Sammy's CF Bedford Van

[Sammy]

so today was very fruitful!

got the hubs back from my mate today so was able to put it on properly and so i fitted up the commodore rims off the donor car i was interested to see how the wheel sat in the guard, it seems to be slightly inward of the wheels i got on it so thats good cause they were too wide, these seem perfect offset !! and honestly i like the look of this wheel on the bedford

also got stuck into the metal bracket, i've managed to get it to the point of being bolted up using the original bolts reversed, i just need to get some washers for them then i can trim them! im pretty happy with the outcome, just need to trim the tab for the caliper so i can fit the disc over it then i can make the holes for the caliper to bolt to it!

[Sammy]

ok, so got my hubs machined and then needed some more off them, so got that done and got them back now, so i was able to fit it all up as it will sit ...

so these pics just show the machining on the end of the hub to get it to fit inside the adaptor nicely, i am thinking i'll put a chamfer on the edge of the adaptor just for added clearance but other than that it all fits nicely .... mind you i put the adaptor on backwards so never mind that!

i am also looking at DBA catalogues to see if there happened to be a 300mm disc which had a slightly narrower depth which would mean maybe getting it to fit on without having to use spacers behind the adaptor plate, at this point in time its looking like there is nothing thats going to be any better than what i have now.

so yeah slow but good progress!

[restoreid]

Looking good Sammy Keep them coming A lot of fiddling but you will get there Just make sure that the cups are seated mine weren't & after I took it for a drive I had to tighten up the hub nut & the calipur bracket wasn't centred & had to redo the spacers
 

[Sammy]

Got some time in the shed today to make some really good progress on the brakes!! pretty much its all done, I have some washers spacing the caliper in the right spot till I can find the right thickness steel or similar to replace them, and need to neaten up the outside radius on the bracket, but aside from that i'm pretty happy with the outcome and it feels really good to have gotten to this point!!

[Sammy]

theres a few here showing the clearance, and also the wheel offset difference .... I need to measure the wheel back space to see how much of the difference is the wheels and how much is the brakes.

so the first pic of the wheels (passenger side) is the wheels I got on it with the drum brakes, and the driver side is the commodore brakes.

I am thinking I might grind a bit off the crossmember where the caliper comes close to it, but other than that I think its pretty good

[Gordon]

Looking good Sammy, well done !

[Dano]

Brilliant job! You've done well with the wheel clearance, Nice work.....remember to make a list of procedure and part # ...
I thought the brakes on my LWB were ok till I nearly hit a roo yesterday morn, and the backs just locked up, luckily the screech sent skip in the other direction, phew !
Time for an upgrade me thinks.

[Sammy]

yeah once i have it all 100% sorted i plan to write a detailed report for ye all!

[Sammy]

well progress has been slow due to helping the missus with her studio, but I am pleased to say on that note that there is no longer 30 boxes of bamboo floor boards in the back of the Bedford

I've managed to get the adapter plate all worked out and as you can see in the attached pic, the left one is the finished one and the right is duplication for the passenger side!

I am in the process of making up the spacers for it at the moment, has been hard trying to find the right size steel to do the job but hopefully that will be sorted in the next week or two then pretty much its just the brake lines left to make up!

[Sammy]

ok a bit more to add on the conversion wheel offset differences .....

the commodore hub sits out by 5mm compared to the Bedford hub (this is the spot where the rim contacts the brake drum/disc)

then to offset that the commodore rim has a 133mm backspace on a 190mm rim this if I am correct gives a positive offset of 38mm (positive is meaning the hub is 38mm from the centre line towards the outside of the wheel)

now the Bedford jelly bean rim offset is 110mm backspace on a 205mm rim, so this gives a  7.5mm positive offset....

so this means with the difference, the commodore brakes along with commodore rims give you a 25.5mm narrower track per side .....

BUT!!!!!!!

that doesn't tell us how it all compares to a stock Bedford rim!

which I just so happen to have one of! and it measures at 125mm backspace on a 170mm rim, so 40mm positive which means the commodore brakes and rim is 3mm wider track each side than a stock Bedford.

I think ..... my head hurts!