Sunbird build thread

Some time ago I had an accident with my toy trolley jack getting caught in the crack of my garage floor as the car was coming down and somehow the jack when from under the cross member to under the sump and squished it a bit, unfortunate but it happened and I have been putting it off for a while as I wasn't keen on pulling the engine and gearbox out to fix it.

When the engine and gearbox went in it was in a mates garage with lots of room which I don't have in mine. So I decided to see if I could get the k-frame out of the car with the engine still in place and then be able to access the sump.

So I removed calipers, air con compressor, alternator, disconnected the steering knuckle and removed my front mounted sway bar.

I then made some brackets to bolt to the engine where the air con compressor and alternator were with the idea the brackets would rest on my home made sway bar mount bracket.

First thing was replace my cheap little trolley jack with a proper Bahco to prevent future mishaps

Then I made these crude brackets out of scrap I had

 P1140160.JPG   164.1K   6 downloads

Then bolted them to the engine with them resting on the sway bar mount bracket

 P1140161.JPG   155.55K   6 downloads

The I undid the bolts and lowered the k-frame out on the trolley jack

 P1140164.JPG   148.56K   9 downloads

I moved the k-frame fwd and in front of the car and put some jack stands under the sway bar mount bracket as it will be sitting there for a few weeks as I get time to fix the sump.

Was much easier than I thought it would be, only downside is that when I drained the oil it was a bit sparkly so maybe I have some internal engine issues to look at in the future. Might get the oil sampled after I drive it again and see what type of metal is causing the sparkles.

Although the sump is still on I have full access around it now so I should be able to get it off

Shame about that. These things happen I guess.

Regarding the hole in the rad support panel, I may not bother (the goal is slightly colder air for when you're at W.O.T., at the cost of the efficiency of a warm air intake the rest of the time?), but if I were to add it (keeping in mind a big hole like that would be very frowned upon by authorities - if you care) I would kinda seal it off and make it feed into more of an enclosed "box" around the filter, rather than just freely flowing into an open engine bay.

In aero terms, obviously your radiator support panel is creating a bit of a 'wake' (with a vacuum behind it) as the car moves. Any big hole that lets air into the engine bay only works against your... radiator efficiency, bonnet stability, car's tendency to lift at high speed, general wind resistance etc. My car has a cold air intake but it is sealed off from the engine bay.

Partial update as it will require more info once tested, I have put the cold air intake on hold as I can't make up my mind where I would put a 3.5" hole through the engine bay. If it happens it will feed an enclosed air box but I might hav to move horn and headlight relays first.

Although the cold air intake is on hold some other stuff did happen. Some months ago I bought a cam package and thought I will fit it one day, just before this Sydney lock down started I got carried away on a weekend and within a few hours heads were off and the upgrade was underway. 

Small Crow cam with the recommended springs, new lifters, push rods etc. Sent the heads off to a local guy for servicing and porting to suit the cam and got it all back together last weekend. 

Sounds a lot different, bit stronger and louder. The lock down has me weary of going for a test drive so I hope to take it to work soon to see how it behaves. Even from the short run in the garage it is noticeably louder which isn't exactly what I was after but I hope to tone it down a bit in the future.

While it was apart I put on an under drive balancer and new pulleys. Had been wanting to do a cam swap for a long time mostly for the enjoyment of doing it and it was a fun job. It was a bit tough in the Torana engine bay but not terrible, I did lose a part for a few days which had me worried but it materialised at the right time to save my sanity.

Hope you're all staying safe

Cheers, Tom

 P1140228.JPG   149.43K   7 downloads

Hi All, hope 2024 is being good to you all.

Long time since an update,

So I did add some hot dogs to the tail pipes and it made it quieter and more enjoyable to be in. Hasn't lost any character in the process.

It was on a dyno recently just for a power run and unfortunately I left the air sensor disconnected from some previous work in the engine bay and it was a bit rich, sounded great though. 242kw.

Recently I was under the front of the car for something and noticed the radiator bottom tank was touching a bolt head so I removed the radiator, cut the brackets off and had them welded back on in a better spot. Also found some rubber to sort of seal the gap between the radiator and front panel, rated to 130 degrees so should be fine, added some top and bottom and it feels like it pulls air better though the condenser which I was hoping it would as I feel the air con could be colder.

 P1140416.JPG   172.25K   2 downloads

In the interest of making the air con colder I added a heater valve to block off the flow and hopefully stop the heater core getting any extra warmth. The cable ties are gone now and it is connected with a hose and check valve to the manifold so will close with vacuum and keep the warm water away from the heater core.

 P1140414.JPG   148.88K   2 downloads

I have been working on putting some Wilwoods on the Commodore disc rear so I bought a complete diff to play with, it came with a sway bar and I decided to see if it would fit the Torana as I just had the standard rear sway bar between the trailing arms, I had to get the ends bent slightly but it fit pretty well.

 P1140446.JPG   142.39K   3 downloads

While under the front with the sway bar off I leaned on one of the link rod mounts and the bracket and lower control arm seemed a bit flexible so I removed them, made new link rod brackets and put a small bit of metal in the mower control arm to stiffen it a bit. ALso made the front sway bar mount a bit stiffer by adding some triangular plate to the legs. Second pic is the old vs new link rod brackets. Also noticed some grease had been flinging out from the passenger wheel bearings so I removed the disc cleaned the old grease out which was quite runny and thin and repacked with new grease and fitted new seals, greased the ball joints etc too.

