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Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Wed May 19, 2010 12:19 pm

algieboy wrote:I have only one word for this fine lady "Beautiful" What a fantastic job you have done there Well Done 8)


Thanks mate, starting to get damn cold at night up in the shed, a bit of encouragement goes a long way. :D
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:26 am

After the euphoria of getting the deck on, its back to earth time :roll: to sort out all the other myriad of jobs that need to be done so we can spend the summer gallivanting round the shows with the biggest little truck in town. :D 8)

The multiswitch for the indicators, lights and horn was munted, with a horn button out of a series one landrover screwed to the dash :oops:

Ebay supplied an NOS unit that bolted straight up, as per NZ std, with the stalk on the right hand side of the column like so;
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All good except for the proximity of the great fat knee :!:
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Nice new stalk is not going to last long like this, it will get hooked and smashed for sure
A look at the column shows that theres a locating notch on the other side so we'll just put it on that side,
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And take the wee indicator cancel bizzo and swap it over thus,
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Put the steering wheel back on and ........... :evil: :evil: :evil:
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That spoke across the gauge cluster is going to annoy the living sh*t out of yours truly.

On examination the steering wheel has only got one notch in it to engage the indicator cancel lug so a few minutes work with a hacksaw and a die grinder and it has two.
Image

Now every body be happy, everything works, and nothing is in danger of getting busted. Image
Just have to remember that the stalk is now on the "wrong" side of the column.

Another of the wee jobs was the interior light, the lens on the old one had gone crystalline and was falling to bits at every touch.

With no door switches finding the ignition switch in the dark could be a bit of a mission.

An ad popped up on Trademe for an inside light from a 2010 Transit that according to the seller would with a few mods fit an early Capri.
So it was duly purchased reckoning that if it fitted a Capri it would no doubt fit a MkI Transit. And it did.
Off came the wiring, the metal frame, and the spring clips on the ends, grind off most of the clip keepers with the die grinder and in it went. The trick is to just leave enough of the keepers on to lock it into place. I figured that out later, so had to glue a couple of short screws into place to act as clips. :oops:
Looks the part though, and no messing about cutting the opening with attendant risk of slipping and trashing the hoodlining.
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Just got to rebush the brake pedal now and thats the cab stuff done, after that its under the bonnet to where some clown has put the engine in with the mounts on arse about face, so the engine is not sitting square in the bay, just the sort of thing to annoy the living sh*t out of yours truly.
Hope you're having fun, we got our first proper southerly of the season, the South Island skifields are opening, which is 8) if you're a skier, and barked knuckles in the shed if you're not. :( :lol: :)
Last edited by not-a-jappa on Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby madmark » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:29 am

you can turn the stalk if your carefull :wink: they are on a spline :wink:
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:34 am

Wondered about that, .......... but every time I try something like that the outcome is very predictable, and less than productive. :cry:
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby conrod » Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:48 pm

Nice work for a whitey! :D I went to look at this truck while it was for sale on trademe, it was by far the best condition Mk1 Transit I had seen in ages (and I had been looking!) and a good price too. Problem was, I really needed a van, and no amount of persuasion could get the guy to part with the Mk1 minibus he also had there! (it was quite a cool collection in the barn don't you think?!) Really pleased to see it has gone to someone like yourself who is doing a great job of restoring it and putting it back into service.

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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:45 pm

:lol: Thanks Mate.

Yep that was an impressive shed, and like all good sheds, chokka. He must have 90% of the 315's in the country in there, and the Transits in the other bay were as clean as you'll find anywhere.

Just as well its a good one, after driving 500k to get it I wasn't coming back empty handed.

Found a couple of horrors in the dim dark recesses, but nothing learning how to weld standing on my head won't fix. Its turning into a good little project tho, sweetest running V4 I've ever encountered.

