Extending Van to accommodate two rear diffs

[jaimo693]

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone here has extended thier van and had two twin rear axles?

I want to extend my Mk1 LWB transit, would it be better to buy a scrap LWB, cut the rear end off from the front of the arch and stick it on the back end behind the rear arch of my mk1? Obviously I know its not as easy as sticking it on.

Does anyone know how much of a job this is to do and what it intels? Anyone know who would do this?

Cheers

James

[bazw]

standard answer to a question like that on most forums would be

" if you have to ask then the question is how big is your wallet ? "

a question like that means normally that its asked by some one who does not have an idea of whats involved (not the right skills base ) so can you weld ? paint ? do electrics ? or sell your body to make the money other ways
you would end up having to do one of these
a) pay to get it done professionally to finish it
or
b) can you afford to scrap 2 trannys if you get sick of it

so to the help bit

by how much do you want to extend it ?

min will have to be the length of the leaf springs + a gap to the orig spring i would think

do you intend to drive the second axle ? if so how !!

does it have to use a second axle for weight or is it for show ? it may be easier to just extend body between wheels with a centre section if so !

just a bit to start with

[jaimo693]

Hi Basw,

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding wallet big enough....maybe Scrapping vans, no, thought I would already find a scrapped van then it would be cheap.

I would want it done professionally yes so I am willing to pay for it to be done, anything for my tranny!

Anyway, the main reason for the two axles is the extention, so I would like to extend as much as possible, but I am guessing 4 to 5 feet would be the most I could get. Regarding the leaf springs, i was thinking of changing it to Jag axles, this would remove that leaf spring problem. Its all for show but its got to look right, so they have to be close together. I dont intend to drive the second axle, this would be free running. I dont think it would be possible to drive the second axle and would be a monumental undertaking i think.

Cheers

[jaimo693]

Hi Basw,

forgot to say, no i dont weld or paint and that is why I am looking for someone to do this for me. Ive been customising vans for a long time and have always wanted to extend one. Now i have the Mk1, this is what I am going to do one way or another along with a whole lot of other mods. But this is the first stage.

Cheers

James

[Luke]

I think this would be a great conversion - proper custom - very interesting

for me the most difficult think would be the bodywork

i know its been done before there are some pics of the finished van (poor quality) on here some where

really the 2nd axle doesnt need to be load bearing as the only extra weight would be the extra body - i wonder if you could pick up on the rear spring hangers for the front of the leafs on the rear axle and have the wheel in the right position

i agree about the 2nd axle i dont see any need to drive it - just have it there to support the overhang and for show

aslo i'll move this post to the customising section as it will get lost in here

[Luke]

here's one
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=14881

dont know if the body is extended tho

[jaimo693]

Hi Luke,

Thanks for that link, the blue van is stunning. The body is deffo extended by about 2 feet (the size of the arch). Look fab.

Cheers

James

[spudmab]

hello, sounds like a good project,

i remember seeing a range rover with a second axel, both of them were driving axels, the front one had a pass though system and took the drive to the rear axel,

i think this was a proper conversion, can't remember much more about it but it did look trick



i hope this can help, you might be able to find out some more info by googling it of range rover owners club

good luck will be keeping an eye on this one

[jaimo693]

Thanks for the info Spudmab. Will have a look.

6 wheel drive, neat Ive been doing a lot of Googling, not much on this though. Trying to find another Transit owner who has done this. Mind you, the way I see it is I dont think its that difficult. Welding the back end of another transit on the back of the Mk1 and adding the extra axle to the section that we have welded on. The only part that is a problem to solve is the leaf springs as Luke and Basw said, but if went down the jag axle route (which i dont really want to do) then that fixes that problem. Anything is possible

Cheers

James

[bazw]

the range rover is a factory job also the reason i asked if it was to be driven as they would be a good option
you could then have a 6X4 or 6X6 drive as an option

if you are going to jag and second is not driven then it would work well and be closer together than leaf springs

i would still extend in the area between the wheels for ease as all that would be needed would be a centre from another van and 1 cut in the main van , fit in stiffeners to the runners for the chassis and weld it all up over a few days to avoid heat distortion then add extra box sections to add more stiffness

i have not looked under a mk 1 or 2 but guess the rails run in straight lines so the cut could be mated up easy ,the wheel arches can be added in easier than doing 2 cuts on the van to square it all up

other option would be to cut at back of wheel arch on van and in front of arch on donor to get length required then rework panels to align them and make new wheel arches inside van ( more work i think but dont quote me on that as i say i have not looked )

we are going to need photos , lots of photos

[jaimo693]

Hi Basw,

I like this option

other option would be to cut at back of wheel arch on van and in front of arch on donor to get length required then rework panels to align them and make new wheel arches inside van ( more work i think but dont quote me on that as i say i have not looked )

Im going to get some photos and do some diagrams and post the link up, and see where we go from there.

Cheers

James

[sidspop]

Why not use 2 transit axles? By moving the spring perches inboard about 4" on the rear axle, then you could easily(?) adapt the chassis to accept 2nd spring mounts.
Probably a lot easier than trying to fit a Jag unit, given you would need new xmember for diff, spring rates would be all to pot, and the front radius arms would catch the 1st axle.

Make sense?

[jaimo693]

Hi Sidspop,

In the beginning thats what we were thinking, but the problem arose of the leaf springs.....moving the leaf springs is another option but adapting the chassis? How do you mean? Weld exteneded brackets to the chassis?

Yes I remember those radius arms now on the jag units, forgot about those. Good point, thanks.

Cheers

James

[bazw]

boxing out for twin leafs would help the structure for sure and if measured up right it should not bind on each others axles i think but the rev range would be all wrong on all the tranny diffs
with a tranny diff it would be around 4000 rpm + to do 70 in top gear thats not a good rev range for a V12 , on no , no sir "oh my god look at that needle go down" comes to mind to give the tranny a chance to make double figure fuel consumption at motor way speeds (just lol ) the 3.07 diff from the jag will bring it down to about 2800 revs , much better , just " i think we have a fuel leak there was more in it than that " kind of consumption

jag axle is in a steel cage with 4 rubber mounts if the tranny is any thing like my sprinter it will bolt on with 8 holes drilled in chassis rails if not its just a case of making adapter plates from 6mm steel
or the nice looking way is to take it out of the cage and weld a 3"x3" box section cross ways with a 9" plate in the middle to pick up the 4 bolts on the diff and a pipe on each side for the shocks
takes about an hour to make and fit with the right gear then bolt axle on



i worked out it would cost me 1 litre of petrol to run the 3/4 mile to the local asda and back for a fuel stop from cold and about 10 p / traffic light last year when i was going to do this , dare not work it out now

[bazw]

with the cage on them you can add brackets and make shorter rad arms for the rear axle fixed next to bottom arm of axle at diff
without cages you make a bar to cross from lower H arm mounting bolt across diff with mounts on them for rad arms

had worked that one out for mine as i had a spare axle in yard and wondered about a twin rear set up