Jamaican an LX

What brand are those ball joints Mick?  Most don't have grease nipples any more.

What brand are those ball joints Mick?  Most don't have grease nipples any more.

 

Balls or rod ends ?

The rod end boxes are a few pages back. Protex ... one of my suppliers

The balls might be theirs too... not a fan of the tall cap on the uppers though

Hi Mick

 

Yeah I was a bit of a hoon when I was younger. Still am actually.

But shredding tyres never interested me.

I had a car that could do it, and worked at a wrecking yard, so had a readily obtained supply.

But it just didnt interest me.

I preferred to do my stuff in relatively quiet areas, and loved winding sections of road away from people.

 

Going fast around corners and the like was my thing.

I still do to a certain extent.

I know for instance that the spring loaded radio aerial on early VE Commodores acted as an audio signal over 240km/h.

It tapped the window at that speed.

 

If that is what you enjoy, then dont let my comments bug you.

Hopefully you arent a snowflake like others here. lol.

 

Been enjoying watching your build take shape, Great work.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

On a high today.
I drove it this arvo about a foot.
Idles like shit and no exhaust but it moved.


Brakes feel good. I still haven’t connected the booster to manifold vacuume yet.

Not sure what brand the ballpoints are.
They came already installed in spare set of control arms.
I just painted them and fit the bushes.

Datto is spot on Proex from bursons.
Had to specifically ask for these ones as the grease nipple is on the side.
The other brand they had has grease nipples on the top, which won’t work with the HQ calipers.

Brake lines are touching the tyre at full lock so gotta look at that.
Only left side turning right and right side turning left.
Hopefully just reposition banjo into caliper.

Throttle cable bracket sorted
Bit agricultural but it works great.

Nice car and well done on the progress.
A question, where did you get the front flex brake lines as I'm after a set like that?

Nice car and well done on the progress.
A question, where did you get the front flex brake lines as I'm after a set like that?

Got them made from Enzed
He didn’t have the 3/8 UNF banjo bolts though.
I sourced the banjo bolts from Motorsport Accesories Brendale
Enzed are a couple sheds down the road from Motorsport so that worked out well.

Rob just to be clear I’m not claiming doing skids is a Motorsport.
However the guys that enter Summernats and powercruize have motors and are competing to win, which makes it a sport.
And they can steer a car.

I’m just plan on cruising this around with the family.
Giving it a squirt once in a while.
Maybe do a skid in it every now and then if I take it to lakeside or power cruize.
I got a Senator that will likely smash the torana In all aspects of driving.
Took it to Power on Petrie last year and did a couple skids in it. Tyres too expensive though.

Mick

 

It is always a controversial discussion.

Love to have a little fun, and no matter what the car does, it is the work that goes in to getting it to what it is that interests me the most.

 

I never cottoned on to the cars that were built as pro street.

But had a mate with a 454 in a HJ ute. And the work he did to the car was fantastic.

I like cars that go around corners, and had a nice little gorge locally that I loved driving through.

The mates skinny fronts, combined with the locka type diff, made it interesting for him to drive through there as well.

But for totally different reasons.

 

The way different people find solutions along the way for the various mods they do is always entertaining for me.

 

Hope my comments havent offended anyone.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

Picked up my fuel tank after getting the sump added in.
Big thanks to Adam at Red Devil Radiators Lawnton

Painted the fuel tank and straps black over the weekend.
It’s a bit difficult to take a clear picture of gloss black.

Tank is in and all plumbed up.
Kept all the pollution hoses intact replaced all with new hoses and clamps.
Dash -8 braided fuel hose from fuel tank sump through fuel pump and filter.
1/2 hardline all the way from diff to engine bay
-8 braid to the carby.
All that to feed a 600vac secondry Carby on a 308 lol
This makes the fuel system 100% complete.

It certainly shouldnt starve for fuel supply.

When I got Griceys last hatch shell, my mechanic mate came for a close look.

First thing he checked was the fuel line.

He thought that the fuel line would be something more than the standard 5/16th pipe.

But it was the same as any Holden of the day.

Not bad considering it used to scream its head off every time it went out.'

They didnt starve for fuel.

In the case of the shell I got, it was brakes that did him in.

In 1980 the Toranas had to revert to rear drums.

He ran out of brakes at the end of Oran Park straight about half way through the race.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

Future proofing.
If I wanna run it on E85
Or if I build a hi Comp 355
Or drop in a boosted LS
Got enough fuel for any of those situations.

