Hi everyone,
Im new here so thought ide chuck up some pics of my xy van project,

Ive always been a huge pano fan and I found this van around 6 months ago. plans are keep it fairly original looking but as it was a 6cyl I wanted to fill the bay haha. I wanted a simple build though because im also building an xp coupe but I really wanted something to take to shows and swap meets so what better then an old van.

anyway heres some pics of when i got it.





and home with some 2" blocks in the rear


cleaned up a bit and old vinyl floor matts removed to show my rusty passanger pan haha


It had a little bit of rust so between me and some mates we started to repair this while I found a suitable engine. Its also getting the rear windows filled which is a bit scary but we'll get through it.

new tailgate skin ready to go on



(yes thats another xy beside the van. its for after the coupe haha)

replaced both rear lower 1/4s


and theres a few more rust repairs to do yet but its getting there.

then we pulled the front end apart and I cleaned up inside the guards and painted them




And then it was about this time that the van took a change of plan with its running gear and the build became more complicated haha.

While searching on ebay for engines I found this written off AU XR8. the thing still drove but had a bad hit in the side. I picked the lot up for $2000 and it only has 150k on the clock





So then it really began. Im not real mechanically minded but I have learnt alot so far from different web sites and speaking to different people.


removing the engine was actually alot easier then I thought, I labelled everything but most plugs are colour coded anyway


and she was out

So now comes the fun part. Working out how to get it back in the van haha. Ive been told with normal xy windsor engine mounts and an early windsor sump I can get the engine in the bay so I have bought them. I also got a power steering kit for it (because this is going to be a daily driver I will be connecting power steer, aircon and maybe even cruise control)

Now im just trying to work out what needs to be done with the loom. I have got the main engine and gearbox loom out which also has the wiring to the maf etc on it and I have the computer out but im having trouble getting the ignition wiring to the ecu, the drivers side o2 sensor and the alternator wiring (theyre on a seperate loom) because the crash has made it almost impossible to get the dash out (its bent and jammed in)

well anyway thats about it for now, If you have any info or help please let me know.

hope I can help out a bit on the forums as much as im sure you will help me..

Cheers
Brad

A very cool project there and it should be an awesome daily driver went finished.

PM sent.

Replied Sooty

thanks heaps

No worries. Have a loom at {DESCRIPTION} as well, a kindred spirit if you will....

Damn it that just makes me want mine on the rd sooner now haha.

Had a bit more progress today. Got the loom out of the engine bay of the au. This was pretty scary but I managed to mark everything and havnt even cut a wire yet haha.


This is the drivers side of the loom. As you can see by all the paper tabs I have marked everything properly and even colour coded some of the plugs that were similar with different coloured elecy tape haha


and this is the passenger side all out with the computer aswell.

I also managed to clean up and get to where my power steering setup is. I got this complete front end from a company called American Online Imports. it was there promo item and they hadnt used it for a while and a mate ended up with it cheap off evilbay, then I got it from him. It had a good rad support that I am using for my xy sedan, a good dash fachia, brand new knobs, a blank steering column, new bushes and rubbers, nicely powder coated suspension, one of them fake windsor engines (theyre very light, i can pick the whole thing up over my head even with an original water pump and sump on it) which had the engine mounts I needed for the conversion into the pano and one of their custom made power steering kits.

heres some pics of it all


here it is


the engine


the dash section


and the power steering setup (sort of looks like camira to me)





Got some really good info today on this type of conversion so hopefully I will have some more progress soon

That looks really neat! Cool way to score all the steering and suspension bits. This is going to be a very cool van once it's finished. I like the way the rack mounts, plenty of clearance for the sump, and more room for a good set of pipes. Keep the pics coming Brad.

Awesome project mate, it's gonna be awesome when all finished! I dont think there's too many XY's with 5L's! Good luck with the rest of the build.
Thanks

Cheers guys, the positive feedback keeps me more motivated haha,

been having a bit of a play around with the loom lately. Got all the engine loom out of the bay and the bit across the dash and been getting rid of all of the wires that I dont need.

Then I got to this under the dash



Anyone know what it is? what its for? and will I be right to just chop it out?

I have almost everything else right I think (the big test will be if it starts haha)

Any help guys

cheers

What is it connected to?
Look like a body control module, but I know sfa about au's so.....
Good luck.

Alot of wires from the stereo went to it then the odd wire from everything, aircon, lights, a bit of everything went to it. Even a couple of wires from the cruise control and from the ignition go to it

Ive checked with some other people who have done the same convertion but with the older engines and they seem to think their setups didnt have this and I should be able to chop it out of the loom saying that I only need the ignition and engine parts of the loom but im not real keen to just get rid of it just in case haha

**EDIT**

Ok ive just been told



so ive been in touch with shiftkits.com.au about a Smartlock bypass module and that seems fine so looks like I should be able to remove the body control module aswell and not have to many dramas

As noted its the body electronics module ... but depending on the build date of the AU it may not be smartlock but smartshield which cannot be bypassed by an external module.

was a 99 model mate,pretty sure it was smart lock

Last edited by DRM ON on Fri Oct 22, 2010 7:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

After march or may they went to smartshield

Looks the tops mate, good work so far! i know this is going to be a great read. keep it up