The New Project
- Thread starter Suinnyboy
- Start date
Yes yes, paulcloke, I didn't think it wise to get any tyres untill I was confident it was all going to fit, but will be on the look out now.
Thanks all for you support, I am a great believer in modernising to some degree, engines, brakes and suspension for reliability, safety and greater availability of parts. It is also important to then put the information out there so it can be considered as a viable alternative by others, as something that has been tried and tested, so they can just grab the bits and get the job done and get back on the road. In addition, I have read some stuff recently on some Navara forums that suggest that this diff can be upgraded by bolting on the rear disc brakes from the Nissan Terrano that was released around the same time. The drums will do fine for the moment, but it would be nice further down the track.
You have a very good eye Throwman. I have a couple of Triumph's. The blue one you can just see is a 73 Mk2 2.5pi Estate, and I have a 69 Mk1 2.5pi Saloon in the shed. The Estate is rare in Australia, there were said to be only 10 when I bought this one in 1993. It was said to be an ex Embassay car from the UK that they brought out to Canberra, then lived in Victoria before coming up to me in NSW. Unfortunately after I had it a few years the rust from the salty UK winter roads erupted and was taken off the road to be restored "in the future". That was about 11 years ago. It was a beautiful, quick and parctical car, but my needs have changed and have more need for a van these days, hence the Commer's arrival. I have been considering selling the Estate, but still undecided. T o be honest, it would be better for someone to get the work done and get it back on the road where it belongs.
The Mk1 2.5pi Saloon is slowly to become my Club motorsport car, but that's a little way off as the Commer is my priority at this time. My current run-about is an 1980 B310 Datsun Sunny Estate with 580k on the clock. Mechanically it's great, and it too has a number of modification to the engine brakes and suspension, but the body has started to let go and I am hoping to have the Commer up and registered by August 2011 when the Sunny Rego expires. This also explains my signature of Suinnyboy. The "i" was a typo error ages ago, but stuck with it as it always seems available.
I have some information on the Triumphs at http://www.triumphowners.com/index.cgi and some information in that forum on brake mods I had been working on for the Triumphs, called "Real brakes for 2.5pi"
Cheers
Stephen
Thanks all for you support, I am a great believer in modernising to some degree, engines, brakes and suspension for reliability, safety and greater availability of parts. It is also important to then put the information out there so it can be considered as a viable alternative by others, as something that has been tried and tested, so they can just grab the bits and get the job done and get back on the road. In addition, I have read some stuff recently on some Navara forums that suggest that this diff can be upgraded by bolting on the rear disc brakes from the Nissan Terrano that was released around the same time. The drums will do fine for the moment, but it would be nice further down the track.
You have a very good eye Throwman. I have a couple of Triumph's. The blue one you can just see is a 73 Mk2 2.5pi Estate, and I have a 69 Mk1 2.5pi Saloon in the shed. The Estate is rare in Australia, there were said to be only 10 when I bought this one in 1993. It was said to be an ex Embassay car from the UK that they brought out to Canberra, then lived in Victoria before coming up to me in NSW. Unfortunately after I had it a few years the rust from the salty UK winter roads erupted and was taken off the road to be restored "in the future". That was about 11 years ago. It was a beautiful, quick and parctical car, but my needs have changed and have more need for a van these days, hence the Commer's arrival. I have been considering selling the Estate, but still undecided. T o be honest, it would be better for someone to get the work done and get it back on the road where it belongs.
The Mk1 2.5pi Saloon is slowly to become my Club motorsport car, but that's a little way off as the Commer is my priority at this time. My current run-about is an 1980 B310 Datsun Sunny Estate with 580k on the clock. Mechanically it's great, and it too has a number of modification to the engine brakes and suspension, but the body has started to let go and I am hoping to have the Commer up and registered by August 2011 when the Sunny Rego expires. This also explains my signature of Suinnyboy. The "i" was a typo error ages ago, but stuck with it as it always seems available.
