Well, i have had my torrie for afew years but due to finances i havnt been able to do anything to her. I brought her stock and unregistered, coz i wanted a car as a project. She wasnt in bad condition, interior was clean and minor tears, dashpad had no cracks, engine was clean with new top end, all new suspension and i payed $1000. Below are pics of when she was new.
Front Gossy paint
Glossy Bonnet
Side
Rear
Above Rear
I stripped the torrie about a year back, but never did anything else. Recently i have started getting back to her and unfortunatey have found some pretty bad rust. The car already had a completely bodgied up plate and bog job with the drivers door pillar but i was prepared for that. The problem now is the entire bottom of the drivers guard was a plate which looked to be spot welded in, and the bog covering it was over 1cm thick. We belted around with a hammer a little bit because of the bulge and the plate flew out from behind the guard and then it was followed by the bog.
We decided to cut out the section with the grinder (the front end was eventually coming off anyway for the pillar repairs so i didnt mind doing this). When we did this we found that there was alot more rust behind the guard, and it goes into what looks to be the chassis. The rust goes into the section behind the kick panel area and looks failry bad. There is also a plate on the passengers lower guard section and a rust hole behind that going into the kick panel section there.
Theres some rust holes around the window frames, one bit i have completely grinded out the bog and primered over the bare metal, was curious as to how much had exactly been used.
The floorpans are also in need of replacing.
Basically we came to the conclusion that i would be better off finding a rolling shell that has no rust or very little to continue my project. So soon this torrie will be put up for free pickup minus quiet afew parts (alot of panels might be worth cutting out).
So, here i am, in search of a new 4 door LJ to work with (have posted in wanted section).
I havnt changed the proposed plans too much, the paint will still be blue, sort of like ford blueprint but not exact. Engine will still be a Injected 308 stroked to 355 with twin throttlebodies, am hoping to make the motor fit without sticking the top of the twin throttlebody setup out the bonnet. If its not possible ill go a standard efi setup.
Am thinking of using a VL Turbo diff, 4 wheels disc brakes, auto box, leather interior..... cant put a time on it but if i get hold of a new shell soon that needs no rust repair im looking at ready for rego by end of the year maybe mid 2007.
What needs to be done to fit 8 inch tyres in the rear??? minitubbing??
Basically its not the best news for my project atm, but when i get rid of it i hope it goes somewhere it will be used instead of the scrap metal yard.
4dr LJ 355 Project
Started by
_05-BROCKY-05_
, Jan 02 2006 12:51 AM
20 replies to this topic
#2
_Loki_
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Posted 02 January 2006 - 01:00 AM
Looked at the pics and their titles and thought it was lookin' good, then read the horror story that followed.
Must have hurt alot to keep finding more and more of the rust, and sounds like someone did a hell of alot of dodgy repairs on it.
Must have hurt alot to keep finding more and more of the rust, and sounds like someone did a hell of alot of dodgy repairs on it.
#3
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Posted 02 January 2006 - 01:35 AM
Yeah it really sucks, coz before i started stripping it, it really looked in good shape. It's not the end though, cant wait to get hold of a new torrie to put my plans into action with. 
#4
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Posted 02 January 2006 - 02:55 AM
i know of two shells around
blaxland wreckers blue mountains
northern road wreckers, londonderry (penrith way)
or i know a guy with a lj coupe with a 355 in it $10 000
blaxland wreckers blue mountains
northern road wreckers, londonderry (penrith way)
or i know a guy with a lj coupe with a 355 in it $10 000
#5
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Posted 02 January 2006 - 09:35 AM
I have a 4 door in my garage the same colour but not as much rust though shame I am in Perth you could have cut out the sections needed to weld back in.
My LJ that I have posted in this section was not two badly rusted but i was lucky enough to pick up a 4 cylinder LC with no rust for 200.00 that donated its sills and many other panel sections for rust repairs. I also used the bottom guard section on the passenger side from rare spares. It did not fit exactly at first but with a little swearing and cursing 
it eventually went into place.
Stick with it 05 it is worth it in the end.
Cheers,
My LJ that I have posted in this section was not two badly rusted but i was lucky enough to pick up a 4 cylinder LC with no rust for 200.00
that donated its sills and many other panel sections for rust repairs. I also used the bottom guard section on the passenger side from rare spares. It did not fit exactly at first but with a little swearing and cursing it eventually went into place.Stick with it 05 it is worth it in the end.
Cheers,
#6
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 12:10 PM
I will get some photos of the rust this week and post them. It would be appreciated if some members could just give their opinion on whether its bad enough to have to buy another torrie or stick with what i got. I am not a welder, and have never done rust repairs but i am willing to take a welding course, and know other people who could help so i would do the repairs myself.
