201 replies to this topic

[Heath]

I can't imagine going from having a project car, to having no project car.

 

That's why I bought the Manta, lol.

[ljv8]

Should be more common white 8 teeth in gearbox...red 7 gear was mainly in gemini auto & few other cars with very short gearing.

 

If ever decide to swap out 7 red assuming it actually has it for 8 white I'd like to buy it off you if possible???...work perfect for my sle with trimatic/4.56 gears on 27'-28' tyres.

 

Mine sat even higher than yours with more drag style rake mainly due to taller rear tyres & front runners on 14' rims...they look so cool that way albeit shite in rain lol.

Red gear was for the Gemini that's interesting.  Ok sure if I end up taking it out will send it your way. 

[Sned99]

Mate hats off to you. I just finished reading this whole thread and what a great job you've done not only on the car but putting together this master piece. I'm sure it will come in handy for many. You sound just like me with my little beast, I used to drive mine every day so It's not a show car and that's not what I wanted to do with it. Not too much of the shiny stuff, as long as it looks good, goes good, handles good and sounds killer!! You have really inspired me to get mine on the road again which is slowly getting there. I've had the front end, diff, brakes etc all out & done pretty much what you have done. Wish I started documenting with pictures but I didn't/haven't. The internet was in it's infancy when I was last hooning around in mine so the only pictures I have are the ones you had to get processed at the shops haha. Once I get her into the sun I'll put a pic up. It's a 69 GTR Daytona Bronze (when it was repainted in around 97-98 I had a very slight copper pearl added which is nice). It had the Xu1 bobtail on it when I bought it which I am going to take off and after seeing yours it definitely looks better I think. Same as yours the original engine was gone but the opal box is in bits under the house, like you I'm not worried about it not being matching numbers etc. Interior was not original  when I got her but looking to eventually take it back to the antique gold correct interior(thankfully the dash panel has never been painted and is still original colour). Yours looks absolutely mint!!! It has the sprintmasters on it but I like the look of the original wheels. In short I want to get mine close to looking like it was, the day it was built. In the mean time I'm chomping at the bit after 14 odd years to drive it again so engine rebuild and get it going first then the fiddly stuff can come later. Your pictures have definitely put a rocket up my butt. Cheers and hopefully see ya out on the road somewhere soon

[ljv8]

Hey Tony,

 

Thanks for the kind words mate.  Hope you are closer to making a decision with your cam.

 

One thing I hate is the fact that I lost all my photos when photobucket changed and broke all my photo links from my older posts.  It would be good if I could go back and edit my posts and re-upload all the photos, but we don't seem to be able to do that.  One thing that always helped me through my build was being able to see pictures of what people did and how they did it.  A build thread with no images is far less valuable in my view.  Hopefully one day we have the capability to edit prior posts. 

 

I absolutely love Daytona Bronze with the gold interior, what a killer color combo that is, absolutely stunning.  I have an early 1974 set of Sprint Masters, and put them on the car to have a look how it sits.  It does look nice but really changes the look of the car.  I had them on my first LJ Torana and I guess I always had the view that Sprint Masters suit the LJ and steelies suit the LC.  I do prefer the 60's look of the steel rims on the LC.  Maybe at a later date I will put a new set of tyers on them an alternate. 

 

I know what your saying about wanting to drive it.  I had that feeling for a similar period of time 19 years .  You will get there just keep chipping away at it.  As our hobbies are the lowest level of priorities next to family, work, kids activities, etc it's at times challenging to have the money and time to work on them.  I was trying to focus when money was short to do the things that cost nothing or very little, like cleaning parts and re-painting parts.   

 

Now mines done I sometimes have to pinch myself that it's done.  I walk in the shed and instead of planning what I'm tackling next and looking at her sitting on jack stands with lots of missing bits, I'm tuning her, checking oil levels, and checking for leaks, sorting very minor issues or giving her a wash.  Definitely a different feeling maintaining over building. 

 

Enjoy the process mate, can be frustrating at times but worth it in the end.  Most of all enjoy turning the key for the first time, and popping it in first gear!

[ljv8]

I started having a few issues rear their head such as really rough running.  Pulled the plugs and they were fouled, all were black and had oil on plugs 5&6.  Pulling out the PCV hose and it had oil lining the hose on the way to the manifold.  Without knowing how much oil was being burnt or dumped into the cylinders I purchased a small catch can and fitted it between the PCV and the inlet manifold.  So PCV host to inlet of catch can, and catch can outlet to manifold.  After a 45 minute drive I had about 35ml of oil which surprised me, I only expected a few drops but confirmed my suspicion of oil getting into the inlet manifold via the PCV.   