Have you found a van yet? There's been the odd one of late, like that MkII in Te Kuiti that went for less than what the Cheviot mags are worth.
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby conrod » Sun Jun 13, 2010 12:22 am

You're welcome! :D

Yes that was quite a collection of 315's, I had never seen a 315 2 door before, and he had two there! As for that "brand new" 315, well that was quite a find!

On the Transit I noticed there was some rust under the steps, and one of the rear chassis crossmembers was a bit rusty, but nothing major and easily repaired, most are far worse as you know. Also noticed the left front guard had been pop rivetted on - must have been replaced at some stage! I have noticed these old things are normally rotten behind the headlights and yours was really good there, as pretty much everywhere else. I was wondering how to attach the back of the cab, the factory way of welding then folding that seam over would have been very hard to replicate, I think you have done the right thing by cutting and welding the way you have, nice work! I really liked that it had all of the original interior trim still there, and in really good shape too. That sort of stuff is almost impossible to find for these old things, and really makes a big difference to the overall finish in my opinion. . You have one of the best original examples in the country I am sure!

After looking at a few (mostly rotten) Mk1 Transits, I gave up and bought something else, its not a Transit sorry!(but at least its British!) Its an LDV 400 (DAF) van, ex police,only 53 000kms with a factory Rover V8 and 5 speed.(its bloody fast for a van! :D ) A real minter too, still has the protective plastic on the door trims! Funnily enough it has quite a few MK2 Transit parts on it, same wheels, same single leaf springs, same front brakes (and possibly the whole front axle) and I suspect the rear axle might be the same, if not very similar.

If you need good front brakes for yours try to find a Mk2 front axle (must be from a "dually" though) with the disc brakes, they have big four pot calipers and are much better than the drums. I could take some measurements of my van if you like, the front axle might be the same so at least that would give you some more options to source parts?

Conrad

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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:02 am

Holy crap :!: That looks like a whole poultice of fun.
These were used as ambo's as well weren't they? Never paid much attention to them, but the Rover explains why they went like stink. Came after the Bedfords but before the 454 Chev's.

That boy has a good eye for the unusual, one of the 2 doors is a Consul Classic Capri', the other is a Consul 375 coupe or something like that. I love em, the design is way out there for the era, wanted to get one for the wife-type but she reckons they're ugly, end of discussion.

Yep, we cut the bottom off a couple of cross members at the seam and folded up new top hat sections to weld in. That back one that was a bit beaten up straightened out ok. The repair on the sills is a bit agricultural, but at least its compliant so we'll replace them another day.

Contemplated unpicking the seams and the gutter round the back wall and recreating the original but there was no guarantee anything would fit tidily, and it would take a month of sundays, so the weld and bond caper was settled on.

One of the owners spent a lot on it back in the late 80's and its done bugger all mileage since then. Both front guards and the grille panel are "as new" and the motor is the sweetest runner. I get worried now and then, some things are just too good, too neat, others are more like a 36yr old truck with near 100k on it, like the galah that's put the engine in with the mounts on the wrong sides.

Thanks for the heads up on the front axle. Brakes are muscle-hydraulic at present but I got a booster out of a wreck recently so we'll stash that away for another day.

cheers
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby conrod » Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:29 am

yep its a bit of fun, gets some funny looks when you leave cars behind at the lights! They were fitted with restrictors under the carbs and in the exhaust, which of course I have removed! They did use them a lot as ambos in the early to mid 90's, built on chassis cabs, mostly V8 auto's. A V8 panel van is quite a rare find,especially a 5 speed, and mostly just used by the police. So its not quite the Mk1 or Mk2 Transit I was looking for, but its a bit of humour anyway, and will be a good tow vehicle for my race car, which is why I bought it.

The Consul Capri is a nice looking car, but the 2 door Consul Classic is what caught my eye, its just so different! Bit like a large Anglia 105E with that backward sloping window.I have seen a few of these in 4 doors, but never a 2 door that I can remember. Can't even say I like the look of it that much,(the Capri is definitely a prettier car) but I do like things that are different (which goes some way towards explaining the LDV!)

