. No short cuts will be taken with this car & it is going to really test my skills to get the finish i'm after. I've got a first class painter helping though, he has 25 years in the trade & done his apprenticeship restoring E-Type Jags & Mercs so i know the paint will be top quality. I really miss driving it, it's alot of fun to drive, the 11.9 ET i ran was with 3.5 gears & only reving it to 5500 each gear. With the 3.7 spool centre i've got for it & making proper use of the cam's power curve, it should run a mid 11, though these days i think it will only run the quarter at private track days like the GMH-Torana one in July.
LH SL/R EFI 355 RESTORATION
Started by
_LH SLR 3300_
, Oct 23 2010 08:05 PM
277 replies to this topic
#26
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 07 November 2010 - 07:30 PM
Thanks . No short cuts will be taken with this car & it is going to really test my skills to get the finish i'm after. I've got a first class painter helping though, he has 25 years in the trade & done his apprenticeship restoring E-Type Jags & Mercs so i know the paint will be top quality. I really miss driving it, it's alot of fun to drive, the 11.9 ET i ran was with 3.5 gears & only reving it to 5500 each gear. With the 3.7 spool centre i've got for it & making proper use of the cam's power curve, it should run a mid 11, though these days i think it will only run the quarter at private track days like the GMH-Torana one in July.
. No short cuts will be taken with this car & it is going to really test my skills to get the finish i'm after. I've got a first class painter helping though, he has 25 years in the trade & done his apprenticeship restoring E-Type Jags & Mercs so i know the paint will be top quality. I really miss driving it, it's alot of fun to drive, the 11.9 ET i ran was with 3.5 gears & only reving it to 5500 each gear. With the 3.7 spool centre i've got for it & making proper use of the cam's power curve, it should run a mid 11, though these days i think it will only run the quarter at private track days like the GMH-Torana one in July.
#27
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 07 November 2010 - 08:55 PM
While sorting through some old photos, i found some of my SL/R from when i first bought it & some others taken in the early stages of the restoration. Here she is as i bought her with a genuine 77,000kms from her original owner back in 1998.
I kept her as is until around 2001, i started the build by removing the 6cyl running gear & restoring the engine bay.
At one stage i was planning on fitting a stock recoed 308 & tri-matic i pulled from a WB statesman. In the pic where the car is parked front into the garage, you can see the 308 sitting on the floor off to the left. But i figured if i was going to this extent with the car, i might as well go all out as i was in my twenties, single & living with my old man. Next thing i knew, the 308 tri-matic were sold & i was trial fitting a 308 block with VN heads, Harrop intake & pulling apart a VN V8 engine harness trying to figure out how to wire it into the Torana.
Not long after that, the same 308 block was back in my old man's garage with a 355 crank, forged SRP pistons, solid cam etc & a full manual valve bodied TH350 with 4500rpm TCE stall convertor sitting beside it.
After going to the trouble of rebuilding the original 3.08 banjo diff & painting it in 2K gloss black, i figured it wouldn't last long behind the injected 355, so that got sold & a 9" took place in the old man's garage. It all kind of snow balled from there, although slowly due to getting married & moving into my own home. The engine was built in 2004 but i only got it in the car & running in mid-2008. Anyhow, i think this concludes my trip down memory lane for now.
I kept her as is until around 2001, i started the build by removing the 6cyl running gear & restoring the engine bay.
At one stage i was planning on fitting a stock recoed 308 & tri-matic i pulled from a WB statesman. In the pic where the car is parked front into the garage, you can see the 308 sitting on the floor off to the left. But i figured if i was going to this extent with the car, i might as well go all out as i was in my twenties, single & living with my old man. Next thing i knew, the 308 tri-matic were sold & i was trial fitting a 308 block with VN heads, Harrop intake & pulling apart a VN V8 engine harness trying to figure out how to wire it into the Torana.