 

Scouring this forum seemed to be a common issue with the KC Rocker Cover and the poor baffle design or no baffle design.  Mine has a small plate welded to it, so I can only guess oil is getting past it. 

 

 KC Baffle 01.JPG   102.56K   7 downloads

 

From reading various posts on this forum many switch back to the factory rocker cover as it had a better baffle design.  With rollers of course clearance is an issue, and some guy's run two gaskets or purchase the 10mm spacer from aussiespeedshop.  https://www.aussiesp...-cylinder-10mm/ 

 

I currently have enough difficulty getting a good rocker cover seal with one gasket let alone trying to run two glued together or two sandwiched in a spacer.  They look well made, but with the budget taking a hammering, I wanted a cheaper (free) option.  I have four or so red GMH rocker covers and one that had a few dents on the top.  Perfect candidates for a chop and extend job to clear the rollers.  I'm not going to claim this as my original idea, I can't recall which forum member did it, but I remember seeing it done successfully before, which gave me the idea.  

 

Measuring up between the KC and factory covers, there was 15mm difference in height.  The spacer aussiespeed sell is 10mm so figured with the extra gasket will bring it up to about 12 or 13mm.  I gave it 15mm to simulate the KC as I figured if I cut it too low, it will be a bugger of a job to extend it by 5mm.

 

 001.png   171.07K   6 downloads

 

What I did is the rocker with the top I wanted to use I cut the base off at 15mm from the bottom of the lip, which was a comfortable space to get the angle grinder in to slice it.  With the second rocker cover that had a big dent on the top I cut the base off at 30mm from the bottom lip, giving me a net gain of 15mm.  

 

 002.png   316.59K   6 downloads

 

Combining good top, and good donor extended base, a bit of a rough paint strip and clean-up, line up, turn the MIG right, right down and tack her all the way around for a test fit.

 

 003.png   243.82K   7 downloads

 

 004.png   324.5K   7 downloads

 

 005.png   460.93K   8 downloads

 

 006.png   243.49K   9 downloads

 

Clearance now from the top of the roller rocker to the open oil cap hole is ample.  Sits well, and actually looks better than the KC.  It sits at the same height as the KC, and checking bonnet clearance with the tall GMH oil cap is fine.  All I need to do now is weld it all the way around, linish it smooth, might need a little bog to smoothen the joins outside, give it a good coat of paint and see how it goes.  I won't be able to metal finish it good enough to get it chromed with my skills, so will just paint it in VHT heatproof cast aluminum the same color as my oil cap, my original KC cover and the inlet manifold.  If I finish it good enough it will probably be hard to pick from a standard height rocker with a casual glance.  It will take time but that's okay, time in the shed is good for the mental health!

 

Looking at the baffle design of the GM cover it's so much better.  The baffle is long and where the PCV goes there is a little metal well it sits in, so doesn't draw oil directly into the PCV.  It's such a shame that no aftermarket rocker cover, KC, Speco, etc can get the baffle right.  All they had to do was take a GMH cover apart and copy it.  Anyway hope this extended version of the general's rocker cover solves the constant filling of my catch can problem.  I hope to get rid of the catch can completely, if it proves a success.   I will dissect the butchered rocker cover top and take out the baffle to share a pic of it, and will update when I have it all done and hopefully one less thing to worry about.

 

 

[ljv8]

Unfortunately my little experiment was a failure in it's first attempt.  It was a fair bit of work to weld up the rocker and not leave any pin holes.  I was using a mig with 0.9 wire turned right down but the rocker is so thin it's super easy to burn through.  In hindsight should have brought a roll of 0.6 wire and nozzle to suit to be able to drop the welder even lower.  Needless to say there was lots of welding, grinding and holding it up to the light to see if there were any pin holes.  Used a little filler on the outside to get it nice and smooth, and slapped on a few coats of VHT cast aluminum.  It actually came out okay and didn't look too bad (at a distance).  Up close you can see a few imperfections.  I spent more time getting it smooth than I should have as I blindly thought the only issue would be the height of the rocker cover.  Started it up and it wasn't entirely obvious it was touching anywhere.  I thought it was okay and had to listen pretty carefully to actually hear it tapping.  Doesn't help when there is so much exhaust noise.  Turns out it touches in a few places.

 

Clearly you can see the height difference to a std one.

 001.png   361.39K   7 downloads

 

On it's own at a casual glance the height difference isn't so obvious.

 002.png   164.36K   7 downloads

 

I really did prefer the look of the factory / modified cover over the KC alloy finned cover.

 004.png   370.36K   4 downloads

 

In hindsight I should have just tested the cut section first to see if it would touch anywhere.  I did this after the case with the left over piece.  The issue is all on the spark plug side.  The inlet / exhaust side doesn't touch anywhere.  It touches on each end angle on the spark plug side, and touches on the scallops for the rocker bolts.. Damn.  Wasted a lot of time, when I could have checked this first!  Nothing like learning lessons the hard way.

