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4 door '76 LX in sunny Ireland!


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#1 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:21 AM

Hi folks, so basically I bought a rough and ready LX "S" when I was 16 (we're talking mid '90s here) for a grand total of $400 and what a heap it was.  Complete with warm 186, 3 speed floor shift, drums all round and not a panel the same colour.  I stripped it, found plenty of rust and planned the rebuild.  I ended up buying a '75 4 door LH as a donor, kept that shell as it was in better shape along with a few panels and sold the spares at a profit.  

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Although it looks rough the shell wasn't in too bad a shape, the boot floor was rusted, the windscreen and rear window needed help, behind the rear arches was rusted and badly patched but I managed to source some good hanging panels.  

 

I rebuilt the 186 with a nice 9 port head and a Heatseeker cam, flat top pistons and some tripple SUs on a Lynx 202.  Pink was THE colour of the '90s.  The head had the bar in the intake port chopped out and seemed a pretty neat job to me at the time.  

 

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To cut a long story short, I moved to Ireland where I am originally from with my folks, there was no way I was leaving the Torana so it went into a container and came too.  Not much happened over the next few years, I got it into a paint shop where basically not much happened to it despite me paying for the work.  I ended up pulling the car out of the paint shop after it being there 7 years (!) with most of the rust repairs done but with only half the car painted.  This is how it is now;

 

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So the plan is to forget the 186 and source a small block along with a Tremec from the USA and get a shortened 9" from Oz (shipping will be expensive!).  It will have flairs with 15x8" and 15x10" wheels and HQ discs with Nissan 4 pot calipers as seen on this forum.  I will do the panel work myself and get the colour on it.  I will try and fabricate as much as I can myself and try not to have to source things from Oz to save on shipping.  I will make my own chassis kit, I have got a few ideas of this forum which has been real handy.

 

I have started sorting out the brakes:

 

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And I also had to repair the rear spoiler, it was cracked in 3 places.

 

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I welded up the TORANA and 2850 badge holes in the boot.

 

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Wheels are Weld Prostar knock-offs, they are Summit Racing Fast Fives.  Tires are 225 front and 275 Nitto drag radials rear, I might go 295 rear but I think I will struggle with the wheel offset and the L34 flares.  

 

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Thats it so far, progress will be slow until I get my other project done.  It is a '79 Mini with a turbo A series engine:

 

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This forum is great, it has given my a lot of great info and ideas so thanks for that!  I will be asking a buch of questions though and may need help sourcing some small fiddly parts.  

 



#2 hanra

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 10:13 AM

By 79 Leyland Australia gave us the crappy Clubman. I guess the poms stuck with the Roundnose?

#3 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 10:41 AM

We had the round nose until 2000 when production stopped. Clubmans at least have more room in the engine bay, I could have done with that for the intercooler.

#4 hanra

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 11:21 AM

But at what stage were they badged as a Rover?

#5 TerrA LX

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 12:08 PM

WOW shipped your torry with ya to Ireland, pretty keen to keep it, well done.
Do you mind me asking what shipping costs set you back?

How are you for spare parts over there?

#6 Mort

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 03:09 PM

Welcome Jay, it's nice to see our cars are spreading far and wide, USA, Germany, Ireland, etc.

 

My wife has 15x10's on her car with a 4.5" backspace and 295/50 Mastercraft tyres, i had the guards cut (unfortunately not high enough) and i bought the extra wide A9X flares from Hornet Composites which are an extra 20mm wider than the original ones.

http://www.gmh-toran...-rebuild/page-3 first post (#51) are pics of the tyres, i need to get standard or raised springs so the body doesn't rub and to maybe fit a drop tank later on.

 


Have many people seen it over there and how do they react/opinions to a strange car.
 

Look forward to your build and seeing it finished .



#7 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:01 PM

But at what stage were they badged as a Rover?


I think it was '86 onwards when they were a Rover. I just want mine finished and on the road.

#8 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:09 PM

WOW shipped your torry with ya to Ireland, pretty keen to keep it, well done.Do you mind me asking what shipping costs set you back?How are you for spare parts over there?


We needed a 40' container for all our furniture etc but this also allowed space for the Torana plus a bunch of spares so I'm not sure how much to ship a car per say. I have most spares with me, there is obviously no direct European equivalent of a Torana so there are no local spares. The plan is to use suppliers in the US for generic parts (like the wheels etc) as shipping is cheaper and try and adapt some parts from European cars. I am still going through my spares and have noticed I don't have the regulator for the drivers door or any of the door catches or lock mechanisms so I will have to source that from Oz somehow.

