29 replies to this topic

[Shiney005]

I cant get the bonnet open.  I have been using the external lever without a problem until now. It has an internal cable as well, but it has been seized solid in the "unlock" position since I picked it up.

Now, when I pull up on the external lever, it seems to be releasing from the first stage, (opening 2 inches) but then it stops dead and no amount of ex farmers fury will persuade it to go any further.  Even with it lifted the 2 inches, I can't see or have access to anything that will release it.

The grille is going to be a pain to remove, and I'm just wondering if anyone has a technique to pop the second catch from the front?  Clay???  

 

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[S pack]

http://www.fbekholde...opic.php?t=4382

[73SUNBURSTEXYOUWON]

Unfamiliar with EK, but on the EH, when my bonnet cable broke, a hacksaw blade, thin enough and on the right angle was enough to slide in, jiggle the right way to release the first stage bonnet catch. The second stage obviously was just by hand.

Are you able to push/pull or manipulate the bonnet sideways?
The Bonnet pin must be catching the latch edge somehow. GRRRRRRRR,

[claysummers]

Totally different to eh.

Reach under directly behind the pre release catch and feel the road tounge and the edge of 12# cut plate catch. Squeeze together as you hold pre-release catch open and lift.

Once you master this no one will be able to hotwire your car.

Same as tri-5 Chev I believe.

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If they won't squeeze the lock pin must be engaged

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[claysummers]

I got parts from an EH to modify mine but one of too many projects.

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[Shiney005]

It is still dark here Clay, but I will give that a crack shortly.

I was under the mistaken belief that the early Holdens didn't come with a cable release and just had the external one like the Chev utes used up until the late 1970's.

Thanks for the phone call and the link Dave.

I think I may have been driving it around with the "fully closed" stage not actually engaged. Which still doesn't explain why I can't get it past the secondary latch with the external lever being operated.

I am assuming that the hook at the bottom of the "nose" is the secondary latch which is operated by the external lever.  So how does the "fully closed" latch work?

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Edited by Shiney005, 18 June 2022 - 08:44 AM.

[S pack]

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[claysummers]

Lock mechanism was only an accessory on FB, then standard on EK, but they always buggered up. My bonnet floats up and down at speed, which is common on these cars. Bit disconcerting at times, which is why I planned to modify it.

It is that primary tongue you just need to squeeze slightly, and push upward. Give it all a good lube and should be ok. I have spares if you need or go see Blacky in the Perth hills. Can pm his number. Not that they fail really, just clunky.


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[Shiney005]

Well I mucked around for an hour trying to get that primary latch to squeeze in with fingers, multigrips, and various short pry bars but to no avail. The FB grill allows you to get your hands in there easily, but the EK one is built for Chinese hands.

Can someone please point out where the release cable attaches to, and what is it actually operating?

Oh, and congratulations on having your ute thread on the FBEK forum reach 250 pages Clay.

Some clearer photos.

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Edited by Shiney005, 19 June 2022 - 11:14 AM.

[Shiney005]

Grrrr. How did that second pic end up upside down??  Bloody computers.

Edited by Shiney005, 19 June 2022 - 11:13 AM.

[S pack]

Laurie, search using the right words and prayers can be answered.

http://www.fbekholde...pic.php?t=10595

[Shiney005]

Thanks for that Dave. At least now I know how it works. I might go and give it another go now.

[S pack]

It appears that if the locking pin is released from the hole in the primary catch lever then pulling up on the release lever allows the primary catch to move through it's full travel to release from the lock plate as well as the secondary lever being fully disengaged.

In theory, simply pull up on the bonnet with one hand while holding  the release lever in the fully open position with the other hand.

[Shiney005]

It looks like the locking pin has broken off the cable in the locked position. I can actually just see it, but I can't get anything near enough to it to try and remove it as it is way above the strike plate. I tried pulling the cable conduit from the cabin, but the clamp must be done up tight.

It looks like it will be removal of the front bumper and grill. And the grill is going to be a PITA with the bonnet closed.