I have some information on the Triumphs at http://www.triumphowners.com/index.cgi and some information in that forum on brake mods I had been working on for the Triumphs, called "Real brakes for 2.5pi"
Cheers
Stephen
Hi Stephen,
Good to see another Aussie van (and an early one too) going to be back on the road again sometime soon. Nice to see the photos of it too.
Cheers
Andrea.
Good to see another Aussie van (and an early one too) going to be back on the road again sometime soon. Nice to see the photos of it too.
Cheers
Andrea.
all sounds very familiar keep us posted [8D]
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans
The Colonel Mustard
Commer Dandy by Dandy Caravans
The Colonel Mustard
Hi all, from soggy Sydney.
Well thing are still moving along. I have now sorted the U-bolts and clamping plates for the rear diff. I decided to try and keep things standardised and picked up a couple of Navara leaf spring clamping plates and a set of U-bolts and try them out. The centre hole was already large enough to fit over the Commer spring clamping bolt head and the U-bolts and fixing holes were already correct to suit the diameter of the axle tube. When tried fitting them it seemed that the Navara U-bolts were going to be a fraction too short, so found some longer ones, which have worked fine after a slight bend and adjustment with the hammer. It appears that when everything was tightened, the Navara ones might just work. I will confirm if this is so at a later date. I’m quite impressed with the set-up and now only have the rear telescopic shock absorber mounts to sort and the rear end is done, except painting.
Now, to keep “paulcloke” happy. I managed to pick up a couple of 215/60 x 15” tyres off EBay since my last posting and have had them fitted to the 15 x 7” mags. Braving the poor weather with the aid of my 3 metre patio umbrella, I set to fitting up the wheels to the Commer. Well it was tight getting them on and they just fit. It looks like I will need to remove most of the upper and some of the lower lips in the rear guards to give enough clearance. This should also make it a little easier to get the wheels on and off the van. Mags with a 15mm negative offset would fit a little better than the zero offset that I have, but these will do fine for now. I did a temporary fit up of the Navara front hub so I could also check the front and on full lock it clears, as is. The van has become a garden shed on wheels, and has quite a bit of “stuff” in the back, which has the rear sitting nicely, though I expect the front to drop once a motor and gearbox have been installed, by how much I’ll have to wait and see if it has affected the front clearance and may still have to trim the front guard lip, just to be safe. Yes “paulcloke” I will attempt to get two more wheels!
The Commer has made a new friend, my cat. Since removing the engine cover she has discovered she can climb up through the engine bay and has set-up camp on the driver’s seat. What a life!!
[/IMG]
Cheers to all
Stephen
Well thing are still moving along. I have now sorted the U-bolts and clamping plates for the rear diff. I decided to try and keep things standardised and picked up a couple of Navara leaf spring clamping plates and a set of U-bolts and try them out. The centre hole was already large enough to fit over the Commer spring clamping bolt head and the U-bolts and fixing holes were already correct to suit the diameter of the axle tube. When tried fitting them it seemed that the Navara U-bolts were going to be a fraction too short, so found some longer ones, which have worked fine after a slight bend and adjustment with the hammer. It appears that when everything was tightened, the Navara ones might just work. I will confirm if this is so at a later date. I’m quite impressed with the set-up and now only have the rear telescopic shock absorber mounts to sort and the rear end is done, except painting.
Now, to keep “paulcloke” happy. I managed to pick up a couple of 215/60 x 15” tyres off EBay since my last posting and have had them fitted to the 15 x 7” mags. Braving the poor weather with the aid of my 3 metre patio umbrella, I set to fitting up the wheels to the Commer. Well it was tight getting them on and they just fit. It looks like I will need to remove most of the upper and some of the lower lips in the rear guards to give enough clearance. This should also make it a little easier to get the wheels on and off the van. Mags with a 15mm negative offset would fit a little better than the zero offset that I have, but these will do fine for now. I did a temporary fit up of the Navara front hub so I could also check the front and on full lock it clears, as is. The van has become a garden shed on wheels, and has quite a bit of “stuff” in the back, which has the rear sitting nicely, though I expect the front to drop once a motor and gearbox have been installed, by how much I’ll have to wait and see if it has affected the front clearance and may still have to trim the front guard lip, just to be safe. Yes “paulcloke” I will attempt to get two more wheels!
