Baja Bus

Chronological Development Picture.

My bus. It hasn't cost much to build compared to the average family car. But is has taken a lot of my time. It's still not finished, but it probably never will be. She does wheelies, return about 24mpg and I think she looks pretty cool. Although some don't agree.

Main Features.

2.8i V6 engine approx 170hp.

Standard VW gearbox with up rated 4 spider differential.

Jacked up suspension 4 inches at the front, 4 inches at the back.

Tyres are BF Goodridge, All Terrain, 30 x 9.5 R15 up front and 33 x 12.5 R15 on the rear.

2 water matrix fan blown heaters. One in the rear and one under the windscreen. A diesel Eberspacher heater for preheating and defrosting.

Additional front anti-roll bar.

Mid belly mounted thick core radiator with twin electric fans operated on a thermostat switch.

Up rated brake servo and master cylinder.

Hinged sliding door.

Big Bull Bar.

Engine and Gearbox.

This is a 2.8 Manual Fuel injection Ford engine from an XR4i in standard form except for the K&N air filter and an incredible short and free flow exhaust system. The most difficult bit was wiring the engine in. About 20hrs work mainly due to having to completely strip the whole of the Fords wiring loom and then make a new loom and connect it into the van. My advice to anyone would be use a 2.9 injection because it has a brain. Much easier. The gearbox is 1600 camper box with a upgraded differential by Cogbox due to the standard diff falling out of the box in lots of pieces. Between the box and engine is a conversion plate.

Suspension.

In the first picture you can see the rear suspension jacked up by simply changing the position of the arm on the splines, also a coil over shock to gain another inch. Note the second shock welded on the side of the coil over for extra damping. The second picture shows the plate welded to the top of the front beam. This just moves the beam away from the chassis therefore raising the suspension. The advantage of this is you keep the correct suspension geometry. The disadvantage of this is you don't gain any ground clearance apart from that added by the bigger tyres.

The first two pictures show the second anti roll bar mounted under the original. Two blocks and some stainless fixings secure it in place and the roll is significantly reduced. The second picture shows the XR4i brake servo and master cylinder. The braking is fantastic compared to the original braking ability. The front shocks are a combination of KONI adjustable damping and KYB gas shocks. This gives the best of both with the KYB pushing the tyres into the road holes and the KONI's superior damping abilities, completely adjustable from almost none to so hard you feel sick. The air jammer I cut from a mark 2 vectra front bumper. The difference at high speed is unbelievable. Without it anything over 80mph and it felt like the front wheels were not touching the ground. With it at speeds of over 100mph it feels really positive, stuck to the ground and begging for more.

Engine Cooling.

The engine cooling is via a thick core transit van radiator mounted in the middle of the van between the chassis rails. It has twin electric fans from a Peugeot 405 mounted on top to blow air down over the radiator and a variable thermostatic switch to turn on the fans, set at 92 degrees C. The engine thermostat opens at 87 degrees C.

Heaters.

I have 3 heaters in the van. A diesel Eberspacher supplied by a Seagul outboard tank in the engine bay & 2 heater matrix. One matrix under the back seat which is from a Fiat Punto with a three speed fan on it and the other from an XR4i positioned in the belly pan. This matrix I stuck in a plastic front light housing from a Volvo 440 and placed directly under the hole in the cab floor where the original heat pipe comes up. In the cab is an in line 2 speed boat bilge blower. All three of the heaters are controlled from the dash.

Hinged Sliding Door.

The sliding door mechanism was absolutely knackered. I got so fed up I welded on some hinges that I cut off the old rust ridden cab doors. I strengthen up the B post with a piece of angle iron. The pictures say the rest.

Bull Bar.

The bull bar is an original Ozzie item that came over on an import. The new owner thought it too crude for British roads. Lucky for me. Anyway, I welded on some brackets underneath so it bolts on about 5 inches lower , in order to clear the wind jammer, and made it stick out in front about 4 inches more than the original in order to make it look harder. Of course, I also had to raise the top part of the bull bar by welding some of my trolley jack handle to it. Its all I had at the time. My favourite part is the original AMSTRAD CB aerial I managed to get on ebay. Its about 13ft high.

Fibreglass Opening Roof.

If you have seen some of the latest pictures of the van you may be wondering why the roof looks like such a piece of crap. Its because the £800 sliding roof by Riviera Roof Company is not staying. It leaks. The under and over sections of fibreglass have de-laminated and the filler that max used to fit the roof has cracked and is now leaking water into the roof section and rusting it away. I am waiting to get an elevating roof again. Very expensive mistake that the seller will not fix. Heath Robinson design. I have now binned the sliding roof in favour of a second hand elevating roof.