Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Les Foster]

With some extra time off these days following knee surgery, I have had time to more thoroughly examine the International E83W registry photos. There are certainly some interesting differences between LHD and RHD models and between British production pickups and Aussie or New Zealand types. The van with the side door was fascinating, too.
The most interesting, however, seems to me to be the Indian E83W Estate conversion owned by Mr. Srivardhar of Madras. It sports a pair of semi-elliptic leaf springs at front and rear in place of the original single transverse ones. It also appears to have used the rear axle and drive shaft from some other more modern vehicle. I'm not sure if the gearbox is original, either, but the engine does appears to be stock. Perhaps a lack of spare parts or the need to upgrade the van's capacity, or both, dictated these modifications. I did try contacting the owner but my email didn't go through. His comments on this unique E83W would be welcomed!
E83W's in Canada don't seem to be much modified. Perhaps because they mostly lead short, brutal lives! One rear axle I got from a former dairy truck had steel piipe sections about 6 inches long welded to the top of the rear axle tubes (vertically) with rubber bumpers in their ends to allow the overloaded truck's weight to be supported! The other (and most frequently seen) mod was to replace the fabric roof section with aluminium sheet or plwood covered in vinyl material. Other than that, and a few extra holes in the dashboard for various switches, etc. or in the firewall for cab heater hoses, most E83W's here are very original, in my experience. -Les Foster

[Rick]

Hi Les

Yes there are some interesting variants of the basic E83W in that section, I have received some more piccies of that particular E83W in India, when I find a mo I'll update the site with some of the new stuff that has come through recently.

None of the pickups I've owned have seen much modification either, one or two may have started out life as vans, and were cut down, which isn't unusual.

Rick
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