Hey Gary, the VL has a 3.45.1 28 spline mini spooled diff. I'm looking to sell the car as a roller, less motor, box & exhaust but if i can't get rid of it complete, i'll break it up & you've got first dibs on the diff.
1974 LH TORANA RESTORATION
Started by
_LH SLR 3300_
, Dec 04 2010 05:58 PM
320 replies to this topic
#27
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 10 March 2011 - 07:30 PM
A common area for rust that alot of LH-LX owners know all to well is the battery tray & my car was a prime example of how bad some are.
The rust had even extended onto the engine bay skirt where the tray joins.
Not a real hard repair for alot of people handy with a MIG & basic power tools, some usually take the opertunity to replace it with a flat panel & smooth the rest of the engine bay. I like the factory look of LH engine bays with all the lumps, creases & flat black paint, so my mission with this car was to make the repair as original & undetectable as possible. To start off the mission, the rusted tray had to go. I cut around the edge with an air hacksaw & cut off wheel taking care to avoid the spot welded flanges, then chiseled away what was left of the factory spot welds.
This car had been in a minor hit to the L/H/F corner at some stage in it's life & although the chassis rail had been pulled straight, there was still evidence of damage to it. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but it was there & needed to be addressed.
With some help from my mrs, i planished out the minor dents & kinks in the rail. A quick sand & hi-fill & it will be undetectable.
Next step was to fabricate a repair section for the engine bay skirt.
Repair section almost finished.
Clamped in place, i scribed a witness mark around the repair section, then cut the rusted area away.
Tacked in place. Once fully welded, i could get easy access to both sides to finish off the welds nice & smooth.
Next step was to clean up the areas the new tray needed to be welded to, apply some weld thru primer & treat any surface rust.
Then it was time to power up the invertor spot welder. With the new tray clamped in place, this was the easiest part of the repair, spot welding it to the car.
So far, so good.
A quick coat of etch primer & flat black & the repair is finished. Eventually i'll respray the whole engine bay, but for now i'm pretty happy with how this repair turned out. Next repair is another common area for Toranas to rust, the lower beaver panel under the rear bumper.
The rust had even extended onto the engine bay skirt where the tray joins.
Not a real hard repair for alot of people handy with a MIG & basic power tools, some usually take the opertunity to replace it with a flat panel & smooth the rest of the engine bay. I like the factory look of LH engine bays with all the lumps, creases & flat black paint, so my mission with this car was to make the repair as original & undetectable as possible. To start off the mission, the rusted tray had to go. I cut around the edge with an air hacksaw & cut off wheel taking care to avoid the spot welded flanges, then chiseled away what was left of the factory spot welds.
This car had been in a minor hit to the L/H/F corner at some stage in it's life & although the chassis rail had been pulled straight, there was still evidence of damage to it. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but it was there & needed to be addressed.
With some help from my mrs, i planished out the minor dents & kinks in the rail. A quick sand & hi-fill & it will be undetectable.
Next step was to fabricate a repair section for the engine bay skirt.
Repair section almost finished.
Clamped in place, i scribed a witness mark around the repair section, then cut the rusted area away.
Tacked in place. Once fully welded, i could get easy access to both sides to finish off the welds nice & smooth.
Next step was to clean up the areas the new tray needed to be welded to, apply some weld thru primer & treat any surface rust.
Then it was time to power up the invertor spot welder. With the new tray clamped in place, this was the easiest part of the repair, spot welding it to the car.
So far, so good.
A quick coat of etch primer & flat black & the repair is finished. Eventually i'll respray the whole engine bay, but for now i'm pretty happy with how this repair turned out. Next repair is another common area for Toranas to rust, the lower beaver panel under the rear bumper.
#28
LHSL
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Posted 11 March 2011 - 08:54 PM
Top job as usual.
#29
tefa
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Posted 13 March 2011 - 04:35 PM
Quality Work!
#30
notna
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Posted 13 March 2011 - 06:46 PM
I am ready to do this one myself Matt. Impressive work mate. I too want to spot weld mine, but I don't own a spot welder. Can I hire an appropriate one? If so, what do I need and where can I get it?
Cheets!
Cheets!
#31
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 13 March 2011 - 07:32 PM
Hi Anton.
I've been advised that you can hire them, i don't who you could ask though. I don't think it has to be a three phase invertor like i used either, i'm fairly certain because you're welding 1mm thick panels together, a single phase spot welder should do the trick. Try Hare & Forbes, i think they're close to you around Parramatta/Northmead & they could probably advise you better in this area than what i can. The key to using them is both sides of the panels you want to weld have to be super clean. Any traces of rust, paint etc & they will arc & burn holes. Clean both sides of both panels & apply a weld thru primer to the surfaces that will join to each other, leave the contact areas for the spot welder tips bare steel. You can single side spot weld these panels, the key here is to place the earth lead on the secondary panel, ie chassis rail, & spot the first panel, ie battery tray. If you earth the welder on the same panel you're spotting, it'll arc & burn a hole. Also, use vice clamps close to where you're welding, both surfaces have to "butt up" close or you'll burn holes. Hope this helps.
Cheers Matt
I've been advised that you can hire them, i don't who you could ask though. I don't think it has to be a three phase invertor like i used either, i'm fairly certain because you're welding 1mm thick panels together, a single phase spot welder should do the trick. Try Hare & Forbes, i think they're close to you around Parramatta/Northmead & they could probably advise you better in this area than what i can. The key to using them is both sides of the panels you want to weld have to be super clean. Any traces of rust, paint etc & they will arc & burn holes. Clean both sides of both panels & apply a weld thru primer to the surfaces that will join to each other, leave the contact areas for the spot welder tips bare steel. You can single side spot weld these panels, the key here is to place the earth lead on the secondary panel, ie chassis rail, & spot the first panel, ie battery tray. If you earth the welder on the same panel you're spotting, it'll arc & burn a hole. Also, use vice clamps close to where you're welding, both surfaces have to "butt up" close or you'll burn holes. Hope this helps.
