OKA 162 a work in progress

Hi all,

Dane here, I have had the pleasure of meeting a few forum members since I purchased 162 from the late Rob Thomas's wife. I am fortunate enough to be in WA and have also had the pleasure of touring the OKA factory to see the magic that happens there. 162 was a multi cab with just over 130k km on the clock when I picked it up and was very much a stock vehicle with some 16x10 alloys and the addition of a later model head unit and a reverse camera being it's only mods.

My plans are slowly progressing and the end goal is an extra size dual cab with canopy to travel with my young family in. I have posted a few bits and pieces on the Facebook pages but have decided to create a page here as well.

So far my rear module and the old tray and box have been removed with the multi module stripped and ready to cut down to the size I want. I recently got the room back in my shed to seriously start attacking the body work.

As I want to tow our van with this truck I am repowering and rebuilding this truck to have a GCM of at least 9t. The path I have chosen for my repower is a 210hp Perkins Phaser that is as I type this undergoing a rebuild.

Prior to removing the cab I'm getting all the 1% issues as sorted out as possible (gear shift etc) which will make the put back together phase a much better experience.

So far as mentioned earlier many of our community have reached out to offer guidance, solutions and advice. This is one of the best attributes of the OKA community in my opinion. I have read almost every article written by the late David Ribbans and will incorporate many of his additions to my build as well.

I will add some pics of how I'm going with this build and will try to keep it up to date.

Cheers, Dane

Why a perkins for repower ???.

There's a few reasons...

1. I like the note out of a perkins !
2. They are a dead simple engine to work on and are a very under stressed engine.
3. British made
4. Keeps with the heritage of the OKA
5. I stumbled across my 2 engines for a price that I could not argue with

The two I have are slightly different engines (fuel pump and balancer are the biggest differences). My first was a 2005 160hp industrial engine that came with a bosch ve pump and has the big mercury filled balancer fitted, The second is a 210hp removed from a mid 90's ACCO.

The industrial engine has been stripped and measured up, bores honed iaw perkins factory manual and ready to build up. This engine has measured up within factory specs. Someone who didn't really know or care at some point in its life had different big end bearings fitted (bottom standard size, top 10 thou undersize) for whatever reason which had created some very strange wear patterns, yet the crank has survived unscathed and measured up perfectly !

The 210 is being stripped now and I will build one top engine from the best bits of both.

Cheers,
Dane

Welcome to the Oka forum Dane, there have been a few 6 cylinder Perky's fitted and a bloke in Melbourne called Darren whose surname escapes me was doing them commercially.
Paul Scherek had one fitted by him I think.
Can't help with the Perky but I fitted a 6BT Cummins and an Allison 6 speed auto into a Nissan Patrol GU transfer case which transforms the Oka.
Give serious thought to an auto as it makes them much nicer to drive, You only need a Throttle Position sensor and RPM sensor from the engine to work with the auto which is easily done even on a mechanical engine like the Cummins and Perky.

Welcome Dane.
Our #196 OKA with original Perkins 110 (intercooled) has a GVM of 6.6T and a GCM of 9T, so that should be no problem.
Cheers,
Peter

I do 1000% get the Allison is a smart idea and it hasn't fully been discounted as yet. If I can sort out a good deal on a trans I might still go that way. Watch me change my mind back and forward about 12 times this week !! Did you do your own conversion for 374 ?

I have had a few good long chats with Darren who is helping me out with mounts, fan, ac mount etc and he is a really nice guy and has given me a lot of sound advice on the process.

I have also been in touch with a few other people who are in various stages of the conversion from just starting, to compete and driving and haven't been told at any stage that the conversion wasn't worth it, which is reassuring.

Cheers, Dane

Double post.

That's impressive to get that 9t GCM with the 4 pot !!

From memory, the requirement is to be able to drive away from stationary on a 12% slope and then continue to drive up a 20% slope.
All about gearing. Easy in low range?
It was approved by the engineer based on paper calculations.