[claysummers]

I would attack the bonnet bar first I reckon, but yeh you’re on the right track. Steel threads in pot metal will come pretty easily and there are only four.

Hopefully if yo are taking out the grille, it has been done since factory. Captive nuts in the bottoms of the stainless uprights are bolted from under the stone tray and prone to seizure. Plenty penetrant May be the go. You can bend the nozzle tube through 180deg to make sure they get wet. Otherwise the stainless uprights just twist and distort. Bonnet bar may be sufficient but if not will ease access to top bolts.


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[Shiney005]

Thanks Clay.  I will soak the exposed threads with Black Magic this morning, and hopefully have a go at removing them tonight.

[claysummers]

A colleague had the same problem with his HQ. Didn't bother him though. He just kept on driving it.

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[Shiney005]

I was very lucky with the bolts holding the grill in. In fact, evey bolt that I have removed from this car has come easily so far. What I thought was old oil and road grime underneath, turned out to be a very thick coating of fish oil. The crossmember, suspension, inner guards and inside the boot are covered in it. You can also see where it has dribbled out of the doors and from under the sill plates.  It has gone hard though, and will be a mongrel to remove if I ever decide to do a concourse restoration on it.

It appears that the reason the latch wouldn't work was that the cable inner had seized in the conduit. As simple as that. Once I got it out and I could get some WD 40 down it, it slowly came good to the point where it operates like a new one again now.  Not that I am going to use it.  I have left it off so I never have to spend an hour undoing the three bolts that hold the latch on ever again. There is just no room to move with the bonnet shut.

This pick shows the latch with the cable pushed all the way in and the locking pin right through the holes.

 

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And how it was actually sitting while I was trying to open it.  When I was working on it, from underneath, I could just see the end of that pin, but I had no idea at the time what it was. I assumed the bonnet cable pulled on a latch like the later Holdens.

 

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While they were off the car, I disassembled the grill and bumper and hit them with the Purple polish.

 

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The only bad rust on the inside of the bumpers and over riders was where the spot lights had been mounted.

 

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Most of the bolts looked like this, with the zinc still looking like it was applied last week, not 61 years ago.

 

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I assume it is the original radiator.

 

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[Shiney005]

I removed the seat covers which had been on the car since 1963. The seats were dirty underneath them and took a lot of scrubbing to get them looking half decent.  The seat covers were a semi clear plastic which allowed sunlight through, so the top of the rear seat is extremely fragile as I found out when I tore it while wiping it with a rag.  The rest is still in good nick though. The springs aren't even rusty, and the hessian still looks new as well.

 

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The rear middle seat belt (there isn't one in the front) looks like something from an early Cessna.  It is dated August 1962, so a year after the car was made. All of the others look like NASCO ones, and use the same bolts through the B pillar that I seem to see in 90% of early Holdens that had seat belts fitted at a later date.

 

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[Shiney005]

Is this the original coil????

 

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And what is this on the fuel bowl of the Stromberg? Looks to be in the wrong place for float adjustment.

 

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[RallyRed]

lol...back in the day when we were little kids, and nearly every family in our street had a new/ newish FB / EK...a few of the Dads insisted on the clear, thick plastic seat covers. They were 100% food, milkshake, sand, mud proof from memory.
Yes, they yellowed after a few years, but I just thought that was residual burnt off skin, from when we piled in after a day at the beach!...bloody dangerous really.

[Bruiser]

That’s an adjustable main jet.
Does the coil have “Campbells” or “Heinz”
stamped on it anywhere?
I think it’s original, but Clay’s your man to make sure

[Shiney005]

Does the coil have “Campbells” or “Heinz”
stamped on it anywhere?
 

Yeah, it looks like a baked beans tin to me!

[Heath]

This is awesome.

 

So period!

[Shiney005]

lol...back in the day when we were little kids, and nearly every family in our street had a new/ newish FB / EK...a few of the Dads insisted on the clear, thick plastic seat covers. 

These ones were still quite soft and pliable too Col. I just couldn't stand the look of 'em.

 

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This is awesome.

 

So period!

It is a shame that the roof was resprayed a few years ago. It almost looks too white now.

 

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