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2004
Almost ten years later... The truck has been sitting in a barn with
only about 4000 miles on the rebuild. Back in '95-'96 I was only able to drive the truck for a short time. The cost of insurance
was killing me ($190 a month for liabilty 10 years ago!!! Today I pay $26 a month for full comprhensive coverage
on the Taurus) It's covered in peacock shit from the birds that roost in the barn. I never forgot about my van, but I never
had the time.
The plan is to take this 1800lbs English 1/4 ton utility
truck and squeeze a late model Chevy LS1 under the bonnet. The frame will be a Jegster 12 point chassis with a Jegster narrow
front end. The rear end will use a 4 link and Ford 9". The front clip will be replaced with a one piece fibreglass unit. HID's
retro-fitted into the 7" round bulb. The goal is to keep the car under 2500lbs with 325hp and 100% street legal.
The original plan was to strip the truck down to a bare shell, restore
the body, and replace the engine. I was going to remove the engine and replace it with a Supercharged 1380cc from Mini Mania
in California. The Supercharged 1380 pumps about 140hp and probably about 135lbs of torque. With only 1800lbs to propel, the
van would keep up with a late model Ford Mustang GT. At the last minute I changed my mind. I like the idea of sticking
to the English heritage, but the price was too high. $9000 for the engine alone, not to mention the fact that I needed a tranny
rebuild (another $1500). A low mileage Chevy LS1 all aluminum V8 with an automatic tranny can be pulled from a wreck
with all the accessories (alternator, computer, fuel injectors, etc.) for less than $3500 in many cases. That leaves
me with $7000 to play with. I decided there was no better way.
So some may ask, "Why destroy a rare classic English panel truck and stuff a gas guzzling
V8 into it?" Well, the simple answer is, BECAUSE I CAN! I had thought about building a kit Cobra, but this
way I can kill two birds with one stone.... restore a classic... build a hotrod!!! Done and Done! Plus, depending on the gearing,
a 325hp automatic with only 2500lbs to haul should get excellent mileage. A late model fuel injected V8 is far superior to
the carburetted, supercharged iron block 4cyl. Much cleaner, more efficient, more reliable.... practically bulletproof, and
1/3 the price. Remember that when you call me crazy.
    Next step is to remove the engine and tranny. Currently, the drivetrain is from a MG Midget / Austin Healy Sprite in
the form of:
1275cc 4cyl OHV engine with custom header
pointless ignition
alternator (negative ground, swapped to left side for A/C compressor)
4 speed webcase tranny
3.9 rear end with heavy duty axle shafts
front disc brakes, rear drums
From the factory this little truck had:
948cc 4cyl OHV engine
points ignition
generator (postive ground)
4 speed smoothcase tranny (weaker)
4.55 rear end
4 wheel drums
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