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Good day all, my name is Phil and I'm in he process of getting this Debonair on the road. Here it is so far:     |
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I have visions of lowering the floor, but the shock absorbers are right in the way....
What do you good people suggest?
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Wow, that is gorgeous...
I think that'd look perfect as Bedford/Dedonair intended looks wise. I don't think lows are needed...
However, there is no reason you can't pep things up a bit with an engine that is a tad more, ermmmmmmm, grunty!!!
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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Apr 30, 2014 10:51:44 GMT
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Are you talking about lowering the floor to increase interior headroom? Or at least to give it a better centre of gravity when driving? I've got an old Hymer motorhome which is built 'on top' of the chassis as well. Modern front wheel drive motorhomes used a stepped down Alko type chassis at the back to achieve this. Might be a bit more tricky with rear wheel drive but with some bigger wheeltubs and maybe a bulge/tunnel for the diff and prop it could be possible. Depends if you think it is worth the effort.
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67 VW Split bus
69 Beetle Cab
96 Jeep Cherokee XJ Sport
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Apr 30, 2014 20:03:41 GMT
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truly love it ! cant get my head round the front end, does it have a steering box AND a relay box ? must be like a tiller on a spritsail bage  |
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Apr 30, 2014 20:34:10 GMT
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Hi guys,
thanks for your interest, i rushed this morning post, i should have added more details... so here goes:
I bought this van to turn into a retro vintage catering wagon. i'd missed a few Debonairs on eBay so when this came near me I jumped at it and got it delivered to a good friend of mine who happens to be a metal work guru with a cracking workshop. I'm adding the unskilled labour to the project, I've spent the last week chopping out the root, which is actually every bit of metal on the van!
I'm not using the original engine, not certain on a donor, but measuring up a zetec tomorrow hopefully... so we shall see how that fits.
I want to lower the rear of the van's internal floor to maximise headroom inside. However the shock layout is bang in the middle of this. With my limited brain I was thinking of finding shocks that are a shorter overall length but will have the same amount of travel, and making them more vertical, is this possible? I've not got around to researching the matter.
We will be lifting the roof, just a section that has a slight bulge already, so hopefully it won't look too different.
On a side note, this Debonair is quite different to all others of the same era, no back door, and later style window holes, now i have it all stripped, it's all very original and hasn't been cut around or filled in.. does anybody know Bedford or Dormobile experts? I do feel guilty for chopping up such a classic camper, but as I'm using it for a business that I'm sure will be a success, I convince myself it's ok to do as i please... so I can understand if people don't like what i'm doing, but i'll do my best to keep it in a tasteful fashion.
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120y
Part of things
Posts: 423 
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Apr 30, 2014 21:03:23 GMT
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lovely old thing I remember these as ice cream vans too  |
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1996 Renault Clio MK1 1.4 RT Auto
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MrSpeedy
East Midlands
www.vintagediesels.co.uk
Posts: 4,786
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Apr 30, 2014 21:06:10 GMT
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As regards a donor, I'd be very tempted to look towards the Vauxhall Omega. Already RWD and you're keeping it within the family
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Hi i really like these and love your ideas.I think like this its yours so build it to please you and enjoy and smile.
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Peace,Max signature height = 80px
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Been busy cleaning up the chasis and measuring up the free zetec I've been given... it's long with an auto box from a scorpio... but we shall see tomorrow how much modification is needed....   |
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May 12, 2014 19:01:01 GMT
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So the latest news...... I need an engine!
I had a very kind offer of a ford 2.0 auto, it turned out to be a little more water damaged than i imagined... saveable i'm sure but i decided not to go down that road...
I stuck it on the chassis just to see how it fits, and i'm glad i did, its a little too big for my liking. So i'm now looking for something a little smaller, so the 1st engine that springs to mind is an mx5 auto lump. I've found dimensions of the engine but none of engine and gearbox together, so will work on finding them.
In the mean time, has anyone an mx5 auto lump going spare?
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May 12, 2014 20:52:35 GMT
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wouldnt something a little less low tech and little more "low to mid range slogger" be more suitable for commercial vehicle with the same aero as victorian tenement block ? 8v OHC 2.0 vauxhall engine would keep it in house and is plentiful, plus options for drivetrain in carlton form.
