135 replies to this topic

[ben23]

I know what you are saying but I need to have something to work towards or I lose interest. Already been down that road with my 4.5 year long van project just got so over it and gave up. This one needs to be done in a reasonable amount of time or it will end up just like the van. At the moment im in the planning and getting parts stage

its actually kind of sad, I've wanted a Torana since I was a kid and now I'm just finding it hard to decide which direction to go with it

[SmacT]

What was it about Toranas that first got your neckhairs to attention? For me it was the look and sound of one of those things around Bathurst, so my car is flared, drop tanked and with a 5 liter. Maybe remembering what got you excited in the first place will help you decide your direction? And having a welding mate is a bonus, because that takes care of the rust repairs. In the meantime learn how to strip and prepare a panel (Slar's Rusty Lx thread and many other's are gold for this), then skim coat it with filler for a good result without needing 20 years of panel beating experience behind you, or a million expensive tools. My current method is to get one panel a week in epotech, ready for skim coating: suddenly I only have two to go and feel like it's progressing. 

 

 

If you want it enough, and it seems you do, you will find a way to get it all done. Plan a visit to Toranafest in September too, that will fire you up and give you plenty of options to look at and owners to talk to. :-)

Don't give up yet mate. :-)

[ben23]

definitely not anywhere near giving up just finding it hard to know where to start. Interior can stay as is for a while as its in good nick, all it needs is a carpet, but needs rust repairs/panel/paint. When I paint it I want it perfect so I wanna do it inside out while painting underneath and engine bay black. Thinking holden perfect/voodoo blue. The driveline swap is the easy part. detail engine on stand and fit all the bolt on stuff, bolt on the box and slot it in. Plumb and wire. Rig up the column shift to the TH700, by that stage ill have had the diff modified and ill have fitted it. Then just have a tailshaft done and exhaust and thats it.

[ben23]

well got a little bit done today, bought all the gaskets, got the oil pump packed with vaso and refitted, cleaned the grotty shit out of the fuel pump bowl and refitted that, tomorrow arvo ill get the sump cleaned out as best I can and get the pickup back on, bolt the timing cover and sump back up. On that note does anyone have a reasonable six cylinder auto radiator in Sydney that I can purchase by Friday?

[ben23]

oh and also in the market for a good condition front passenger door

 

[ben23]

builds off

[Heath]

Hmmmm?

[Ice]

To much $$$$$$$$ for this car imho

[SmacT]

Why? 

[ben23]

was drinking last night and had the shits with the car that might explain the above :S as far as sober ben knows he is still building the car haha.

[GMH-01X]

Don't give up mate, as you said you have always wanted one.

 

all good things take time  

[ben23]

Oh don't worry. Been thru 4.5 years of this already with a previous project that I gave up on in 2013, just need more hours in the day. Working on cars and trucks for a living doesn't help

[SmacT]

Alcohol the wonder drug... Ha ha, glad it's still going. 

[ben23]

Yeah I don't think I could ever get rid of of, would love to knock it over within a year but I just don't see that happening with my time poor life. That and I'm pedantic so while I want to have a go at the panel and paint myself I hold myself back because I know if it's anything less than perfect I'll get the shits haha

[Heath]

Good. Get stuck in.

[ben23]

Well, after driving down to melbourne with my cousin on friday night and coming back saturday arvo with a 454 BBC for his HX kingy, I decided to get the 6 back together again. Packed oil pump with vaso, filled new filter with oil, new gaskets, its on. Cleaned out sump and pickup, new gaskets and its on. Engine back down on its mounts and bolted up. Garden hose in the water pump inlet. Fires up straight away. Oil pressure light still didnt go out. Revved the absolute shit out of it, sort of nearly went out, but didnt. Sounded like it was getting a little noisy after a few mins, however, how long can you run a red motor for with low/no oil pressure before it starts knocking typically? Couple of mins? Used 20W-50 oil, thinking a possible relief valve problem. Also going to change the pressure switch just in case. Probably not gonna go too far into it, this is the car telling me it wants its 5 litre  

[ben23]

Well, the diagnosis has been made.....and its f'ing ridiculous. There is no oil pressure issue. Turns out whoever owned the car before me has swapped the oil light and alternator light globe holders with each other in the back of the cluster. Each time I've tried to get this thing running I haven't put the alternator belt on as it was only ever going to be running for a couple of minutes and I had a garden hose in the water pump inlet (radiator got damaged while it was out of the car), so the alternator light (in the oil light lens in the cluster) has rightfully stayed on. But the oil light (in the alternator light lens in the cluster) has gone out. Only noticed it this time around because I made a video. When I was watching the video I noticed it because I wasn't intently focusing on the oil pressure light like I was at first start. Pulled the cluster forward and yep, the two lights had been swapped. Checked the engine harness connector incase it had been swapped there. And of course when the engine was running before it shagged the timing gear both lights went out together when the engine started as you would expect so there was no reason to go looking for a problem like this.

 

I'm an auto sparky too, so that's a tad embarrassing.

[SmacT]

Ha ha - we've all been there! It's easy to do silly stuff, especially when you're labouring away under a car in the shed at 11pm after a full day's work. I got stuck under my own car once... Anyway, one more problem off the list!

[ben23]

Had the idea of spraying it Panama green and with Simmons B45's, chrome dished with colour coded centres. Thoughts?

[ben23]

Hmm yes it may be a bit much, and a bit 90's. sort of the look I wanna go for but I think it looks better in my head haha

ive been finding it hard to settle on which green I want because they all seem to look different in different light