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Anon
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 Sun 27 Jan 2008 @ 12:03
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Anon
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Sun 27 Jan 2008 @ 12:06
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Anon
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hi jeff thanks for the reply and i must add yet again as with the sunroof a very proffesional looking job youve done;]
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Sun 27 Jan 2008 @ 15:29
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Anon
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 I'm so chuffed!
Bits and pieces......
A good clean made a difference.
The colour is almost sorted; Anna still hates it, she wants it all one colour, but with Boudica, I have the final say. She can have her Beetle any colour she wants.
I'm waiting for more paint to finish the van, but she looks good already.
I put the drainage onto the sun roof...don't need buckets now, and the van looks like a hydroponic glasshouse with hoses all over the place`.
I put the electricity onto the sun roof... don't need to run jumper leads to it any more.
Adjusted the back door so it clicks shut now....nice.
Put the side door open stops on again ...they look OK because they now are on the black line.
Glued a Bedford Griffin onto the rear door....For protection.
Tidied up inside, but it got messy again.
Took my old rear door windows, and fitted them into the half panels behind the doors....they are a perfect fit. Unfortunately I cut the holes a wee bit too big, and I may decide to get new glass.
The scrapeing/clunking in the diff, or brakes or somewhere, has GONE.
I still need a new diff though, because I want low revs for economy.
I now have all the bits to put the disc brakes in, and that's an easy job, but have decided to wait on this, because I may just possably get away with not having to have the body modifications certified, and that costs about $400.
I am intending to put Transit power steering in later, and that will definitely need certifying , so I should be able to get that and the brakes on the same $400.
If I need to get the body certified (and I probably will), then I will do the brakes and steering soon.
I put the car mirrors on. I riveted steel triangles into the door window corners, and mounted them on those.
They look sleeker than van mirrors, and they are definitely big enough for the job....easy to drive with.
Took the old radio out and put in a better one with a CD player...WOW it sounds good!
Glued some silver tape into the recesses in the bumpers. That silly little mod made such a difference.
Put an interior light in.
There are still things to do, but Boudica has changed, and is now so nice to drive, and is looking good.
All the time, effort. and money will be worth it. (I'm way over budget, with the windows, power steering, and diff still to do.)
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 @ 10:45
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Anon
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hi jeff a credit to you and your determination at the end of it you can say all my own work and there will be no other van like it;]
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Sun 10 Feb 2008 @ 19:11
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Anon
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Wouldn't mind betting that your other half thinks YOU need certifying - never mind the van! 
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Mon 11 Feb 2008 @ 12:49
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Anon
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Thanks Wullie D, and Yes Allan she does,......and whats worse is she is an expert.
She is a registed nurse and looks after those who have been certified!:#
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Tue 12 Feb 2008 @ 04:40
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Anon
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Oh dear Jeff - not much hope for you there then? 
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Tue 12 Feb 2008 @ 16:47
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Anon
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Windows and Gutters.
I have a neighbor who is not unreasonable, but whenever I make lots of noise, she lets me know that it is annoying!
This has been going on for months, and because I agree with her, I have become scared to do things to Boudica, unless she is out. But whenever she is out, it seems that Anna is sleeping off night shift.
This has seriously held things up!
I have a need (almost) for a portable generator to use at work when there is no electricity.
SO...I went and bought one.
Now I can drive to a commercial area and make as much noise as I like, whenever I like, even at night.
Today was a noise day.
First off I addressed the Gutter problem.
I believe that a lot of the CFs rust problems start with the gutters that do not drain properly. Some of the Aussie Bedfords have the front gutter, or all the gutters ground off.
This is partly for appearance and partly to overcome the water problems. You can grind it all off and weld the roof on, or you can grind off only the vertical lip.
I ground off the vertical lip on all four corners, and a bit behind the front doors.....very effective and very noisy.
Then I did an initial sanding of the inside. EVERYTHING had foam glued to it. I had dust in my eyes and throat, and my arm was aching...It was Hell. But now it all is a lot cleaner, but I need to do a better job on the bits I am not going to carpet.
Last week I booked Boudica in to have the windows fitted on Monday.
So I cut and ground the holes close in to the recesses in readiness for the glass. This saves me $40 on each of seven windows, and money is getting seriously short.
I stood back and looked at the van. She looked far better with the slightly larger window cutouts and tighter curves on the corners.
And I thought; This is going to cost me $700, and yes it's a big improvement, but really it is only half the job. The windows need to be lower.
Keep it simple stupid, I thought....................
No! B***** it! I get one go at this, and I have always wanted them bigger.
So with an hour and a half of daylight left, I hacked into it with the cutting wheel; lowering the cutout to the angle in the body. About 2 inches. At this stage I had no idea how I was going to smooth the transition from the recess, but that worked out so easy.
I held the van jack against the inside, and tapped the recess transition with a hammer. They flattened out perfectly. A clean up with the angle grinder, and they look good.
