Commerjules

commerjules

commerjules

0
Hope this doesnt bore everyone stupid.

Years ago in the course of my work i met a really old guy (machine gunner on D-Day etc) who I found interesting to chat to. Months later when I was passing I visited him at home he tried to sell me his Campervan as he was too old to drive it anymore. He'd been too old for quite a while so it needed a bit doing to it. Anyway i bought it, I dont really know why.
It was a 1977 Sherpa with an Autosleeper conversion and pop-top. I fitted it with a Perkins diesel I had lieing about from an old loader as well as a 5 speed box and my wife and I went away for a few weekends over the course of the next couple of years. After I bit I decided to experiment a bit further and converted it to run on vegetable oil ( fuel preheater, heated fuel line, switchable triple tanks etc). This is more common now but was unusual 5+ years ago and was quite a conversation piece,it didnt run a mix of veg & wiesel, it ran pure rapeseed oil - 16p litre from the catering suppliers! This was quite fun except that it always smelled of McDonalds. Then some kids broke into my yard and smashed it up beyond repair. I was in tears.

I decided to get a replacement which was a 7L Chevy powered US monstrosity, sized between an RV and a dayvan. This ran propane as well as petrol, but it still hit me in the pocket at 8 - 12 to the gallon. Also my wife refused to drive it being LHD and large. So no drinking for me. Also i could never stop it leaking. So I sold it, luckily for quite a fat profit.

When I was at the Classic Show at the NEC in November my wife saw the blue van (Dozer's i think) fell in love with it.

So then on Ebay around Christmas I saw Horatio (I have no idea why its called that, I didnt name it other people on the forum here did, I dont know why??). Not been running for 10 years, but it looked OK so I bought it unseen.

When it arrived I realised that it needed a new engine. And that was just the start.

So I bought another van for spares which was about to be crushed by the council. (so anyone needing a part pls get in touch I might have it)

Having spent quite a long time getting the engine running ready to transfer to Horatio I realised it was a bit gutless.

Then I joined the forum here and read about possibility of fitting a 1725 unit. In for a penny, in for a pound so I though I might as well get a Holbay unit and change the box for an O/D version while I was at it

So i found a H120 Rapier which had supposedly been rebuilt and whipped out the mill & box.

Currently I have the mill fitted, but am having hassle with the ancillaries. EG no way will the 40s fit so I am running Stroms at the moment and the holbay extractor was a bugger to fit. I still have to sort the prop out, mess with the bob weights on the dizzy to get a decent advance curve and fit EI, and build the exhaust, Sort the brakes out with a servo & rigid lines, maybe a rewire which i'm not looking forward to. Need some instruments as I'm used to a bit more info than speed, temp & fuel.

Then theres all the interior. I'd like a woodburner with a back boiler as the kids love our one at home and I try to be green (although thats a bit hypercritical with up-powering the mill I know) I'd like telly and a decent stereo.

Then a repaint which i will not be able to do myself - I'm thinking candy apple metallic (maybe with flames, or is this just going silly). Or i may just keep with the coffee & cream theme as i quite like it.

Sorry to bore 95% of you.


Horatio:

DSC03612.jpg







Spare van:

DSC03370.jpg




Bit of work required on this mill......
DSC03676.jpg





Other rejected engines:

DSC03675.jpg



Holbay Donor:
alpine1.jpg



Ready to just "slot in" - in my dreams
DSC03604.jpg


Fitted:

DSC03673.jpg





Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
Bored[?][:0] By no means, inspirational stuff. We really enjoy hearing the stories behind the vans and any progress reports attract loads of readers and comments. Bore us some more please [^]

'Harvey the RV'
 
Thankyou for this very much enjoyed the read :pMORE...still think you will regret breaking the other van [V] looks worth the effort to me.is this three vans now in this gold colour?Dipsey reg,Nelson & horatio or did you buy nelsons flagship & change the name(sorry I am having trouble keeping up with all the action lately)[8D]

"RAN"the van & N0.1
 
how dare you call it boring, that is why we all buy commers aint it? I'm no mechanic and would love to have the knowledge, space, time, ability to upgrade the engine, however i do love reading all about everyone else struggling:). I think that a simple solution to the underpowered engine would be a great idea so that the commer would be a little easier for the modern world. I have a theory and its only my idea of course, however the average british person loves the eccentricity of the commer, and will smile admire them, happy to overtake and wave. its the other type of person who makes driving a commer difficult, the one who looks at it as an old vehicle and is not sure if you are cool, or gypsy, so they have no tolerance for a slower vehicle. Im happy of the fact that i only overtake stationary or agricultural vehicles, i'm also happy that i can drive while having a cuddle with my girl, with a cushion propping me up against the cold drafty door and that the vehicle is clever enough to have a flat shelf for a dash and therefore my glass of wine(non- alcoholic) does not fall off.[8D] ( now that rambling is boring )he he
 
Excellent stuff ;)
I havn't posted any of my works on for a while, but hopefully I will get down to it shortly and reveal all [:0]
 
I agree, this is the kind of stuff I love reading about!
why don't you go for (proper) electronic ignition and ditch the dizzy completely? Better fuel economy and performance!