 

I'm not even sure the factory cover would have fixed my oil exiting the cover out the PVC issue.  I ran the engine with this cover for about 5 or so minutes and there was still a little oil in the catch can with this cover on.  Could have been residual in the pvc hose, but not sure. 

 

 005.png   196.63K   6 downloads

 

 006.png   353.93K   6 downloads

 

I parked it for now and put the KC back on.  I could modify it further and plump out the ends and scallops to clear but it will probably take away from the factory look if I butcher it too much.  I know some grind down the rockers to clear, but I can't bring myself to do that so will persist with the KC for now.  I tried to flatten the baffle on the KC to see if it will improve the oil getting passed through and into the catch can, but hasn't made much difference.

 

After a two hour drive about 125km I have 60ml of oil in the catch can.  Seems excessive, and have to remember to empty the catch can after each decent drive. 

[jpxu1]

Plan B - Remove the original baffle out of the dented top rocker cover and work out how to fit it to the KC rocker cover 

[ljv8]

Yeah I was considering that option.  My only challenge is the GM baffle is steel and the KC rocker cover is cast aluminum, so I can't weld it in.  Would need to use an epoxy like JB Weld, and don't know if it would be enough to hold it in place, and what would happen if it came loose.  I guess the other option is to try and replicate the GM baffle in aluminum sheet.  The main difference is of course the GM baffle is longer, has tighter gaps on the sides for airflow and has a metal cup that surrounds the PVC valve to "reduce" the chance of oil being sucked up.  Also the GM cover has the step up where the PVC valve is to accommodate the internal metal cup, where as the KC is flat where the PVC valve plugs in and just has the grommet, therefore there is less height to fit the metal cup, will need to be cut-down a fair bit. 

 

 009.png   445.19K   8 downloads

[I'm a Red Motor fiend]

I baffled my KC cover no probs by welding in some aluminium.

[ljv8]

I baffled my KC cover no probs by welding in some aluminium.

Ok cool did you happen to take any pics of it that you can post Adam? 

[I'm a Red Motor fiend]

Sorry mate, no....

[Heath]

This is very nice work.

 

You can make sheet metal baffles that clip into the inside of a cast ally rocker cover by the way. You don't need to weld anything; just cut slots into the side walls first with an angle grinder.

Example: http://www.gmh-toran...hatch/?p=788454

[ljv8]

Ah fantastic thanks Heath for sharing that's a great idea. Will chase down some sheet and get onto that.  I don't have a TIG, so great solution.

[Heath]

Glad to help.

 

I would do a much nicer job, but probably use the same method, if I needed to do that again.

[lctriples]

Hey Heath, steve. When you cut slots in side of alloy rocker cover to fit baffle, does oil seep or leak out? I, like steve, would like to use an alloy rocker cover but it has no baffle inside to stop oil getting into engine via manifold, cheers paul

[warrenm]

Hey Heath, steve. When you cut slots in side of alloy rocker cover to fit baffle, does oil seep or leak out? I, like steve, would like to use an alloy rocker cover but it has no baffle inside to stop oil getting into engine via manifold, cheers paul

You only need to make a groove, not cut through.

[ljv8]

Hey Heath, steve. When you cut slots in side of alloy rocker cover to fit baffle, does oil seep or leak out? I, like steve, would like to use an alloy rocker cover but it has no baffle inside to stop oil getting into engine via manifold, cheers paul

Yeah I haven't attempted it as yet Paul. I did buy a small piece of 0.5mm thick aluminum sheet that Bunnings sell but not sure if it is thick enough to hold it's shape once bent.  It feels pretty flimsy.  Looking at Heath's build thread the plate he used looks more like 1mm or 1.5mm, so will get some 1mm plate before I take it apart.  Agree, looks like a small groove would be enough, the walls seem reasonably thick on the KC cover but you would need to be careful.  I plan to use my Dremel with the small grinding wheel to make enough of a grove to hold it in and not break through. 

 

I finally got a good seal on my rocker cover gasket, so it pains me to have to take it off again and try to get the same seal after a few attempts and gaskets later.  I found this time using Permatex Aviation Gasket Sealant No3 on the rocker cover side with a new gasket helped. 

 

If you attempt it before me Paul post up some pics!

[claysummers]

Years ago I got a neoprene gasket for red blue black six. Cured all leaks even after reuse. Don’t know if you can still get them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Heath]

You only need to make a groove, not cut through.

Correct. You're just making a shallow (but sharp!) groove, not cutting a slot through the side of the cover.

