Jazzing up the Combo van.

[Mr R.]

Still got the old bus, i should really sell it and buy something a bit newer. Its on 175K (engine is on 75k ish and doesn't use any oil or coolant between the 12k services) Touches wood!
So the Christmas period is service time, another 12k done.

Stuff bought, engine oil from Opie oils the rest of the bits from ECP. Oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, both hand brake cables as one seems to work better than the other and a brake fluid change (i do it every year) Ive also bought the standard size discs and pads because fitting the larger front brake set up gave me a longer brake peddle and i was never confidant with the brakes, at the end of the day its a 75hp van and not a racing car!

Ill chuck the old brake set up on ebay and try to recover some of my £££££

20171226_122416 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

 

[Bluebeard]

Just read all this, and I highly commend you!
I’ve been running a transit Connect for a daily for the last 6 months and I bloody loved it. Chuck crap in the back, great on fuel, not worried about washing it.... loved it!

I commend you for treating this to some love though mate, looks wicked!

 

[gez 172]

I've just read this thread. Nice little read.

I had a Transit Connect as a daily while building my house, I've just sold it though with typical a typical Ford being rotten.

I'm on the look out for another van I think. Just love cheap daily motoring..! No care if someone opens the door into a cheap daily in a car park. The amount of car parts i could fit in the back was a massive bonus too!

 

[Mr R.]

Just read all this, and I highly commend you!
I’ve been running a transit Connect for a daily for the last 6 months and I bloody loved it. Chuck crap in the back, great on fuel, not worried about washing it.... loved it!

I commend you for treating this to some love though mate, looks wicked!

Haha, cheers mate. ive owned it for 8 years and would really like something a bit nicer to travel to and from work in but its worth nothing and is very handy to have, I rent a garage so i use it to collect my valeting stuff when i have a cleaning job to do and my tools when im working on the Impreza. I think if i where to sell it then id buy a newer van, i was thinking about an estate car but a van suites me perfect.

I've just read this thread. Nice little read.

I had a Transit Connect as a daily while building my house, I've just sold it though with typical a typical Ford being rotten.

I'm on the look out for another van I think. Just love cheap daily motoring..! No care if someone opens the door into a cheap daily in a car park. The amount of car parts i could fit in the back was a massive bonus too!

I use it to and from my place of work but its great for chucking crap in and not really caring if some dick crashes into it.

 

[Mr R.]

Today was the start of van service day, i made a start on the rear of the van, first thing was to tackle replacing the handbrake cables and then onto adjusting the rear shoes and doing a brake fluid flush (i do this every year)

20171228_123413 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

New cables.

20171228_121308 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Now as stupid as Vauxhall are they did a neat thing with the handbrake cables by adding this little joining thing, it means that you haven't got to strip out the rear brake shoes to fit the cable. :up:

20171228_121357 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Old cables removed and rusting in a couple of places.

20171228_123457 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

20171228_124417 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

20171228_124430 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Brakes cleaned and adjusted.

20171228_132058 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

20171228_132117 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

And brakes bleed with the help of Alfie. :up:

20171228_143634 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

 

[Tez.]

Cool project .

I two had a transit connect for 10 months in 2017 . Did little jobs like new wheel trims blacked up the plastics
Came up a dream bought for £430 and sold for £430

My mate had a nice combo but I hated the blind spots the mirrors gave you ! But I think it had some low buckets in it .

I want another connect now but a fairly rot free one is coming in for 3k for 12 plate with no VAT to pay

I bet you end up in a caddy in 2018 ( we allwant one lol)

 

[Mr R.]

Cool project .

I two had a transit connect for 10 months in 2017 . Did little jobs like new wheel trims blacked up the plastics
Came up a dream bought for £430 and sold for £430

My mate had a nice combo but I hated the blind spots the mirrors gave you ! But I think it had some low buckets in it .

I want another connect now but a fairly rot free one is coming in for 3k for 12 plate with no VAT to pay

I bet you end up in a caddy in 2018 ( we all want one lol)

Thanks for taking the time to read it mate, i just want something a bit newer and maybe a bit bigger. I keep on looking at the Peugeot Expert but with the 2.0 HDI engine with 128 bhp, should be quick.
I would love a VW Caddy but they are either bloody expensive or done moon miles which i don't want so for now ill be keeping the old combo, i want to fit banded steel wheels but i cant be spending £400 or so on a set of wheels for a old high miles van, ive also thought about buying the last of my shape Combo but with low miles and fitting my coilovers/wheels to it.

The Vauxhall Vivaro also looks cool lowered on banded steel.

 

[Mr R.]

Ive now finished the engine service and fitted the new front brakes, i gave the calipers a clean before i fitted them. There was also a slight oil leak from the engine sump pan so i drained the oil, removed the pan, cleaned and re sealed with Three Bond sealant (its used on Subaru engines)

What a beast of an engine, the whole 75hp of it. 😂

20171230_110915 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Off with the old.

