International 1973 D-Series 1210 4x4 Van

[john.k]

I would not do another diesel conversion on small Inter ...not worth the trouble ,as diesel is always at least 20c a litre dearer than petrol,currently 40c.The other big deal is being ratted out for smoke .....which is why my 1310 was off the road in 2006.....three smoke reports and you are up for a costly full power dyno report ......and Im sure all my complaints were from the same guy ....and maybe even the same guy was ratting me out to the council......I had a row with an old git over trees overhanging the footpath ,and been dozens of complaints since about everything.......Funny thing was I replaced it with a Leyland 4 tonner with the 6cyl Mazda/Perkins in it ,and the exhaust was smoke free most oif the time ,but one particular speed and throttle emitted white smoke ....and got pinged for that by the scalies......As well as getting done for 400kg overloaded.......Four ton trucks are a waste of money ...8 tonner is nearly the same rego ,and youre not overloaded every time you go out.

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

From a handful of pulled out wires I installed a new fused terminal block and wired up two relays. I used the old wire from the dip switch to use as trigger wires for a high beam relay and a separate low beam relay.

Subsequently, I now have head lights for high and low beam for the first time in who knows how long.

There is an interesting set of Narva driving lights fitted to Bluey. The acrylic covers have obviously been out in the sun for a long time. However, the wiring was never connected. The manufacturer's loom just ends and lies loose on the front bumper.

Well  tomorrow's job will be to add another relay or two and see if the driving lights actually work!

After that I will start chasing some mystery circuits and attempt to work out what has been added and taken away over the years.  Plus there are a number of switches that I am not sure what they are or were hooked up to.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Chazza]

Good move Lionel!

Putting relays on my Alpine was the best modification I made,

Cheers Charlie

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Earlier in the week I spent a couple of days getting Bluey ready for conversion to a Perkins 6354 Diesel motor. In preparation for this I removed the nose cone panels.

In the process of panel removal I took all the LPG fittings off the passenger-side inner mudguard. All the fittings had been disconnected by the previous owner. Inside the cargo area is a very much out-of-date and simply massive LPG tank. It takes up half the cargo space in Bluey's back. So the tank's removal is high on the to-do-list.

I disconnected everything attached to the 302 Cleveland Ford V8 and the XA Falcon automatic transmission. My trailer with a crane was reversed up to Bluey and up and over the bumper-bar the engine went.

I am glad I did this now and that I had not waited until I had picked the Perkins motor up. This is because I had time to have a close look at the engine cross member and noticed that it was a custom job for the V8.  So I will now make sure the Perkins motor comes with a cross member and I will find an original cross-member for the International gearbox. I had already worked out to find a clutch pedal box and associated parts. The possible need for a cross-member did not .... cross ... my mind. Yes, that was a pretty slack example of a pun!

The removal of the nose cone enabled a closer inspection of the extent of rust in the firewall. I did know that there were some rust there. Now with the nose cone panels removed I had better access to the firewall and could closely inspect the damage.  Some more rust was found in the nose cone panels themselves where different panels overlapped.

It looks like I will drilling out lines of spot welds along the firewall. The horizontal panel the runs below the windscreen and then extends to the bonnet is double skinned. Once-upon-a-time - when the front windscreen did not leak - the double skin might have stayed nice and dry. Now the bottom skin - which forms the top lip of the firewall is extensively rusted. At this stage a 200 mm section along the whole width and top profile of the fire wall is slated for removal in order to cut the rust out.

With no engine or gearbox there is now plenty of room to start working on the rust sections.

Well that is all for today's session of working on Bluey.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Bluebell One-eight]

If this is a Cleveland especially from an XA  a 302 should have orange rocker covers... 351s are blue. They could have been changed, but measure the stroke 3"for 302 and 3.1/2"for 351. A 51 would bring a bit these days ease the pain of acquiring the 354.

[Lionelgee]

If this is a Cleveland especially from an XA  a 302 should have orange rocker covers... 351s are blue. They could have been changed, but measure the stroke 3"for 302 and 3.1/2"for 351. A 51 would bring a bit these days ease the pain of acquiring the 354.

Hello Bluebell 1-8 and All,

Earlier on I posted about the removal of the Ford V8 302. This event took place earlier than I had originally planned. The removal of the engine was due to an incorrectly fitted oil pump shaft. I had found TDC on Number 1 cylinder and noticed that the rotor button was not pointing at Number 1 spark plug lead on the distributor. So I loosened the distributor and lifted it up. The next second this steel rod fell out of the distributor and proceeded to disappear into the bowels of the motor. Torchlight and magnetic lances failed to retrieve the shaft. This meant that there was no point keeping a now non-functioning motor in the vehicle that was going to come out anyway.

Today, after having a yarn with an older mechanic at one of the autoparts stores he suggested that the shaft had been installed incorrectly by a previous owner. The shaft must have been fed down from the distributor into the oil pump and this it is the incorrect way to do so.  This means the circlip is on the distributor side of the casing.

