Ready Made Extreme Van Canvas

Rob & Suzy Hammond were dead famous in the Nineties as they were the first true Extreme SPL team that was husband and wife! They famously made 150dB with then seen-only-as-budget brand ProPlus Sound and have done some mad stuff since. Rob is the engineer and Suzy is most of everything else! Thing is, they have a particularly mad van for sale – it’s a blank canvas for an SPL head.

With many thousands of pounds spent in irretrievably turning this van into a specialisti crazy bass wagon, now that it’s for sale ’empty’ it has to go to a good home and what better way to find one than Talk Audio? Normally you’d have to go find a classified advert slot on the forum and have to be a regular active member of our community to be allowed to do so, but this is an Old ice Aristocracy issue and this van and its insane state of readiness is as rare as finding a mint condition Jensen Interceptor in a pensioner’s garage!
So here it is, all details……

Madvan spec
Engine replaced with Mondeo 1800 c.c. TD unit with polished rocker cover and sump.
Power steering pulley now used to drive a second alternator, which is mounted on top of the diesel pump.
Original Escort alternator mount modified to fit with Mondeo power steering pump bracket.
Bottom crank pulley changed to Escort Mk5 5-groove pulley to drive bottom alternator.
Alternators are both 120Amp Bosch units with adjustable voltage regulators.
All bottom-end bearings replaced.
Standard diesel gearbox replaced with Escort RS Turbo gearbox with LSD.
New starter motor fitted.
Escort RS Turbo radiator and intercooler.
Custom turbo manifolds and pipe work supplied by J J Fearn Intercoolers.
Montego turbo diesel turbocharger sponsored and supplied by Hewitt International.
All above fitted and modified by P D Autocraft.
Custom Stainless exhaust system – 3in down pipe splitting to 2 x 2 ¼in straight through runs to the rear of the van.
17in x 7in Max wheels sponsored and supplied by Smiths Wheels.
Standard Ford offset front wheels.
Standard Peugeot offset rear wheels to clear rear coil springs.
Front brakes upgraded to Sierra 4×4 Cosworth front callipers, swapped over side to side and fitted backwards!
Grooved and cross-drilled vented discs fitted.
Rear brakes converted from drum brakes to vented Sierra Cosworth discs with Granada 2.9 24V Cosworth callipers on custom made mounting plates. Hand-brake cable is a standard Escort Cosworth cable. The van has been modified to make it fit!
Master cylinder and servo replaced with Escort Mk5 unit.
Front Anti-roll bar and bushes have been replaced with standard Ford Escort RS Turbo parts.
Front damper unit is based on an unknown coil-over unit with a 3in lift hydraulic ram welded to the bottom of it. Each damper has been fitted with 2 stage springs, 375 lbs main spring with 250 lbs secondary spring.
Rear suspension has been converted from using just leaf springs to using leaf springs and coil springs. The leaf springs were first of all de-cambered by Jones Springs in Darlaston. The coil spring mounting brackets on the van are made from 5mm steel, plasma cut by Barnshaw Profiles and bent to shape by Barnshaw Press and Shear. The top and bottom have been strengthened with additional 5mm steel plate. This bracket is attached under the main chassis rail of the van. Hydraulic rams are mounted on top of the leaf spring to axle mounting points. The original Ford dampers are still in place.
All hydraulic suspension plumbed in with custom made triple wired hydraulic hoses, so they should not get easily damaged.
Windscreen replaced with 24.5mm thick, 4-layer laminated ballistic glass (bullet-proof!) This was manufactured and sponsored by Romag Limited.
Window frames manufactured to hold the 24.5mm thick glass.
Outer frame and inner frame made from 6mm steel. This was plasma cut by Barnshaw Profiles. Mounting blocks made from 12mm steel machined and supplied by Mac Machining. 3mm steel strips were used to form one of the 3 sides of the C-section frame. All parts were assembled and welded together by Paul at PD Autocraft.
The windscreen wipers are Pantograph wipers as used on trains and buses, custom made for the van, but using a standard Mk4 escort wiper motor.
The original front doors were fitted with 24.5mm laminated ballistic glass, but these were replaced with standard doors with electric window mechanisms and electric mirrors to allow the van to be more usable as a demo vehicle.  The replacement doors have been de-handled and de-locked.
Bracing inside is 2in square section steel tube with 1in square section additional strengthening.
Body kit was an aftermarket fibreglass RS Turbo kit for a van, which took a lot of work to make it fit properly.  The front bumper is a modified 90 spec Escort RS Turbo bumper, with aftermarket clear BMW 3 series E30 indicators fitted.
The headlights have been replaced with BMW 3 series E36 headlights, with room to fit the electric adjusters behind them.  This necessitated the making of new front sections for the inner wings, modifications to the front edge of the wings, the front panel, and to the front corners of the bonnet.
Brand new standard rear lights were fitted.
The bonnet had a bump fitted to clear the top alternator.  The bump was covered over with a fibreglass Escort Cosworth bonnet vent, which was then blended in.
A proper aluminium filler cap was fitted in place of the original filler cap.
A brand new fuel tank has been fitted.
Rear door is made from two original rear doors welded together.
Custom one-off roof spoiler made by Impossible Performance.
There is a steel battery tray welded into the rear floor of the van, which fits between the chassis rails……sorry, no room for a spare wheel now J
Heater air intake and battery tray removed to make room for the hydraulic pump and valves.
Smart car seats fitted at present.
No dash, no internal wiring.  Temporary engine bay wiring loom in place.

If this sounds like something you might be keen on, mail [email protected] and tell him the Fat Man Sent you……