292 replies to this topic

[fatslr]

looking good mate nothing like a bit of 80s influence i reckon you can easily live with it or get some seatcovers from supers#@t autos .
Bet you cant wait to test those brakes .
Just out of interest sake when i got my booster and master cylinder overhauled last year they supplied me a master cylinder set up for drum rear brakes which ends up locking your disks up there is a small check type valve in master cylinder that needs to be removed if you have been supplied this type of master cylinder.

Garth

[lxsstorana]

Thanks for the comments guys. It's nice to know its nearly ready for the road.

Garth, I have been told about that valve so all is good. Has been set up for dics all round. Can't wait to test the brakes but will wait til the rain is gone.

Graham, will be up in early March. Just have to finish suspension and then run the motor in before heading up the highway. Will give you a call and work out a suitable time.

Cheers Mick.

[lxsstorana]

Did abit of work on the torana today (18/02/09)

Bought a new turbo 350/400 inspection cover and modified it to fit the tremec. Took abit of modifying and mucking around but it looks very original and its all steel. Glad that's finished.

Also took the torana out to test the brakes as it has finally stopped raining in Sydney. The brakes work much better now but there is room for improvement. Plan on pulling the front brakes apart and checking, cleaning everything and then rebleed the lines again.

The frustrations didn't end there. After about 10 klms of driving I lost power and I rolled to a stop. Pulled into a side street and put the foot brake on and then snapped the cable (wasn't happy) Lifted the bonnet and tried to work out what happened and found the butterfly wing on the positive side of the battery terminal was touching the underside of the bonnet. Walked home (only 1 klm) got the jumpers leads, my commodore and the wife and drove back to the torana.

Hooked it up and its started again. Drove home slowly with the bonnet ajar and have now fixed that problem. Pick up the new handbrake cable tomorrow and getting the new suspension next week.

Ah the frustrations of finishing off an unfinished project. I know it will be worthwhile but they do test your patience.

Mick.

[fatslr]

Sounds like the love hate relationship is going strong as it is with most of us Torana owners geez i miss mine.
Great to hear that there wasnt too much wrong when it stopped the simple things are sometimes the most frustrating

[lxsstorana]

Sounds like the love hate relationship is going strong as it is with most of us Torana owners geez i miss mine.

Thanks Garth, yes the love hate relationship continues.

Fitted the new handbrake cable and petrol sender unit on Monday (23/2/09). The handbrake cable (joining piece in the middle) was easy to fit but the petrol sender unit put up a fight.

Had to take out the drop tank and disconnect all the lines due to not having enough room with the 9 inch diff and rear sway bar. Should have been an easy job but I'm getting used to it now. Just have to grin and bear it as they say. Anyway the petrol gauge now works perfectly.

Got new suspension fitted on Tuesday (24/2/09). New springs front and rear, raising the ride height by about 25mm all round. Feels much better now and doesn't scub on the guards. I can now get up and down my driveway without bottoming out and scrapping the hell out of the exhaust system.

Had to laugh at the mechanic who did the suspension, who said my car was hard to work on. They usually get things right the first time, so after fitting the 3rd set of front end springs we agreed on the height. 1st set raised the height 80mm (looked like a 4wd), 2nd set 50mm higher (slight improvement but still too high), 3rd set just right.

The rear end didn't want to play either. Took the driver side rear wheel off and undid the lower nut securing the shock absorber and it just snapped off when he tried to remove it. Had to remove the rear disc, caliper and brake cover so he could weld in a new bolt. Fitted the new springs and got the ride height correct the first time.

I just laughed at the mechanic (who is a mate) as the car was doing the same thing to him that it has been doing to me for the past few months.

Also got a wheel alighnment as it was running at 3% negative camber and towing in. Now about 0.5% negative and no tow in or out. Feels much better.

Created one new problem by raising the ride height, the exhaust pipes now need modifying due to rubbing the body or under too much stress. Will get that fixed soon.

Ahhh the joys of having a modified car

[lxsstorana]

Less typing & more pics = more veiws
Cheers Baz

Here you go Baz, a few pics to keep everyone happy.

New ride height after fitting front and rear springs.



Got the exhaust pipes reheated and reset today, (27/02/09). Now fits nicely. You can see the high energy sump (gold coloured) and tremec tko gearbox. Will detail underneath the car once everything is finished.



New front springs



New rear springs



Front wheel & new ride height (you can just see the slotted & drilled rotors)


It's getting close to being 100% complete and I have started to put a few kilometres on the motor to run it in.

Cheers Mick.

Edited by lxsstorana, 27 February 2009 - 05:02 PM.

[GML-31]

looking good now mate

[Obey 1]

Mick...
Did you get your springs done at Jim Hunters ??
Obey 1

[lxsstorana]

^^^^^ Yes I did.

Very happy with the new springs and ride height.

I have taken all my toranas there as they know how to fix the old cars.

[Obey 1]

Ah HAh..
Thought so As I got my front springs there and are the exact same colour..
Have been told he is a bit of a suspension GURU.

[TerrA LX]

Looks about where I had mine sitting, handles great, did you have to remove the bump stops?

[lxsstorana]

Bump stops are still in place.

They must be there for a reason so I kept them.

Mick.

[Litre8]

Looks great Mick!

[lxsstorana]

Thanks Howard, slowly getting there.

Have done a few more things in the last couple of days. Fitted a replacement driver side mirror and re-aligned the steering wheel after the suspension work last week and wheel alignment.

Also bought an original brand new VDO temperature sender unit (thanks to a forum member) so I can finally solve the temperature gauge issue. Yes they do exist and here's a photo to prove so,



Also fitted a windscreen washer bottle, rubber hose and windscreen washer jets (not sure what you call them) but they drove me crazy. Was trying to get them to fit securely but couldn't do so because they were in two pieces.

Eventually checked my other car and found out it should be one piece, so just soldered them up and now they fit properly.



Time to have a beer and relax.

Mick.

Edited by lxsstorana, 03 March 2009 - 02:28 PM.

[lxsstorana]

Got new exhaust tips today (6/3/09). Finishes off the exhaust system with the 3 inch chrome tips.

[Tiny]

That looks AWESOME mick!

Youre going to be having some fun with this ride!

[Toranavista]

looking tops

[lxsstorana]

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated.

I'm basically ready for the next gmh torana forum get together to take my SS on it's maiden voyage.

Looking forward to the Street Meet (WSID) in April, whatever date it occurs on.

Mick.