Re: Building the ultimate Hijet - a thread of ideas

[sammyboy]

Yeah, the first one on that page, the silver one with the racing stripes, has been giving me the horn for 3 years. It's a real inspiration. Have you seen this one?



I think it looks AMAZING with the roof chop, but I suspect it would compromise useability, and I'm not sure it's even legal anymore.

[sammyboy]

Sorry!

[Logi]

Used to have a Commer, prob why i like Hijet's, they're kinda like little Commers

[sammyboy]

That's definitely part of the appeal for me. I nearly bought a Commer with a full coachbuilt camper body a year or two ago. That one didn't have terminal rust as it was in regular use, though it needed some work fairly quick. The thing that put me off is that they top out at about 40, and still get 17mpg. For me, a different engine is a must

[PFM]

My Dad had a Commer PB1500 when I was 17 so, apart from a few previous lessons at school in a Moggie, it was what I learnt to drive in. Then as my gf had just passed her test I was able to practice for hours with her in my Imp Californian. (Ahem, driving of course!)

[HighlyJetted]

My mates truck gets about 3 mpg since he's fitted a new more economical engine, strangely enough he just keeps it parked up outside his house all the time apart from taking it to a local show once every two years

Here is one of them he has parked up outside his house:-


Scammell Explorer by Kingsdude/Dave, on Flickr

He has about 3 or 4 of them in his garden. Strange obsession.

[Logi]

Used to be a guy with a couple of those near me, done out as heavy wreckers.

[PFM]

He has about 3 or 4 of them in his garden. Strange obsession.

Daft really, you can get loads more Hijets in than big trucks! Thanks Logi for the Thames resto link - though it nearly made me late for an appointment All credit to him for the work he's done but he does like taking piccies, doesn't he? Anyone taking bets on when it'll be finished?

[Logi]

He has about 3 or 4 of them in his garden. Strange obsession.

Daft really, you can get loads more Hijets in than big trucks! Thanks Logi for the Thames resto link - though it nearly made me late for an appointment All credit to him for the work he's done but he does like taking piccies, doesn't he? Anyone taking bets on when it'll be finished?

Hmm, who do we know with loads of Hijets in their garden?

Hopefully i'll get to see the Thames this year at the Scottish Ford Day, last year was a nogo as my MG decided to collapse it's balljoint on the way

[HighlyJetted]

[PFM]

Glad to see irony is not wasted north of the wall!
I doubt that Thames will be there unless it's on a trailer - he's spent nearly 3 years on the body and hasn't touched the running gear or interior yet

[sammyboy]

The Thames gonna be right when it's done though! I came across another thread today with someone who came across a second hand Jag V12 and got excited, so built a mid engined space framed coupe round it, just for the lols.

Love the heavy trucks; a place that did the final MOT for my Bedford bus before I left for India in it had what I swear was a Mighty Antar in his shed.

The Retroriders have come up with a possibility for me; VAG 1.9TD engine, sump and ancilliaries from a diesel T25, and then an adapter plate to whatever gearbox and diff (that has yet to be decided). There's part of me that feels maybe the 1.6 H series engine is the sensible choice, but another part of me is feeling that what I ACTUALLY want to build might be in reach after all.....

[HighlyJetted]

But what I thought you really wanted was a 1.4/1.5 peugeot derv engine. Which reminds me, they are those wet liner petrol TU engines they converted to a derv on the cheap, they tend to fail from premature big end failure. But to talk about their good features they are incredibly light as they are an all alloy engine like the hijet engine. I've always nick named them the turd diesel after the engine code on them. They even flogged them to rover for the metro for a bit. Good old rover, they'll buy any old crap. Still tickles me how they acquired that K series engine.

Thinking about weight, those VAG 1.9 dervs are an all cast iron engine, a pretty bulky one at that, and weigh about 3 times that of a hijet engine, so you might have to alter the spring rate on the front to compensate, and the current engine support bar will need binning and fabricate something new that would take the weight. And you will have to change from the hijet diff because your about to at least double the torque with that vag derv. Will one even fit under the seats and between the wheel arches? I'd get your tape measure out, and measure a T25.

[sammyboy]

That's exactly what I plan to do. Yes, what I initially wanted was a TUD (they seem to routinely get well over 100k miles, so they can't be THAT soft, and they're super fuel efficient), but the engineering involved in canting one over at an angle put me off.

[Logi]

Ive always wondered if a Scooby flat 4 would fit? 400hp Hijet anyone?

[sammyboy]

Actually, when I texted a mate of mine who has more experience of this stuff than me, that was his first thought too! Given how interesting the front end of mine can be in fast corners, the idea terrifies me.

[HighlyJetted]

I have a subaru sti UK spec in bits at the moment, so if you want some measurements doing then its pretty straight forwards. Again its a big bastard heavy engine, but this time its got shed loads of electronics to get converted over too, which would keep me quietly happy for a week or two. Like a pig in muck.

[sammyboy]

No! It's absolutely and precisely what I DON'T want (a revvy, peaky, very electronic engine). I want something plodding and torquey and good on fuel

[HighlyJetted]

Have you done many automotive fabrication / conversion projects before?

