2.0 Essex engine as English engines are far better built and more durable.

in my country (Autriche) we had both German and English Fords, and back in the days i had a couple of Transits with Essex engines, which gave me plenty of kilometers troublefree motoring.

sorry can t help you with hints for a conversion, as in my country it´s not allowed to put a different engine in - but good luck with your search!