My new ex-Thames Valley riot van

[stevew]

Hi All,
I was waiting for a sunny day to take some pictures but the sun seems to have gone South for winter so here you go.
It's a 100PS TD. The log book says 190 but Fords database shows it as a 150.
Suprisingly few holes for an ex-police van but still loads of rewiring to be done!









Gonna be keeping me busy for while I think.

Steve

[100ps_drw_hicube]

looks very nice bet it goes well i have an ex police hicube thats 100ps as well goes like stink much better than n/a i take it your handbrake dont work?

[stevew]

Yep it's quite quick around town but under-geared for motorway crusing. It'll do 62.5mph at 3000rpm with a 5.14 back axle.
No the handbrake works fine I forgot about the bricks . I took the picture just before I changed the front shocks and lower ball joints to try and fix a suspension 'knock'. Seems to have worked. Whether it will have sorted my strange tyre wear remains to be seen.
Steve

[100ps_drw_hicube]

my back axle is 5.14 as well but does 70 mph @3000 rpm and @ 4300rpm it does 100mph i had a suspension knock on the front as well changed lower ball joints perfect now

[madmark]

wow i have seen this van many nights around milton keynes!

[MrMPuk]

You seen much of the inside Mark?

[madmark]

no thanks mate

[transitgeoff]

best bit for me ,the anti-potato exhaust

[stevew]

Yeah it took me a while to work out what the grill welded over the tail pipe was! I have since taken it off as I'm sure it does nothing for gas flow and I think I'm unlikely to encounter any potatoe wielding rioters any time soon.

Mark: you have actually seen my van in MK? That's a coincidence. I know some people in the Police in MK, I wonder if I can get any back ground info on my van? Hmmmm.

HiCube: (sorry don't know you're real name!) You can really get 100mph? I thought it was limited at 4000rpm.

Steve

[madmark]

yes mate havent seen it for a wile we have a T reg that will be going soon i would think ! did you buy from a auction???????

[100ps_drw_hicube]

ye i can really get 100mph ford garage told me what a load of bo***cks until they had it in for a small fault and when the service manager had it bought it back from a test drive he was amazed he reckons police might of had it chipped i cant believe that myself as it is a n reg and it wasnt a emergency vehicle it was only used for dog training but as you say it should be limited to 4000rpm but goes to a tad over 4300rpm very loud at this speed and you can see the fuel gauge going down very quickly

[stevew]

Chipped eh? Cool!
I know the police (or their bodyshop people) modify vans quite a bit. My van is down as a 150 on Fords database and is still shown as a panel van in the log book. It sounds like you've got a 4.63 axle. Took me a while armed with the most powerful torch I could find and wire brush to find the axle ratio stamped on the casing.

goes to a tad over 4300rpm very loud at this speed and you can see the fuel gauge going down very quickly

No s**t!
Good luck sorting your turbo/valve stem problems. Have you tested the turbo pressure? Mine runs at around 12psi max but drops to 9-10 when the waste gate opens.

Mark: No I bought from a dealer and probably paid over the odds but this is my first transit and I didn't fancy trying to find a good one at an auction. If I did it again I probably would though. I think Thames Valley use the auction at Witney for most of their vans.

Steve

[Gunslinger]

yes they do, right on my doorstep too ... but sometimes stuff goes too high, parcelforce also use the witney auction

[4x4trannie]

I have just bought my first transit too. It is ex Thames Valley Police and from the same fleet as yours! I haven't had time to do anything yet except get new set of tyres. Will be posting to the gallery soon so keep your eyes out.

[stevew]

I'll be looking. It'll be interesting to compare notes.
Does yours have 'run flat' wheels? Did they present any probelm when getting new tyres?

One thing I forgot to mention is that it has an Eberspacher night heater. After I had re-fitted an auxilliary fuse box I conected it up and.... nothing! The little green light flickered slightly so I just turned it off. Next morning it had completely flattened my battery Still needs work!
Steve