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Info

Bedford Midi

**1985 to 1994**

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

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