I checked on at least three YouTube clips and they each supported the mechanic's description. Each clip shows the oil pump being taken off. The shaft being placed into the keyway and then the oil pump and shaft is raised upwards into the casing. This means the circlip is captured and cannot be lifted out by the distributor. 

The only way I could get the oil pump shaft out of where it had fallen into a totally invisible and inaccessible spot was to take off the sump and turn motor upside down on the engine stand.

I will be re-installing the oil pump shaft the correct way to prevent future fiascos for the next poor sod who works on the 302.

With the sump off I was able to check the main cap - it has "302" written large upon it. I also checked out the engine code. A Ford motor made in 1972. - so that makes it an XA.

My intention is to get the motor and carburettor sorted out. This will allow people to see and hear the engine running when they check it out to buy it.

Kind regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I have been playing catch-up with Bluey. Well catch-up with parts previously attached and sort of functioning. I am replacing the previous owner's power plant of a Ford 303 V8 motor and its automatic gearbox. I intend to fit a Perkins 6354 diesel and return to the International manual gearbox.

However, I have been working on getting the Ford V8 to run more reliably so it can be seen and heard running by potential buyers. Bluey ran rough as guts when I first bought it. The Holley carburettor then caught fire. To increase the joy a previous owner had incorrectly fitted the oil pump shaft. I had found Top Dead Centre on Cylinder Number 1 and noticed that the rotor button did not line up with the position of spark plug lead Number 1. As I lifted the distributor up I saw a flash of metal and then heard something drop into the motor. Where it subsequently disappeared into the bowels of the motor unseen and irretrievable.  It was the oil pump shaft.

According to an older mechanic the oil pump should have been taken off and the shaft inserted into the keyway. The pump and shaft should have then been raised so the shaft is positioned from the bottom of the motor upwards towards the distributor mounting place. The circlip prevents the shaft being pulled out of the motor when the distributor is lifted upwards. A number of YouTube clips also agreed with the mechanic I talked to.  Instead, a previous owner had dropped the oil pump shaft down from the top of the motor into the oil pump. This meant the circlip could not hold the shaft in place and it lifted up when I raised the distributor.

To be able to find the oil pump shaft I had to take the sump off and rotate the motor on the engine stand so that it was upside down. I also had to disconnect the oil pump. So a sump gasket set later, the making of replacement oil pump gasket new oil and filter I am back to where I was a couple of days ago. The engine now has the new oil and filter.  I have found TDC, I also removed the old mechanical fuel pump which is faulty. I am fitting and electric fuel pump instead.

I will have to make a bracket so I can remount the starter motor without a bellhousing to fix the two bolts to. Then to rig up the starter electrics and a temporary radiator. By which time the 150 kilometre COVID 19 travel restrictions in Queensland may have lifted.  I can then go and pick up the Perkins 6354 which is located more than 150 kilometres away.

Kind regards
Lionel
 

[fc101]

Have you looked into the mil history of your vehicle?

[Lionelgee]

Hello FC 101,

There is zero military history attached to my particular van. It was built specifically for Telecom. The  word of mouth history was that the van was made in Victoria for Telecom and then shipped to Western Australia where it worked until it was pensioned off. A previous owner then brought it to New South Wales. There were variants of the same body that were configured into RAAF ambulances.

Its lack of military history is mostly why I put the thread about the van under the option of International "Other".

I do have an Series 2A Land Rover ex-Army Ambulance though. Plus a couple of Series 3 Fitted For Radios.

Kind regards
Lionel

[fc101]

Oh ok - given it is a Military forum I thought it must have had some mil history.

Cheers

[Lionelgee]

Hello FC101,

It seems that International trucks are a bit of an orphan as far as active forums and restoration threads go. There are a couple of Historic Commercial Vehicle clubs and International and Dodge clubs; however, they are on Facebook. They do not seem that interested in rebuild descriptions.

This forum having an International "Other" thread seemed like a nice spot to post in.

Kind regards
Lionel

[john.k]

yeah ,not a lot of action on the IH forum here ......Unfortunately you wernt able to look at my 1310 .....could have got chapter and verse about Perk conversions ........I do recall the Ford V8s .....I got caught with one once ...it was in a kit car ,and I put the drive shaft clip the wrong way round ......fortunately ,the  driver saw no oil pressure straight away ,and the drive (seemed to be a 5/16"  hex shaft,no more) rode up out of the oil pump ..........IMHO the clip was not to stop it falling ,but to stop it from rising out of mesh with the oil pump drive..............anyhoo ,long time ago ,land far away etc.

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

With the easing of travel restrictions due to COVID 19 the trip to pick up the Perkins 6354 is drawing closer. During my preparations for the transplant I realised that I will have to change the custom cross-members for the Ford V8 302 and the matching C4 automatic gearbox.

The donor truck for the Perkins is a Dodge and I am getting an International gearbox. I know that for a while the Internationals and Dodges were made in the same factory and share a lot of commonality.

Does this interchangeability extend to the engine and gearbox cross-members? Or should I be picking up International specific cross-members while I am there?

Kind regards
Lionel