[sammyboy]

No, I haven't. I've got a bit of a history of taking on ambitious things with no experience and coming out ok though. Bought a 1971 Bedford bus, designed and built the interior from scratch, drove it to India and back. Last year, built a sauna and hot tub from scratch using mostly skip-dived wood and a second hand multfuel stove, on a bit of a whim.

I would have to acquire all sorts of new skills to do this successfully, but my history suggests the only way I learn such skills is by jumping in at the deep end, and I've wanted to be able to do this sort of stuff for years.

[Logi]

Tell me you fitted the hot tub & sauna in the bus?

[sammyboy]

No, I don't have that bus anymore (just sold my smaller Mercedes bus too; I'm busless now, hence the focus on the 'Jet).

I built a wooden sauna cabin from scrap beams, floor and roof from scrap heavy duty ply, insulated with salvaged polystyrene insulation, outside feather edge, inside ply lined. The hot tub is made from a 1000 litre IBC caged water tank with the top cut off, again clad in feather edge on a batten framework and insulated with fibreglass. Bought a multifuel stove second hand off a friend, found a little back boiler on eBay, got a local machinist to drill me some holes for the plumbing. Plumbed it through the wall of the sauna cabin and into the tank with copper, hoping convection would do the job of circulation. It didn't, so I fitted a little pump, then realised that I was being ambitious to hope the boiler would heat 700 litres at all, (it will do it eventually, but I'd be tending a smokeless coal fire for 8 hours plus). So, I bought an immersion heater, which I will wire to a plug with heavy duty armoured cable, and protect using an adapted freezer basket. The element will bring the water up to temp (it'll still take 8 hours, but it's a turn on and forget job), then I'll turn it off before anyone gets in, and trust the back boiler to maintain the temperature. The freezer basket will prevent people stepping on the element, and the fact that it's unplugged will prevent electrocution!

[HighlyJetted]

I work on jaccuzis, swimming pools and large fish ponds in the well off end of cheshire (not where I live!) for a friend, so if you need any pointers on the heating/energy mathematics, or plumbing fitting recommendations then just ask away. I always get a phone call from him when he's got problems!

But as a pointer, the typical 1.4 cubic metre jaccuzi takes about 3 days to heat to 38-40 degrees from cold tap water temperature when its got its big thick insulated cover on the top and its kept indoors out of the wind chill, like in a swimming pool hall that the air is heated to 30 degrees. And they often use something like a 3kw heating element. If you take the lid off it'd take much much longer. I tend to fill them up with hot water straight from a combi boiler as its the cheapest and quickest method of starting them up.

Bastard thing with hot tubs is all the chemicals you put in them, it costs a fortune to run. If you don't use them the water stinks after a couple of days, and you risk ending up with some nasty diseases. Even if you drain them down straight after you've used them, you need to bleach them after you've emptied it, and before you use it again otherwise you get all these little floating bits of scum in the water that makes it look cloudy and uninviting.

IBC's are really handy when you need to drain someones fish pond down, they are really good temporary fish ponds!

An immersion heater tank thermostat could work wonders on a DIY hot tub for temperature controll and be a cheap easy solution. Cant help but think an IBC is a bit small for a hot tub, maybe for just one person - you can pick up jacuzzi's on ebay about for a couple of hundred quid with pump faults. They have proper seating area's etc. Just don't underestimate moving the damn things, last time we moved one we needed about 5 pretty hefty lads to pick on up and carry it about 50 metres.

[sammyboy]

Well, the IBC is there and skinned already, so for the short term, that's gonna be the fella. It will be cosy for more than 2, but hey, that's part of the fun.....right? I'm hoping the relatively low top surface area for the volume will help a bit with heating. I have a lid for it, which will be staying on! I have South African friends who tell me that there, swimming pools (which are more common) are managed with only a very little chlorine, so I'm going to try their advice and see how that goes. Good to know that you have experience though; I'm sure once the heater is in, there'll be another round of surprises and learning, and I might well come and ask for advice A proper tub might be a thing for the future, but the sauna cabin and tub between them are taking up a large amount of my patio even now! (see below, a photo from before we pushed them into position!)

[sammyboy]

The sauna, by the way, works magnificently. Spent a lunchtime in there when it snowed, and was still able to boil myself in my skin. Can't imagine how hot I'll be able to get it in summer!

[Logi]

I'm still disappointed it's not on a bus..

Put a hot tub into place for a guy who thought him & 2 mates could carry it round his back door( this held about 9 ), though i think the hire of the lorry with a big crane kinda spoiled his bargain

[PFM]

Wonder who hired him the crane

[rich the mechanic]

I would have joined in but have been without internet what I was getting at was power to weight ratio look at the bikes Max weight a quarter ton making 100HP that's 400HP per ton and doing 40 to the gallon.

[sammyboy]

There is an individual who's trying to convince me that a 'Busa or Blackbird engine is my answer.

[Logi]

I would have joined in but have been without internet what I was getting at was power to weight ratio look at the bikes Max weight a quarter ton making 100HP that's 400HP per ton and doing 40 to the gallon.

40 TO THE GALLON??????

If only, my bike's about 125 tescoburgers, i'm lucky to ever see 30

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