1982 Ford Transit MK2 Dropside
Discussion
This is probably a bit cheeky of me, as this isn't technically a car. However, I've owned it for a good year and a half now and have loved every second of it. Plus, it gets more attention than any car I've owned.
Last year, I decided to start doing the handyman thing. I had always done bits for other small companies, but I get on best when I'm working on my own. This meant I needed a van, and one that can do a bit of everything. This can be anything from carrying a ladder to clean some windows, to a tonne of ballast for a patio job.
This threw me in a bit of a quandary, primarily because I bloody hate diesel. I've had about 50 cars and they've all been petrol, I just can't be dealing with the smell or sound of derv. I'm not sure exactly when petrol vans started to be phased out in favour of diesel, but somewhere in the mid 90's. Unfortunately, a Suzuki Carry/ Bedford Rascal type van has it's limitations and that left me with um, well, not a great deal to choose from. At the end of the day, whatever I bought needed to be useable and ok to drive on a daily basis. Pretty much the only vans worth a thought were early Transits.
I found a couple of potential candidates online and decided to go and take a look. The first was a blue Mk1 with the V4. I had read of oil pump drive shaft failure and lots of rot, but other than that, they seemed fairly robust. I travelled down to look at said Mk1 somewhere in the depths of Suffolk and came away ultimately disappointed. it drove ok (ish- for some reason i can't remember I couldn't take it on the public road so it was just a concrete farm road for the test drive) but it turned out it had originally been a camper and had had a panel from a later van welded in behind the seats and the bed was also from a later twin wheel tipper. It was all a bit of a mess really. Shame, as I quite fancied myself bombing around in a pretty blue MK1.
The next option to explore was a Mk2 that was for sale at a large classic dealer in Northampton. It wasn't cheap, but photos looked flattering and the mileage was (apparently) just under 20k. I turned up and, upon initial inspection, the old girl looked in great shape. From what I could see, there was 0 welding anywhere on the chassis or cab, the seats and rubber mating were all original so was the bed. The plug leads were even original. The test drive was also reassuring - it tracked straight and the steering was pretty manageable. The only negatives i could find were that the clutch and carb needed adjustment. I struck a deal and the van was delivered to me a few days later.
I got to work making it as reliable as I could. New leads, coil, points, rotor, plugs, dizzy, hoses, belt, oil change, thermostat, hoses clutch, (with a good friend, on his drive) and fresh oil in the diff and box. Another friend rebuilt the original Motorcraft carb for me and I replaced all the shocks and then ran it like this for a few weeks, periodically flushing and replacing the coolant until it was nice and clear. During this time, the radiator started to weep around the filler neck, so a NOS one was sourced and fitted. The water pump had already been replaced but I had to take it off in order to remove the fan clutch as it just wasn't freeing off unless I could clamp the pump in a vice! I also took the time during the warm weather to coat everything in clear waxoyl and cavity wax. Lastly, there were a couple of very small holes in the steps. My dad seemed enthusiastic about welding them up for me (he used to own a couple of mk1's in his youth) and i let him crack on and sort them for me. A light skim of filler and rattle can of paint which I had made up (via a scanning tool as the paint code didn't bring up anything) and all was right again.
It drives very well, sits at 50mph all day and returns mid high teens MPG. It has only let me down once so far and that was my fault. I was driving along and it suddenly cut out. I tested for fuel and spark and it turned out the latter was non existent. Under the bench seat I had the foresight to keep a few spares, one of these being a condenser. I hadn't actually replaced this in my quest for reliability but, needless to say, it was a quick fix on the side of the road. I'm not sure it would be that easy in a van 40 years newer.
I look forward to driving it to every job and it makes the day much more enjoyable with people flashing and stopping to chat in petrol stations (a frequent pitstop with the 35 litre "day tank"). It can sometimes get a bit much, in all honesty, as I've had certain traveller types hold up traffic to throw offers at me and others pull alongside and wind down the window in order to see if I'll part with it. Being followed to jobs is also slighty unnerving. However, all in all, it is a fabulous old thing and I have done around 4000 miles in it so far.
