57 replies to this topic

[LOWS2]

Been a while since i updated so here we go...

- Radiator has been reco'd and installed, turns out i had the original thermostat still in her and the bloke reckoned he hadn't seen one in about 5 years. The thermostat housing was was also stuffed and replaced as were all hoses under bonnet. The heater box was also completley full of red mud, so was suitably cleaned out and re-installed, but still doesnt give hot air as the cable to the heater box is stuck in the cold position.

- Had to get the lower ball joints, upper control arm rubbers and front tyre replaced for Pink Slip and Rego. She now handles a lot better over bumps and steers straight as. Labour cost me a bit on that one, thats for sure!

I added up how much i have spent on her since i bought her and including purchase price she owes me close to $7,000 (including purchase). I really have to stop spending as much on her, with only the stereo and windscreen leak getting done for the rest of the year (hopefully!!), i am really over spending so much on her all the time .

On a side note me & a couple of mates have started a local car club called Southern Sydney Car Club, open for all modified cars in the Sutherland Shire NSW. We made it open to all cars as none of my mates have the same brand of car, so far we have - Torana (me), Holden Commodore VP & VT, Datsun 1200 Ute, Pulsar SSS, Mazda SP20, Mazda 323 & Toyota Corolla. With more cars to come hopefully .

To see pics from our first cruise last friday nite go to -

Southern Sydney Car Club

[lxsstorana]

The torana is looking and sounding great. You've done so much work in such a short time, it's a credit to you And yes they soak up the money, they will take as much as you have.

[LOWS2]

Thansk for the comments lxsstorana its much appriciated and is encouraging me to continue with the plans i have for her.

Will try to have a few little things sorted for Toranafest ie. Stereo, Paint Touch Ups, etc. Will hope to see all the NSW GMH guys & Girls up at Newcastle for a chat and check out the rides.

Cheers,
Mick

[LOWS2]

Havent posted on my car in a while so here goes -

Went to Toranafest on Sunday and what a great day...i cant believe i forgot my camera and missed taking photos of all the sweet Torries up there, absolute cracker of a day of it. Thanks to Simmo for posting up her pics so now i have a whole car pic to show.

https://cache.gmh-torana.com.au/i44.photobucket.com/albums/f5/LOWS2/Torana5.jpg[/img]]1972 LJ 4dr://https://cache.gmh-torana.com.au/i44.photobucket.com/albums/f...mg]]1972 LJ 4dr

Was quite funny at the show, my car was last in line and everybody would look at the bright red paint waiting for somethin special in the engine bay then be dissappointed by a stock 173 hahaha...i thought that was quite funny (but then again i might have had heat stroke )

Lately not much progress on the performance side of things, just been saving the pennies in readiness for a mild 202 and some other stuff. I did buy some new headlight surronds off ebay and they have been installed they are straight as and all chrome. My brother will be reconditioning the old ones and i will be selling soonish. Other than that the LJ has taken a little bit of a back seat as i am a bit over spending so much money on her especially when trying to save for a unit.

Cheers,
Mick

[LOWS2]

Hey all,

Havent posted since September so small update on future plans, i finally made up my mind...

Was cruising through Ebay the other day when i stumbled across LJ parts for sale & a pic of a car that looked from my local area. Long story short emailed the bloke and went to his place today to look at some parts...he has a full rusty as LJ 2dr shell full of LC/LJ Parts that i have 1st dibs on . Some of the parts i will be picking up next week are -

- Heatseeker Cam (Stage 2)
- Twin Stomberg X2 setup + manifold - needs full reco but has all linkages & lines
- 186 Bock - virgin bore, needs full rebuild
- Manual Pedal setup with all mounting brackets & cables - Hydraulic set up
- Aluminum rocker cover - back finned with Hoden written on it
- Immaculate centre console with ALL silver stripping
- XU1 brake booster
- ACL Duralite Pistons + Rings
- Conrods - possible Starfire but unsure on Part No, can anyone post up Part No for these so i can check????

Picked it up a very small % of what this stuff is worth cause the bloke wants to see it go to a local guy rather than stuff around with ebay, so finally have got extremely lucky on this stuff i have been waiting for .

PS - the bloke i bought it off just finshed a 308 conversion on a genuine GTR that was stolen back in the day stripped of the good stuff & has been sittng since 1991. His car is immaculate and a credit to him. (He doesnt come on the forums either so dont try and guess who it is lol).

Cheers,
Mick

[Tiny]

Nice one mick! You've gotto have a win sometimes!

Good on ya

[LOWS2]

Hey all,

- Well things have been slowly slowly with the engine build atm - it hasnt started just yet LOL. I have been sourcing some quotes off engine builders - LW Parry @ Arncliffe and Shire Automotive @ Kirrawee. I am looking at dropping the block off to a builder sometime in February depending on price & the options they both give.

- The engine itself will be a fairly mild 186 - bored 40thou, carby, cam, possibly minor head work.

- Just recently got my carbies back from forum member purpleLC (Louie) who did a top job on reconditioning the X2 setup & it is a real thing of beauty with its new cable linkage setup - pics to come.

- Later this month i will be getting the Steering & Front Suspension looked at as the steering wheel has some vertical movement, the rubber that connects the shaft to the steering box is looking shagged along with the engine mounts.

- Have decided to stay auto for the time being even when the new engine is in and take my time getting the right parts & doing the manual converstion 1st time with no stuff ups - decent gearbox M20 or M21, clutch, flywheel, etc.

