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Old 11-02-2008, 10:33 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Newby saying Hello from Australia.

Been lurking for a while, checking out various Aeromods.

My Vehicle is a 89 Ford Courier tray ( like a Madza B2200 ) running on propane (LPG).
Currently running a 2 liter engine and 5 speed manual with an open loop LPG system.Not the most efficient setup, but cost effective.
Well into the 300K klm range now, 200k klm of that with me driving.

Depending on what I am doing the cargo section is configured to suit, sometimes bare to haul motorcycles etc, sometimes two large toolboxes and ladders or more rarely a mesh cage for hauling rubbish.
Occasionally it gets fitted with a more secure ( and heavy ) cage to carry a small Lathe and Mill for on site work.
Most often it is bare with short sides and a tailgate. If I didn't need this versatility I'd just have a station wagon.

Mods - Bullbar removed, bumper and lower plastic changed to a slightly wider later model Izuzu setup- this looked better aero wise, and does make the car quieter, foglamp holes and 1/2 the lower opening taped over.
The increased width (about 25mm a side) seems to be forcing air around the wheel wells.
Grill block " gaffa " taped the outer sections of the grill (6 slots out of 10 ), no overheating issues yet and better flow over the bonnet.

Planned Mods- I'm in a bit of a quandary, I have enough sheet alloy to either A, bellypan the whole thing or
B, Sheet the sides under the bed down to Cabin lower extremity.
Whichever I think will do the most good.

An airdam and front wheel deflectors are in its future, Im going to use Forex or Foamex ( both expanded PVC sheet ) for this. Easy to cut with a jigsaw, flexable and able to be bent to shape with the aid of a heatgun.

Headlamp cover's will be made with UV stabilized polycarbonate.


That's a picture of it with a boatail........


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Old 11-02-2008, 10:50 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Hi Nigel - welcome to the site. Nice boat tail!

I think you'd gain more by sheeting the sides, including completely covering the rear wheels and possibly tapering the metalwork in aft of them.

I bet removing the front bash bar helped too. (I thought they were "'roo bars" down under?)

Darin
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Old 11-03-2008, 01:36 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Cool. Welcome to EM
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Old 11-03-2008, 10:10 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Welcome to the site. Good luck with the future mods.
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Old 11-03-2008, 01:13 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Nigel -

Welcome to EM! Your truck sounds like a swiss-army-knife. I am sure that you are in a great position for mods.

Quote:
... Most often it is bare with short sides and a tailgate. If I didn't need this versatility I'd just have a station wagon. ...
Since this is your primary confguration, this is the one to mod.

CarloSW2
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Old 11-03-2008, 03:47 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Gidda cobba! Welcome!

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Old 11-03-2008, 07:29 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83 View Post
Nigel -

Welcome to EM! Your truck sounds like a swiss-army-knife. I am sure that you are in a great position for mods.



Since this is your primary confguration, this is the one to mod.

CarloSW2
That's what I was planning on doing I think the sides are where the most gain is to be had, so I will panel them in first ( before the bellypan).
Other Mods done that I forgot yesterday -
AC deleted
Smaller alternator with a bigger pulley
Extra spring on carb
LT tyres running at 60 front 65 rear

And still to be done - Electric Fan. My 6 blade mechanical fan does not even have a clutch.


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