I will upload a load of photos in a separate post, in no particular order! Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Last year, I decided to start doing the handyman thing. I had always done bits for other small companies, but I get on best when I'm working on my own. This meant I needed a van, and one that can do a bit of everything. This can be anything from carrying a ladder to clean some windows, to a tonne of ballast for a patio job.
This threw me in a bit of a quandary, primarily because I bloody hate diesel. I've had about 50 cars and they've all been petrol, I just can't be dealing with the smell or sound of derv. I'm not sure exactly when petrol vans started to be phased out in favour of diesel, but somewhere in the mid 90's. Unfortunately, a Suzuki Carry/ Bedford Rascal type van has it's limitations and that left me with um, well, not a great deal to choose from. At the end of the day, whatever I bought needed to be useable and ok to drive on a daily basis. Pretty much the only vans worth a thought were early Transits.
I found a couple of potential candidates online and decided to go and take a look. The first was a blue Mk1 with the V4. I had read of oil pump drive shaft failure and lots of rot, but other than that, they seemed fairly robust. I travelled down to look at said Mk1 somewhere in the depths of Suffolk and came away ultimately disappointed. it drove ok (ish- for some reason i can't remember I couldn't take it on the public road so it was just a concrete farm road for the test drive) but it turned out it had originally been a camper and had had a panel from a later van welded in behind the seats and the bed was also from a later twin wheel tipper. It was all a bit of a mess really. Shame, as I quite fancied myself bombing around in a pretty blue MK1.
The next option to explore was a Mk2 that was for sale at a large classic dealer in Northampton. It wasn't cheap, but photos looked flattering and the mileage was (apparently) just under 20k. I turned up and, upon initial inspection, the old girl looked in great shape. From what I could see, there was 0 welding anywhere on the chassis or cab, the seats and rubber mating were all original so was the bed. The plug leads were even original. The test drive was also reassuring - it tracked straight and the steering was pretty manageable. The only negatives i could find were that the clutch and carb needed adjustment. I struck a deal and the van was delivered to me a few days later.
I got to work making it as reliable as I could. New leads, coil, points, rotor, plugs, dizzy, hoses, belt, oil change, thermostat, hoses clutch, (with a good friend, on his drive) and fresh oil in the diff and box. Another friend rebuilt the original Motorcraft carb for me and I replaced all the shocks and then ran it like this for a few weeks, periodically flushing and replacing the coolant until it was nice and clear. During this time, the radiator started to weep around the filler neck, so a NOS one was sourced and fitted. The water pump had already been replaced but I had to take it off in order to remove the fan clutch as it just wasn't freeing off unless I could clamp the pump in a vice! I also took the time during the warm weather to coat everything in clear waxoyl and cavity wax. Lastly, there were a couple of very small holes in the steps. My dad seemed enthusiastic about welding them up for me (he used to own a couple of mk1's in his youth) and i let him crack on and sort them for me. A light skim of filler and rattle can of paint which I had made up (via a scanning tool as the paint code didn't bring up anything) and all was right again.
It drives very well, sits at 50mph all day and returns mid high teens MPG. It has only let me down once so far and that was my fault. I was driving along and it suddenly cut out. I tested for fuel and spark and it turned out the latter was non existent. Under the bench seat I had the foresight to keep a few spares, one of these being a condenser. I hadn't actually replaced this in my quest for reliability but, needless to say, it was a quick fix on the side of the road. I'm not sure it would be that easy in a van 40 years newer.
I look forward to driving it to every job and it makes the day much more enjoyable with people flashing and stopping to chat in petrol stations (a frequent pitstop with the 35 litre "day tank"). It can sometimes get a bit much, in all honesty, as I've had certain traveller types hold up traffic to throw offers at me and others pull alongside and wind down the window in order to see if I'll part with it. Being followed to jobs is also slighty unnerving. However, all in all, it is a fabulous old thing and I have done around 4000 miles in it so far.
I will upload a load of photos in a separate post, in no particular order! Thanks for reading my ramblings.
That last photo shows the ladder bar which I made out of some ally box. I have been told that you could get a wooden, ally or steel bed in 82, I am very glad it has one made of ally! There is the makers plaque with a 4 digit area code phone number. "Transliner" is the brand.
Moving a greenhouse
MOT time!
