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1980s
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History

Bedford Midi

 1985 to 1994
Bedford Midi history
Also called Bedford Midi Bedford Seta General Motors Midi GME Midi Holden Shuttle Isuzu Midi Isuzu WFR Vauxhall Midi
Production 1980–1995
Assembly Japan Tunisia: Kairouan(IMM) United Kingdom (Luton)
Body style 2-door cab forward pickup 3-door van
Layout Front-engine, rear-wheel drive Front-engine, four-wheel drive
Transmission 4-speed manual transmission 5-speed manual transmission 3-speed automatic transmission 4-speed automatic transmission
Wheelbase SWB: 2,350 mm (93 in) LWB: 2,690 mm (106 in)
Length SWB: 4,350 mm (171 in) LWB: 4,690 mm (185 in)
Width 1,690 mm (67 in)
Height Low roof: 1,950 mm (77 in) High roof: 2,185 mm (86.0 in)
 

Bedford Midi / Vauxhall Midi

The General Motors-owned Vauxhall Motors offered a version of the Fargo as the "Bedford Midi" between 1985 and 1994. Following the sale of the Bedford Vehicles to AWD, the Bedford Midi was re-badged as the "Vauxhall Midi". Versions sold in continental Europe and Ireland were sold under various names, including "Bedford Seta", "General Motors Midi", "GME Midi", and "Isuzu Midi". Between 1983 and 1988, Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines (IMM) produced the Isuzu Midi at its Kairouan, Tunisia manufacturing facility.

Built in Luton, the Midi brought few changes to the Japanese Fargo and replaced the old Bedford CF van. This was very much a stop-gap design to replace the old CF range, however a true CF replacement never came. The van also signified the end of Bedford and its own designs as it was cheaper for GM to use other companies designs it co-owned. There were talks with Freight Rover during 1985 to produce the Sherpa 300 series van under licence which came to nothing by late 1986. There were also concerns over its crashworthiness in this same issue, following a test on the Japanese built WFR. Engines offered were both petrol (1.8 litre and 2.0 litre) and diesel (2.0, 2.2 or 2.4 turbo). The Midi could be ordered with either an old fashioned column mounted gear change allowing a third central passenger seat in the front, or with a conventional floor shift and was available in short and long wheelbase with a choice of standard or high roof lines. A mini-bus version, named the "Albany", was also produced.

Bedford Midi later version

The Midi was also restyled in 1989 and given a new dashboard panel and seating, together with new door trims and front-end fascia. The engine range remained much. While production ceased in 1994, both models were replaced by the Vauxhall Arena, a rebadged Renault Trafic in 1997.

Technical

  • Bedford Midi Technical details and specifications (1985-1994)

    ENGINE: Petrol 1800cc

    Type......... ..............75P; 4 cyl in line mounted
    Number of cylinders ........4; No 1 pulley end
    Cubic capacity .............1817cm3
    Bore/Stroke ................84/82mm
    Compression ratio/pressure .8.5:1/12.1 bar (1781b/in2)
    Octane rating (RON) ........90
    Brake horsepower (DIN) .....75 at 5000rpm
    Torque (DIN) Nm (1b ft) ....130 (95.8) at 2800rpm
    Valve ......................OHC V formation valves, rockers
    Distributor make/type ......Electronic
    Firing order/rotation. .....1—3—4—2
    Ignition coil—make..........Nippon Denso
    Fuel pump . ................Electric 0.25 bar (3.61b/in2)
    Carburettor make/type ......Nippon twin choke
    Specification no ...... ....Z1E304-171
    Idle speed (Fast idle) .....800rpm (2700/3000)
    Oil pressure bar (lb/in2)...3.9 (57)