GVM on the other hand was about braking capability.
The engineer insisted on practical testing which we did on an airfield, even though he had done OKAs previously.
10 crash stops in quick succession from 60kph, followed by a crash stop from 100kph. Measurements of pedal pressures, G force retardation and disc temperatures. All done when loaded to the target weight.
The front axle limit was assessed at 2.8T and the rear at 3.8T. Wheels and tyres must be OK too, of course.
Cheers,
Peter

Very thorough and real world testing !

I wrote a few articles on fitting the Cummins and Allison, if you would like a copy I can email them to you. Not sure whather the PM system works though but you could try.

Dane I have fitted Perkins Phaser 6 to my OKA 028 successfully, much quieter than the Cummins and very fuel efficient,
Consumption the same as the 4 cylinder.
Biggest changes are front engine mounts to move forward -five core radiator-fan modifications-re positioning air intake port on the intake manifold . The gear change linkages need to be re shaped ,which you won’t do if you fit an automatic .
I did this conversion myself,so if I can help please contact me. Rob

PM sent mate. Thank you for reaching out.

PM sent. Although I'm taking a different route, I am still very interested to read through what you have done and jhow you went about it.

I am right with you, Dane, I was very lucky to find a Perkins 6, unused, in a crate, a spare for a bus company but never used. It is a glorious refined engine, silky smooth, and starts always on the second compression stroke, even after sitting for a month. It starts so easily that I have binned the heavy lead-acid batteries and fitted a 'supercap' capacitor, and a small Lithium battery just for parking lights etc.
Good luck with the project!

Thanks Paul. What a find !!! That's a great find there, the spare engine that was never needed. I have read a bit on your cable selector job, well done with that. Did you get Darren or Tony to do your conversion???

Cheers, Dane

Tony did the conversion, Dane, and he did a great job. Increased radiator size, hand-made a fan shroud, all very neat and effective. The early Perkins Phasers had somewhat ineffective oil scraper rings. Both my original 4 cylinder and my 6 use oil, but I happily live with that in exchange for the smooth refined power.
As an aside, many comp[lain about the air conditioner being ineffective. Mine was...... A local bloke modified it with larger condensor and evaporator, and now on a stinking hot day it is cool inside, with the compressor running only about a 50% duty cycle. It is a worthwhile mod, and keeps it all looking original.

I was going to investigate the ac while it was all apart to make it better ! Thanks for info Paul !

Hopefully the later model oil rings are a bit better !! Although I doubt it. I'm going to move the radiator I think by using an LT front. 2 reasons, it gives a bit more room for my gear linkage design that is underway at the moment, and removes a heat source from right beside my leg. I'm hoping that by the end of next week I'll have something to show for all the head scratching I've been doing this last week or so.

Cheers, Dane

Still working out my shifter issue and this is a big might, but I might end up going auto.

162 still has a 23 spline transfer input shaft, I'm certain of this without seeing it because the transfer case is stuck to the back end of the gearbox by what I suspect is a bent shaft. Before I go full redneck and hook a chain block up to it, does anyone have any hints or tips ?

It's been many years since I pulled the transfer off a manual box on an Oka so can't remember whaterhe there is anything on the transfer side that must be undone first.
Looking at the NP205 I have here there is nothing that I can see.
Have you asked Paul Nott?
I know toyota's have a nut that must be removed to allow the input shaft to slide forward, Nissan's just slide out but can be a battle like the NP due to bearing and gasket goo.

More destruction yesterday and today !! Have parked my shifter debacle for a bit and have teamed up somewhat with Bart Bretherton in coming up with a solution. So I put it all back together today to take some measurements on the travel of the standard shifter for Bart and his son. Then moved back to the multi cab change.

Spoke to an engineer today who is a bit gun shy on my 300mm extension and a braked tow capacity to 4t upgrade and gcm to suit. The gentleman has done a few OKA's in the past but never for a bigger tow capacity. Anyway, I digress and will keep trucking along.

Cheers, Dane