I do have a problem still to sort out with the two doors, as I had to release the strengthening window sills. If I had time I would weld them back, but I probably will have to glue them after the glass is in.
How do they all look?............................FANTASTIC!
I will have her back in a couple of days, and will post some photos then.
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Sun 17 Feb 2008 @ 11:19
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Anon
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Windows?
Never tell a man who is working on you van that there is no hurry!
He might believe you.
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Wed 20 Feb 2008 @ 08:03
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Anon
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Deleted Replies
In line with policy on this forum, I have deleted the older replies to this thread. The number of pages has dropped from six to three!
A HUGE THANK YOU for your support so far.
Bigmac, Ed Don, Wullie D, Allan Hollands, Caro, Beddiediesel, Roi, Gethin, Colin, Steve-o-, Bob hiller, Sean Glendening, Snow, and Green Dragon.
You all have given me encouragement which has helped to keep me working on her.
And who was it who had as his signature,
" You won't get to where you are going if you only travel on fine days."
That has also inspired me to keep going when I didn't really feel up to it.
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Fri 22 Feb 2008 @ 11:00
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Anon
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Windows etc.
Got the van back and am very happy with the windows. They still have to be tinted. I had a go at it, and wasted some tint film....The instructions were in Spanish, but I have since found some instructions on the net. I'm a bit freaked out now, but I'm certainly not going to pay someone else to do it.
I spent a day cutting and polishing, and built a new battery holder....out of the old tank that was there funnily enough. I still have to obtain a clamp to hold the battery in place.and minor adjustments needed on the sun roof to hold it absolutely straight, so that it slides smoothly without binding.
Just about ready to start the inside.
....Getting there.
I am inquiring from a wrecker (breaker to you) about a Transit power steering rack. This guy has specialised in Fords and Holdens for thirty years, and clearly does not believe me that a Transit rack can be made to fit. I am going to show him the photo from this website.:)
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Mon 25 Feb 2008 @ 08:27
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Anon
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Mon 25 Feb 2008 @ 08:37
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Anon
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congratulations on a fine looking van jeff,it is looking real good and you made a great job of the back door
steve;]
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Mon 25 Feb 2008 @ 11:14
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Inside paint
Thank you Steve, your one is starting to look complete also, but I guess like me, there is a seemingly endless list of smaller things to do.
Work is quiet at this time, and today there was almost none. 
I spent most of the day sanding down the interior and spraying mat black over all the bits that are not going to be carpeted.
I'm not sure mat black is the ultimate best choice, but it's quick and it's OK. The carpet will be black with a grey fleck.
ENGINE.
I almost weakened and bought a Nissan diesel....I still might.
The van is getting 5km/litre on lpg, which is not much. My old diesel Hiace did 9.5km/litre. I have been searching consumption figures for the Holden motor, and the best reliable figure I can find is 8 km/litre in a CF with a 3.25 diff. Except for Roi's Blod, which did better, but I cant remember by how much.
I think the secret lies in the diff ratio. An Australian gentleman claims to have halved his Holden's fuel consumption, by changing his diff ratio from about 3.6 (std) to about 3.1. I have a 2.75 on order and I am running a 3.5 now.
Hmmmm Typing this up seems to have clarified my thoughts.
I think I should stay with plan A , because the Holden has far more power for those times I need/want it. And the high ratio diff will rob me of power unless I hold it in a lower gear, but will give better ecomomy.
Holdens are efficient at low revs, and 2.75 on 14 inch wheels gives 1800 rpm at 100Km/hr (62mph)...The same as an old BMW525e.
I cant help wondering though, how the old girl would go if I put a std 4.6 diff back in, with a modern 1600 motor and revved hell out of it!
It must be time for bed.
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Wed 27 Feb 2008 @ 11:05
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Anon
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Black!
I bought six cans of paint on the way home tonight, and now apart from the seats, everything inside the van that was white or blue or brown, is black. I THINK it's better.
The carpet goes in tomorrow.
STEERING RACK
I heard back from the car wrecker, and he concedes that it is a Transit rack, and yes they have three in stock. A bit pricey at $250, but I think I will go with that. I will still need to obtain a pump at about $150....*long sigh*, but I do a lot of slow manovering and I must be getting old or something, but it's hard work.
MOTOR
That Nissan motor and gearbox was snapped up by someone else. They got an absolute bargain....and I got my mind made up for me.
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Fri 29 Feb 2008 @ 07:34
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Anon
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I'm a Bit Embarassed.
CARPET
I'm a carpet and vinyl layer, so I thought,
"Oh yeah! throw the carpet in the van... Only take me a day."
Hmmm...Two weekends and it still is not finished. There are 24 pieces to fit and glue, some old adhesive to clean off, bits of paint to finish, edging to put on, and inspection panels to fit in the doors.
It is almost done, and she is looking good, but sitting in the front, you feel like there is smoke damage!
The back is good, but I used a different brand of paint in the front, and the black is too flat. I need to use satin in the cab.
EXTERIOR
I put another thin black stripe right around the van just below the windows. 
