Aussie VIN codes

[troppo]

G`day guys
I`m not having much luck decifering the VIN plates on my van, the little i have been able to decode tells me it should be a sundowner (WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO lol) but i cant find out the paint, trim, engine or trans codes.
Anyone got that info?
Cheers
Troppo

[robert dale]

welcome to the club
i am in sydney and own a sundowner, where are you located. i may be able to help you out keeping your van on the road from past experiances.
if you have the original motor in yours it is a low compression unit designed to run on the old standard petrol, it is basically a falcon motor
with the tail lights mate best of luck you can still get new ones from o/seas, i got my last lot from ford australia years ago you have nothing to lose by asking them.
has the van wheels been converted to falcon stud pattern if not i have 4x 8 inch chrome rims you can have free
bob

[troppo]

G`day bob
I`m in adelaide mate. Its still got the standard stud pattern with the sunrasia style mags, the engines a 200 straight 6 with a slush box behind it. I tried ford round here and they said they didnt even have a listing for the lights anymore and the only way to get then would be NOS from someones backroom lol, but i got a pair from the UK for about $35 posted so when the planes start flying again they should be here soon enough.
Doing a heap of research on the net didnt get me a lot of information so i`ve emailed ford to see if they have the codes for it. Was going to do a whole custom dash but decided to stick with the standard and a couple of easily removable extras.
Thanks for the offer of the wheels but i think with a repaint the mags on it should look pretty good. The old girls surprisingly clean with a little body work needed but nothing serious and very little rust.
Cheers mate
Troppo

[tc and rs]

Hi Troppo,

I've just purchased a Tranny Sundowner from Mt Gambier.Haven't picked it up yet but I did some research before purchase. The prefix for a Sundowner is 1D. Normal Trannies have a 1B prefix. As you will probably know Sundowners had full headlining, Houndstooth cloth reversable seats, Sunraysia wheels etc. As far as I know they were all 4.1L with a choice of three speed manual or auto.

I will write to Ford once I have the van to confirm its history and also finf out how many were made.

By the way mine is a raw orange manual.

Cheers,

David.

[troppo]

G`day david
Well i have the swivel seats, full length headlining (only one small tear) and the sunrasia style mags, but i`ve only got a 3.3 engine so i guess its gone bang in the past lol.
So you bought yours in Mt Gambier? Are you in SA? If so where? We could help each other out as i havent seen to many early transits around here.
If its not rude what did you pay for it? (PM me if you dont want it broadcast) Was it advertised as a sundowner or just a transit?
I`ve emailed Ford the same questions and due to the long weekend am still waiting for a reply but hope to hear from them soon.
Mines been resprayed white but from what i can tell it was originaly white, thats one of my problems with the VIN codes, one list i found says it should be Marigold and another says SNO White (guessing the later is right lol).
Going to have to contact ford again and see if they have any promo material that might give me a few visual details for the van, not much information available for the sundowner transits.
Cheers
Troppo

[tc and rs]

Hi Troppo,
I'm in Melbourne. My Transit was advertised on Feebay but the highest bidder didn't pay. It wasn't advertised as a Sundowner. If I recall a Transit was advertised in Adelaide and was in fact a Sundowner although I think the owner didn't know that. I can't seem to be able to insert images to this post so if you want to PM your email address I'll send some copies of Ford's promotional stuff to you. If you google Ford Australia model codes it will tell you about 1D being the Sundowner and will give you all of the paint codes however you need to make sure what year your Transit is as this affects what colour for which code.
Keep in touch.
Cheers,

David.

[troppo]

The old bloke i bought mine off didnt know what it was apart from a transit, he was using it as a work van for his carpentry business.
Nice and clean inside although the dodgy job he has done on the interior cladding will have to go, I`m thinking of putting a false floor in it to dump a mattress on and have drawers underneath.
Still havent got any pics of her, she`s become my daily driver lol
Cheers
Troppo

[robert dale]

what was the contact you used for the tail light lenses?
bob

[troppo]

what was the contact you used for the tail light lenses?
bob

It was an ebay retro spares mob out of england, heres the link to their ebay shop
http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/Retrofor ... QQ_armrsZ1
With postage they wound up just shy of $50 to my door.
Cheers
Troppo

[Neil]

most bits can still be found in the uk

[troppo]

G`day guys
Got the reply from ford today, seems the only thing thats been changed from original (apart from the backyard paint job) is the engine, originally had a 4.1 ltr but that must have gone bang and they replaced it with a 3.3 ltr doesnt matter with the price of fuel these days the smaller engine is a bonus lol.

Heres the info they sent me, might help crack the vin coded for the other aussie owners

Model Code 52813 - Transit 125 Sundowner van (i`m guessing the 125 is the wheelbase)

Engine Code H - 4.1 6 cylinder petrol

Transmission Code Z - 3 speed auto floor control

Paint Code 9 - Sno White

Trim Code Z - Saddle

Options 03 - Seat belts, mandatory

Date of Manufacture November 1978

[tc and rs]

Hi all,

Now that the Transit has arrived I have emailed Ford on my Sundowner;

Model Code 52813 - 125 Sundowner van
Engine Code H - 4.1 Litre 6 Cylinder Petrol
Transmission Code S - 3 Speed manual floor control
Paint Y - Fireglow
Trim Z - Saddle
Options 03 - Seat belts, driver and front passenger
Date of Manufacture September 1978

Ford have also informed me that 120 of this model were manufactured in 1978.

Unfortunately the van also has a lot more rust than had ben described. I have counted 35 individual rust problems from very small to a hole in the D pillar about the size of a 50 cent piece. Probably just doubled the cost in panel and paint, but that's the risk of buying off ebay! However the engine is great and is an alloy head, came with plenty of Mk1 spare panels, which are no good for me but should pull some dollars to pay for the rust. Also in the back were a couple of diffs. One is a Mk1 dual rear wheel diff which I'm selling on ebay and the second is a XB-XD Falcon LSD disc brake unit. I may use the ratio ad LSD in the tranny, however I think the rear discs won't fit if I keep the OE PCD. Any thoughts on this? The houndstooth seats need retrimming, but they both rotate ok. Oh and it's got a 4 poster bull bar!

Cheers, David.

[troppo]

Sorry to hear about the rust problems David.
Wish mine had a 4 poster, but am working on it.
When you say 120 of that model built, do you mean sundowners built in 78 or sundowners of your package (colour, trans etc)?
I heard on another forum that the falcon diffs are too short unless you have some really wide boots on them, but if you remove the short arm and replace it with another long arm they should be the right length. Maybe its already been dont on the diff you have. A few quick measurements should tell you.
I`m still waiting on a reply to the second email to ford asking about the sundowner numbers and if they have any images of them so i can work out the decals and striping.
I wonder how many of the sundowners survived this long?
Cheers
Troppo

[dob077]

Hi guys,im in mildura/wentworth and have two mk1---73 van aussi post and a 77 tray.i would like to put the original twin wheels on the back if you still have them...ken 0448683136

[madmark]

guys dont forget the photo,s of these lovley motors you have overthere!