#7
Heath
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 02:41 PM
That is a bloody strait looking body. Considering the rust sounds like it's all hidden, I'm sure you don't have to do the best show quality repairs or anything; just something that's structually sound and that won't rust again.
If you fixed that up, painted it all up nicely and stuff I'm sure it would look a treat. Don't know anything about the running gear or interior but by the sounds of it you may be replacing a lot of that anyway. Basically I don't think it would be worth giving up on a car with such a strait body, everything from the exterior looks in good nick so you won't have to re-chrome much or anything. During the rust-repair work, you'll be learning skills that you will keep for life and I can't imagine that would cost particularly much anyway.
If you intend to become good at welding in some point in life, I'd stick with the existing LJ and make it look fantastic
If you want to focus more just on running gear etc and not spend too much time on restoration, go and find a rust free car instead.
If you fixed that up, painted it all up nicely and stuff I'm sure it would look a treat. Don't know anything about the running gear or interior but by the sounds of it you may be replacing a lot of that anyway. Basically I don't think it would be worth giving up on a car with such a strait body, everything from the exterior looks in good nick so you won't have to re-chrome much or anything. During the rust-repair work, you'll be learning skills that you will keep for life and I can't imagine that would cost particularly much anyway.
If you intend to become good at welding in some point in life, I'd stick with the existing LJ and make it look fantastic
If you want to focus more just on running gear etc and not spend too much time on restoration, go and find a rust free car instead.
Edited by Heath, 03 January 2006 - 02:43 PM.
#8
_05-BROCKY-05_
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 04:12 PM
I deffinately am focussing on the entire car, running gear, body, interior, brakes, suspension, stereo, electrics. I decided from the beginning that i wanted to build a show quality car, but one thats street driven, and from then on i set my mind on sticking with a 4 door, or if i had to get another it would also be a 4 door. I set my mind to this because every LC/LJ torrie you see in magazines or at shows these days are 2 door, and i love them to death also but i wanted to be different from alot of the others.
Truth is, after alot of conversing with my family, who dont mind what i do either way, we want to remove the front end to see how bad the rust actually is. It's easy to cut a small section of panel out and look behind it but you dont get the full idea. I checked out a resto job on a XU-1 on the Canberra Torana Club site, and the car was in way worse condition than mine so im leaning towards sticking with what i got at this point. Still ill get pics of the bad rust sections and see what you all think.
Brocky
Truth is, after alot of conversing with my family, who dont mind what i do either way, we want to remove the front end to see how bad the rust actually is. It's easy to cut a small section of panel out and look behind it but you dont get the full idea. I checked out a resto job on a XU-1 on the Canberra Torana Club site, and the car was in way worse condition than mine so im leaning towards sticking with what i got at this point. Still ill get pics of the bad rust sections and see what you all think.
Brocky
#9
Heath
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 06:00 PM
I like your reasons for going a four-door. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I've never seen a neglected two-door for sale.
Make up your own mind though, don't let anyone make it up for you. Either way your car is going to be awesome when it's finished. Ask around and get some more professional opinions from more experienced Torana owners.
Make up your own mind though, don't let anyone make it up for you. Either way your car is going to be awesome when it's finished. Ask around and get some more professional opinions from more experienced Torana owners.
#10
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 07:12 PM
Mate that's a real shame, I remember seeing pics of this thing years ago and thinking what a nice straight looking car it was. Anyway it's great to see that you've still got your chin up and you're going to persevere with the build, whether on this body or not.
The body on my LC was chockas with rust too, problem was I was paying a panel shop to do it all and had already invested a considerable amount of cash in the thing when I discovered the full extent of the damage. It's hard to advise without actually seeing the extent of the damage, but I'd establish whether or not it has got into the chassis or not for sure, as that is far more serious than body rust.
I had to replace the pillar too, and while it's a bugger of a job It's definately do-able, it's a matter of tacking the pillar in, hanging the door to check gaps and adjusting the pillar to suit until you get it right. The other stuff sounds relitavely do-able, as long as the chassis is ok. Having said that I'm not a panelbeater and I'm only going of the experience I had with my car.
Either way mate good luck and I look forward to seeing it progress, I like the sound of what you have planned!
Cheers,
Andrew
The body on my LC was chockas with rust too, problem was I was paying a panel shop to do it all and had already invested a considerable amount of cash in the thing when I discovered the full extent of the damage. It's hard to advise without actually seeing the extent of the damage, but I'd establish whether or not it has got into the chassis or not for sure, as that is far more serious than body rust.
I had to replace the pillar too, and while it's a bugger of a job It's definately do-able, it's a matter of tacking the pillar in, hanging the door to check gaps and adjusting the pillar to suit until you get it right. The other stuff sounds relitavely do-able, as long as the chassis is ok. Having said that I'm not a panelbeater and I'm only going of the experience I had with my car.
