TooTallMike

Won't help you Tony, You can't tow a laden trailer with a vehicle taxed as 'historic'. They've thought of that! ;-) On a more serious note I'm pleased to see the good work we did for the historic vehicle movement during the original LEZ consultation is being carried on, and the 'historic' exemptions will continue to be respected. - MG

Dart engine should be 180hp. - MG

Hi John, I'm enjoying watching your progress and very impressed by the scale of the project. In case it helps, these are the people I use for engine mount rubbers: http://www.vibration-mounts.co.uk - MG

Having googled it that engine looks very similar to the R6602. They don't use the same gaskets do they? The R6602 was made in a number of guises, with different RXXXX numbers, but the block and head were the same. If it's common with R6602 then most engine parts are available off the shelf in Holland and the US. - MG

As Vince says, the rev range will be almost the same so speed will be similar but with the greater torque it'll spend much more time in the higher gears and will probably therefore actually seem faster. It will be louder although the turbo should help reduce that. The big wins are on economy (think 8- to 10-fold improvement in consumption) and reliability (starts first turn every time and no more churning over on damp mornings). Petrol engines will never catch on... - MG

First test drive of red truck conversion: - MG

Thanks Vince, That does make sense but it must have been a mod by the bus company, or a special order. - MG

Any reason for not going either full 12v or full 24V? Normally the fuel filter on Darts is on the LH side of the head, on the underside of the inlet chamber and is integral to the head. This system works absolutely fine for up to 180hp engines. This location appears to be clear on your engine so I wonder why they used that front mounted jobby? It would be a very easy job to change yours to the more conventional spec. and would save you having to find anywhere else for a filter housing. FYI on higher-powered engines this location is not used and a separate filter assembly is bolted onto the side a bit further back using two of the inlet cover bolts. I presume the reason is that the higher powered engines require a greater fuel flow than the original design allowed for. - MG

I like the fact that despite it being an unusual combination for road use, someone has gone to the effort of fitting a number plate at the back! - MG

Jamie, Manifold depression won't be enough. There is a vacuum pump available that bolts on in the compressor location. - MG

Don't bother with sealed beams unless you're a rivet-counter: you can fit Wipac lenses with 6V halogen bulbs and built-in side lights. There is no reason why a properly set-up stock electrical system shouldn't be able to power them and you'll get way more light. Incidentally, for one bulb to go followed by the other suggests something other than a circuit breaker. - MG

Thanks mate, it's the colour I did the engine in the yellow truck and the customer liked it so much he wanted his the same! Isn't it time we pulled your engine and 'box back out for a paint-up? They'd look great in mid grey. - MG

Peter, As per original spec. there are no fuses, just various circuit breakers which are thermal trips, so they will re-set themselves after a short while. Are the new bulbs now blown or is it the circuit that's now at fault? I wouldn't just go by testing with the 'good' sealed beam, can you put a voltmeter across the terminals? - MG

View of my workshop last week with engines in various stages of build for up-coming jobs

Link to the conversion of my Yellow truck: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?34372-New-yellow-Ward-laFrance-from-France&highlight=yellow+ward Adrian Scott's truck: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?22325-Next-Ward-LaFrance-restoration&highlight=ward+cummins Mark Hart's truck: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?17372-Markheliops-Ward-La-France-diesel-conversion&highlight=ward+cummins

Hi all, Seeing the current revival of interest in diesel conversions I thought I'd make a record of all of the engine conversions carried out by both Green Barn Services (my MV restoration & modification business), and by the individual members of Green Barn Group (our vehicle club). I plan to link all previous and future jobs in to this thread to make as full a record as possible. These conversions have ranged from Land Rovers up to High Speed Tractors, and we might be going even bigger this year. I can think of at least ten conversions in which I have been instrumental, with four more booked to happen consecutively after the current one, and several more in discussion. I'll start with the latest project which is for a customer in Stockton. We started with an ex-French Fire Brigade engine-less Ward laFrance delivered on a low loader. The customer had seen the YouTube video of my Yellow truck towing my scrap truck over the crest of a hill and commissioned me to do the same to his truck. He intends to leave the vehicle red so the spec was to bling the engine as per mine. The engine was built up before the truck was delivered and after steam cleaning the engine bay, it was fitted as per the attached photos. This is the 6th Cummins WLF conversion I've done, and the 5th to use a 6BTA so most of the issues are known although due to the nature of the vehicles every one throws up its own challenges. in this case it has been the wiring loom, but more of that later. For now I'll just post a selection of build photos with comments. Thanks to Chris B (Bartron) for the photos.