The Commer has made a new friend, my cat. Since removing the engine cover she has discovered she can climb up through the engine bay and has set-up camp on the driver’s seat. What a life!!
Cheers to all
Stephen
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van progressing great, thanks Stephen for posting the pics too[8D]
Hi All
Not much been happening since last posted. Life and other stuff has a habit of getting in the way at times, though have at last decided on which way I am going regarding motor & gearbox. Staying with what I know best and have managed to pick up good Nissan Z24 motor out of a Navara and nearly have my hands on a Nissan Urvan 5 speed gearbox. Fingers crossed it shouldn’t take too much trouble getting it all in, just waiting for some better spring/summer weather and daylight saving.
Still haven’t got the front discs quite sorted, but getting closer, as I try to come up with replacement hub solution. Will let you know when the penny finally drops.
Very happy with decision on motor/gearbox, as a 2.4litre OHC 4cyl should be more than adequate. Will dump the standard carburettor and all it pollution stuff and wires etc and looking at modifying the manifold to take a pair of 1 ¾” SU’s.
The Urvan gearbox was chosen as it has lever actuation as in the picture. I also have the Urvan gear lever and selector cables, so that should all fit together nicely.
[/IMG]
I have done the maths and with this running gear combined with the 4.375:1 diff and 215/60X15” tyres it should cruise nicely in 5th at just over 100kph/60mph @ 3000rpm.
Was thinking ahead today and I am curious as to why Commer exhausts always exit from the side. I don’t think it was done for the sporty look. I can only imaging it is to reduce the chances of exhaust gases being sucked it through the rear doors. I’ve had early range Roves and Land Rovers and know how ordinary the seals worked on them. Any light on this would be appreciated.
Also regarding the SU’s, it looks as I will need to use HIF6 of HIF44 style as there won’t be enough room for the external float bowl. I’ve never used this style of SU before. I had a pair of 1 ½” SU on a 180BSSS I had years ago and have also worked with CD Stromberg’s on my Range Rovers and ex-wife’s Triumph 2000 Mk1 previously and was hoping for some pointers as to the differences and reasons to use one version over the other. Mind you, I do have a pair of 40mm Webers in the shed, just love that induction sound, tempting as they are I need to be realistic.
That should keep me occupied for a while, will update when thing start to happen.
Cheers Stephen
Not much been happening since last posted. Life and other stuff has a habit of getting in the way at times, though have at last decided on which way I am going regarding motor & gearbox. Staying with what I know best and have managed to pick up good Nissan Z24 motor out of a Navara and nearly have my hands on a Nissan Urvan 5 speed gearbox. Fingers crossed it shouldn’t take too much trouble getting it all in, just waiting for some better spring/summer weather and daylight saving.
Still haven’t got the front discs quite sorted, but getting closer, as I try to come up with replacement hub solution. Will let you know when the penny finally drops.
Very happy with decision on motor/gearbox, as a 2.4litre OHC 4cyl should be more than adequate. Will dump the standard carburettor and all it pollution stuff and wires etc and looking at modifying the manifold to take a pair of 1 ¾” SU’s.
The Urvan gearbox was chosen as it has lever actuation as in the picture. I also have the Urvan gear lever and selector cables, so that should all fit together nicely.
I have done the maths and with this running gear combined with the 4.375:1 diff and 215/60X15” tyres it should cruise nicely in 5th at just over 100kph/60mph @ 3000rpm.
Was thinking ahead today and I am curious as to why Commer exhausts always exit from the side. I don’t think it was done for the sporty look. I can only imaging it is to reduce the chances of exhaust gases being sucked it through the rear doors. I’ve had early range Roves and Land Rovers and know how ordinary the seals worked on them. Any light on this would be appreciated.
