Technical Section or How to fix it

That's for that Dr.Interior.
It'll be a BIG help i'm sure.

thanks guys. that's a great help. collecting as much info as possible at the moment so any feedback is really much appreciated. at this stage i'm only doing the roof and then i'll do the sides, as the van has windows which i'm not covering up. did you find the ply easy to bend without cracking, i've at the suggestion of 6mm mdf. I'll be toddling off to the hardware store in the next couple of weeks to see what's available.
thanks again. all going well i'll have the interior done by next nats.

I was told to use 6mm for the arch and 3mm for the sides.

There is also another product on the market called "Pro-Ply" which is 9mm thick from memory. This is a purpose made bending ply. It will only bend one way but can produce a beautiful tight curve without any hassals. Being 9mm you don't even have to worry about screws pulling through when fixing it off. You may not get it from your local hardware so try Mr Ply & Wood or some other specialist.

Is there any sites etc with info on modifying Ford Transits I will hopefully be getting one sometime in the future and want to find out some info regards IFS V8 swaps etc I am talking early tranny's here the trouble is all the ones I find seem to be in QLD or full of windows Ive got no room and no time not to mention no money but stuff it I want a van again

Hi Guys, just got on here.

Thanks for the interior know-how, I now "know-how" to do mine, cant wait for the update

CURSED wrote:where do i go to get side pipes for my van

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+400002+115+4294847334


Brand: Patriot Exhaust
Product Line: Patriot Side Exhaust
Part Type: Exhaust Side Pipes
Part Number: PTE-H1175
Side Pipe Style: Lake pipes
Inlet Diameter (in): 2.000 in.
Inlet Quantity Per Pipe: 1
Outlet Diameter (in): 3.500 in.
Outlet Quantity Per Pipe: 1
Length (in): 73.000 in.
Accepts Internal Muffler: Yes
Muffler Included: Yes
Heat Shield Included: No
Brackets Included: Yes
Clamps Included: No
Side Pipe Material: Steel
Side Pipe Finish: Chrome
Quantity: Sold as a kit.

Exhaust, Lake Pipe 4, Steel, Chrome, Four 2 in. Diameter Inlets/One Functional, 3.5 in. Pipe, 73 in. Long, Kit

these pipes come in 63" 73" and 83" lengths, the length of my XC sills are about 84-85" MAX so I am considering the 73" ones. The XD-XE sills are shorter because of the shape of the front wheel arch so there is no way they will take the 83" pipes

thanks billet, ill have to measure the WB and look into it

Hi everyone, I need some advice, Had some rust in the centre of the passenger door of the Van. cut out the rust and cut a piece of metal to suit, tack inplace, all looks ok. When I went to weld it in fully, the surrounding panel buckled and warped something shocking. Cut the weld and the panel straighten out to normal. Second try and did a little bit of welding then walked away until it cooled down, then welded the whole lot again, same thing. warped and buckled again . Have cut the welded piece out and the door is straight again but with a hole in the door (flow through ventilation),. HOW do I weld a piece in without the door distorting.

Julian

call me and i will tell you the trick.

cheers
daz

Folks,

I found myself some WB rear discs, axles and calipers / mounting to transplant into my WB van. Problem is I didnt get the handbrake linkages (from chassis to backing plate). Are they the same as the early commodores as chasing WB ones has been difficult. The original drum links are too long.

Cheers
Craig

Julian, as the weld cools the metal shrinks and this causes the surrounding panel to buckle. You need to stretch the weld as you go by flattening it with a hammer and dolly. Hammer welding is most common when using an oxy but it can also be done successfully with mig welding. Mig welds are more brittle than oxy so you have to hammer a little harder .... don't over hammer or the panel will buckle the opposite way.

With a mig, I spot weld the patch into place with 4 or 5 tacks and hammer them, then spot another lot of spots around the patch centrally between the first set and hammer them. I keep doing this until I have the whole patch spot welded in 10mm increments. I then lightly grind these flat so as not to build up too much heat. Spot weld again between each 10mm increment and lightly grind flat and then repeat until the patch is fully welded. Hammer all spot welds as you go. The process is a bit long winded but an amateur welder can achieve good results this way with a mig. Oxy is easier and much quicker once you master the technique of hammer welding.

Hope it helps,
Sean

ok i need some help with tyre size's and spring hights
iv got 215/65 on a set of 14's on the front and back and wot i wanna know is wot tyres do i need on the front and how low do i need to lower it to make it look something like this

iv been told the biggest tyre's u can put on the back at a stock hight without rubbing is a 245 and on the front is a 235
so i probably dont need to do anything to the back so ill wait till i get a set of 245's but as for the front i dont no wot to do
so i need as much info as i can get on hights and tyre size's
this is wot it looks like now


cheers jake

Jake if you want it as low as the green van thats about 2 inches, but 235s on
the front will rub, 225s would be better , Stormbringer is lowered 1 inch with 225 x50x15
on the front and 245x50x15 on back

thanks stu
225's and lowering it 2 inchs it is

cheers jake

Thanks Daz and Sean, I am doing a combination of both of your advise. I have only just started, done about a dozen spot welds at this stage and the panel hasn't buckled so must following your advice properly. Small spot welding, then the hammer and dolly to flatten the weld, grinding it smooth, water to cool it down and walking away, thats the hard bit walking away and leaving it the cool down properly before I have another go at it. Will keep you posted, thanks again.
Julian

ya done yet Julian?

does anyone know the torque settings for all the bolts on the lower wishbone on a hq/wb van? cos ill need to take it of to put me new springs in
and any advice on changing the springs would be a gr8 help.

cheers jake

All i di when i did my Stato was to get a spring compressor to squeeze the spring up, undo the lower ball joint from the stub axle.
Slide the old one out and put the new one in.
I also used a jack to help keep the spring and lower wishbone in place whilst i di it all up.

thanks for that agro
it was a b@%#h of a job with no spring compressor plus i couldent get my ball joints to come apart so i ended up takein the wishbone off

cheers jake

Sounds like you had fun then.

ahhh yer just abit
ok now iv had my tyres rub the inside of my gards on both sides whan i was turning out of my drive way
iv got 215/60 one a set of 7 inch wide 14s on the front and i wanted to put 225s on now i dont think i can

try 225/50/14

ill give that ago
does anyone know if 265s rub on the back at stock hight cos i was talkin to a bloke today that sed his hq wagon has 265s on the back lowerd 2 inches and it doesnt rub
he also told me about a blue panelvan in wyong that has 12 inch wid rims with 360 tyres on it now that sounds evil any one seen it ???

cheers jake

I supposed it depends on the rim offset.
I have 265's on the back of my van and when i get suspension travel it scrobs JUST on the outer edge.
I'll probably be going 245's to avoid problems (i could go 255's but i'd rather be safe then sorry). At least till after it gets rego'd and driven for a while.