Richard, Regular topping up is exactly my point. How often do you top your car up? Very rarely I'd imagine? Should be the same for a Cummins system, but only if you have a pressurised system with a header/expansion tank. Having a system with the potential to self-evacuate seems like a recipe for disaster to me... My old WLF was running the original rad and after a long journey there would be a stain of coolant running across the tops of both wings. At that time I hadn't done enough conversions to understand what the problem was. - MG

That's an interesting approach and I hope the HT goes as well as the one we converted. Are you retaining the turbo? If so you might like to fit a liquid-to-air charge air cooler which replaces the inlet plate on top of the head. This will give you a little more power. I'm assuming you plan to re-use the existing radiator? If so you will almost certainly need to fit a header tank as these old rads are not designed to take the pressurised cooling system of a modern engine. If you don't fit a header tank it will probably spew the coolant out of the overflow until there's nothing left in the system but steam. Don't ask me how I know... And if you try just fitting a higher pressure cap you'll almost certainly burst the core. Alternatively if you plan to fit a modern rad you could fit a rad/intercooler pack and generate some real free power. FYI if anyone else reading this is inspired by the same idea, please contact me as I have a pile of the correct flywheel housings for this job. - MG

I'd be amazed if it's excessive pressure from the lift pump bearing in mind it runs fine most of the time. Have you swapped in a known good carb? Will it start if you leave the choke fully in and cover the inlet with your hand to simulate a more conventional choke situation? You may need to pour a tiny bit of petrol in to get it going but on the one I was playing with it would start without. - MG

I'd suggest that simply means it comes with a red and a black wire poking out of the side rather than relying on the body of the unit to earth. Therefore it can be used on either a +ve or -ve earth vehicle. And yes, if you wire it the wrong way it will pump the wrong way, so don't . - MG

Still on the subject of Ferrets I don't see what would stop them being tested. Any issues of climbing in and out can easily be dealt with as per HGVs where it's the driver who carries out all of the operations under the instruction of the examiner. Regardless, as clarified above, they are under the cut-off weight for this consultation so they will remain exempt but it's probably only a matter of time before that loophole is closed. - MG

Hi Alistair, That sounds like an interesting problem. If it's pumping out of the inlet pipe when that is disconnected, then surely it has to be needle valve, float or arm. Is the float arm spindle moving freely, maybe the arm is getting stuck in the 'up' position and holding the needle valve closed? Also, is the float the right way up? - MG

The cheap way to do it is to use an electric oil pressure sender to fire a relay when there is oil pressure. This can go in a spare port in the block or tee into the pressure gauge line or whatever. If the engine dies the pump is switched off. The big disadvantage is that you're back to churning the engine before you have enough oil pressure to fire the relay to get fuel up, but as I say, it's a cheap solution if it worries you. - MG

Out of interest, what class will a Ferret fall into that will make it exempt if the proposed legislation is brought in? It presumably currently escapes due to being a locomotive but if that class is being made test-able, logic dictates that all vehicles within the class should follow. And to play Devil's Advocate, why should a Ferret be exempt anyway? For example it can be brake tested with a Tapley meter and handbrake tested on a slope. - MG

The principal advantages to me of installing a solid state pump on an older vehicle are that it replaces the rubber in the lift pump diaphragm which is one of the favourite foodstuffs of ethanol fuel; it also virtually eliminates vapour locking on vehicles prone to this. NOS's point about priming levers is also very important as it avoids unnecessary churning of a cold, tight engine just to get fuel up. It is good to get the oil moving around an engine before starting from cold but I prefer to so this on my own terms by cranking the engine with the ignition switched off rather than being forced to by the fuel having evaporated or run back. - MG