Also regarding the SU’s, it looks as I will need to use HIF6 of HIF44 style as there won’t be enough room for the external float bowl. I’ve never used this style of SU before. I had a pair of 1 ½” SU on a 180BSSS I had years ago and have also worked with CD Stromberg’s on my Range Rovers and ex-wife’s Triumph 2000 Mk1 previously and was hoping for some pointers as to the differences and reasons to use one version over the other. Mind you, I do have a pair of 40mm Webers in the shed, just love that induction sound, tempting as they are I need to be realistic.
That should keep me occupied for a while, will update when thing start to happen.
Cheers Stephen
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Excellent [8D]
The exhaust was probably done like that to save costs :I
The later s.u carbs are much easier to live with and just as simple. One screw on the side to wind the jet up/down
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
The exhaust was probably done like that to save costs :I
The later s.u carbs are much easier to live with and just as simple. One screw on the side to wind the jet up/down
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
Hi All
Things are continuing to progress on the van. The front disc brake conversion still has some work to be done, but is nearing completion. You can check this out elsewhere for now at http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6055.
I thought I'd drop the front suspension out and start cleaning and sorting that out as it was covered in a combination of oil and grease in places and encrusted in years of built up mud. My van came from the country and would have spent some of its time on dirt roads with much of the mud still there. This build-up is sometimes an advantage as is sets like cement and tends to seal the underside, especially when you add some oil from a typical British leaking motor or gearbox. Over the years I have had Range Rovers, a Land Rover and a number of Triumphs that all had this wonderful anti rust system. The only problem was that the oil never spread far enough to protect the sills!
After having a good look and a read of the manual it was apparent that to remove the front end complete I needed to unbolt the top pivots from their mounts. I knew that the springs would need to be compressed for this so the top arm was off the top bump rubber. The manual mentioned some special Churchill tool so I made something up myself. I'm not sure if anyone has done the same, but it proved very simple and effective, consisting of some 10mm threaded rod welded to some 20mm box section with a hole drilled through it. Total length is 300mm from centre of bolt hole to the end of the thread.
It fits in as shown in the picture below with a large washer and nut under the lower suspension arm. Doing up the nut compressed the suspension enough to lift the top arm up off the bump rubber and was now able to undo the pivot mounting bolts and found it long enough to drop the suspension so the springs was loose.
Before this I had to disconnect a number of ball joints, which I was not looking forward to as they always seem impossible to get apart with out destroying them in the process. To my surprise it only took a few hits and they were apart.
After undoing the necessary mounting bolts, which amazingly came apart easily once I'd found them buried under their mud encasing, it was out and time to see what we had. I already knew that the right hand shock bottom mount had parted from the shock body so I chose to start there, and quickly realised that I also had a cracked spring. The last coil was still cemented into the lower spring platform with the missing part of the shock absorber.
I set to and chiselled through the mud and after 30minutes finally got the missing part of the spring out.
I then removed the broken shock absorber which otherwise seemed in good condition. It was here I made an interesting discovery. When I purchased the van I had been told that it was a 1965 model, but on the body for the shock absorber I discovered a manufacture date of 2/62. I pretty sure that in Australia these vans were made from knock down kits, but it seems to me very unlikely that they would be fitting 3 year old stock to a new van. So I suspect the van could be a couple of years older than I thought.
Does anyone know if the guy who does the Commer dating has been able to date knockdown Exported kits?
That’s where I am up to at the moment. Where I work we have an industrial parts washer that they use for cleaning large compressor part. I am very keen to try this out with the suspension components once I have them all apart, it could save me a lot of time and effort. The ball joints all seem in good shape and hopefully a clean and fresh grease will be all they need plus all the other bushes etc seem good too, as whoever operated the van originally wasn’t afraid to use a grease gun.
Cheers for now
Stephen
Things are continuing to progress on the van. The front disc brake conversion still has some work to be done, but is nearing completion. You can check this out elsewhere for now at http://66.129.69.181/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6055.