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May 16, 2014 22:34:24 GMT
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Yup something low tech would be better suited. However, an automatic is a must, and the mx5 was the lightest small capacity engine i could easily get my hands for not much money. So with this i ended up with a Eunos 1.6 Auto, and I must say how much i loved it.... so much so i may be getting my girlfriend one when funds allow.
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May 16, 2014 22:37:35 GMT
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Really love what you are doing to this.Will you have any trouble with the ecu or abs.As i no when i wanted to fit a bmw auto in a classic i gave up as the auto gearbox needed speed senors to no when to change gears.i no you have a engine but what about a nissan taxi they come in 2.7 and auto diesel plus it would pull it has the taxi are heavy and lots of parts around.
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Peace,Max signature height = 80px
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May 17, 2014 18:40:51 GMT
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Thanks fordf350, I have admired your fire engine thread quite a few times. Very good questions, and I'm hoping some clever folk on here may be able to help. I stripped the loom from the donor car, no abs to worry about but as for speed info, not sure where the ecu gets this info. My plan for the loom is to hide myself away and patiently strip all unnecessary wires away, stereo, leccy windows, headlight motors etc. Does anyone know where I can get a diagram to compare my loom to? I see haynes manuals don't cover autos....
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,763
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May 17, 2014 18:52:25 GMT
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My thoughts on a short stroke oversquare engine is probably not the right engine, you need and engine that will produce plenty of grunt low down in the revs, Big capacity, 8 valve, or even something bigger, an old mate used to run a pinto powered transit, no performance, and 12-15mpg around town, He fitted a big 455 cubic inch 7.5 ltr, Buick engine with auto box, lovely to drive and 23mpg around town as the engine was not having to labour to drag the van around.
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Last Edit: May 17, 2014 19:11:16 GMT by v8ian
Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style.
Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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May 17, 2014 19:00:42 GMT
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must say a 1600 doesnt sound like the right engine for the job
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91 golf g60, 89 golf 16v , 88 polo breadvan
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May 17, 2014 19:32:22 GMT
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The Carlton CIH engine was used in conjunction with an auto box in some Bedford CF2 ambulances. Seeing as they are emergency vehicles, the performance must be OK-ish. Failing that, there are other options:-
1) Ford DOHC 8-valve. Available in late-model Sierras with an auto. I had 2 Sierras with this engine, and they were reliable and economical with a load of low-mid range grunt.
2)Pinto with auto. Bomb-proof reliability.
3)1800 B-series or 2 litre O-series. Both of these were available with autos in Sherpas or Marina/Ital. Proper old-school sloggers.
4)Transit 2.5DI. Pretty sure these were available with autoboxes. Try looking at ones from campers or social-services minibuses.
Even with an autobox, 100bhp would be a major improvement on the 60-odd bhp of the stock engine.
As for the lack of back door, the Debonair body was made by Dormobile and they made ambulances and minibuses with the same body. I was taken to school in a minibus one many years ago, and that had no back door. Perhaps yours started life as a minibus?
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Last Edit: May 17, 2014 19:33:43 GMT by moggyman
1953 Minor (Long term project)
PT Cruiser
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May 17, 2014 20:19:25 GMT
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Aye minibus, quite possibly...
As for engines, the mx5 lump isn't the right lump that's for sure, but i feel its the best compromise. I'm not looking for a performance upgrade, although that can't be helped as the original 1.5 wasn't blow your mind. I'm not planning a disc brake upgrade but do intend on using the mx5 servo.
Bigger capacity would be great but it's a tiny van and even the mx5 lump is bigger (dimension wise) than i'd really like. The plus points of the mazda, is that its reliable, and plentiful if it does give up.. as long as we build it right, we should be able to slot it out with out too much drama.
Diesel is the obvious choice, but I have plans for the van that require a generator (anyone with a nice honda please pm me) and i want to feed it from the fuel tank hence the choice of a petrol.
A pinto was my 1st choice, but got swayed with the mx5 and here we are...
I plan to get it running in the chassis and we can test it around the farm yard.. if it turns out to be a duff decision, i will admit defeat and buy a pinto. I'm often wrong so it won't be a shock!!
I've enlisted another mate to help speed things up a bit, and he's doing great. The floor is now lowered, all the walk ways are now one level pics to follow... We're also going to raise the roof soon to allow standing room in the back..
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