Some time in the future this website will try to show the history of modifications to this van, Moose, hopefully guiding some poor soul through the pitfalls of hotting up a vehicle.

The logo pic on the left shows our Lada 4WD when it was an AA recovery vehicle.

The white paint band is to be used for some form of artwork and sign writing, most likely in vinyl. PS visit out other website. www.MotorcycleExhausts.co.nz

As the title says "How to and how not to" . Some of the mods done here are are clever but some of the final results have been spoiled by some very silly mistakes. More on that later!

Would I ever customize again? You bet! ( There's a whole story there)

Anyway here's the result so far. Looking good. I will post more pics ( thank god for digital cameras) in the future of the start to finish project spanning a number of years. ( quite a number)

Construction details will be posted later. Just a pic of the finished product for now

It began in 1982 when 17yr old Colin fell off a horse and broke his leg. As he lay in agony on the hard earth he swore from that day forth to have 4 wheels beneath and never again use 4 legs as his mode of transport.

A couple of years later he purchased a 3 year old Bedford CF 2.3 auto for $4500 from Cooper Henderson Motors. Around that time personalized plates became available and for reason he decided to name his first vehicle 'Hoss' possibly because he had been watching episodes of the old cowboy movie Bonanza and one of the characters was named ,, Hoss.

That name had been taken, so the next best thing was 'Moose'

Photos to be scanned as there was only 'kodak'colour prints back then.

None of the modifications have been certified as the work was done before the law changed in the early 90s so a declaration form is all that is required. Sometime in the future the 14" and 15" wheels may need to be replaced with 17s or 18s as the old wide tire sizes are hard to come by these days. As the guards have been made to hug the tires the closest height and widths in modern 17s or 18'' are being checked out. The stud pattern may then need to be altered and certified.

Check out the Wheels and Tyres page for a tyre size calculator.

2010

Tom white, on the left, was a great help at the start of the modifications and showed the 'boys' how to weld and work with sheet metal.

Ford Motor in a Bedford????

Young Colin had a Ford 3L V6 motor and a set of 12"wide Kelly supercharger tires that he had purchased for a T Bucket (or C cab) that he and a friend were in the process of constructing. That project lost its appeal for some reason and he wondered what would suit the motor and tires. He decided he would customize a Bedford van to utilize the leftover parts.

Running gear

The V6 motor and 4 speed box were used initially.

Diff. Standard Bedford 4.6

And did it go! The kelly superchargers were very easy to smoke up from the lights and with the low gearing the moose could sprint off the mark and pull up hills leaving many surprised car drivers in the dust. A 5 speed Toyota box made open road traveling easier in overdrive with plenty of torque left even for hill work.

Suspension: With everything set up the ride is firm but it corners flat and holds the road well.

The OEM front springs and shock absorbers having worn out were replaced with aftermarket shocks and heavy duty shorter coils. The really stiff rear springs were replaced with a softer set which gave the stance a neat rake -which was fashionable back then. The ride and handling was much improved.

Other parts like the radiator and steering are standard Bedford and do the job just fine. Actually the steering is dead straight and drives as well as any decent car apart from being very heavy when parking.

Transit power steering units can be grafted in. There is a Toyota people mover power rack purchased from Murray McQuoid Engineering to be fitted.

Wheels and Tires

Arrow Wheels made a set of Trident style mags, 14x9 front and 15x11 rear which were fitted with the 12" Kelly Superchargers and 265/50 x 14 BF Goodrich on the front.

Several sets of tires have been used up over the years starting with names like Kelly and BF then Eagers and Hankook .

Body work

1985, Once the wheels were fitted the guards were constructed. Some details are on the Construction page.

The body was rust free as would be expected with a vehicle only a few years old but having been an Air New Zealand courier van it had a lot of dings and bog repairs from a short but hard life.

A list of modifications that were done over about 12 months:

Flares and wheels. construction page

Rear pan. see home page

Gull wing rear door with recessed spare wheel and flip up perspex rear window.

Tail lamp modifications .