    ENGINE: Diesel 2.0L

    Type......... ..............55D; 4 cyl in line mounted
    Number of cylinders ........4; No 1 pulley end
    Cubic capacity .............1995cm3
    Bore/Stroke ................84/ 90mm
    Compression ratio/pressure .21:1/30.4 bar (4411b/in2
    Cold start type ............Heater plugs
    Brake horsepower (DIN) .....57 at 4500rpm
    Torque (DIN) Nm (1b ft) ....112 (82.5) at 2500rpm
    Valve ......................OHC in line valves, rockers
    Injection make/type ........Kiki/Bosch VE rotary
    Firing order/rotation. .....1-3-4-2
    Injection nozzle type.......Pintle
    Injection pressure . .......120 bar
    Oil pressure bar (lb/in2)...4.5 (64)

    COOLING SYSTEM
    Type........................Water pump, radiator
    Radiator pressure cap.......0.9/1.2 bar (13/ 17 lb/in2)
    Thermostat .................80.5°/83.5°C
    Fan........ ................Viscous coupled

    DRIVE LINE
    Type................. ...Rear wheel drive
    Clutch .......... ... ...215mm hydraulic operation
    Manual gearbox type .....5 speed
    Manual gearbox ratios ...0.85; 1; 1.50; 2.49; 4.12; R 3.75:1
    Drive shafts ............Semi floating
    Final drive ratio........4.56:1

    STEERING

    Type.....................Recirculating ball
    Turning circle diameter..SWB 9.6m: LWB 10.8m

    BRAKES
    type....................F/R split dual circuit
    Power assistance........Vacuum servo 190.5mm
    Front ... . ............Ventilated discs 250x 18mm
    Rear ...................Drums 254mm
    Handbrake ..............Mechanical, on rear wheels


    SUSPENSION

    FRONT
    Type.................. Coil springs, dampers, wishbones, anti roll bar
    Number of coils....... 7.5
    Spring length ........ 288.5mm
    Spring rate .... ..... 16.2 kg/mm
    Coil diameter . ...... 91 mm
    Wire diameter.. ...... 18mm
    REAR
    Type ................. Semi elliptic leaf springs, dampers
    Spring length .. .....1200mm
    Spring rate ..........Primary 38.5 kN/m, combined 113.3
    Width of leaves ......60mm

    ELECTRICAL

    Battery. .............12V 44Ah neg earth
    Alternator. .......... 50A Nippon or Hitachi
    Regulated voltage.....13.8/14.6V
    Starter motor ........Nippon Denso or Hitachi

    DIMENSIONS

    Length overall .........4350mm SWB, 4690 LWB
    Width overall.. ........1690mm
    Height overall .........1950mm, High roof 2185
    Weight—kerb ............1340Kg SWB, 1380 LWB, 1386 High roof
    Ground clearance .......185mm
    Wheelbase ..............2350mm SWB, 2690 LWB
    Track—front/ rear ......1430mm/1400

    © Motor car History

     

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Service

  • Bedford Midi Maintenance and Service Guide (1985-1994)


    Service intervals. .....9000 miles or 6 months

    Gearbox oil . ..........1.55 litres
    Differential oil . .......0.9 litre
    Cooling system .......9 litres
    Fuel tank ...............60 litres
    Tyre size.................185 R14C
    Tyre Pressures bar ..(lb/in2)..F 3.0 (44) R 3.75 (54)
    Hydraulic fluid type ...DOT 4

    Petrol engine 1800cc
    Timing marks... . ......... .. .Pulley
    Valve timing........ ............ 21°BT - 65°AB - 55°BB - 20°AT
    Valve clearances mm (in)...In 0.20 (.008) Ex 0.30 (.012)
    Ignition timing—...............6° BTDC at 800rpm
    Spark plugs make/type .....NGK BP5ES-11 or BP6ES-11
    Gap ......... ......................1mm (.040in)
    Engine ............................4.5 litres inc filter

    Engine Diesel 2.0L
    Valve timing........ ... 32°BT-60°AB-65°BB-29° AT
    Valve clearances mm (in).In 0.25 (.010) Ex 0.35 (.014)
    injection pump timing—...0.5mm at 9° BTDC 

    © Motor car History

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