#9 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:13 PM

Welcome Jay, it's nice to see our cars are spreading far and wide, USA, Germany, Ireland, etc.
 
My wife has 15x10's on her car with a 4.5" backspace and 295/50 Mastercraft tyres, i had the guards cut (unfortunately not high enough) and i bought the extra wide A9X flares from Hornet Composites which are an extra 20mm wider than the original ones.
http://www.gmh-toran...-rebuild/page-3 first post (#51) are pics of the tyres, i need to get standard or raised springs so the body doesn't rub and to maybe fit a drop tank later on.
 
Have many people seen it over there and how do they react/opinions to a strange car.
 
Look forward to your build and seeing it finished .


Hi Mort, actually I was looking at your build when I was deciding on wheels and noticed you needed A9X flares with that backspace and 295s. If I remember correctly I have the same backspace as your wheels and The US have more choice of 295s than 275s so I think I will look into the wider flares, that's for the link.

People think it's a MK2 Escort for some reason but it hasn't gotten out much so we will se what they think.

#10 _Bomber Watson_

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:24 PM

Turbo engine looks like it might have a slight (major) boost leak in that pick :P

 

And how did you boost reference the SU for blow through?

 

Cheers.



#11 hanra

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 08:28 PM

Should of asked earlier, did you need to chop the bulkhead to provide room for the turbo?

#12 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 09:39 PM

Turbo engine looks like it might have a slight (major) boost leak in that pick :P
 
And how did you boost reference the SU for blow through?
 
Cheers.


The A series engine was sold in turbo form in another car, the Austin Metro turbo which had a turbo spec SU and used a plenum chamber that pressurised the fuel bowl. It also had a boost referenced fuel pressure regulator so I basically lifted everything on the intake side from that car. You can still buy the turbo spec SUs new as far as I know.

#13 Jay#2

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 09:43 PM

Should of asked earlier, did you need to chop the bulkhead to provide room for the turbo?


I didn't need to chop the bulkhead as I used an aftermarket exhaust manifold and a Garrett T2 turbo which fits between the block and stock bulkhead quite nicely. The T2 is a nice little turbo, it has no noticeable lag and should be good for 15 psi plus a bit more maybe. I used straight cut drop gears and gearbox so it should handle the power and torque ok.

#14 hanra

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 10:11 PM

Cool man. Those drop gears sound good aye!!!

#15 Jay#2

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 03:30 AM

So not much to add, I did make an order from Summit Racing in the US for diff parts. Getting a shorted 9" from Oz was going to be tricky, I ordered a bare housing from summit along with a Strange alloy casing and True Trac diff. Since the US is not too far from me shipping was ok, much better than from OZ. I will get the housing shortened over here and will maybe fabricate the Torana suspension brackets myself. The axles have a long spline on them so I can cut them to length when the housing is shortened. I bought the Wilwood rear disc conversion to finish it off.

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I will get the Mini finished off in the next few months then get the Torana rolled into the garage to make a proper start.

#16 ls2lxhatch

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 11:26 AM

McDonald Bros make stronger replacement bracketry for the LH/LX if you decide not to make them yourself.

 

http://www.mcdonaldb...tbracketry.html

 

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#17 Jay#2

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Posted 14 January 2014 - 04:22 AM

Yeah they got back to me this morning, shipping isn't too bad so I might give that a go. Saves a lot of effort.

#18 Jay#2

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Posted 23 June 2014 - 01:48 AM

Got a bit more work done, the quality of the flares isn't the worst but they need some work, they are a bit short and slopey at the rear.  Thanks to Ruts thread and Dirtbags I got some ideas on how they should sit and how to get them sitting a bit better:
 
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Annoyingly I don't seem to have any pics of them completed but they sit much better, next is to move onto the rear flares as they look just as bad.
 
I started to work on the 9", there are no diff shops in this part of the world so it was going to have to be a DIY job.  I made a jig for the old diff to locate how the upper and lower trails arms locate on the floorpan and used this to get the new diff brackets on the 9" housing.   
 
