Vast corrosion of the frame and body.
Rear coil springs broke at 60000 km.
Refuses to start in winter.
Bad performance and comfort, but OK as a work truck.
I've found the engine to be underpowered for the size of the truck. I was wondering if anyone knows if any other engine can be fitted easily. Without changing the gearbox and propshaft.
Non too fast, but it goes and goes. Mine still starts first time, every time. It cost me £500 and the frame is near perfect and the body has been well maintained by frequent welding.
1979, is that the "big" or the "small" body on the 407? At least, the small body (20x/30x) was available with the 5-cylinder 300D. I like those buses/trucks. We have two 14-passenger MB Buses (307 and 309D) on our forestry school. No, they doesn't have much comfort, but in my opinion, the comfort is at least better than in the 90:s model of Ford Transit!
I just purchased a 1979 407D Civil Defense truck with 21,000miles. Gutless? Yes! But I knew that when I bought it. It has great torque and is just a fun vehicle to be in. I knew it would have very little get-up and go. A great work vehicle and head turner with advertizing. I LOVE it!
I think the only other engine that would fit a 407 would be the 5 cylinder 3.0 and matching gearbox from the 410. There isn't much space there to fit anything else. easier to just buy a 410 if you can find one I think.
Yes, these are slow, I have a 307d lwb, it gets overtaken on hills by HGVs, (yes it really is that slow) however the economy and reliability are the main reasons to run one of these things. more trouble free than the later sprinters, there's virtually nothing to go wrong, and they will pull anything you throw at them, so long as you aren't in a hurry.
Mine also has an ultra low crawler gear, it's tow started a full size bus!
Non-starting in winter could just be down to poor glow plugs. old fashioned indirect injection diesels like this need good quality glow plugs and should be treated as service items replaced every two years or when required.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site