POWER STEERING
Ummmmmm......I checked my tyre pressures, and pumped them up.
And ahhhh.........
Idon'tthinkIneedtobotherwithpowersteering. 
Photos coming.
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Tue 11 Mar 2008 @ 00:46
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Anon
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Am I Silly or What?
I've been driving myself mad all week trying to sort out motors.
The auction was 30 minutes ago, and I did it.
I bought a V8........... A Holden 253.
It may be a contender for the silliest thing I have ever done, but now at least I can say I have owned a V8.
I will photo the further work done this weekend, and post an update.
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Wed 23 Apr 2008 @ 07:35
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Anon
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Where to start?
I have been taking Bedford things slower of late, because life got busy, and I was getting fed up with spending all my spare? time on Boudica. Also it's blinking cold out there.
But things haven't stopped, they just got slow and complicated.
I took photos of the recent work done, but some Bedford unloving person deleted them from the camera before I had uploaded them to the computer.
I can't take more yet as the van is not here at the moment.
BRAKES UPDATE.
Down here we use Holden HQ disc brakes to fit on the front of CFs, and I told you how I bought a pair and one was damaged.
I was looking for another when I came across some HZ calipers; Later model slightly different and alloy instead of heavy cast iron.
Aha I thought, that's even better. So I got into a bidding war and paid too much for them, but they are in good condition, and I fitted them. They work OK,but the discs will need grinding. I was advised to change to a Holden booster and master cylinder, and then they will work far better than OK.
Makes good sense I thought, so I bought one but have not fitted it yet.
Now, a major problem with the HZ calipers. They hit the lower wishbone on full lock. This not only widens the turning circle, but worse it jiggles the moveable part of the caliper and increases the pad clearance so that there are NO BRAKES until they are pumped closed again....Mighty Fun !
I found another HQ caliper on TradeMe, bought it, only to find that it is damaged....Not too bad but enough maybe to fail the strict certification process we will have to go through. Also discovered that the caliper mounting plates have been put on the wrong sides, so I will need to swap them over, or alter the calipers to fit.
I have found and bought another pair of HQ calipers, but do not have possession yet......Should I be worried?
WHEELS.
In changing to Holden disc brakes, we now have a different stud pattern; Holden HQ, which is the same as BMW 525. I will change the rear stud pattern to match when I have the back axle replaced, and I have a set of Mag 525s, so that became the plan.
Hmmmmm.....Wheels and tyres work well, but look too skinny.
I found a cheap used set of 235x14s on nice, deep dish magnesium wheels. I bought them and tried them on the front.
They looked awesome, but stuck out a bit far. After I found the right pressure for them, (a story in itself) I was very happy with the handling, and I could live with the extra width and building wheel arch extensions.
BUT the steering was SO heavy. Lots of owners put up with that, but I do a lot of slow manovering, so it was going to be a problem.
The steering was heavy not so much because of the extra width of tyre, but because the centre of the tyre was now about 40mm further out from the point the steering turns about; in other words the offset of the wheel was now radically different.
After much thought and discussion with others, the solution became obvious.....Fit the wide tyres onto the BMW rims!
It worked, beautifully, and the wheels are now back under the guards as well. Although more on wheel arches later, because they would look better just a tad more pronounced and lower.
BACK AXLE.
In order to lower the revs sufficently, I needed a 2.75 to 1 F**d 9 inch diff.
I found a local American performance parts workshop that said they could help. "Come back in January when we have a container of diffs arriving" he said. I did that, and every week since then .
The container was late, then it got lost, then it was on the wharf, but customs wouldn't unload it because the documentation was wrong.
Then he got it, but there was nothing suitable in it. So he has to make one up, he has to find the parts, he is getting his premises altered so he is distracted.
He has the parts. I take the van in to him. two of his staff have the flu he is busy and distracted he sends the axles away to be cut and resplined. They come back too short. He send for more and they come back with Bedford splines instead of 9 inch. He sends them back, but by now the fitter and turner has lost interest; and so we wait........
I actually like this guy. He does major work for the local American and race cars. he is genuinely embarrassed about all this, and I know he wants it done because Boudica is on a hoist in the front of his workshop, and everyone has to duck under to get in, and he can't move her because there are no back wheels.
He is hoping to have it all done tomorrow.........
edit... Just seen him. Axles are being done again this weekend.....Take it on Monday for sure... LOL
edit 2.....Tuesday lunchtime.......
edit 3.....At least he's working on it. Tuesday evening.......
edit 4.....GOTIT!
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Fri 20 Jun 2008 @ 12:01
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Anon
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 Shock
:o I've just had an add up, and the van cost $3000.
But I will have spent another $10,000 on it when the back axle is done.
I still find it hard to believe!
To put that in perspective, $13,000 is the price of a nice 7 year old Transit that we nearly bought instead; but we couldn't afford that.
I think I would be hard pushed to sell Boudica for $5,000.
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Mon 23 Jun 2008 @ 13:24
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