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It bolts in a treat and I was able to measure up how much has to come off each end to get the track right.  The wheels have 25mm less backspace which means a standard length diff would have the wheels out past the arches a bit.  I took off enough to bring them back to 5mm each side less than the stock 1446mm Torana diff.  I have 275s on the wheels at the moment but it seams easier to get 295s than 275s from the US.  This will leave a little room for them when I put them on.  I'm fairly happy, how the wheel fill the arches is a real make-or-break thing for the car, I would prefer them to be out a little further but maybe with the 295s I'll be happier.
 
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Next up is front suspension off for a rebuild.  


#19 _j.e.d._

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Posted 23 June 2014 - 06:21 AM

Awesome work there mate - did u happen to take any pics of your jig setup for the diff? I'm looking at doing this myself and it'd be good to see the way you did it. Cheers

#20 Jay#2

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Posted 08 September 2014 - 06:19 AM

So the flare kit need some work on the rear too, the drivers side is too wide then tapers in where it meets the front part of the flare on the door.

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I trimmed it where the marker line is and cut the mounts out and moved them in a bit.

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There still is a curve in the flare but I cut a few slots in it to allow it to flex a bit and stretched in into shape. I will glass it from behind when it's on the car so it will hold the right shape.

The passenger side is better, it bolted up ok and I have trimmed the rear quarter to suit.

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I also finished building the front suspension up. I was able to get the Bilsteins direct from Germany which was handy!

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Some of the rust repairs have started.

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I've also started cutting the other rear quarter, notice the soil layers!

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#21 Jay#2

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Posted 08 September 2014 - 06:32 AM

Awesome work there mate - did u happen to take any pics of your jig setup for the diff? I'm looking at doing this myself and it'd be good to see the way you did it. Cheers


This is my humble jig:

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The plan was to bolt the trailing arms to the banjo, centralise the banjo in the jig, plumb it so the pinion angle was level then bolt the other end of the arms on the jig. The jig arm mounts were roughly in the same position as the floor of the car or at least somewhere in the middle or their arc. I unbolted the arms from the banjo, lifted the banjo off then set the 9" housing on the jig, centralised it and plumbed it then laid out the new brackets on the housing according to the jig and also the measurements from the banjo. They're just tacked on for now but with the diff in the car there is 3mm difference from side to side, this was the same as the banjo so happy enough so far.

#22 _j.e.d._

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Posted 08 September 2014 - 07:46 AM

That's a pretty ingenious setup mate.. thanks for sharing  :D



#23 Jay#2

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Posted 03 November 2014 - 06:53 AM

Being thousands of miles from my nearest Rarespares or the like I had to make my own radiator support panel.

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I borrowed some ideas from turbo76lx regarding chassis strengthening, the plan is still an LS2 and T56 so I overlayed the original rails with 89x89mm SHS and extended them down to the lower training arm mounts.

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I also stitched the lower trailing arm mounts.

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I have cut some 2.5mm plate to weld up the inside of the chassis rails from the outrigger mount up to the front of the car. I will also join the lower trailing arm mount to the upper with 50x25 RHS, that will finish off the chassis mods.

I am starting to dry build the car up to see what I am missing, I think I have the dash rail somewhere so I'll put that on when I find it.

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Edited by Jay#2, 03 November 2014 - 06:54 AM.


#24 Jay#2

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Posted 03 January 2015 - 07:08 AM

Sooo, that's the engine bay smoothed, battery tray rust repaired, chassis rails boxed/plated and the front suspension in.  Its winter up here now and wet as usual, working on it outside is tough so I will put it away until the summer.  I am looking at LS2/T56 combos to chuck in, they are a bit thin on the ground in the UK however the Monaro was sold here as well as the Clubsport R8 which means they do come up every so often.  Its about AU$12k for a low mile LS2/T56 with ECU, loom, PAS pump, air con compressor etc.  I could get a crate motor from the US but that will be more expensive again I think.  We will see what happens!

 

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#25 _GTR_069_

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Posted 03 January 2015 - 08:11 AM

This will be a sight on the roads when it gets out people will be wtf, harsh working conditions too I give you credit for such a build in that little island, grab a Monaco, or 4 door and steal the he'll out of it, seats, running gear etc, I'd even look at the sash conversations, look around here I'm sure someone has done it.

 

I always dreamed off having our HK over there with us when we lived there but now I wouldn't a hatch or sedan would be awesome, big V8 will teach them a thing or two on the motorways

 

Love the mini connection two, I did the reverse bought mine back here

 

 

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