Not long after that, the same 308 block was back in my old man's garage with a 355 crank, forged SRP pistons, solid cam etc & a full manual valve bodied TH350 with 4500rpm TCE stall convertor sitting beside it.
After going to the trouble of rebuilding the original 3.08 banjo diff & painting it in 2K gloss black, i figured it wouldn't last long behind the injected 355, so that got sold & a 9" took place in the old man's garage. It all kind of snow balled from there, although slowly due to getting married & moving into my own home. The engine was built in 2004 but i only got it in the car & running in mid-2008. Anyhow, i think this concludes my trip down memory lane for now.
#28
_nial8r_
_nial8r_
-
- Guests
Posted 08 November 2010 - 12:44 PM
gezz mate it was a pretty tidy car when you got it from the look of it in the pic's, also didnt know you used a 308 block thought it was a 304 or are they the same ?? anyways your doing some great work as usual kept the pic's coming even the memory lane ones 
#29
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 08 November 2010 - 04:02 PM
Thanks Lee. I used a HQ vintage block, so it was actually a 308. They are all essentially the same block, i think VK series 2 were the first to get the 304, which are basicly a de-stroked 308. Yeah it was a very tidy car apart from the paint, the old fella i bought it off loved it & only sold it as he was getting to old to drive. When i told him i was going to restore it, he said "make sure you keep the racing stripes mate" which is another reason i intend on keeping the body & trim close to what it would've looked like in 1974. I'd love to take the car back to him once it's finished, but he was 85 when i bought it 13 years ago so he may not even be with us anymore.
#30
notna
-
- Members
-
- 706 posts
Forum Fixture
- Name:Reverse of username
- Location:Sydney
- Car:1976 LX L32 SL/R
- Joined: 21-May 07
Posted 10 November 2010 - 08:04 AM
Love the old-school pics!
I haven't seen any of your other work or threads, but this one I am very interested in. Will be picking your brain and observing your technique closely =)
I haven't seen any of your other work or threads, but this one I am very interested in. Will be picking your brain and observing your technique closely =)
#31
_nial8r_
_nial8r_
-
- Guests
Posted 10 November 2010 - 11:40 AM
here ya go Anton check out matt's last build, it come up a treat i reckon and in the time that he did it in 
hit the link
http://www.gmh-toran...opic=38023&st=0
hit the link
http://www.gmh-toran...opic=38023&st=0
#32
notna
-
- Members
-
- 706 posts
Forum Fixture
- Name:Reverse of username
- Location:Sydney
- Car:1976 LX L32 SL/R
- Joined: 21-May 07
Posted 12 November 2010 - 01:28 PM
Cheers Lee.... reading through that thread now. Only onto page 3 of 13.... lol!
#33
SmacT
-
- Members
-
- 910 posts
Forum Fixture
- Name:Sam
- Location:Sydney
- Car:LX 4dr 383, TKX, BW
- Joined: 24-December 08
Posted 21 November 2010 - 08:57 AM
Matt, say it ain't so! Just saw this car on eBay!? I was really enjoying this build. I'm sure you have good reasons, but are you sure? Someone will be happy with a new Torana! I was really looking forward to this weekends update... :-(
Edited by SmacT, 21 November 2010 - 08:58 AM.
#35
_nial8r_
_nial8r_
-
- Guests
Posted 21 November 2010 - 09:33 AM
WTF no way !! i didnt ever think you would part with this one matt 
ireally hope you get the coin your after as it does owe you alot. good luck and i hope all goes well..
ireally hope you get the coin your after as it does owe you alot. good luck and i hope all goes well..
#36
_fatlh5000_
_fatlh5000_
-
- Guests
Posted 21 November 2010 - 09:44 AM
Matt,
I also saw the car(s) on Ebay...... I am gutted to see you sell them, or even offer them for sale.
I read in your add that;
"I'M ONLY SELLING AS I HAVE LOST INTEREST IN CARS & THE MODIFIED CAR CULTURE DUE TO THE PLACE I WORK"
Sad to hear mate.