- Brakes will also be upgraded this year, i have an XU-1 Booster to be reco'd and will be throwing on some new Slotted XU-1 Rotors up front with some bendix Ultimate pads.

- Interior will also hopefully be changed to either black or grey velour similar to this pattern





Cheers,
Mick

[Tiny]

Hey mick, Dont forget about Eze-10s too. Mark's a whiz with Holden 6s, and even though he's MILES away from you, you can trust him to do the right thing without having to look over his shoulder.

Cheers dude! Glad to see it moving along even if it is slowly!

[LOWS2]

Tiny has swayed me to go and see Mark @ EZE-10s Performance from looking at his website & the quick phone convo i had with him he is really switched on and wont stuff me around. So this saturday i should have a quote from them. See link to his website -

EZE-10s Performance Website

Cheers,
mick

[Tiny]

Mick, It's your decision mate, but i've had nothing but good experience with Mark and i'm SURE he will do the right thing by you.

I'm sure you wont be disappointed with the results if you decide to go with mark!

Cheers.

[LOWS2]

Well there has been a bit of change in plans thanks to GM355 ^^^ who has kindly offered me a running 202 out of his LX parts car for a very decent price. The engine itself is quite good (no smoke, etc) i have heard it running and should enjoy its new environment in the LJ's engine bay

toying with the idea of pulling it down qucikly to check the internals & see how she looks - maybe throwing the cam i have into it. I do know however it has adjustable rockers, will run my X2 carby set up & the existing 2 1/4 inch exhaust + extractors in my car now will be used.

I will eventually get the 186 block i have built up but down the track a little i think and will be a bit more stout than first planned - SU's, YT Head, Big Cam, etc.

Will be getting the front end checked out by Pedders next week as something just doesnt seem quite right with it atm.

Brakes will be ordered through Race Brakes Sydney shortly, with the XU1 booster & slotted rotors to be fitted by Shire Brake & Clutch @ Taren Point.

[Heath]

^ I believe that may go on to be some of the best advice I've ever heard in my life.

[Tiny]

Sounds like an interesting change of plans mick! Defintiely cant say no to a good offer like that mate!

tuf73: Poor bugger.. I guess i'm lucky.. I dont need to justify what i buy! I'm the harshest critic of myself! But hey.. i still buy me toys

Cheers!

[LOWS2]

HAHAHAHA...good idea tuf73 never really thought of that although i do fudge the prices a little to my Mrs (and my bro cause he always says ' you got ripped on that deal').

Well i am picking up the engine & gearbox this afternoon. I will also be buying an engine stand from supercheap auto on thursday in preparation of the clean up on the engine to make her look new again withy a bit of paint & chrome.

Cheers

[LOWS2]

My god more than a year has passed and the 202 still sits on that engine stand i bought Talk about dragging the chain!!!!

Well I finally realised that the 173 will not last forever and I will have to do some work to get this 202 into the LJ.
Also as i seem to change my mind all the time on this build my uncle has offered to do the machining work & partial assembly for me (cheaper and i gain experience). I have also purchased the following parts from Crow Cams;
- Cam (cant remember grind - pretty mild for auto box without stallie),
- Lifters, and
- Valve Springs

Since I bought these parts i have pulled the head off, taken off all accessories (alternator, water pump, oil pump, etc) and it is almost ready for machining - just need to pull the harmonic balancer, timing gear and a few of the internals.

At this stage the head has been fully recod & assembled by my uncle, along with some Crane Gold roller rockers i bought off StedzLC a while back.

I would upload some pics to satisfy you picture whores but i only have the net at work & they have banned photobucket so no pics at this stage sorry.

Once the 173 has been pulled out my mate (spraypainter) will be preping & painting the engine bay gloss black. Brakes will also be upgraded to XU1 spec.

The suspension has also copped an upgrade - the front end has all new bushes (nolathane), new Ultima shocks (the fronts taken out were hard as rocks pedders and the rears were possibly standard issue!), reco steering rack & new sports steering wheel also added.

i was planning on a 2nd car whilst this was happening but a trip to Europe nxt year with the mrs means I only get to do the engine in the LJ to keep me on the road until i can afford something LS1 powered in 2008-09. So the LJ has a few more tours of daily duties until then lol.

Cheers,
Mick

[LOWS2]

UPDATE!!

Block has been fully machined and is sitting on my engine stand in the backyard...WOO HOO!!! Looks like a brand new engine compared to how it was just a few weeks ago - no more grease and crap on my hands.

Just need to put it back together, which will be quicker than how long it took to take it apart (hopefully) - my uncle is excited as, he hasnt done a rebuild on a 202 in yonks so he should help me a fair bit. We are looking at getting the bearings, crank & pistons in next saturday.

Aim is to have it in for Toranafest, looking good at this stage but who knows...

Anyone needs clyinder head or engine machining done, see Terry at Engineering Perfection, Taren Point - (02) 9540-3211. Doesn't cut corners and has been doing it for prob 30-40 years now.

Cheers,
Mick

[LOWS2]

Cheers mate. Yeah it has cost a little bit but well worth it - the Mrs couldnt understand how i could spend money on an engine when 'you could just buy a newer car'...as much as i try to convert her to Torana's she just wont budge

[LOWS2]

haha you're not wrong Josh.

Did an oil change on the 173 on saturday, runs a whole lot better now - put some Penrite 30-70w in, lots more oil pressure. Also put some of that 'metallic stop leak' through the radiator/block to keep it going a bit longer - pretty sure it has a buggered head gasket but all good atm. i dont think I could ever kill that 173 it just keeps going