Shouldn’t need to touch the fuel system again other then replacing the Holley pump when it packs it in.

Pump likely not e85 compatible
Also will need a high pressure fuel pump to run efi if I ever go that way.

Doubt any of those cars back in the even needed more fuel than a 5/16 fuel line.
Seriously doubt many were making more that 400hp.
Was all about endurance and less fuel stops back then.
So they likely didn’t want the engine to use any more fuel than stock lines could provide.

So staying home due to corona virus has its rewards.
Got a heap don’t the weekend. Helped I had Friday as an RDO as I got an extra day.

radiator shroud and Thermos installed
Fuel tank in and leak tested.
Heater box installed.
Plus heaps of other little fiddly things.
Got some ideas on how to get the handbrake working so it doesn’t hit the tailshaft loop.
Started laying out the wiring loom.

Need to get this thing sitting lower.
May sit down a bit after it settles in.

I’m not sure on the wheels either.
Think the wheels will better suit if it was sitting a lot lower.
I’m just using these at the moment as they are roadworthy and don’t keep going flat.

So an update on wiring.
Got engine running again off the ignition key this time.
Got fan and fuel pump relays at acc/ign and ign/start respectively.
Ordered an engine fan switch to turn the fan relay on and off.
Takes a lot of time/work to get these things looking neat.


Wondered why it ran like shit. Stripped the carby mainly as it was leaking fuel all the time.
Found this gasket was allowing a huge air leak.
Sorted now.

Wiring hasn’t had a lot of progress.
I got a bit lazy and really busy at work through all this covid shi+.
I got brake lights.
Head light switch doesn’t seem to be working so I stopped there.

Been doing a few other things though.
Cleaned out the shed so I can fit both projects in there at one time. First time I have had both in there.
Excel has been in the carport since I got the torana. .
Built this table over the previous 2 weekends, so have a new purpose for the carport.

He thought that the fuel line would be something more than the standard 5/16th pipe.

But it was the same as any Holden of the day.

L34's came standard with 3/8 fuel lines, and the HDT A9X's were fitted with them from factory as well.

Cleaned out the shed so I can fit both projects in there at one time. First time I have had both in there.
Excel has been in the carport since I got the torana. .
 

Your other project is an Excel?????????????

Haha I was waiting for someone to comment.
It’s not a project I just have it.
Mother-in-law’s car that all wife’s brothers and sisters used to drive growing up.
I have kept it running for my learner driver son but he doesn’t want it.
It’s a rare one lol
2 door
No AC
No Power Steer
No Power Windows
No Central Locking.
90000km

I have kept it running for my learner driver son but he doesn’t want it.
It’s a rare one lol
2 door
No AC
No Power Steer
No Power Windows
No Central Locking.
90000km

Times have changed.
I Built a VC SL/X Commodore for my daughter when she was 18 just to be told "I don't like it"
She wanted a 2 door Excel Sprint.

I like the no this that or the other thing bit too. Kids should learn in cars like this.

Edited by rodomo, 28 April 2020 - 11:09 PM.

Times have changed.
I Built a VC SL/X Commodore for my daughter when she was 18 just to be told "I don't like it"
She wanted a 2 door Excel Sprint.

I like the no this that or the other thing bit too. Kids should learn in cars like this.

I’ll swap my Excel for your SLX commie any day.

Agree this is why I have kept the thing running for the last 4 or more years. There isn’t even a CD player in the thing, no Bluetooth, nothing to get distracted with.

I think he will end up driving this once he realize he ain’t getting anything else, and doesn’t have a job and has no motivation to get one.
So no money to get himself something else.

Man,what is it with kids these days. I got my licence on my 17th birthday and went cruizing in a bog stock 6 cyl HQ Belmont six seater. Cool car nowadays, but back then it was the equivalent of the Excel. I didn't care.  I was driving!!!

You may think kids are spoilt now but I know what I would rather be driving then as now. Stock HQ over Asian compact any day of the year. We are the ones wot were spoilt. Let’s hope they are saying the same thing to their kids one day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

In his defense he has quite a few learner hours up in the Senator, so it is a big downgrade driving a full povo pack excel.


But ye agree I was happy with just being able to drive. My first car was a 1980 TE Gemini. It had a hard life it went everywhere and loved it.

Bog stock EH for me...…still managed to loose it on a curve first day out after licence………...how much more fun could there be?