CF Bedford Van

[Holden202T]

was at my mates workshop today and he had a crewman in there! so I measured the diff length, disc to disc ... roughly anyways, it looks like 1680mm, with standard Bedford 1725mm and vn-vs commodore 1570mm ... so now I just need to find out if crewmans have the short and long axles like the earlier ones, if so then I should be able to lengthen one of them to get it pretty right!! even without lengthening can probably get pretty close with the right offset wheels.

[vs ss]

Yes they have a long and short.

[Holden202T]

you wouldn't happen to know the difference in the two lengths by any chance ??

[vs ss]

From memory I think it was around 50mm

[Holden202T]

sounds good to me thanks

so can probably lengthen it 50mm to make 1730mm !!

[Holden202T]

so got out in the shed tonight to just play with a few things, sorted out the vn v8 accelerator cable into the firewall, then modified the accelerator pedal to accept the commodore cable clip, all good, then gave it a tester ..... oooohhh ..... 60-70% throttle ...... that's not going to work!

so I had a bit of a think and a look, now the original Bedford carby setup uses a bit of a cam thing to give it the right motion, and I compared this to the commodore cable thing on the throttle body and it was very different, so anyways, all attempts to make something work from that end looked too hard or didn't work, so I am now beginning to think I need to work out a longer throw on the pedal end ... but that was where my CBF factor kicked in and I am now inside in the warmth heheheh

also had a play with the steering column, got the upper mount sussed out, and had a bit of a play with the rack connection, I have a few ideas to make it all work, but before I go too far with anything I am going to speak to the engineer, I need to see what I can and can't do before I modify anything past the point of no return!

IMG_1628.JPG

I also realised that the Bedford upper uni joint (where the steering column connects to the intermediate shaft) has what looks to be the same uni joint as a commodore ... so this could mean it could be dis-assembled and the right bits connected to the commodore column!

[Holden202T]

Yesterday saw some good progress managed to work the body loom through a small hole in the firewall (yes relay/fuse box is a right pain!!) and roughly got it sitting in place.

had to lengthen a few wires for the engine loom, then the rest of it worked out really well, so happy with that!

the VS Dash is screwed in place roughly were its going to sit .... and the under dash loom all connected! interior light works when I press the key so that's a good sign

IMG_1770.JPG

this is the single reason the VS commodore donor car wouldn't start $10 from holden, and the big 304 Bedford now cranks over!!

IMG_1778.JPG

got to go out this morning but hopefully this arvo I can get a $11 tune on the 424 pcm and see if I can connect to it with the aldl interface and see how the sensors look after my full loom re-pin!

still lots of wiring to finish off properly and fuel tank etc but getting closer to a start!!

[yoda69]

Looking really good!!!!
Excellent job as always.

[VL400]

Looks like the dash was made to be in a Bedford! Good job.

[Holden202T]

made some good progress today until the wind and cold temps got the better of me!!

i can confirm that pcm is talking and aldl logging is working, possibly saw a funky issue, when i hit the key it spikes the MAT then goes back to normal! i know the wiring loom is pretty rough and some parts not connected at all so might have a earth missing or something like that, either way needs to be worked out.

other than that, spent a bit of time removing the hood lining to get the commodore wiring run up to the roof and in the front pillar for the interior light and also drilled some holes and fitted the door light buttons, the commodore ones went straight in and look factory

interior light.JPG

door light button1.JPG

so now the light comes on when i unlock it and also when i open the doors the only one missing at the moment is the rear door, still un-decided if i want to have a few lights in it all run off the one lot of door switches or if i want to use the boot light in the commodore as the back door light and have only the back light up not the cabin ....

also thinking i'll use the rear window demister to run a nice bright LED spot light in the back or similar!! decisions decisions!

while i was playing around i heard a beep from the dash .... turns out my fuel tank is empty and the fuel light/chime came on after about 30 secs with the ignition on lol!! mod cons hehehehe