Sunroof. Neatly grafted in with rain channels around the sides. No thick layers of sealant.

Side door hidden hinges and shaved handles.

Passenger drivers doors shortened with flush handles.

Running boards between the flares.

Front air dam. redone in 2007

new tube grill- 1 of many

headlamps. Falcon to start with, Maxima later

front indicators mods

Paint

The Moose was doomed to drive around in primer or various shades of grey or white topcoat in patches for 20 years while the final colour was decided on. That came about by chance when 4 litres of a metallic blue for a Corvette went smokey and the shop sold it cheap.

In Jan 2007 the moose was stripped ( again) to bare metal, repaired and panel beaten. Some cosmetic mods to the airdam, grill and headlights were done for a 'chevron' look then on went the paint - along with a number of insects.

More on that later with a "how not to apply your own paint job " :o)

Repairs

The moose being stripped for repairs in 2007.

The airdam had the 'slots' reshaped to be chevron shaped rather than rectangular

The airdam was opened up at the front.The headlamps were swapped from Falcon ( Fairmont) to Maxima and the main grill shaped to suit

Almost ready for a coat of paint

Guards.

First we cut off the old guards.

There is an outer and inner skin to cut through.

In this case the 'old' guards are actually the first set we modified in 1985 but had been beaten up over the years and need a lot of repairs and a reshape to hug the tires more closely.

Protect the windows as we have or the metal sparks will totally ruin them .

Make a new tubing edging shaped and held in position by tack welded straps to form a temporary framework.

The spring removed and the van lowered onto the bump stop for a clearance check at the front.

This shot shows a check at the stage where the guards have had some paneling welded on

Making Templates

Working out the outer guard skin shape and drawing on cardboard.

Each guard has a semi circle shape like a fan when flat, and when the outer edged are pulled together form a cone or funnel which makes 2 guards

large dia - small dia , divide by 2 = A

width of guard divided by A = B

large dia divide by 2 X B = C (the Radius indicated by the ruler in the photo above)

large dia X 3.14 = circumference of the outer cone

Use a compass to draw the outer edge of the fan shape to the circumference measurement as above, cut the fan in half and you have 2 guards.

And/Or

Trim a cardboard template to shape.

Back to the front

After some panel beating adjustment the gaps are closed and everything mig welded together, as shown in the pic on the right.

the procedure is the same front and rear.

The angle grinder!!

View From the Inside

The inner part of the rear guards were modified to match up with the new bodywork sections.

inner guards Never satisfied. more work. Made more room tho, was it worth it... hmmm

Inner guard partially cut away

The inner guard trimmed to the desired height.

The inner guard lost 100m in height to make more room inside the vehicle. It still clears the tire under full bump

The inside view. Notice the bar holding out the body line. The welding shrank the steel and pulled the side in. It was sent to a professional panel beater ( Dough Smith Panel Beaters Tuam Street ) in 1999 for $1700 of panel beating which didn't really do much - apart from shrinking the side panels.The bar was an instant and remarkably successful fix. So much for the $1700 - DIY, do a better job and save the money.

side door

These hinges are concealed. Holes were cut in the frame with more mounting steel added and passenger door hinges were used. Note the covers over the factory access ports. Looks neater and adds strength to the frame. Hint: If the bottom hinge was mounted a bit higher up the door frame it would fit the body work better.

More details later. The door can open only the same as the driver/passenger doors with these hinges. With the factory Bedford external hinges the door swings open all the way. If I was starting again, I would....Leave it alone!

The pockets are handy for maps and 1st aid kit etc. The carpet and fabric lining style is consistent with the gull wing rear door

concealed hinges Concealed hinges. I don't remember how I figured this out . I was young and silly when I did it back in the late 1980s - so it can't be too hard to do.

Another view of the side door hinges before the lining went on.

The extra panel is to mount the inside door handle.

(pic of side door) Steel has been removed from the lower part of the door for a large map pocket.

Rear door

The rear door is a gull wing made from the factory rear doors .

