conrod

unfortunately guys I did not finish this project! I sold the van and engine too. Another Mk1 came up with a 302 already fitted, and although not as wild as this one would have been, it was much cheaper and easier to go this route. And yes, FG sump is rear bowl. Needs matching dipstick, and block will have to be drilled to suit dipstick hole. I think the early block doesn't have the boss for the rear mount dipstick, but the FG block has both, from memory!

I think the owner/driver was okay, but was arrested and charged with drunk driving. His wife wasn't so lucky, she was not wearing a seatbelt and was fired 30 metres from the car through the windscreen, and was lucky to survive. I feel sorry for the police, ambo's and fire service who have to clean up these types of mess when people do stupid things.

Time has been scarce lately, but finally spent a few hours on the old bus this weekend. I put the engine in position, supported by blocks of wood, and after moving it many many times I finally have it in a position I am happy with. I have had to swap the sump pan for one from an earlier model Falcon (BA) which has the bowl at the front, as mine came with a rear bowl sump pan. But this did not present any real problems, my block even has the front dipstick position in the block with a bung fitted I did a check against my Mk2 (which is fitted with a Pinto 2.0) and the crankshaft centreline is 130mm LOWER on the 6 cylinder installation than the Mk2/Pinto The front axle and steering drag link will clear the sump pan on full bump compression, and the trans is fairly tight underneath, but overall it should work okay. A few pics as always. I have drawn up the trans mounts, and will get those laser cut next week, and also begin work on an engine crossmember, to which I will attach the engine mounts. Conrad

Thanks Ralph, I have spoken to Paul Isaac at IPV here in NZ, and he was very helpful. He is confident that we can get the FG ECU to run as a standalone with a simple reflash. I have asked a few questions regarding different aspects of this conversion in different places on this forum. As there seems to be a bit of interest in what I am trying to achieve, I will keep posting updates (it keeps me motivated too!) on this conversion here: cheers Conrad

Thanks for the reply. I will continue to run the electronic throttle. I have spoken to a tuner here (I am in NZ) who thinks it should be possible by writing some new code for the ECU, but he hasn't done this before. So I guess just looking for others experience with this type of conversion, and I suppose some reassurance that it is actually do-able. I will post my findings here:) cheers Conrad

It is actually Conrad, but I use "conrod" on forums:) Story was, the owner left a country pub in a fairly intoxicated state, dragging his wife out by the hair. Raced down the road, didn't make the first corner, fired it off into a paddock and rolled it into the ball you see here. She was thrown 30m from the car (neither wearing seatbelts) but both survived. I guess you can't fix stupid! I have pulled the engine out, as well as rad, intercooler, exhaust, propshaft, ECU, shifter etc. Sold the rest to recover some of the cost. Engine appears mint, broken LH engine mount and gearbox mount, but no damage to the engine or ancilliaries. I want to run the original ECU, which I think will be the only way to retain the ZF. So back to the original question, can anyone help with a copy of the FG wiring diagrams please? Has anyone here managed to reprogram the standard ECU to work as a standalone ECU? It is probably the only way I will be able to retain the ZF trans, and as it is a very good system anyway I do not want to convert to Motec or similar for no real gain and a lot of expense. Conrad

There is a lot of work to do on the van, but I have most of the parts now. Loads of NOS panels, and I have already fitted a nine inch diff, big brakes etc. Externally it will appear stock, but will pack a hidden surprise I probably won't tune the engine, at least to begin with. These vans were only 1460kgs with the original V4 engine, so lets say 1550kgs with the F6 engine, I think it will be a scary enough ride with "only" 310kw's! Conrad

BTW, this is the van it is going into. I have already had the TT engine in there, looks like I will have to fit the earlier rear sump to the FG engine, but other than that the mounting of the engine shouldn't present too many problems. I will run the FG front mount intercooler, rad and fans, and may possibly fit air con as well:)

Hi all, I am still slowly working away on this conversion. I have recently bought a wrecked FPV F6, and am going to use the engine/trans out of this, instead of the TT engine. So continuing along the original theme of this thread, can anyone help me out with a copy of the wiring diagrams for an FPV FG please? (XR6 Turbo should be the same I think) cheers Conrad

thanks pal, really appreciate the help:) Keep up the good work! I will start a thread once I decide on a plan of attack. cheers conrad

thanks for the reply and information. I think you might be right about the FG givng me headaches with all of the differences:) But the price on the wreck was very good, so I just bought it and thought I would figure out what to do with it later. I wasn't aware that the FG sump was different. This engine appears to have the bigger turbo of the BA/BF model, as opposed to the regular (smaller) FG turbo. What other differences did Ford make to the rear end of the ute? Different springs, shocks, 2 links etc? Does you know what diff ratio was fitted to the ute? cheers conrad

I love this car (including the bonnet!) I have been thinking about doing a similar conversion like this for years, and today I just bought a wrecked (rollover) FG FPV F6 ( I think that's what it is called, it is the 310KW version) Anyway, couple of questions for you I you don't mind? I know the BA/BF wagon dates back to AU architecture. Do you know if the FG dash will fit into the BA wagon shell? What other parts of the conversion have you discovered that are not straight swap overs? Rear seats? Obviously, rear suspension is different, does the ute rear end swap straight in, or work required there? I hope you don't mind all of the questions, just trying to get my head around the job. Not new to engine swaps and car builds, so nothing is an issue, but always nice to know these things in advance:) thanks Conrad

yep I did consider that - briefly! But I think I will have enough problems to sort though with just a "normal" RWD conversion!........ :sungum: I have found some pics of aWD and RWD trans, and even the case looks different! Had a reply from the guy who is going to tune the engine for me, and he says we can recode another trans, so sorted it seems!

thanks for the reply. Is it really as easy as that, or am I missing something?

Great, thanks for the advice, I will probably get Isaac Peformance to tune it, they are the NZ Herrod dealer, a good friend of mine has had two XR6T's tuned by them with good results. I will give them a call this week as you suggest. The installation should be relatively easy if I can get the electrics to work. All of the plumbing will be stock Territory (for now) so stock tune should be close for a kickoff, but will have large drainpipe fitted (plenty of room under a van for one!) and as always with a turbo anything, boost becomes addictive and you always want more, so best to get the groundwork sorted at the beginning. The engine has only done 63000kms and I paid NZ$2700 for everything, including rad and fans, ECU, wiring, intercooler, all plumbing etc etc. The same place will sell me a ZF trans and TCM for NZ$1500 so not an expensive combo! Great, good to know that. I will make sure I get the trans with its matched TCM. I am in Auckland NZ. Plenty of XR6T's over here, including a lot of tweaked ones. Kiwis know they are a performance bargain too! Couple of pics attached, early days yet, but you get the idea. Most of the work will be in the resto of the bodyshell, but rust is minimal so shouldn't be too bad (famous last words) I don't have any pics of the van, but it is the same shape as the red van below. Performance shouldn't be too bad either, these old buses weighed less than 1500kgs with a V4 engine, so should end up around 1600kgs with the T6 fitted. Should be quite fast to 100kph, after which the aerodynamics will take over! I really would like to run a ZF 6 speed, but it looks increasingly like a difficult proposition, as I am told the TCM is coded to the ECU, and I cannot just bolt a BF/FG trans on the back and get it to work. So what I am wondering is, can the 4WD trans be easily converted to 2WD by utilising the tailshaft housing/output shaft from the 2WD box? Or is there a lot more parts that require changing? Anyone had one apart, or have a parts catalogue of the two showing an exploded view? I can get the original trans from the Terri my engine came out of. Other than that it looks like it might have to be a manual box:(