Sammy's CF Bedford Van

[Sammy]

yeah the VS has the intermediate shaft fixed to the column, not removable as far as i can see, and there is a lower bearing on the column and then it has a metal cup over it with two tabs to bolt to the floor, it also has a big rubber boot that goes on the outside to seal the floor and protects the top uni joint.

i wanted the VS column mainly because it has the tilt/height adjustments plus i prefer the look of the indicator stalks and key etc

once i get into it more i'll take some more detailed pics of it. i believe the VN intermediate shaft at the bottom has a splined end ?

[taggraphx]

The VS is possible, I have that column in my van, it is quite an easy modification, you have to get a sleeve turned up so that the VS shaft, which is thicker can join the Bedford lower part of shaft, the column it self bolts up very well and yes you get to have all the newer switches, I also got rid of the nylon bush at the bottom and replaced with needle roller bearings, you end up with a real tight steering column and parts are dirt cheap, I paid $50 on flea bay with the key, no air bag inside, a very simple mod, if you know some one with a lath, I think I kept the drawings that I made for the sleeve, if anybody's interested I will post them, you can go to my album and see photos of it fitted

cheers
Graham 

[Sammy]

Taggraphx, interested in your drawings if you still have them ?

In regards to diffs, as luck would have it, when i was at my mates workshop the other day there was a crewman ute in there for motor issues, so i took the opportunity to run a tape measure over its diff!!

so from what i can gather its 1680mm and apparently the short and long axles are about 50mm difference, so if my calculations are correct, this means that i can easily lengthen this diff 50mm making a 1730mm diff.....

and standard bedford is 1725mm ..... so if that is all correct, then i say  thats gold

[taggraphx]

Ok this is the sleeve that I had made to adapt the VS shaft to the bedi, very simple and worked for me, you can pin shafts and weld or just weld, it ends up being very strong and works well 

[Sammy]

ok I think im following what your doing!

only concern I have is engineers don't seem to like any welds on the steering, so I want to avoid that, but cotter pins or the like should do the trick, I assume you have cut the bottom uni-joint off the intermediate shaft and this sleeve is the replacement ?

[taggraphx]

Yes, but check with your engineer before you do any thing, your going from a 19mm shaft to a 24mm VS shaft, but I am sure there are lots of other ways to put in the later steering columns, there are lots of very experienced engineers on this site that adapt and design lots of parts for the bedies, this way worked for me

cheers
Graham

[Sammy]

so got out in the shed tonight to just play with a few things, sorted out the vn v8 speedo 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!

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!

[Sammy]

Its been a long time since i've had alot of time to put towards the bedford, but this weekend was more or less dedicated to the bedford

i've been doing alot of work with working out the commodore wiring loom routing and needing to shorten or extend a few wires, so theres alot achieved but not alot to show!

i got the dash cut down a bit and worked out where i want it, it has now been screwed to the top of the original bedford dash below the wind screen, and once i got that sorted i was able to start laying in the body wiring and this has been very fruitful.

the engine now cranks over using the commodore key in the column, and the dash gauges are all starting to work (where they have something connected at the other end!)

i've also run the wiring up the drivers pillar to the roof for the interior light, and that now works with commodore door light buttons that i fitted into the door pillars!

its all starting to be pretty modern and exciting and to add to all that, when i had the ignition on while tinkering, the dash spoke to me ... fuel light came on and it chimed to let me know the fuel tank was empty ..... or in my case not plugged in yet! hehehe

it does look like the wiring and dash is going to fit in quite well without needing heaps of major wiring mods etc so very happy with that!

[Gunning]

its all starting to be pretty modern and exciting and to add to all that, when i had the ignition on while tinkering, the dash spoke to me ...

a transformer bedford....
hopefully it didnt sound like kitt from knight rider......but sentient beddy would be cool, i want mine to talk as well

cool looking dash setup, i was thinking something similar with a v6 and commodore dash
good job

[Gordon]

Good progress Sammy. Those interior light switches are the go. I've put that on the "to do" list for my van.