Well the van is now safely parked in the drive at home in Sydney after a 1100km round trip to pick it up. The van was in a wrecker’s yard in Wodonga on the NSW/Victoria boarder. The owner told me that it originally came from Inverell in the Northern Tablelands area of NSW, some 600km north of Sydney, and he didn't know much else.
The van has no radiator, motor, gearbox or tail shaft. The diff is there with the brake drums, but appears to be missing the brake shoes and cylinders etc on both sides. The front end is complete, though the passenger side drum was seized (now free).
The body has some bumps and scraps, and a few areas of rust, which shouldn't be too much trouble. We in Australia have a very different concept of rust to what you have in the UK, the legacy of a warmer climate and no snowy/salty roads. I have noticed on all the pictures I have seen of Australian Commers in paddocks, they all seem to have lichen growing on them, mine being no exception. This was quickly removed and a general wash and scrub to get rid of the oxidised paintwork has revealed faint traces of old sign writing. So far I can just make out Express Delivery across the rear doors ( if you look hard enough you can just see it in the picture and Friendly Express on the drivers side. I might have a go at cutting and buffing the paint down and see if I can rescue it.
Mechanically I was planning to fit a modern 4 cylinder (running on LPG), 5 speed, replace the diff and upgrade the brakes to 4 wheel disc. It seems to me that the motor could be a problem as most modern OHC motors, would be considerably taller than the original. So I searched through the forum on this matter and couldn’t see any easy option. Then in a flash of brilliance, it came to me! Why not fit a rotary, this should easily solve the hight/space issue. In standard form a 13B has around 130BHP with enormous scope for more if desired. Again straight LPG would be the sensible economic option as I do want a “working” van that can double on weekends as my service and tow vehicle for my Mk1 2.5PI Triumph club car.
Has anyone heard of this conversion before? I remember seeing a Mitsubishi Express L300 fitted with a rotary turbo popping and hissing as it took of at the lights a year or so back. I think it’s worth looking at or do you think that rather than look for a rotary motor I should look for a therapist!
Cheers Stephen
The van has no radiator, motor, gearbox or tail shaft. The diff is there with the brake drums, but appears to be missing the brake shoes and cylinders etc on both sides. The front end is complete, though the passenger side drum was seized (now free).
The body has some bumps and scraps, and a few areas of rust, which shouldn't be too much trouble. We in Australia have a very different concept of rust to what you have in the UK, the legacy of a warmer climate and no snowy/salty roads. I have noticed on all the pictures I have seen of Australian Commers in paddocks, they all seem to have lichen growing on them, mine being no exception. This was quickly removed and a general wash and scrub to get rid of the oxidised paintwork has revealed faint traces of old sign writing. So far I can just make out Express Delivery across the rear doors ( if you look hard enough you can just see it in the picture and Friendly Express on the drivers side. I might have a go at cutting and buffing the paint down and see if I can rescue it.
Mechanically I was planning to fit a modern 4 cylinder (running on LPG), 5 speed, replace the diff and upgrade the brakes to 4 wheel disc. It seems to me that the motor could be a problem as most modern OHC motors, would be considerably taller than the original. So I searched through the forum on this matter and couldn’t see any easy option. Then in a flash of brilliance, it came to me! Why not fit a rotary, this should easily solve the hight/space issue. In standard form a 13B has around 130BHP with enormous scope for more if desired. Again straight LPG would be the sensible economic option as I do want a “working” van that can double on weekends as my service and tow vehicle for my Mk1 2.5PI Triumph club car.
Has anyone heard of this conversion before? I remember seeing a Mitsubishi Express L300 fitted with a rotary turbo popping and hissing as it took of at the lights a year or so back. I think it’s worth looking at or do you think that rather than look for a rotary motor I should look for a therapist!
Cheers Stephen