I thought I'd drop the front suspension out and start cleaning and sorting that out as it was covered in a combination of oil and grease in places and encrusted in years of built up mud. My van came from the country and would have spent some of its time on dirt roads with much of the mud still there. This build-up is sometimes an advantage as is sets like cement and tends to seal the underside, especially when you add some oil from a typical British leaking motor or gearbox. Over the years I have had Range Rovers, a Land Rover and a number of Triumphs that all had this wonderful anti rust system. The only problem was that the oil never spread far enough to protect the sills!
After having a good look and a read of the manual it was apparent that to remove the front end complete I needed to unbolt the top pivots from their mounts. I knew that the springs would need to be compressed for this so the top arm was off the top bump rubber. The manual mentioned some special Churchill tool so I made something up myself. I'm not sure if anyone has done the same, but it proved very simple and effective, consisting of some 10mm threaded rod welded to some 20mm box section with a hole drilled through it. Total length is 300mm from centre of bolt hole to the end of the thread.
It fits in as shown in the picture below with a large washer and nut under the lower suspension arm. Doing up the nut compressed the suspension enough to lift the top arm up off the bump rubber and was now able to undo the pivot mounting bolts and found it long enough to drop the suspension so the springs was loose.
Before this I had to disconnect a number of ball joints, which I was not looking forward to as they always seem impossible to get apart with out destroying them in the process. To my surprise it only took a few hits and they were apart.
After undoing the necessary mounting bolts, which amazingly came apart easily once I'd found them buried under their mud encasing, it was out and time to see what we had. I already knew that the right hand shock bottom mount had parted from the shock body so I chose to start there, and quickly realised that I also had a cracked spring. The last coil was still cemented into the lower spring platform with the missing part of the shock absorber.
I set to and chiselled through the mud and after 30minutes finally got the missing part of the spring out.
I then removed the broken shock absorber which otherwise seemed in good condition. It was here I made an interesting discovery. When I purchased the van I had been told that it was a 1965 model, but on the body for the shock absorber I discovered a manufacture date of 2/62. I pretty sure that in Australia these vans were made from knock down kits, but it seems to me very unlikely that they would be fitting 3 year old stock to a new van. So I suspect the van could be a couple of years older than I thought.
Does anyone know if the guy who does the Commer dating has been able to date knockdown Exported kits?
That’s where I am up to at the moment. Where I work we have an industrial parts washer that they use for cleaning large compressor part. I am very keen to try this out with the suspension components once I have them all apart, it could save me a lot of time and effort. The ball joints all seem in good shape and hopefully a clean and fresh grease will be all they need plus all the other bushes etc seem good too, as whoever operated the van originally wasn’t afraid to use a grease gun.
Cheers for now
Stephen
Hi all,
Just a quick update, I managed to get the cross member cleaned up after a lot of work. My hi pressure water blaster got some off but the rest had to be removed using a gasket removing tool and was finally finishing it off with one of those handyman type sand blasters you hook up to your compressor.
Talk about messy! Behind my shed now looks like Bondi Beach, sand everywhere! This may sound stupid but I was planning to vacuum it up for finishing off the other suspension parts. It worked OK on the day to get the most out of what sand I had, but now it's raining and looks like I'll have to wait a while for it to dry out.
One thing I found surprising, was that many of the welds on the cross member were still covered in welding slag, something I've never come across before. Am I correct in thinking they were still using arc/stick welders in the early/mid 60's and didn't have the luxury of MIG welders? It's had to imagine the work and effort these guys put into making these parts, especially when you see footage of modern car plants full of robots welding 24/7.
I've decided to remove the engine mounts from the cross member, which should give me some additional space in the engine bay. I suspect they would have fouled the alternator and I'm hoping there is enough space to fit an air conditioning compressor too. Yes an air conditioned Commer, that could be a first. Once the front suspension is sorted I plan on top dressing the front lawn with the mud that needs to be removed from the underside of the van, which should be fun, then get a fresh coat of paint on it prior to looking at making some new mounts to suit the Nissan Z24 motor and gearbox.