Either way mate good luck and I look forward to seeing it progress, I like the sound of what you have planned!
Cheers,
Andrew
Edited by Broads, 03 January 2006 - 07:14 PM.
#11
_05-BROCKY-05_
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Posted 03 January 2006 - 11:12 PM
Got some rust pics, and some odd pics of the spot welds inside engine bay.
Rust:
Rust 1
Rust 2
Rust 3
Rust 4
Okay, now i noticed something odd about the spot welds inside the engine bay, i assume they are holding the front end on aswell as others.
Drivers Side - Has spot welds along it.
Passengers side - No Attachment to engine bay whatsoever from what i can see.
Rust:
Rust 1
Rust 2
Rust 3
Rust 4
Okay, now i noticed something odd about the spot welds inside the engine bay, i assume they are holding the front end on aswell as others.
Drivers Side - Has spot welds along it.
Passengers side - No Attachment to engine bay whatsoever from what i can see.
#12
MODNIZD
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Posted 05 January 2006 - 02:49 AM
You should find that they tac weld it there to fit it up then they weld down the channel. If you take the paint off the channel you should see spot welds all down it. About ever 5 cm.
Cheers
Phil
Cheers
Phil
#13
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Posted 14 January 2006 - 08:06 PM
LATEST UPDATE.....
Today we got back to it. I decided to stick with what i have as the body is quiet straight which is a huge bonus. My thought were confirmed with the drivers side of the car though. The entire drivers guard has been replaced, but it doesnt look like there has ever been a accident. The guard has been welded to the nose cone and piled up with ALOT of bog, and i wondered why the bonnet sat low on drivers side lol.
The passengers is fine but i am replacing the whole front end completely, so am grinding this front end off. Grinding is abit rough but so far my bro has done a failry good job and hasnt chopped into anything that needs to stay there. I am contemplating actually bolting the new front end on instead of spot welding it, in process though i am going to build some mods to the inner guard areas so they fit perfectly everytime, no wiggling round to fit them up with bolts. Not sure of the legality of this sort of mod but eh, i personally cant see it being a problem.
The doors were a huge b**ch to get off. The top pin on passengers side came out fine but bottom was nutters. We ended up having to knock it back in then it lossened up enough to come out. My car was a 3 spd manual column shift and the gear arms just through firewall in engine bay proved perfect for pin removal. We drilled larger holes next to small hole, slid over pin then pulled back and away we went with hammer. Now the trouble here is i really do not want to use the pins every again. One reason being we HAD to grind the drivers door off, the job the previous (or owner before him) really screwed it up and everything is trashed. What i was hoping to do was fit more modern door hinges that bolt onto the pillar for easy removal and replacment. Question is, would i have to modify the pillar with a gully sort of section to bolt the hing so the door closes cleanly??? We'll find out surely enough.
Tomorrow we hope to get the front off completely, we will be removing it in sections to keep space down in the backyard. After that the steering is being removed for the modifications for the v8 conversion. I have decided to try and completely rectify the steering column alignment problem that holden didnt seem to be able to do with the LJ. Since i am going automatic i can remove the clutch pedal which gives be roughly a clean 3-4 inches room to move it over. Also i am going a new column, not sure if anyone make custom bolumns but ill have to search around, try find one thats thinner than the original so it gives me more room to play with.
Wow i didnt think this post would be so long but yeah if anyone could help me with my question on new door hinges and bolting front end it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Brocky
Today we got back to it. I decided to stick with what i have as the body is quiet straight which is a huge bonus. My thought were confirmed with the drivers side of the car though. The entire drivers guard has been replaced, but it doesnt look like there has ever been a accident. The guard has been welded to the nose cone and piled up with ALOT of bog, and i wondered why the bonnet sat low on drivers side lol.
The passengers is fine but i am replacing the whole front end completely, so am grinding this front end off. Grinding is abit rough but so far my bro has done a failry good job and hasnt chopped into anything that needs to stay there. I am contemplating actually bolting the new front end on instead of spot welding it, in process though i am going to build some mods to the inner guard areas so they fit perfectly everytime, no wiggling round to fit them up with bolts. Not sure of the legality of this sort of mod but eh, i personally cant see it being a problem.
The doors were a huge b**ch to get off. The top pin on passengers side came out fine but bottom was nutters. We ended up having to knock it back in then it lossened up enough to come out. My car was a 3 spd manual column shift and the gear arms just through firewall in engine bay proved perfect for pin removal. We drilled larger holes next to small hole, slid over pin then pulled back and away we went with hammer. Now the trouble here is i really do not want to use the pins every again. One reason being we HAD to grind the drivers door off, the job the previous (or owner before him) really screwed it up and everything is trashed. What i was hoping to do was fit more modern door hinges that bolt onto the pillar for easy removal and replacment. Question is, would i have to modify the pillar with a gully sort of section to bolt the hing so the door closes cleanly??? We'll find out surely enough.