Moving a greenhouse
MOT time!
Edited by e28525e on Saturday 21st October 22:42
Girlfriend and doggo, off for a walk somewhere
Helping a chap power his tipper trailer
A shot of the inside. Seat cover to help keep the vinyl looking good. It has some slight wear from sliding bums. The rest is in remarkably good condition, there's just a little stretching of the headliner and a cracked door pull. I replaced the weather stripes at the bottom of the windows as they had started to fall apart.
Helping a chap power his tipper trailer
A shot of the inside. Seat cover to help keep the vinyl looking good. It has some slight wear from sliding bums. The rest is in remarkably good condition, there's just a little stretching of the headliner and a cracked door pull. I replaced the weather stripes at the bottom of the windows as they had started to fall apart.
k.
Great write-up, and it looks like a cracking pickup you've got there. You’ll enjoy it immensely I’m sure.
We ran a. ‘85 Mk ll camper van for 13 years and had loads of fun (and some tribulations
) with it. They’re notorious for corrosion, but it sounds like you’re on top of it with regular wax treatment. We fitted the higher compression Pinto engine from a Sierra which gave it a bit more grunt, but you’ll be fine with the standard lump for the sort of tasks you're putting it to. Does yours have overdrive? As you say, they do like a drink though! For a commercial, they’re nice to drive too. Surprisingly nimble and light; more like a car than a van.
Please update keep the updates coming
We ran a. ‘85 Mk ll camper van for 13 years and had loads of fun (and some tribulations
) with it. They’re notorious for corrosion, but it sounds like you’re on top of it with regular wax treatment. We fitted the higher compression Pinto engine from a Sierra which gave it a bit more grunt, but you’ll be fine with the standard lump for the sort of tasks you're putting it to. Does yours have overdrive? As you say, they do like a drink though! For a commercial, they’re nice to drive too. Surprisingly nimble and light; more like a car than a van. Please update keep the updates coming
That's a lovely old thing, not often you see a commercial vehicle of that age in such good condition.
Is the drop side pickup body original to that van, it looks much more modern? Maybe because its made of alloy it doesn't age like steel would?
What about having it sign written to advertise your business?
My only concern about using something like that for daily business use is that the use is naturally going to take it's toll, out every day during the winter, muddy wet salted roads are going to hurt it. Even though its been waxoiled these things rust. You'll have to be fastidious about cleaning it and topping up the waxoil regularly if its going to stand a chance .
Is the drop side pickup body original to that van, it looks much more modern? Maybe because its made of alloy it doesn't age like steel would?
What about having it sign written to advertise your business?
My only concern about using something like that for daily business use is that the use is naturally going to take it's toll, out every day during the winter, muddy wet salted roads are going to hurt it. Even though its been waxoiled these things rust. You'll have to be fastidious about cleaning it and topping up the waxoil regularly if its going to stand a chance .
Escort3500 said:
Great write-up, and it looks like a cracking pickup you've got there. You’ll enjoy it immensely I’m sure.
We ran a. ‘85 Mk ll camper van for 13 years and had loads of fun (and some tribulations) with it. They’re notorious for corrosion, but it sounds like you’re on top of it with regular wax treatment. We fitted the higher compression Pinto engine from a Sierra which gave it a bit more grunt, but you’ll be fine with the standard lump for the sort of tasks you're putting it to. Does yours have overdrive? As you say, they do like a drink though! For a commercial, they’re nice to drive too. Surprisingly nimble and light; more like a car than a van.
Please update keep the updates coming
Nope, no overdrive. It's happiest at 50, although I have had nearly 70 out of it on a straight. I'm sure it would do over that but there's no point testing it as it's not particularly rewarding We ran a. ‘85 Mk ll camper van for 13 years and had loads of fun (and some tribulations
) with it. They’re notorious for corrosion, but it sounds like you’re on top of it with regular wax treatment. We fitted the higher compression Pinto engine from a Sierra which gave it a bit more grunt, but you’ll be fine with the standard lump for the sort of tasks you're putting it to. Does yours have overdrive? As you say, they do like a drink though! For a commercial, they’re nice to drive too. Surprisingly nimble and light; more like a car than a van. Please update keep the updates coming
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