[ljv8]

Hey thanks Clay, yes I know Rare Spares sell the rubber rocker cover gaskets.  Speco still make them.  They are rubber with a metal inner, about $50.  I was eyeing them off so good to hear they work well.  I have a couple of spare cork gaskets to use, but when they are stuffed will replace it with the rubber one. 

[claysummers]

Good to know rares sell them thanks Steveo. Don’t reckon mine has steel in it, just neoprene, but I could be wrong. Was 1997 last time I had it off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ljv8]

One thing that I have found difficult to adapt to is the skinny, flexy, slippery steering wheel in the GTR, that I'm sure was designed for a bus. I mean it looks absolutely beautiful, I just love the look of the LC GTR steering wheel, I just don't find it nice to use. It's fine in a straight line but it's not exactly at home hustling through the bends particularly when it's hot and humid, and your hands are a bit sweaty. How the heck did they race LC XU-1's around Bathurst with the factory wheel. You actually feel the thing flex in your hands when pushing hard. The LJ GTR wheel was a little better, felt more rigid and slightly thicker than the LC GTR wheel.

 

 Momo04.png   337.35K   3 downloads

I did a bit of a search to see what aftermarket wheels would suit the LC. I had a 90's Autotechnica wheel that looked all wrong, that was going no where near it, and at 345mm was too small. Most aftermarket wheels think we all belong with the fast n furious, are all drifters or fighter pilots. What I did come across in my search was the Momo Retro steering wheel. They seem to be a fairly common fitment to classics, and a google image search shows it up in a lot of 70's Porsche's

 

 Momo01.png   304.68K   3 downloads

https://momo.com/en-...momo-retro.html

It is 360mm so only slightly smaller in diameter than the LC GTR wheel (390mm). The biggest difference of course is the thickness of the grip and a leather grip. I splashed out and purchased one. They go for about $400, add about $65 for a SaaS LC boss kit. I say splashed out but when I look at the Rares site I pad $570ish for a made in China replica GTR wheel, where the finish isn't quite perfect. The Momo wheel is a hand stitched Italian leather wheel made in Italy and is of incredible quality. The spokes and sticking is all finished perfectly, you just can't fault it. Something isn't quite right there, China mass production v's Italian hand made ($100+ cheaper), the numbers don't balance out.

Fitted with a SaaS LC boss kit, the spacing from the column to the face of the wheel is very close to the factory wheel. The boss kit makes up for the relatively flat spokes. When I checked by eye I figured the Momo Retro spokes were pretty close to the LC GTR spokes, but when laying them on top of each other they line up pretty well.

 

 Momo02.png   380.57K   3 downloads

After driving her around with the Momo, wow what a difference. It's like night and day just how easy and nice it is now to man handle through the twisty bits. I guess I got spoiled driving modern cars for so long and not driving a 60's / 70's car with the original wheel, that I find it too hard to adapt.

 

 Momo03.png   386.78K   4 downloads

I built the car for fun and to drive it as much as I can.  I do drive it a fair bit.  And driving it needs to be relatively comfortable and pleasurable. If it was a completely original numbers matching car, delicately driven I would have just left the original wheel. I know changing from original is not everyone cup of tea but hey, my car is a bitsa and I always have my over priced poorly finished GTR wheel, so it can go back on if I ever take it to a car show or anything like that.

At least this summer when I'm stuck in traffic, temp and humidity is pumping and I'm wondering how spoilt all the cars around me are with air-con my hands won't be slipping off the wheel .

 

 LC 01.png   482.4K   4 downloads

[Potta]

Where did you find that wheel?

 

I've been on the lookout for a while and have found the same thing as you, ie most of the aftermarket wheels are crap.

 

My LC GTR has a LJ GTR wheel and column so I don't see any point going back to original for the same reasons you have mentioned, and this looks like a good option.

[ljv8]

Hey Potta,

 

Yeah that sounds like a good option for you, and you will just need the LJ SaaS boss kit. 

 

They are difficult to find from your typical performance retailer, usually a special order.  If you have a search on eBay look up "Momo Retro", and there are a couple of AU sellers that are currently listing them with a couple left.  I noticed now they are going for about $420 delivered.  If your not in a rush put a watch on them, and sometimes the retailers offer further discount if your watching it for a few weeks. 

 

Steve.

[Potta]

Hey Potta,

 

Yeah that sounds like a good option for you, and you will just need the LJ SaaS boss kit. 

 

They are difficult to find from your typical performance retailer, usually a special order.  If you have a search on eBay look up "Momo Retro", and there are a couple of AU sellers that are currently listing them with a couple left.  I noticed now they are going for about $420 delivered.  If your not in a rush put a watch on them, and sometimes the retailers offer further discount if your watching it for a few weeks. 

 

Steve.

 

Thanks Steve

 

Your car is looking great, very much to my taste.