Cheers for now
Stephen
Just a quick update, I managed to get the cross member cleaned up after a lot of work. My hi pressure water blaster got some off but the rest had to be removed using a gasket removing tool and was finally finishing it off with one of those handyman type sand blasters you hook up to your compressor.
Talk about messy! Behind my shed now looks like Bondi Beach, sand everywhere! This may sound stupid but I was planning to vacuum it up for finishing off the other suspension parts. It worked OK on the day to get the most out of what sand I had, but now it's raining and looks like I'll have to wait a while for it to dry out.
One thing I found surprising, was that many of the welds on the cross member were still covered in welding slag, something I've never come across before. Am I correct in thinking they were still using arc/stick welders in the early/mid 60's and didn't have the luxury of MIG welders? It's had to imagine the work and effort these guys put into making these parts, especially when you see footage of modern car plants full of robots welding 24/7.
I've decided to remove the engine mounts from the cross member, which should give me some additional space in the engine bay. I suspect they would have fouled the alternator and I'm hoping there is enough space to fit an air conditioning compressor too. Yes an air conditioned Commer, that could be a first. Once the front suspension is sorted I plan on top dressing the front lawn with the mud that needs to be removed from the underside of the van, which should be fun, then get a fresh coat of paint on it prior to looking at making some new mounts to suit the Nissan Z24 motor and gearbox.
Cheers for now
Stephen
Yep, still quite common to find slag on welds even on vehicles that "modern"
Wish my shed looked like Bondi Beach
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
Wish my shed looked like Bondi Beach
"You,re only supposed to blow the bloody SLIDING doors off"
A Commer at Bondi, can see something like after all is completed ...As fast as a Bondi Tram Commer
A great place to be !! [8D][8D][8D]
BTW, your van is coming along tops, especially from how it was when you got it.
A great place to be !! [8D][8D][8D]
BTW, your van is coming along tops, especially from how it was when you got it.
Thanks for the encouragement, as I find the progress painfully slow at times. I'm very much looking forward to the day it's on the road. I'm currently considering not doing much to the body except the few rust repairs necessary and other fiddly bits and getting it registered on the road. I might just worry about the cosmetics later.
Most of my cars have had the major modifications hidden underneath the body, that way you don't have to deal with the "Wallys" out there. My current hack that I've been using for the last 12 years is a 1980 Datsun Sunny Wagon. Yes I know, very unfashionable, but it has proven amazingly reliable and versitile and just won't die. It looks pretty normal, but underneath it runs a nice little 1435cc motor with lightened flywheel, ported head, sports cam, extractors, 5 speed gear box, gas shocks and larger 200B (p810) front discs. I had a pair of 40mm Webers on it for some time, but went back to the standard carb to save some money on fuel when I had a job that had me sitting in Sydney traffic for 3 hours a day. I'm a great beliver in "Keep It Simple Stupid" principle with my modifications, they must be things that I can fix on the side of the road if necessary.
My poor Sunny now has 580,000km on the clock, 270,000km of those on the current motor and gearbox and the original diff! Unfortunately the body is now looking a little worse for wear as I have given it a hard time over the years regularly moving stuff for friends and the Lawnmowing/Property Maintenance work I was doing at one time. About 2 years ago I breifly had a company Renault Traffic Van and realised that this was the sort of thing I really needed, and started looking for an "interesting" van, which I found in the Commer. Once the modifications and upgrades underneath are completed it should perform on par with a modern van, but look so much more interesting that the boxes on wheels they vans have become.
I briefly considered a Kombi, but they had become over priced and quickly came to the conclusion that they offer a useless load area. What a stupid place to put the engine, that's where your bags of concrete and tools should be, plus how in hell could I fit my motorcycle in there! Other alternatives were limited to Transits and the odd CF Bedford which really didn't hit the spot.
