148 replies to this topic

[rexy]

 
I put a tech-screw into the brass fitting inside the master cylinder (for rear brakes - the larger of the two threads) and pulled it out, along with the spring & plastic valve. This supposedly is required for correct functioning of the commodore rear discs.
 
 
IMG_4588.jpg
 
IMG_4589.jpg
 
Then I fitted the rebuilt brake booster and proportioning valve, along with the new engine bay brake lines.
 
Chip, chip, chip...
 
IMG_4590.jpg[/quote]
You did put the brass olive back in? You need it.

[308mate]

Hey Rexy, yep Olive back in - forgot to mention, thanks for picking that up.

 

Mark, I put the sway bar in my 30 tonne press and reshaped it. Came out quite ok I thought.

 

Glad to hear you are happy with the HCE oil pump. Ned has some strong opinions on the holden oiling system and regards this to be a fix. He also fitted oil restricting pushrods to this motor as he reckons the top end gets too much oil

[308mate]

Ahh progress, never as fast as one would like, at least not this one...nevertheless

 

Pulled out the gearbox which was in storage foe 18 months...

 

 IMG_5443.jpg   77.79K   8 downloads

 

Attached it to the donk...

 

 IMG_5489.jpg   65.03K   9 downloads

 

Put the lot on the KFrame...

 

 IMG_5490.jpg   71.63K   9 downloads

 

Lifted the front of the Torrie...

 

 IMG_5491.jpg   56.14K   8 downloads

 

And it fits....

 

 

 IMG_5492.jpg   63.26K   8 downloads

 

Well sort of..drivers side extractors hit on the Kframe , the sway bar and the steering cover. Shame considering they are Pacemakers and these are all factory. So up it goes again to get the extractors replaced or modified.

 

Good news is the TKO fits through the factory shifter hole and no cutting required.

 

Had a 3.5" 1350 tailshaft made up, all good there.

 

 IMG_5505.jpg   60.08K   10 downloads

 

 

 

 

[SmacT]

What is it with extractors and Toranas - they never seem to bloody fit!?

Good work, it's a big step.

[308mate]

MMM - never, never, not in my case seemingly! I changed  HQ engine mounts for torana. Marginal improvement. They hit the steering cover miss the Kframe on the passenger side bi 1mm and hit the drivers. I'd say the factory sway bar would have to be lowered about 12mm to clear the drivers side extractor. This is with the Tremec up as high as it will go.

 

Don't know. Maybe I should measure the rubber mounts to see what the thickness is compared to others...maybe its a case of heat n bend..?

[308mate]

Slowgress...tried a few things today. Put a 3mm spacer between the Kfame and the chassis to give some more space between the gearbox and the tunnel and also put a 3mm washer between the gearbox mount and the box, in order to lift it - as shown in the next photo.

 

 IMG_5621.jpg   42.42K   9 downloads

 

I cut off a small piece of the gearbox casting that was hitting the floor (its the shiniest bit of the photo).

 

 IMG_5620.jpg   50.17K   11 downloads

 

The Torana mounts appear to have made little difference compared to the HQ - I reckon its about 8mm between the sump and Kframe.

 

 IMG_5620.jpg   50.17K   11 downloads

 

All up the changes made the extractors fit a little better - but not much. With the gearbox jacked all the way up and touching the trans tunnel I have a bout 8mm clearance from the Kframe to the extractors on the passenger side - quite OK. The drivers hits on the steering cover, Kframe & would need to be lifted about 14mm to avoid the sway bar.

 

I've measured the rubber mounts and compared to another pair - both were 44mm from memory.

 

The shift comes out within the factory hole but right at the back with only a few mm to spare.

 

 IMG_5618.jpg   40.58K   8 downloads

 

If anyones got some sage wisdom, now would be a great  time!

 

Still looking for a LX bonnet with a hole (can't cut up a freshie!!).

Attached Files

•  IMG_5623.jpg   36.46K   7 downloads

[308mate]

Who did you use to get your tailshaft done?, cost much?

 

Had a 3.5" 1350 tailshaft made up, all good there.

 

IMG_5505.jpg

Twas Gibson Driveshafts in Newcastle. Real good to deal with. Don't know how cheap they are. I supplied the slip Yoke and a uni but was still nearly $600 from memory. Cheers

[308mate]

Sorry for the late reply Bal. Yeah the tremec has multiple shifter location, mines as close as its gonna get. I've tinkered with the Kframe location - all a bit tricky really.