 P1140442.JPG   154.63K   2 downloads

 P1140444.JPG   172.36K   2 downloads

Also flushed the radiator, heater core and block of green coolant and refilled with red.

Fixed my low oil pressure warning light and replaced a grommet on some of the through firewall wiring, had to split the grommet to get it in but it is much more secure. When you're looking for stuff to fix it can be easy to find.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Cheers, Tom

Looks like a nice few small improvements... it's certainly what builds like these need, incremental work as you notice things.

Well done and look forward to meeting you at Calder this month!

nice work !!!!

keeps getting better

Nice work. It's rewarding fixing little things. Big things, not so much. Ha ha. Car's looking great.

Thanks Gents,

Couple of little things to go before we get back on the road and head to the Optima thingy

I went to Melbourne for the Optima Street Car Challenge and it was great fun and I think I will be going back next year.

I decided I would make it a 2 day drive with the plan on getting to Chiltern in Victoria the first day.

Left the Central Coast under grey skies and decided I should fit new wiper blades at my local Repco just in case, found the clip at the wiper arm was a bit loose and did some car park tweaking to get it snug then fitted the new blades and glad I did as the rain came not long into my journey and the subject wiper was better than it had been in the past.

Got some terrible traffic south of Sydney and had to crawl during hail onto the Hume Highway which was definitely not fun.

About an hour from my destination as the sun set I realised I didn't have headlights, they had been intermittent sometimes in the past so with not long to go I held the high beam switch on, eventually the fuse said that's too hot and then I had no lights. Was just before an exit so I exited left and found a large grassy area for some investigation. I was carrying a spare old headlight switch and relay and swapped the switch and replaced the fuse and I was back in action with both low and high beam but unfortunately no instrument lights but got back on the road using the Waze app as my speedo and got to Chiltern in time to grab a schooner before the pub shut.

Next day I went to Rare Spares Bayswater for a brand new headlight switch then my next hotel in Melbourne and replaced the switch, still no instrument lights and further investigation found the instrument fuse holder was a bit loose and I had probably bumped it the night before so a squish with the pliers and I had instrument lights again.

My first stop on the way down was Albury at 629km and I topped up 62L at approx. 10L/100km I was very happy.

Did a total of 2574km over the long weekend, car cruised along happily but sunshine through the clear glass was pretty intense.

The Optima event was great, everyone was friendly and although there were some delays it all happened before closing time.

The car behaved fantastic, I did experience some brake pad knock off and found the brake pedal seemed like a long walk after the corners but it is something I can improve and will be adding some stub axle stiffeners.

My driving is in need of the biggest improvement before any future events and my unscheduled 180 on the hot laps was probably avoidable with better skills. I didn't make quick times or finish high in the field but someone liked the look of my car and it ended up in some American online magazine which put a smile on my face. I'll be trimming that air con drain hose that hangs too low. I had to 'right click' on the link below for it to work.

Crikey! Optima Heads Down Under for Insane Aussie Race Action!

Got to meet Heath and see his amasing car in the flesh, better than in the pictures! So much effort has gone into it, really impressive and gets driven seriously, well done!

Made a list of things to fix before next year.

Stub axle stiffeners

Foot rest, definitely necesary for long drives

Maybe move the pedals left 20-30mm, found my legs were pointed to the right

Fit a UC indicator stalk so the wiper switch is within reach

Un-block the drivers side windscreen washer

Clutch master cylinder leaking onto the carpet

Make a good phone mount not obscured by the steering wheel like my current Kmart cheapie

Tint the windows so the sun isn't trying to burn a hole in my neck

Also going to buy a GoPro, I did get a cheap 'action camera' from the camping store but it wasn't up to the task.

Since returning home I did lube my drivers door hinge which was well overdue and it is now silent and not groaning embarrassingly.

Took the vibration rattle out of my ash tray by adding a rivet to the spring steel retainer.

I went to visit a friend on the coast after the event and took a spin out on the great ocean road for Sunday lunch. Departed Melbourne area Monday and stopped into Temora Western NSW on the way home to visit the Temora Aviation Museum.

If you like machinery or aviation or military history its a great visit. Tried the Spitfire simulator which was surreal fun and had a good look around. Country NSW has great driving scenery and feels very Australian!

https://aviationmuseum.com.au/

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cheers, Tom

Once you read the whole article it looks like they posted pictures of lots of the cars/entrants.

Heath features a few times.

 009-optima-ousci-2024-australia-race-results.jpg   111.62K   4 downloads

Tom your car is a real credit to you mate, nice work on getting on-top of or making a plan with those little things that we spoke about. Incremental steps are certainly the go.

Gotta love that highway fuel economy. Not bad for a 70's mid sized muscle car!

I actually forgot about all your lighting issues, but in any case, what a fabulous thing to be doing with a car you built. Big road trip with some motorsport in the middle. Bloody perfect!

I was hoping you'd seen that pic of your car in the Hot Rod article. I meant to send that to you.

Thanks gents, was a great event and for me a great mini holiday which I realised I don't do often enough.

I'm already making plans for next year.