ci body swop

[paul]

hi im new to your forum i would like to say thankyou to luke for telling me about it
I have a mk2 transit with a good ci autohome body on it i would like to put it on a newer shape transit but not shaw what it will fit on i know that with a bit of thought an a bit of welding any thing will fit on but i wanted to keep it simple like a straight swop mine is a mkII 100 the body is a ci autohome mk III dose any one know if when ford made the mk3 transit ci autohomes carred on putting the same body on themor was it differnt?
cheers paul

[Luke]

Hi mate welcome to the forum!!!
Re- your ci is yours a swb or lwb, im not sure but i think it will go on a mk3/4/5 quite easly i have seen it done, but im not 100% what if any mods were involved, but im sure someone else will be able to give you a definate answer!!

Out of interest whats wrong with your mk2??

[paul]

hi its a short wheel 100 . the transit has a very good 2ltr engin and
4 speedbox just had a lot of welding done for the mot on the iner wings an front crossmember its ok but wings and bonit are getting rusty shocks make a swig noise when i go round corners and i just feel a newer transit would give a better ride be a bit quicker more stable, an more moden
+closing the doors would be a bit quieter

[FredTransit]

hi its a short wheel 100 . the transit has a very good 2ltr engin and
4 speedbox just had a lot of welding done for the mot on the iner wings an front crossmember its ok but wings and bonit are getting rusty shocks make a swig noise when i go round corners and i just feel a newer transit would give a better ride be a bit quicker more stable, an more moden
+closing the doors would be a bit quieter

.........don't bet on it! It depends on your budget, if you can afford to buy a chassis cab that's 4/5/6 years old (and unless you find just the chasis cab, have to sell on or dispose of the body it comes with), you might as well spend the money on yours.

Bear in mind extra bits and pieces, such as a more expensive,finished later camper will have a higher replacement value and may attract a higher insurance premium. Also, it takes quite a bit of space to swap a body (we've done this 3 times with commercial bodies, and all were done in huge yards and involved a hyab crane). Maybe you know somebody with the space and equipment though. Getting the original off isn't too bad, but if it's on the cassis you will somehow have to get rid of it.

As for speed, how fast do you want a fully loaded camper with you family in the back to go?!!! If you just want a bit more power to travel at lower speeds and overtake safely, why not fit a later engine?

I know this all sounds negative, but it seems a lot of work to go through, if you have the money I would buy a finished camper, if you don't have the budget, I don't think it will be that much cheaper to swap your body onto another chasis, when you add up all of the bills (buy another chasis, maybe dispose of or sell the old body, swap everything over, possibly higher insurance) it probably works out the same.

On the posative side, if campers are the same as commercials, your body should swap with only a little modding to the mounting points to a chasis well into the Mk3, if you go as far as the NewGen though, the chassis changed quite a bit. Be very careful with the body whilst you are waving it about above the chasis, that's the scary part, when it's in the air!!

[bortaf]

there was an artical in MMM a few years back where a bloke did the exact same thing but he started with a burnt out minbus and just cut the body off, so anything is possable.
His mai problem was the wheelbase was longer on a Mk3 so new holes where needed in the caravan floor for the wheel arches.
You may find the Mk3/4 cab is wider than the Mk2 so some infills may be needed in fibreglass

[FredTransit]

there was an artical in MMM a few years back where a bloke did the exact same thing but he started with a burnt out minbus and just cut the body off, so anything is possable.
His mai problem was the wheelbase was longer on a Mk3 so new holes where needed in the caravan floor for the wheel arches.
You may find the Mk3/4 cab is wider than the Mk2 so some infills may be needed in fibreglass

Whaaat????! I bet that looked absolutly hilarious!! Not to mention that although minibuses do have a better chasis than the vans, they are NOT made for attaching a body to, and also there is such a thing as Construction and Use regulations on wheelbase to axle overhang ratio. if I was going to do a thing like that, the last thing I would do is admit it and have an article written about it!

[bortaf]

no it looked ok he cut all the body off behind the cab and effectivly left him with a flatbed but with a stronger floor (pressed steel as opposed to the wooden one the origional Mk2 came wuth) as to the chassis, the flatbeds only have a small top hat section added to the normal van chassis rail to strenthen and raise the load floor level.
If you have micro cat (ford parts program) the chassis runners on vans and chassis cabs have the same part number for the lower section only the top section is different.
minibusses have the same chassis as a van? my bus is the same as my vans underneath.

[FredTransit]

Well, to be honest, I have naver actually peeled a minibus to take a look at the chasisi, it's just what more than one person has told me in the past, that's all.

[bortaf]

you need to spend some qualaty time in a scrap yard
you get see all the innards ripped open for a good looksee
they crushed a Mk1 ice cream van last year, it was pretty much stripped but i had to wince when they droped it 30 feet to the ground

[FredTransit]

you need to spend some qualaty time in a scrap yard
you get see all the innards ripped open for a good looksee
they crushed a Mk1 ice cream van last year, it was pretty much stripped but i had to wince when they droped it 30 feet to the ground

...........Quality time in a scrap yard? Have you been stalking me? That's my idea of a good day out!..........Next to going to sit in the car park of Ikea to watch the herberts attempt to squeeze a 3 seat sofa into a golf

As for the ice cream van thing, has this scrappie been writing scripts for Top Gear?

[bortaf]

Gets a lot of council towaways in there (not a breakers just a frag yard) so i see some nice motors going to waist, how abot an austin A30
there is an Ikea near it (the one where people got stabbed for bargins a few months back) if i hang around there i usualy get a 3 peice to move for somone cos it dont fit in their nova

[FredTransit]

Gets a lot of council towaways in there (not a breakers just a frag yard) so i see some nice motors going to waist, how abot an austin A30
there is an Ikea near it (the one where people got stabbed for bargins a few months back) if i hang around there i usualy get a 3 peice to move for somone cos it dont fit in their nova

Pay a quid to hang around? I would rather go to Wembly Park Ikea!

[bortaf]

no i sit in the road outside (it's where i stop for lunch from the Tesco's) and fill up with me 5p a litre off voucher
Got lost once in the wembley one and got a bit freaked out, aint been back since

[FredTransit]

no i sit in the road outside (it's where i stop for lunch from the Tesco's) and fill up with me 5p a litre off voucher
Got lost once in the wembley one and got a bit freaked out, aint been back since

Take you buttie with you, and drop breadcrumbs I think..........

[bortaf]

beleive me i never leave bread crumbs, too greedy for that