 

Torana is off to exhaust shop tomorrow to get the extractors moded - and a full exhaust.

 

Wasn't able to get a bonnet that suited (thanks to those that offered), so took to one of the sparies with assorted cutting implements. Came up ok.

 

 IMG_5657.jpg   58.48K   8 downloads

 

Fitted up some Au thermos to an older HQ 3 core radiator I had, they came up OK too.

 

 IMG_5658.jpg   63.76K   8 downloads

 

 IMG_5659.jpg   62.96K   9 downloads

[308mate]

The hatch left the shed for the first time in six years the other day. Went for a trip to the exhaust shop to get the extractors looked at & a full system.

 

 IMG_5662.jpg   67.6K   7 downloads

 

Upon inspection it was decided to try a set of Hurricane headers as they manufacture and fit so they were pretty confident they would work - just a little smaller in the primaries than the Pacemakers (1 5/8" vs 1 3/4") however they have a flange and a 2.5" collector whereas the Pacemaker is a real old design for the 308 head with no flange and a 2" collector.

 

I went into the shop today and we dropped the engine. Upshot is the Hurricanes fit well and the Torana will be home next week. To be fired-up shortly

[308mate]

I got some stainless 3/8 tube & had a new fuel pickup bent for the standard tank. New stainer, all souldered up. Voila! Also put new 3/8 stainless fuel line from front to back. Theres a before & after - looks pretty similar i think.

 

 IMG_4672.jpg   50.97K   7 downloads

 

 IMG_4529.jpg   211.68K   7 downloads

[308mate]

Yeah Danny, thats the one. Half of Taree should have seen it - was there for 5 weeks. Done a bit of work on it since then, so its getting close to fire up and drive. Then the process of pulling it apart for body work and plating nuts, bolts etc

 

At least it will go back together more easily second time around!

[76lxhatch]

Have you sorted out the driveline angles yet? I found with the TKO600 dropping it down to avoid cutting the tunnel put everything on such an angle that the headers fouled as you've described. Bringing it up through the floor fixes the header problem (they weren't an issue with the Muncie before) and offers closer to correct driveline angle (it still could go higher but that causes console problems as well as needing more cutting).

[Heath]

How far off the floorpan is the yoke? Or the centre of the output shaft? 

 

Does anyone have the measurement of the distance between the standard M20/Trimatic output shaft from the floorpan?

[myss427]

If I remember right with the Aussie depress/Trimatic height from the floor pan (same length), they were about 35-40 mm from the top of the tunnel with standard V8 Tailshaft. With the TKO 600, its 3 inches longer so with the 3 degrees angle you will have to lift it up a little more. Better just get your angles correct.

[76lxhatch]

Better just get your angles correct.

Definitely.

And not to say that this can't be done with the box in a lower position, just that it didn't work out for me. It doesn't need to be the same as factory (although that's a good starting point), but everything does have to work together. I built in nearly 5 degrees to the cross member mounting area so the mount sits flat (i.e. the output shaft is nearly 5 degrees off the chassis rails, assuming the mount area on the gearbox housing is parallel to the output). With the lower HQ engine mounts.
 
If memory serves I measured somewhere around 60mm from centre of output shaft to the reinforced section of the tunnel before removing the Muncie, the TKO ended up a bit lower even with cutting the tunnel.

[308mate]

Don't really know if the angles are correct and I'm not too sure how to find out, except to drive it and see if there were any vibrations.

 

I have a vague plan of adding adjustable upper trailing arms if there is a problem...

 

I've the Tremec to within  a few mm of the trans tunnel, can't go any higher without cutting or heating and stretching. I'm not keen to modify the tunnel.

 

I have torana mounts in at present but they made very little difference compared to the HQ mounts. In the end a set of Hurricane headers made all  the difference compared to the Pacemakers which drop down unnecessarily low on the drivers side (every pair of pacemaker tri-y to early head i've fitted were the same).

 

I suppose a compas on the face of the diff yoke and the gearbox input shaft face may also give me an indication of angles...?

[myss427]

Go to Bunnings and get one of the plastic mechanical right angle gauges, about $20 I think. Sit it on top of the motor, not carbie as the manifold will have a raised back to level out the engine. Most Holden drive line angles are around 3 degrees, take a measure from the engine and the diff, should be within 1 degrees for best alignment for no vibration (Mark Williams recommends this).

[Heath]

Sorry, but could you show a photo of what this gauge looks like?

[warrenm]