Mate I know how pasionate you have been about Toranas and imparticular your cars.
Good luck with the sale Matt.
I also saw the car(s) on Ebay...... I am gutted to see you sell them, or even offer them for sale.
I read in your add that;
"I'M ONLY SELLING AS I HAVE LOST INTEREST IN CARS & THE MODIFIED CAR CULTURE DUE TO THE PLACE I WORK"
Sad to hear mate.
Mate I know how pasionate you have been about Toranas and imparticular your cars.
Good luck with the sale Matt.
#37
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 21 November 2010 - 11:40 AM
No worries fellas, to be honest i'm not giving the car away, if it doesn't meet my reserve it won't be sold. Not sure what happens then, maybe circumstances will change but i don't think they will while i work for the place i do now. The painter who's helped me with it so far is going back home to NZ early next year, if it's not painted by then it never will be, while i own it anyway, as i can't afford to pay someone to do it for me so hence another reason i felt it best to move on rather than see it rot away in my old man's garage. If it does sell along with the other one, i've got a bog standard registered 6 cyl LH i'm keeping for now & if my life changes in the future & i find a job where i'm treated like a human being instead of a robot, then i may have a crack at doing something with it, will see what happens. Thanks Matt
#38
dattoman
-
- Administrators
-
- 16,473 posts
Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
- Name:Neil
- Location:Perth Western Australia
- Car:LX SS , 76 Cadillac , 3 x dattos
- Joined: 04-February 07
Posted 21 November 2010 - 12:42 PM
Best you start looking for a new job
#39
Mort
View Garage
-
- Members
-
- 2,760 posts
Lotsa Posts!
- Name:Mort
- Location:Moranbah, QLD.
- Car:74 LH SL/R 4.2, 75 LH 4 door 186
- Joined: 16-December 07
View Garage
Posted 21 November 2010 - 01:02 PM
Best you start looking for a new job
And quickly, you only have 6 days and 3 hrs left.
Mort
#40
_nial8r_
_nial8r_
-
- Guests
Posted 21 November 2010 - 02:09 PM
gezz Matt i hope things turn out for the good and i wish i just didnt buy a new 4x4 as i know i would have flipped you the coin you wanted with no haggling at all as i know your work and is a lot higher than standed thats for sure !!!
#41
LHSL
-
- Members
-
- 995 posts
Forum Fixture
- Name:Phillip
- Location:SYDNEY
- Car:1974 LH SL; 2 x 1975 LH S Toranas
- Joined: 30-March 07
Posted 21 November 2010 - 02:42 PM
Sorry also to hear Matt. If you want me to ask my friend who runs a panel shop, let me know as he may be looking for someone as skillful as you.
Good luck with the sales.
Cheers,
Phillip
Good luck with the sales.
Cheers,
Phillip
#42
orangeLJ
-
- Members
-
- 10,259 posts
Yes, yes I do post alot!
- Joined: 02-May 06
Posted 22 November 2010 - 11:38 AM
Move to the coast matt.
Lots of places crying out for good beaters.
Lots of places crying out for good beaters.
#43
Neils LX
-
- Members
-
- 2,074 posts
Forum Fixture
- Name:a
- Location:North west NSW
- Joined: 18-March 07
Posted 22 November 2010 - 07:07 PM
Hey Matt hope you can get back to it your Toranas are built to a high standard.
Dont let work get you down to much i dont work automotive however i used to and it took all the fun out of wanting to work on cars in my spare time.
You can do alot more than what i can, i have to pay someone to straighten mine up or it would be as wobbly as a wiz bin.
Dont let work get you down to much i dont work automotive however i used to and it took all the fun out of wanting to work on cars in my spare time.
You can do alot more than what i can, i have to pay someone to straighten mine up or it would be as wobbly as a wiz bin.