I think you have just completed my ideal conversion by the way - keeping it with a kind of factory what Rootes could have done feeling!

Rupert

www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
Sorry but why if someone wants to buy the van as a whole off Ebay and put it back on the road wont he sell ?? why does it have to be broken??
 
I don't know about the whys and wherefores, but without this van being broken, mine would be missing lots of bits (some quite important!)

Rupert

www.littleyellowcar.co.uk
 
Got the exhaust sorted, used Holbay extractor followed by twin in line cherry bombs
Quite please with the result.

Full details are on this thread for anyone interested:

http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1449

Am now going to make interior heater.

Like the idea of the calorifier, as its a free heating source. (Anyone who wants to know, but doesnt, about the calorifier sysytem is do a search on the forum - I had no idea what the word meant before myself)
But I dont like the idea of running engine coolant all round the van for 2 reason:
1) antifreeze makes its way out of every little crack, much worse than water, and I use water wetter which is worse
2) Breakdown implications & complexity of having metres of hose and several joins and an additional cooler matrix (as lots of you probably know you just dont want to break down in the middle of nowhere with litte kids, or are my kids just unusually impatient?) And lets face it the commer motor isnt just a case of lifting the bonnet for a shifty- you dont want unplanned visits down their on a holiday trip - not if like me your wife insists on taking all our worldly possessions and putting some of it between the seats on a trip.
So I have decided to Tee of one of the hoses, but without disturbing the flow. So kind of a pipe within a pipe system with an inlet & and outlet.
Hopefully later I wont be telling you want a bad idea this was[B)]



Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
I know what you mean, I've seen small versions that heat the screen wash. A tube set into a hose with water jacket for the fluid to be heated on the outside.
A bit like this

HeatExchanger.jpg


'Harvey the RV'
 
Panky, thats exactly what I was thinking of - your pic is worth a 1000 words as they say.
Or perhaps 5 words: water to water heat exchanger. thanks Tim:)

I've never seen a washer jet one, but its exactly the same principle although I would need to cobble together something with a larger bore.

Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
after chatting to panky over the weekend and discussing this did anyone find a water to water heat exchanger ? if they did what and from where. In plumbing we use stainless steel plate exchangers, which are very effective at transfering heat from water to water, and quite cheap. The only thing i thought is that if you use one then you will have to feed and pump the secondary water circuit ??
 
This is what I cobbled together.
As per Pankys diagram the rectangular bit is the water jacket that the main (end) pipes run through, the top mounted pipes being the inlet & outlet.
In the unlikely event it works I'll be chuffed.

Keys show scale


waterheatexchanger.jpg





Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
Shortened the propshaft to suit the Rapier O/D box - having been given inspiration by Sam

shortenedpropshaft.jpg


Yes it really is this short now

shortenedpropshaft2.jpg


It fitted fine. As its so short I doubt there will be balancing issues...fingers crossed

Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
quote:
Originally posted by BigMonkeyMan

I agree, this is the kind of stuff I love reading about!
why don't you go for (proper) electronic ignition and ditch the dizzy completely? Better fuel economy and performance!

I think you have just completed my ideal conversion by the way - keeping it with a kind of factory what Rootes could have done feeling!

Rupert

www.littleyellowcar.co.uk





Thanks Rupert - you're very kind:D

I will go with EI eventually but not sure whether to go the Magna Spark or 123 route

Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
Nice job [8D], have you decided how you are going to pump the circulating water aroung the system.

'Harvey the RV'
 
I am considering using a boat pump. The sort used to pump water out of the hull that splashes in when your mate thinks its funny to do doughnuts. There is a tecchnical name for it but as usual I dont know it.
1) They are cheap (from £15)
2) Fairly hardy and usually manages to deal with the accumulated muck (mud, sludge, beer, sandwiches) that is in the bottom of mine.
3) Small enough to be run from solar (which doubtless will be handy when the van breaks down in the middle of the winter night - which is the time I'm likely to want some heat [xx(])

Cheers
Jules

RatSport www.ratsport.co.uk
 
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