mk1 bullnose crew cab project

[oldskooler]

That engine is fitting in there nicely!!! would be interested in seeing the information regards the axle. i know you are changing for a different ratio but the old axles must be getting rare to find in actually decent working order given the age. I did a rebuild on my diff and axle! managed to get hold of a new original cone crush washer. thinks its rebuilt correctly following the manual etc. but won't truly know till its done some miles. i haven't done anything to mine for months. once the weather turns i will get the paint 100 percent done. its 90 percent there now so just needs a bit more effort to complete. we will get there eventually.......

yep, its getting hard to find an axle in good nick that doesent need a rebuild nowadays...

i must get round to doing a thread on the iveco conversion...

[JustTrying]

Thats really coming on now. Major step forward getting that engine running. With all that plumbing and an ECU as well. Major achievement. I noticed you mentioned power steering. Is there a power steering box that works on the Mk1? Easy mod/swap?

[oldskooler]

I noticed you mentioned power steering. Is there a power steering box that works on the Mk1? Easy mod/swap?[/quote]


yes, a power steering box was an option on the twin wheel mk3 models, but it was an expensive option, so only a handful of private vans had the list ticked, where as state vehicles like ambulances or MOD vans etc seemed to be more plentiful with power steering....

so theyre pretty rare to get hold of and command good money.....

theyre relatively easy to fit in a mk1 or mk2.......the mk3 mounting plate is fitted along with the box and the column needs a bit of modding to fit, but its a very worthwhile addition.....

[oldskooler]

latest progress pics....

chassis is now stretched with the box section ladder frame squared up and fitted.......higher ratio iveco daily axle will be replacing the original along with mk3 transit springs replacing the original mk1 slipper spring setup....

the iveco axle spring pads are a half inch further towards the wheel each side, but i managed to kill 2 birds with one stone when stretching the chassis and converting from slipper springs to rear shackle setup by moving the spring mounts and shackle brackets out the required amount, meaning i didnt have to move the spring saddles on the axle....











i got the bespoke alloy body sitting in place to figure out heights, and also how much id need to extend the chassis by to have the wheelbase looking ok, and also to be inside the tail swing limit etc...





























the wheelbase will now be too long to get it on my mk3 recovery for moving it about for blasting and paint etc, so i made up a wee axle to clamp on so i can can keep it mobile....



my loyal travelling companion is keen to keep the project moving in the right direction!!






still lots to do, but getting there slowly....

[mk2 transit crew]

Lot of work gone into doing that and making it strong for the years ahead. You are nearly there on the fabrication side though. The fun is nearly about to begin building it back up. what colour you going for?

[oldskooler]

Lot of work gone into doing that and making it strong for the years ahead. You are nearly there on the fabrication side though. The fun is nearly about to begin building it back up. what colour you going for?

im still a bit undecided on colour....it will have to be something period that doesent clash with the chrome bits etc....

its down to a nice glossy navy colour, or maybe a slightly darker shade of grey that yours....i think it would go well with the new alloy body thats going on it......

[oldskooler]

ok so its been a while since i got a chance to update but i have been making some progress.......got the chassis cover sections back folded to go over the box sections to keep the chassis looking original and also added the extra crossmember with captive threaded plates to take brackets for the second carrier bearing that the longer propshaft will need.....


also been cracking on with a few other jobs including blanking off the drivers side crew window to match the wee panel door on the left hand side and also replacing the damaged left hand door sill and lower side panel sill etc....









i was lucky enough to scource a genuine new old stock l/h door sill after being far from happy with the fit of the pattern item i already had......the genuine one was night and day in comparision and fitted like a glove .....like most of the other panels we used panel bond to fit both the door and lower panel sill....much happier not to be introducing any heat to the previously unwelded cab.....












i also had a genuine lower side panel sill section kicking around from my mk2 van resto a few years ago, which was shortened down to fit the crew cab.....

[oldskooler]

and heres the rest of the progress to date......

blanking the side window took a bit of time and effort but i think it will be worth it....still have to bond in the blanking panel but the hard work is done!!

[mk2 transit crew]

That is looking so much better on the frame. i was hoping it wasn't being left as two bits of box on the chassis extension as it didnt look proper but it now looks bang on. mines now mot and registered on the road a few weeks ago, still a few more bits to do but won't take long.

[oldskooler]

ok, so its been too long since ive posted an update on this one, but i have been making progress....

got the side window blanking panel bonded into place, and pretty happy with how it turned out...

[oldskooler]

i also got the transit shock brackets fitted onto the iveco daily axle using the jigs ive got made up to make the job easy...









and after dropping the axle into place i also got the air suspension helper setup mocked up and fitted.......to mount the air bags,i basically made up a bolt in cross beam to pick up on the original bump stop fixings on the chassis, and i also added a mk5 type load sensing valve as the mk1 didnt have one originally and i thought it would be no harm as ill probably upgrade to a later master cylinder....

[oldskooler]

for seats i was thinking about using a set of mk1 custom seats i had been keeping for the project, but in truth the more i looked and sat on them the more uncomfortable they were, even though they looked good....and the whole idea of this truck is to have it looking more or less original from the outside, but practical with a slight modern twist under the skin,.....so i ended up selling the custom seats, and for the drivers seat i bought a pair of shabby mk3 rs1600i seats on ebay with enough good guts to make one good driver seat....i have a pair of these seats in my mk1 escort recovered in black leather and find them lovely to sit in, along with having that great retro look with the roll top head rests...so the plan is to make one good seat, and have itself and the mk2 double seat recovered in matching black leather maybe in the custom seat sort of style...i toyed with the idea of fitting a late mk5 double passenger seat, but it was simply too bulky being almost 2 inches wider than the mk2 double seat....

so after getting the drivers seat mocked up in a position i was happy with, i made up a mounting frame to go on a height adjustable mk3 transit seat base to add a bit more comfort!!

[oldskooler]

next it was time to get the alloy body sitting place after i had all the extra pick up brackets added to the chassis so i could get all the body mounting brackets made so i can just drop it on and bolt it down once the truck is painted...

it was good to get it outside to size it up with the body on,....if only on the dummy rear axle...it will be a long rig when complete....im now glad im going original front beam axle with pas box, and decided against fitting mk5 ifs as id be losing a few degrees of badly needed steering lock!!!!

[oldskooler]

so next i got her loaded up and away to the bodyshop where the lads started by stripping back the couple of layers of paint back to bare metal to make sure there were no dodgy repairs lurking under the skin that may come through again if it was just flatted and painted....thankfully much like the rest of the truck, there were no nasty suprises....

[Neil]

looking good