20171230_124227 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

and on with the new.

20171230_141936 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Then onto replacing the engine filters, first the air filter. Didn't look to bad but sod the expense. :smiley:

20171230_111405 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Gave the air box a hoover while i was at it.

20171230_112547 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

New filter. Done!

20171230_112834 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Next job, fuel filter. Nice and easy on these and you don't have to worry about fitting a dry filter with no fuel in the housing as this fuel system self primes.

20171230_113421 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Old V's new.

20171230_113858 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

New up the cabin filter, you have to remove one of the wiper arms and take this bit of trim out or just move it out of the way like ive done. Simples.

I only fit the carbon filters but the one ive bought this time seems alot thicker and heaver than the one ive just removed.

20171230_114842 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Manky old one.

20171230_114904 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

New Vs old.

20171230_115026 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

And fitted.

20171230_115300 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

So hopefully that's it for another year, oh i did see that my exhaust back box is fooked and one of the steel supports from the box has broken off. Im going to go to Pipe Craft and get the guy to remove the box and make up a straight through pipe in S/S. #becausestupidchav. 😂😂

It was cheap to service, with the front brakes and handbrake cables it came out at around £130 and that's using MANN filters and good quality engine oil. :up:

 

[c4pob]

Love how clean the engine bay is for your daily van.

 

[Tez.]

Phashe1er - if it's vans , bikes or cars I'll talk all day lol

Used to work in the late 90s grey imports so that's pretty much my dream cars lol
I did earn some respect with a wife's friend fella last year . He turned up at my house in a hawk eye in white .
I said ' that's a nice spec C rep you're trying to make there with black pro drive rims'
His jaw dropped with . How do you know it's a rep ? I said because of that big wing hanging off the back ! Lol
You learnt me some stuff with that build

As for vans I had a 60 plate vivaro for a month once while my mate was of getting married !
(Exact spec of that one in your pic you posted )
I loved it . Loads of room for the Mrs dog and kid ( the small vans are a bit of a pain with 2 seats )

I think I may get a silver vivaro sportive in May ( I'm losing to many years no claims from switching from car to van policy's ) , Clio is up in May and then I can get one

Should be good ! I Carnt wait but even at 5k there over 100k miles I'll see what I can get nearer the time

 

[Silent_Scone]

This looks rude now

 

[Mr R.]

Love how clean the engine bay is for your daily van.

Well im not going to work on a dirty van.....:wink:

Phashe1er - if it's vans , bikes or cars I'll talk all day lol

Used to work in the late 90s grey imports so that's pretty much my dream cars lol
I did earn some respect with a wife's friend fella last year . He turned up at my house in a hawk eye in white .
I said ' that's a nice spec C rep you're trying to make there with black pro drive rims'
His jaw dropped with . How do you know it's a rep ? I said because of that big wing hanging off the back ! Lol
You learnt me some stuff with that build

As for vans I had a 60 plate vivaro for a month once while my mate was of getting married !
(Exact spec of that one in your pic you posted )
I loved it . Loads of room for the Mrs dog and kid ( the small vans are a bit of a pain with 2 seats )

I think I may get a silver vivaro sportive in May ( I'm losing to many years no claims from switching from car to van policy's ) , Clio is up in May and then I can get one

Should be good ! I Carnt wait but even at 5k there over 100k miles I'll see what I can get nearer the time

Be careful mate, i think it was only the Bug Spec C that doesn't have a spoiler just like it doesn't have air bag's or electric windows. Im sure the later ones do so they are not as "hardcore" as the bug.

This looks rude now

Haha, its alright. I may fit spacers to the rear wheels and go a bit lower on the rear too.
Id love banded steels but can't justify the £400 needed to buy them.

 

[Mr R.]

This morning i drove over the PipeCraft and spoke to Dean about chopping off the back box and making up a S/S pipe, he wasn't able to do it there and then so ive booked it in for tomorrow morning at 11.

The old box is fooked and about to drop off.

20171228_152427 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

20171228_152520 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

 

[Tez.]

Make sure you post vid of it reving . Sound have a good tone

 

[Mr R.]

Make sure you post vid of it reving . Sound have a good tone

😂 Ok, ill do a before and after. I really don't think there will be much difference tbh but you may hear the tiny turbo or a bit more noise, i don't know. :up:

 

[Ben]

It should make a little bit of difference to the turbo noise, should sound nice!

 

[Mr R.]

Went over to PipeCraft on Thursday morning to have the back box removed and a straight through pipe made/fitted.

Exhaust being cut off.

20180104_113510 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

And off, ready for the pipe to be made up.

20180104_115330 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Pipe made, just needs to be welded.

20180104_124301 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

And fitted, its ok and the sound is a bit deeper but you still get that old diesel engine sound that takes over.

20180105_102125 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

20180106_100629 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

Its in desperate need of a wash again.