Ordinary gas struts open the door with ease even with the spare wheel mounted .

The extra frame work has been added to accommodate the opening rear window.

A gull wing door with a recessed spare wheel well for a Bedford CF in the making.

The tail lights are Suzuki 4WD recessed - $350 brand new 1985. Still in service but behind a tinted cover these days.

Note the fuel filler. This was changed back to original position in later years.

(details page)

Rear window

The rear window is perspex ( acrylic). We had some 10mm thick panels left over from a corporate job we did.

The opening window would make a handy emergency exit.......It has a secure slightly ajar position and an open position as seen here. Oh, it can also be closed tight!

The rear window can be ajar when the door is up and still be rainproof. The rectangular shapes either side of the opening are LED emergency flashing lights. The moose attends the occasional breakdown and road accident in this area.

Sunroof

The roof has been modified to allow the sunroof to sit flush with room for water channels around the outside.

It fits neatly between the roof ridges. Not by good design.

It was a coincidence that this sunroof fitted so well. It was the first one I saw.!

A pair of modified vise grips made a step around the edge of the opening for the sunroof to sit on.

Very simple tool but worked well.

I have read a magazine article which recommended cutting an opening then simply sitting the sunroof in and using great gobs of sealant to deal with the gaps left by the roof ridges. Not for me.

a strip of weather proof foam is all that is needed to keep it water tight.

Later I used a smear of windscreen sealant . Unfortunately I allowed it to cure then removed the excess-- along with strips of paint.!

Motto, do not use windscreen sealant unless it is the soft stuff that never cures.

(mirrors)

Mirrors

We were considering electric mirrors from a late model car. They would need to be blended into the side window corner which wouldn't look out of place. I've seen it done on other Bedfords but for the time being the truck type mirrors work well for the Moose.

Most of the support tubing that comes as standard with this type of mirror has been modified to make it look neater

The top tube has been cut down and a thread inserted and is held by a bolt from the inside of the door frame.

The bottom is supported by a stainless plate fastened by 6 mm screws to the door.

door details

The door has been shortened and a running board added. the running board is all welded 1.6 sheet with a tube forming the rolled edge. Note the stainless tread strips to protect the paint and provide grip. No other support under the running board is needed, It's strong enough.

pic of door handles) Yes., the door handles are custom made. Too much work, there is nothing wrong with the factory Bedford handles, Leave them alone!

Side door

More of the same at the rear guard. The exhaust is suspended under the running board, and makes a nice deep rumble, more on that later

door has not been shut properly . The rear guard loves hitting stones out of the way!

No handle this time. I'm a glutton for punishment.. What can I say, I was young at the time and had to have what I saw in the custom magazines.

lesson: Leave the Bedford handles where they are. They work and look ok.

interior page)

Lining the rear gull wing door

More information to be posted later, we're starting with the door linings.

Oct 2010

Finally the rear door has been fully lined and is the only totally completed part of the interior.

It started as the standard LH&RH Bedford opening doors which were welded together to form a gullwing on gas struts with 10mm acrylic opening window / emergency exit, recessed spare wheel well and concealed electric openers.

The wheel well and surrounding panels ready to be lined. The door perimeter has been carpeted already.

The wheel well carpet cut and shaped. It's a cheap grey felt which stretches. The up-raised lip was stretched into shape and fits the wheel well perfectly as in the pic below.

One side of the 50mm foam cut to shape and the center piece.

A simple panel could have been used to cover this part of the door instead of all this shaping but that would have hidden the inside construction of the wheel well which attracts interest from other vanners.

Foam being covered with navy fabric. The fabric is partly glued. When the foam is fitted in the door the fabric is just stuffed and tucked in. It all holds firmly

One foam panel is holding firmly in position while the other is being tucked in. It worked surprisingly well and looks plush. A one man job!

Bedford CF gull wing rear door

The door complete with carpet and foam rubber fabric all holding it self neatly in position.

A photo of the side door to compare the lining application.

The driver passenger doors also have a consistent lining style.