I thought long and hard about buying your truck, it was in such good condition! But I couldn't justify another project with no use for it at the end, I even contemplated doing something similar to what you have done and then flicking it off, but decided against this in the end. So really pleased it has gone to someone like yourself who will obviously look after it. Funny how you can get excited about something old with a bit of character? and yet your daily driver, probably something modern that does everything better doesn't get a second thought.

I'll keep an eye out for a Mk2 front axle and give you a holler on here if I find one.

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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby carnut1100 » Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:57 am

That's a sweet looking truck there mate!
Puts my Mk2 to shame...for now!
1979 Mk2 Truck Project thread here
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:39 am

Well men, it has been a long and crappy winter, drove most of us silly, 88 days of rain since mid May, thats actual rain days, not just cloudy grotty ones.

However we have made some small progress. Front brakes stripped, these were a real mess, been leaking for a long time, linings debonded, grotsville. Had so much crap on my hands I didn't dare pick the camera up. :(

Image

Cleaned everything up, sandblasted and painted the backplates, honed and kitted three cylinders and replaced one, (only to find when refitting the balance pipe that mine had metric threads and the Indian replacement model had imperial threads :roll: ) had the shoes relined. All looks halfway respectable now 8)

Image

Needlegun did a primo job of getting 36 years of painted over crap out of the hub centres

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The studs knocked out of the hubs and drums easily so these cleaned up all pretty like as well.

:!: :!: One trap for young players that I fell into was thinking that I had the drums on the hubs tight. ................... A run up the road and back, and the wheelnuts were only finger tight. :shock:

:idea: Little truck is just like big truck, do a few ks and torque them up again, you won't have got them tight the first time.

Just started on the rears, one hub came off easy, just put a square bar between the drum and the backplate and "leaned" on it and off she popped. The other was a different story, no amount of normal persuasion and abuse would shift it so cobbled up a long puller and wound it up, and wound it up, and wound it up, was watching some very hard bolts deform and had that vibe about broken steel flying thru the confined space under the mudguards when "thunk" off she came in a hurry.

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However whats inside was a pleasant surprise, ordinary lining dust everywhere, JOY! linings in good shape, cylinders a bit sticky so a polish and new seals in them, a good cleanup and we'll be in business.

Other stuff thats got done was a recore of the radiator, (ouch $$$) new water pump and thermostat housing, new hoses all round, engine mounts put on the right sides, earth connections redone, and wiring unbodged some more.


Image

Picked these up the other day, 7" diameter 100W Halogens, brand spankers never been out of the box, bodies are cast alloy with glass lenses so they're heavy as hell. Might need to strengthen up the bumper mounts to cary them I reckon.
:lol:
Question; :?: Don't want to clutter the place up with any more wiring and switches than I have to so the plan is to put the relay into the high beam circuit so these come on with the high beams.

Is this a good idea or a silly one? :?:
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby carnut1100 » Wed Oct 20, 2010 10:56 am

You're doing well there mate!
It's turning into a nice little truck...
I've been slack with mine...daylight saving is giving me more time to work on it and warmer weather, but I've landed on later shifts at work for a while...
1979 Mk2 Truck Project thread here
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby not-a-jappa » Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:10 am

Thats a shame chap. You'd swear that there's a conspiricy (sp?) sometimes

Was supposed to be taking it to a truck rally this weekend, but its still sitting with axle stands under the back end. Assuming we get a certificate Friday morning I'll take the Inter instead and hope it don't rain.
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby MattBlackMinibus » Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:05 pm

Hi. Just seen your thread for first time. Nice truck 8)
Got any updates? How's it been?
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Re: Pakeha Horse (Kiwi Mk1 Truck)

Postby transitandy » Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:25 pm

X2 any updates m8y :?:
TRANSIT M8, SAY NO MORE YOUR IN...... FORD THROUGH TO THE BONE......
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