20180106_100618 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

And a video of my wife pulling away.

20180106_130046 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

 

[mace¬]

If you ever want to rape and murder a prostitute, I'm sure they'd be privileged to die in the back of that van.

 

[Mr R.]

If you ever want to rape and murder a prostitute, I'm sure they'd be privileged to die in the back of that van.

Errr, thanks.

 

[Mr R.]

Im now looking at getting the steel wheels banded but im un sure of how wide to go, at the moment i have 6J wheels with an ET of 49 and a 185/55/15 tyre.
@Dr Jekyll @leeds_182 any ideas chaps?

Ive found this company who will do them for £50 per wheel and im hoping to keep my tyres, the standard rear wheels look far to "tucked" and i was thinking about fitting spacers but getting mine banded is quite cheap.
I guess i have about 20mm at the rear that the wheels could come out.

20170115_120623 by Scott Raven, on Flickr

http://www.alonzecustom.co.uk/steel-wheel-banding.php

 

[c4pob]

Im now looking at getting the steel wheels banded but im un sure of how wide to go, at the moment i have 6J wheels with an ET of 49 and a 185/55/15 tyre.
@Dr Jekyll @leeds_182 any ideas chaps?

Ive found this company who will do them for £50 per wheel and im hoping to keep my tyres, the standard rear wheels look far to "tucked" and i was thinking about fitting spacers but getting mine banded is quite cheap.
I guess i have about 20mm at the rear that the wheels could come out.

http://www.alonzecustom.co.uk/steel-wheel-banding.php

will you not need to raise the ride height if you're widening the wheels?

 

[Mr R.]

will you not need to raise the ride height if you're widening the wheels?

Maybe mate, i just thought about keeping the same size tyre on the front and going to a 6 1/2" and wider tyres on the rear and maybe going 7 1/2"
But i dont know tbh.

Ive seen vans with 8" rears but not that low.

 

[Jekyll]

I don't know when it comes to banding scott.

However, I do agree and that pic above shows that the rear needs to be wider.

 

[Mr R.]

I don't know when it comes to banding scott.

However, I do agree and that pic above shows that the rear needs to be wider.

I tagged you more about the ET mate.

 

[Jekyll]

I thought the banding happens on the split giving it a deeper dish. I thought et was done from the rear of the hub face which wouldn't change As your altering the diah from the mating face outwards?

Or am I completely wrong?

 

[Mr R.]

I thought the banding happens on the split giving it a deeper dish. I thought et was done from the rear of the hub face which wouldn't change As your altering the diah from the mating face outwards?

Or am I completely wrong?

Nope. Your completely right. :blush:

I need to measure how much wider i can go i guess and not worry about what ET i have as it doesn't matter.

 

[Tez.]

I really not a fan of this thread anymore !

It makes me really regret not buying my mates van last year Colin the combo!

Fully detailed with 90k on the clock and ceramic coated ! ( he has a detailing company)
Love the nova hab caps.

Can't wait to see the wheels done !

 

[Jekyll]

So what we saying, 30-40mm?

 

[Mr R.]

So what we saying, 30-40mm?

20-30mm I'd say mate, but if the wheels get wider but I keep the same size tyres then maybe a bit more.
I still want to keep it low.

 

[Daz_RT_04]

An outward rolled exhaust tip would have earnt bonus points here.

 

[Mr R.]

An outward rolled exhaust tip would have earnt bonus points here.

I probably could have, I'm sorry I have failed. [emoji852]

 

[cat171]

I you do go for banded, don't go too mad, subtle will look better than 'scene' imo.

 

[Mr R.]

I you do go for banded, don't go too mad, subtle will look better than 'scene' imo.

The red Royal mail van I posted a few pages back is on banded steels but I can't find out any info on how wide they are or what wheels they are (I don't know if they are the same as my Corsa wheels) I'm thinking another inch, so they will be 7" wide.

 

[Jekyll]

That royal mail van is sick.

Innit fam.

 

[Mr R.]

That royal mail van is sick.

Innit fam.

And still low. [emoji41]

 

[Jekyll]

 

[c4pob]

@Phase1sr when they fitted the exhaust, did they trim any metal to make room (it looks like they did?) Did they treat it with anti rust paint etc?

 

[Mr R.]

@Phase1sr when they fitted the exhaust, did they trim any metal to make room (it looks like they did?) Did they treat it with anti rust paint etc?

Trim the metal? I don't understand mate.
The new pipe has been made out of stainless.

 

[c4pob]

Trim the metal? I don't understand mate.
The new pipe has been made out of stainless.

I've taken a screen print and highlighted a bit yellow.
It looks like fresh metal is showing which could rust...

 

[Mr R.]

I've taken a screen print and highlighted a bit yellow.
It looks like fresh metal is showing which could rust...
View attachment 1352619

Oh no mate, it was like that from the factory.