Tomorrow we hope to get the front off completely, we will be removing it in sections to keep space down in the backyard. After that the steering is being removed for the modifications for the v8 conversion. I have decided to try and completely rectify the steering column alignment problem that holden didnt seem to be able to do with the LJ. Since i am going automatic i can remove the clutch pedal which gives be roughly a clean 3-4 inches room to move it over. Also i am going a new column, not sure if anyone make custom bolumns but ill have to search around, try find one thats thinner than the original so it gives me more room to play with.
Wow i didnt think this post would be so long but yeah if anyone could help me with my question on new door hinges and bolting front end it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Brocky
#14
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Posted 15 January 2006 - 07:41 PM
Further Update:
Today we succeeded in removing the front end in pieces. It has revealed soo much that we never knew. We grinded the drivers guard off, drilled and grinded the nose cone off and drilled and grinded the passengers guard. The bodgy work that has been done previously is way gone, they obviously knew how to bog very well coz you really couldnt notice it. The nose cone was 2 pieces, the drivers pillar, although rusted isnt as bad as it previously looked. It needs to be replaced but its good to find out things arent as bad as they seem.
Below are some photos of the aftermath
Today we succeeded in removing the front end in pieces. It has revealed soo much that we never knew. We grinded the drivers guard off, drilled and grinded the nose cone off and drilled and grinded the passengers guard. The bodgy work that has been done previously is way gone, they obviously knew how to bog very well coz you really couldnt notice it. The nose cone was 2 pieces, the drivers pillar, although rusted isnt as bad as it previously looked. It needs to be replaced but its good to find out things arent as bad as they seem.
Below are some photos of the aftermath
#15
_dazzaslr308_
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Posted 15 January 2006 - 09:08 PM
05-brocky-05
if u need any rust repair panels (second hand) try western wreckers at riverstone, they r old holden specialists and get quite a few lc/ljs thru and arebnt afraid to cut them up for u. i know these guys personally, there very helpful. darrin.
if u need any rust repair panels (second hand) try western wreckers at riverstone, they r old holden specialists and get quite a few lc/ljs thru and arebnt afraid to cut them up for u. i know these guys personally, there very helpful. darrin.
#16
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Posted 15 January 2006 - 09:30 PM
Thanks heaps for that mate, i reckon its going to come in handy for sure.05-brocky-05
if u need any rust repair panels (second hand) try western wreckers at riverstone, they r old holden specialists and get quite a few lc/ljs thru and arebnt afraid to cut them up for u. i know these guys personally, there very helpful. darrin.
#17
gtrboyy
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Posted 16 January 2006 - 08:46 AM
Can I have that address as the wreckers Ive been to have practically nothing,cant find much since Dunkers closed.
#18
_dazzaslr308_
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Posted 16 January 2006 - 04:33 PM
sure guys there on riverstone parade riverstone, there phone number is 96272354 ask for phil or john hood, there brothers, bit ecentric in there ways but helpful. i take no responsibility for phils corny jokes,lol. i warned u.
#19
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Posted 16 January 2006 - 04:51 PM
Western Wreckers - Early Holden Specialists
184 Riverstone Parade Riverstone, phone number i got was 9627 1584, obviously 2 phones.
I searched it on google and there was website with their address and number.
I was ringing abrasive blasting places today and found one at Narrabeen. I remember reading of this place a while ago and they are very decent. $1200-$1500 for sandblasting every inch of the car, $400 for 2pac primer afterwards. After speaking to them, they said they also do acid dipping for panels and stuff, and they also do complete restorations. My bro and i have been invited for a look at the place so we will do so in afew weeks, cant wait.
184 Riverstone Parade Riverstone, phone number i got was 9627 1584, obviously 2 phones.
I searched it on google and there was website with their address and number.
I was ringing abrasive blasting places today and found one at Narrabeen. I remember reading of this place a while ago and they are very decent. $1200-$1500 for sandblasting every inch of the car, $400 for 2pac primer afterwards. After speaking to them, they said they also do acid dipping for panels and stuff, and they also do complete restorations. My bro and i have been invited for a look at the place so we will do so in afew weeks, cant wait.
#20
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Posted 16 January 2006 - 05:51 PM
appologies wrong number 96271584,is the right number, dont call it much as i work in riverstone so i just call in on way home appologies guys.
#21
gtrboyy
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Posted 17 January 2006 - 04:20 PM
Thanks for the address,I'll check them out when I get some free time.
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