My "new" Transit

[Einar]

So I bought a Transit.
It is a 1994 Mk4 LWB 100hp. It used to be a command car in the volunteer fire brigade in my community and as a member of this fire brigade I have driven this vehicle under blue lights and siren so I know it a little bit and when it was replaced with a new vehicle last month I decided to buy it.
The Transit is in very good shape, it only has 18000 km (about 11000 miles) and is nearly rust free, the only thing I have found is 2 places on the rear wheel arches that need fixing.
The plan is to change it into a simple camper for me and my wife, I must start with removing the blue lights, siren and markings from the fire brigade so that I can register it as a private vehicle and remove everything from the inside and start building a camper.
I have been trying to decode the build plate to figure out what I have bought an here are some of it:
Engine: 2.5L turbo diesel 100 hp
Gearbox: MT 75 5‐speed Wide Ratio
Rear Axle: 51A Heavy Salisbury
Rear Axle Ratio: 4.63:1 Looks like it might have a LSD (have to confirm it)
Suspension: Optimized for high centre of gravity vehicle
Wheel Base: 3570 mm
Gross Vehicle Mass: 2900 kg
The plate says that it is type 100L but the weight numbers that it is type 150L, I don't know what is the difference.
Then it has another plate that has codes for S.V.O. "Special Vehicle Orders" but I have no idea what they mean.
I am surely going to ask some questions here, look forward to communicate with all of you here in the future.

[V184]

Looks very clean, wait for the "you should do a Bosch manual pump conversion" comments

[MinorMatt]

Lovely vehicle! I would have bought it too!

100L would be a 2900kg max gross weight, but with 14" wheels and 5 stud axles

150L would be a 3300kg max gross weight, but with the axles and wheels that are fitted.

The tailgate is an SVO fitment on a semi high vehicle.

This is what I can find

T529 - Battery Cut Off Switch/Relay
T578 - ?
T780 - ?
T514 - Rear Anti Roll Bar
T568 - ?
T612 - Guess Flashing Beacon (based on high and lower numbers being beacons)
T522 - Appears to be additional switch/fuse panel
T527 - Special Body Colour

One of the ?s will be for tailgate fitment, one will be for reduced GVM (2900kg on a 3300kg van), and the other is probably rear bench and/or window fit in the rear of the van (crew cab conversion)

RY91195 - End of you Chassis Number, Built Feb 1994

[Einar]

Looks very clean, wait for the "you should do a Bosch manual pump conversion" comments

Bosch pump? Is that a thing for this engine?
Well I am totally green when it come to Transits and I am open to any suggestions. At the moment the priority is to make it useful but later I might want to do something like getting a litle bit more power out of this fine engine. My first thought about the engine was "this thing should have a intercooler", anyone installed an intercooler?

[Einar]

Lovely vehicle! I would have bought it too!

100L would be a 2900kg max gross weight, but with 14" wheels and 5 stud axles

150L would be a 3300kg max gross weight, but with the axles and wheels that are fitted.

The tailgate is an SVO fitment on a semi high vehicle.

This is what I can find

T529 - Battery Cut Off Switch/Relay
T578 - ?
T780 - ?
T514 - Rear Anti Roll Bar
T568 - ?
T612 - Guess Flashing Beacon (based on high and lower numbers being beacons)
T522 - Appears to be additional switch/fuse panel
T527 - Special Body Colour

One of the ?s will be for tailgate fitment, one will be for reduced GVM (2900kg on a 3300kg van), and the other is probably rear bench and/or window fit in the rear of the van (crew cab conversion)

RY91195 - End of you Chassis Number, Built Feb 1994

Thanks for the informations, this is the main plate:

[MinorMatt]

Thanks for the informations, this is the main plate:

That is a very odd spec, its not something we would see in the UK or would be available from the dealer.

100L is 2900kg with either a 3500kg or 3800kg train weight.

Someone has specified that as a sub 3000kg vehicle that can tow a good amount (2000kg). I don't know German rules but prehaps there is a tax/speed limit/license restriction on 3000kg or above? Maybe this vehicle didn't need to tow, but its the "normal" spec for other fire vans?

It must have been overloaded or very close when full of people and equipment

[Einar]

Thanks for the informations, this is the main plate:

That is a very odd spec, its not something we would see in the UK or would be available from the dealer.

100L is 2900kg with either a 3500kg or 3800kg train weight.

Someone has specified that as a sub 3000kg vehicle that can tow a good amount (2000kg). I don't know German rules but prehaps there is a tax/speed limit/license restriction on 3000kg or above? Maybe this vehicle didn't need to tow, but its the "normal" spec for other fire vans?

It must have been overloaded or very close when full of people and equipment

It is in Austria an who know what rules they had about vehicle and drivers license 30 years ago.
It was built by a big Austrian fire vehicle builder "Rosenbauer" and most likely they specified there version of the Transit by Ford based on what they needed.
And yes it was an official secret by the fire brigade that it was always overloaded.

[Einar]

It has a 2 battery system, I still haven't quite found out how this works, it is a little bit of a mess with all the fire vehicle stuff + addons made through the years.
Does anyone know if this is a simple 12V parallel setup or starter battery/aux battery system like in some of the newer Transits?

[Chug]

Nice Buy Comes up as a 150L Kombi (M1) on Etis, build date 15.02.1994 and the P in the middle of the Vin plate is for 51a Heavy Sailsbury with LSD