#44
_Marco72_
_Marco72_
-
- Guests
Posted 23 November 2010 - 08:59 PM
get out of the panel beating game mate i was the same working for shit got out ten years ago havent looket back just getting back in to it for my self now
#45
_greenslr_
_greenslr_
-
- Guests
Posted 25 November 2010 - 06:10 PM
Don't sell it mate it will be a massive regret. Question what did you use to mount your transmission cooler looks very neat
#46
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 28 November 2010 - 03:08 PM
Still unsure of what to do or where to go with this car, i won't recover anywhere near what it owes me so for now i'm stuck with it. It is too good a car to leave rusting in my old man's garage & i can't bring myself to part it out, i really have no interest in it at present, but after much persistance from my mate, i spent from 11am to 11pm yesterday working on it. Surface rust was taking hold, so the whole car was sanded again & deoxidine applied to it.
Then masked the whole car & went around it a few times to check over the repairs etc to make sure all was OK. My mate is anal & kept telling me he wouldn't pull the trigger on the spray gun 'till it was perfect. He even made me strip every last bit of paint out of spot welds, seams etc & wipe over the whole car with deoxidine a second time to make sure there was no surface rust. Still, by dinner time it was almost ready for epoxy urethane primer.
Once the first coats of primer were applied, the hours i spent file finishing the shell & repairing the windscreen aperture showed through. This car is very straight & it has still got to be polyester filled, blocked & hi-filled. The roof turret & RHS sill are yet to be repaired, so they were masked up but at least the rest of the car is sealed so it won't be slowly rusting away anymore.
My mate is a pro at his job, even though the car is only inches off the ground, & he'd probably drunk around a carton of beer by now, he was able to apply even coats of primer right up under the sill.
Then masked the whole car & went around it a few times to check over the repairs etc to make sure all was OK. My mate is anal & kept telling me he wouldn't pull the trigger on the spray gun 'till it was perfect. He even made me strip every last bit of paint out of spot welds, seams etc & wipe over the whole car with deoxidine a second time to make sure there was no surface rust. Still, by dinner time it was almost ready for epoxy urethane primer.
Once the first coats of primer were applied, the hours i spent file finishing the shell & repairing the windscreen aperture showed through. This car is very straight & it has still got to be polyester filled, blocked & hi-filled. The roof turret & RHS sill are yet to be repaired, so they were masked up but at least the rest of the car is sealed so it won't be slowly rusting away anymore.
My mate is a pro at his job, even though the car is only inches off the ground, & he'd probably drunk around a carton of beer by now, he was able to apply even coats of primer right up under the sill.
#47
_nial8r_
_nial8r_
-
- Guests
Posted 28 November 2010 - 05:12 PM
Hi Matt, its good to see some progress on your SL/R. IMO i really think you would kick your self if you let this one go as i dont think your loss of interest will last for to long, hang in there mate the wind will start blowing back in your sail's before to long.
#48
_Herbinator_
_Herbinator_
-
- Guests
Posted 28 November 2010 - 07:46 PM
Hi Matt, its looking great. your talent shows in your work. dont give up on it, things always come full circle. Best of luck. hope to see more.
#49
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
-
- Guests
Posted 28 November 2010 - 08:04 PM
Thanks, your words of encouragement are appreciated . The main problem for me is after doing this kind of work five days a week, being pushed to do it faster & faster, i kinda don't have much enthusiasm to do it on the weekends. The main thing going for this car at the moment is it has sentimental value to me, i bought it when i was in my 20s long before i got married etc & i have many fond memories with it.
. The main problem for me is after doing this kind of work five days a week, being pushed to do it faster & faster, i kinda don't have much enthusiasm to do it on the weekends. The main thing going for this car at the moment is it has sentimental value to me, i bought it when i was in my 20s long before i got married etc & i have many fond memories with it.
#50
_LJ355_
_LJ355_
-
- Guests
Posted 28 November 2010 - 08:27 PM
Matt dont give up on it do it bit by bit dont give yourself a deadline work on it when you feel like it to get this far with it and sell it now would be a waste it will be a killer car when its done
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
