mk2 to mk1 front end

[bj928]

with all the mk6 to mk7 front end swapping, it made me think, has anyone put wings and front panel from a mk1 onto a mk2, it seems mk2 swb vans are cheaper than mk1's, if you swapped an older plate onto it as well, or a personal plate, nobody would know, other than the dash.

[Ralph.9]

Its not just wings & front panel, its inner wings, crossmember & valence, spring hangers, bonnet, doors etc. Phase 2 MK2's are fetching about the same as a MK1. Its a lot of work to do it properly

[bj928]

spring hangers are going as its going IFS, the doors look almost the same, i guess the front edge where it meets the wing is different would mk1 doors fit to get round this one, is the chassis longer at the front to give a bigger engine bay,

[Ralph.9]

The doors are the same size, the biggest problem is inner wings & chassis legs.

[bj928]

are the inner wings that much different, could they not be modified, or replaced with mk1 inner wings, or just flat or home made inner wings

[Ralph.9]

The inner wings are very structural & problem you will have is that you are putting IFS and it loads through the inner wheel arch which are part of the inner wings.

[Luke]

it's realy only the inner part of the inner wing that matters for ifs strengthh, the bulkhead has most of the structural strength

you should be able to do it if you keep the mk2 shape inner wing and just cut it back - it wont look original but with ifs it wont anyway

[bj928]

yes the inner wing will have to have a hole cut in to mount the upper part, there will be no engine in the bay, its just for fuel sell, battery, radiator and intercooler, maybe other bits and pieces, engine is going mid mounted like supervan 1, the front ifs is a univesal mustang ii set up, like used on many many hot rods in america, so its well proven, just need to adapt it to a transit, probably never been done before.

[Ralph.9]

Why not leave it as a MK2 then?

[bj928]

i really want a mk1 but can't find any cheap project, the mk2's are generally cheaper, with just the dash and front different, wings, front panel and bonnet are cheap and easy to come by on ebay for mk1's

[Vandalism]

wings, front panel and bonnet are cheap and easy to come by on ebay for mk1's

erm......have you seen what even scrappy mk1 wings go for

sounds an interesting project tho

[bj928]

i know they not cheap, but u seen any cheap ok mk1 swb vans, happy to go get a left hooker from europe but can't find any over there, everything is lwb

[Luke]

if its a mid engine special your building you could use fibreglass wings?

[bj928]

could use all fibreglass front parts, and use roll cage to through bulkhead and front of chassis to compensate for any weakening of inner wing

[Luke]

there was a full 1 piece front end on ebay a bit back - but unfortunately they are quite rare