I had been checking on Ebay for some time and one day while looking at some Morris vans I noticed at the top of the page the suggested search "Commer Van", which I clicked and came across what was to become my van. I found out when I picked it up that it had been relisted on EBay as the previous buyer never paid or showed up, lucky me.
It's good to know I'm not alone and that there are others out there that enjoy a challenge and have a taste for something different.
Cheers Stephen
Most of my cars have had the major modifications hidden underneath the body, that way you don't have to deal with the "Wallys" out there. My current hack that I've been using for the last 12 years is a 1980 Datsun Sunny Wagon. Yes I know, very unfashionable, but it has proven amazingly reliable and versitile and just won't die. It looks pretty normal, but underneath it runs a nice little 1435cc motor with lightened flywheel, ported head, sports cam, extractors, 5 speed gear box, gas shocks and larger 200B (p810) front discs. I had a pair of 40mm Webers on it for some time, but went back to the standard carb to save some money on fuel when I had a job that had me sitting in Sydney traffic for 3 hours a day. I'm a great beliver in "Keep It Simple Stupid" principle with my modifications, they must be things that I can fix on the side of the road if necessary.
My poor Sunny now has 580,000km on the clock, 270,000km of those on the current motor and gearbox and the original diff! Unfortunately the body is now looking a little worse for wear as I have given it a hard time over the years regularly moving stuff for friends and the Lawnmowing/Property Maintenance work I was doing at one time. About 2 years ago I breifly had a company Renault Traffic Van and realised that this was the sort of thing I really needed, and started looking for an "interesting" van, which I found in the Commer. Once the modifications and upgrades underneath are completed it should perform on par with a modern van, but look so much more interesting that the boxes on wheels they vans have become.
I briefly considered a Kombi, but they had become over priced and quickly came to the conclusion that they offer a useless load area. What a stupid place to put the engine, that's where your bags of concrete and tools should be, plus how in hell could I fit my motorcycle in there! Other alternatives were limited to Transits and the odd CF Bedford which really didn't hit the spot.
I had been checking on Ebay for some time and one day while looking at some Morris vans I noticed at the top of the page the suggested search "Commer Van", which I clicked and came across what was to become my van. I found out when I picked it up that it had been relisted on EBay as the previous buyer never paid or showed up, lucky me.
It's good to know I'm not alone and that there are others out there that enjoy a challenge and have a taste for something different.
Cheers Stephen
Hi all,
Discovered a stamping "562" on the underside of the front cross member today while cleaning it up prior to painting. It was located on the centre raised square section that you would position a trolley jack when lifting the front end. Has anyone else come across this before?
With the original front shock absorbers dated 2/62 and now the cross member dated 5/62, it seems more likely the van was built late 62, not 65 as i was originally told.
Cheers Stephen
Discovered a stamping "562" on the underside of the front cross member today while cleaning it up prior to painting. It was located on the centre raised square section that you would position a trolley jack when lifting the front end. Has anyone else come across this before?
With the original front shock absorbers dated 2/62 and now the cross member dated 5/62, it seems more likely the van was built late 62, not 65 as i was originally told.
Cheers Stephen
Hi all,
While pulling apart the front suspension it became pretty obvious that the Tie Rod rubber boots were stuffed. I had a hunt on UK Ebay and came across these.
Cost me under $20 for 8 boots including postage to Australia or 5 Pounds for 4 boots in your language. They seem to fit nicely. Here is the link if you want a look, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-Larger-Track-Rod-End-and-Small-Ball-Joint-Boots-/360376995542?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53e8248ed6
Another thing ticked off the list, a lot to go!
Cheers Stephen
While pulling apart the front suspension it became pretty obvious that the Tie Rod rubber boots were stuffed. I had a hunt on UK Ebay and came across these.
Cost me under $20 for 8 boots including postage to Australia or 5 Pounds for 4 boots in your language. They seem to fit nicely. Here is the link if you want a look, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-Larger-Track-Rod-End-and-Small-Ball-Joint-Boots-/360376995542?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53e8248ed6
Another thing ticked off the list, a lot to go!
Cheers Stephen