Diesel front end to accommodate the v6, or was it originally a diesel? Had the 2 ltr pinto ( Cortina GXL) in mine. Happy days.When I started driving wagons it was mandatory to have "Modulator" aerials with a 6' whip mounted on both mirrors, twinned and running through a stupidly high power linear amplifier.
I had one of the illegal sets in my Mk1 Transit that had a seriously hot Essex 3 litre V6 running twin twin choke Webers hooked to a Laycock overdrive transmission feeding out to a 3.4-1 final drive that came out of a Zodiac. Well over 40 marker lights, all 5W bulbs as LED's hadn't been invented which meant the bakelite rocker switch for the lights got not just warm but HOT, as well as red lights flushed into the cab headlining. Dad reckoned it looked like a cross between something from Close Encounters and a travelling knocking shop
. The whole affair was finished off with chrome airhorns on the roof and chrome plated "elephant's ear" mirrors that came off a scrap Ford D Series.
And I'm now quite misty eyed.
- Thread starter Onoff
- Start date
Bobupndown
What could possibly go wrong?
- Messages
- 1,940
- Location
- Northern Ireland
I've got a classic mini, by the time I've got a picnic hamper and a couple of folding chairs in the boot there's no room for a record player 
. I do have a radio like this however: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-...=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
. I do have a radio like this however: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-...=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
- Messages
- 23,327
- Location
- Birmingham
I've got a classic mini, by the time I've got a picnic hamper and a couple of folding chairs in the boot there's no room for a record player
I had one similar, used to keep me company doing my paper rounds in the 70's
slim_boy_fat
Member
- Messages
- 29,532
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
A thing called a Magrip, a strong small bulldog-type clip with a strong magnet built in. Supposed to be for holding maps back when satnav was still a distant dream and cars had metal dashboards.
If I remember I'll post a pic of mine which lives on the fridge door.
If I remember I'll post a pic of mine which lives on the fridge door.
brightspark
Member
- Messages
- 41,262
- Location
- yarm stockton on tees
i had an el;ectric claxon for the horn on my van 
used to sound it down the high street and make everyone look i still have a hand pressed one i nicked of a forklift truck 40 years ago 
used to sound it down the high street and make everyone look i still have a hand pressed one i nicked of a forklift truck 40 years ago Greeves246
Member
- Messages
- 1,615
- Location
- Cheshire uk
I’ve got one of those. They were fitted to the flameproof fork trucks, I know as I worked at Conveyancer Fork Trucks in the 1960s.
redlig
Member
- Messages
- 4,175
- Location
- wiltshire uk
I thought they were supposed to stop carsickness .no its one thing I havn't forgotten about, had a couple of unused ones for 20 years and I can still find them
how about earthing straps that attached to bumpers, just in case you were hit by lightening
brightspark
Member
- Messages
- 41,262
- Location
- yarm stockton on tees
they were. suposed to ground static electricity
julianthegypsy
Member
- Messages
- 4,315
- Location
- Cirencester
Yes, and I'm sure they decided that car sickness was caused by static electricity, so fitting one of these would cure car sickness!
brightspark
Member
- Messages
- 41,262
- Location
- yarm stockton on tees
i sometimes got a shock when touching a car door handle take my jumper off and its like a firework sparkler night even the dog gets a shock and a spark jumps to his nose and he yelps
take my jumper off and its like a firework sparkler night even the dog gets a shock and a spark jumps to his nose and he yelps Original engine was Ford's God-awful V4, possibly the worst engine they ever made.
The 1.7 litre died and was replaced by a 2 litre which subsequently died so me and our kid fitted a 2.5 V6 that came out of a scrap car at the breakers yard where he worked. That was practically shot when we fitted it so I bit the bullet and bought a brand new 3 litre V6 to which we affixed the aforementioned twin twin choke Webers.
Interestingly, considering the Mk 1 Transit had the upgrade in 1977, the diesel front grille was scrounged from the old Vickers Armstrong Elswick Works on Scotswood Road in Newcastle where they were still pressing parts for the south American market, iirc. I went there as an apprentice sometime in the early/mid 1980's to strip out a gun barrel press that had reputedly straightened the barrels of HMS Rodney, one of the capital ships that sunk the Bismarck, and came home with a freshly pressed diesel grille, courtesy of Alan, my old firm's artic driver, my old mentor and scrounger extraordinaire
.Before satnavs and mobile phones were invented one of these stuck to the inside of the windscreen was de rigueur in the cab for writing directions on:A thing called a Magrip, a strong small bulldog-type clip with a strong magnet built in. Supposed to be for holding maps back when satnav was still a distant dream and cars had metal dashboards.
If I remember I'll post a pic of mine which lives on the fridge door.
I had a 24 volt fast-boil kettle which pulled so much current that the engine revs used to drop slightly, and that was in my old Scania that had a 14 litre V8 engine
.selectedgrub
Member
- Messages
- 3,439
- Location
- New Zealand
I still love 70's custom vans with running boards, wine barrel swivel seats and sheepskin on the dash.
Not to mention the Chevy emblem window cut out on the back of the welded doors.
Edit, I couldn't find a pic of the rear window job but this one on the side.
Not to mention the Chevy emblem window cut out on the back of the welded doors.
Edit, I couldn't find a pic of the rear window job but this one on the side.
I used to live on Vickers door step and around the back of the bearing shop they stored all the panel seconds, Very very handy.Original engine was Ford's God-awful V4, possibly the worst engine they ever made.
The 1.7 litre died and was replaced by a 2 litre which subsequently died so me and our kid fitted a 2.5 V6 that came out of a scrap car at the breakers yard where he worked. That was practically shot when we fitted it so I bit the bullet and bought a brand new 3 litre V6 to which we affixed the aforementioned twin twin choke Webers.
Interestingly, considering the Mk 1 Transit had the upgrade in 1977, the diesel front grille was scrounged from the old Vickers Armstrong Elswick Works on Scotswood Road in Newcastle where they were still pressing parts for the south American market, iirc. I went there as an apprentice sometime in the early/mid 1980's to strip out a gun barrel press that had reputedly straightened the barrels of HMS Rodney, one of the capital ships that sunk the Bismarck, and came home with a freshly pressed diesel grille, courtesy of Alan, my old firm's artic driver, my old mentor and scrounger extraordinaire
Onoff
In the land of the unfinished project I am King!
- Messages
- 12,747
- Location
- Sevenoaks, UK
Can't remember the group our old fleet mechanic was a roadie for but he was always on about a MK1 diesel transit with an Essex in. Carpets and aircraft seats in the back. Made for a quick, incognito transport ahead of the tour bus which would get mobbed.
Great bloke to know and get along with as a kid with my own Pinto'd Capri. All the company cars shared the same service parts!
slim_boy_fat
Member
- Messages
- 29,532
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
slim_boy_fat
Member
- Messages
- 29,532
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Very useful,being a Luddite,I have one in the tractor and telehandler,and something that does the same job in my van.
- Messages
- 23,327
- Location
- Birmingham
Just realised I have one stuck on the filing cabinet next to me, probably inherited from my Dad.