Cheers Matt
#32
notna
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Posted 14 March 2011 - 12:20 PM
Nice!.... thank you for that info. I wonder if Kennards hire out spot welders. I know a local hire place in Seven Hills used to, but they have gone now. I'll do a bit of googling.
What's the best weld through primer to use?
What's the best weld through primer to use?
#33
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Posted 09 April 2011 - 09:22 PM
Today the 173 Tri-matic came out of the car for the first time in 37 years.
Replacement engine is back from Hercules Competition Engines after Ned Sassine gave it his magic touch. Ned is one of the most down to earth honest blokes i have ever met, his knowledge & expertise was second to none. I highly recommend anyone planning a performance engine build consider talking to Ned.
Replacement engine is back from Hercules Competition Engines after Ned Sassine gave it his magic touch. Ned is one of the most down to earth honest blokes i have ever met, his knowledge & expertise was second to none. I highly recommend anyone planning a performance engine build consider talking to Ned.
#34
_LJ355_
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Posted 09 April 2011 - 09:40 PM
Awesome Matt is that the motor out of wades vl ?
Can't believe your got another tuff 4 door how do you decide which one to
Drive
Can't believe your got another tuff 4 door how do you decide which one to
Drive
#35
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 09 April 2011 - 10:01 PM
Hi Lee, yes that is the engine out of Wade's car but it has had some improvements made to it. Wade's old VL went to a good home & is now running an injected 5ltr. Deciding which car to drive is easy, my SL/R is in pieces & not likely to see the road for some time & my Mrs owns the Orchid car now, so if i want to drive a tuff Torana, i'll have to hurry up & get this one up & running.
#36
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 10 April 2011 - 05:52 PM
Before i fit the replacement engine, i'll tidy up the engine bay, so today i stripped it. Next few days will see the k-frame removed & refurbished with new bushes, balljoints etc.
#37
blown308
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Posted 10 April 2011 - 06:00 PM
Today the 173 Tri-matic came out of the car for the first time in 37 years.
Replacement engine is back from Hercules Competition Engines after Ned Sassine gave it his magic touch. Ned is one of the most down to earth honest blokes i have ever met, his knowledge & expertise was second to none. I highly recommend anyone planning a performance engine build consider talking to Ned.
Mattm, what are you doing with the 173 and auto ???
#38
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 10 April 2011 - 06:13 PM
Not sure at this stage, probably hang on to them until the V8 is in & running. Even though they are oil stained & untidy looking, it actually drove very well & never let me down. I only decided to pull them out because the original 37 year old radiator sprung a leak.
#39
orangeLJ
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Posted 12 April 2011 - 01:41 PM
better have one of them ready to roll by october for the next drag day Matt!
#40
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 12 April 2011 - 04:34 PM
This one should be ready to race, it won't win any awards for presentation ( except maybe worst presented car ) but it should be mechanicaly sorted. If you still want the old engine/trans let me know, Belle wants them gone so they're yours if you're still keen.
#41
_heapa_
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Posted 12 April 2011 - 05:26 PM
how much do you want for the motor and box out of the torana?
#42
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 12 April 2011 - 05:47 PM
Already promised them to orangeLJ (Chris). If he doesn't want them, make me an offer. Cheers Matt
#43
_heapa_
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Posted 12 April 2011 - 07:48 PM
yeah cool matt just let me know if orangeLJ dont want it
#44
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 14 April 2011 - 06:09 PM
Slight change of plans means k-frame is still in the car, instead i started cleaning & prepping the underside of the floorpan for a coat of paint. This is a budget build of sorts, so instead of a full rotisserie resto, i'm prepping/painting the floor the hard way lying on my back. Then again, i'm also working in a tarped off car port so i really have to make do with what i've got to work with. Still, i think the job is turning out OK so far for a few hours work.
I've also been amusing myself with prepping & painting odds & ends in between working on the car itself, weather permitting.
I'm not after a top ten show car finish, just want it neat & presentable so i'm happy with my work so far.
I've also been amusing myself with prepping & painting odds & ends in between working on the car itself, weather permitting.
I'm not after a top ten show car finish, just want it neat & presentable so i'm happy with my work so far.
#45
lxsstorana
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Posted 14 April 2011 - 06:37 PM
Great work Matt, top stuff. 
I don't know how you find the time to do all this work, I'm struggling just to drive my cars.
Cheers Mick.
I don't know how you find the time to do all this work, I'm struggling just to drive my cars.
Cheers Mick.
#46
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 14 April 2011 - 06:50 PM
Thanks Mick. Sometimes it can be hard to find time but i generally put in as many hours as i can after work & on weekends. I'm lucky that i have a supportive family to.
#47
_wblje_
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Posted 14 April 2011 - 07:23 PM
hey mate excellent work. be a sweet ride with the v8 in. what did you use to prep the under side.........
#48
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 17 April 2011 - 05:35 PM
hey mate excellent work. be a sweet ride with the v8 in. what did you use to prep the under side.........
Thanks mate, i used a heavy duty truck degreaser & scotchbrite, jacked it up as high as i could & hosed it off to get rid of the bulk of the grime followed by a citric based degreaser & cloth rags to finish off, then P320 to "key" it for primer/paint.
#49
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Posted 17 April 2011 - 05:49 PM
Rain for most of the weekend meant i wasn't able to do as much as i would've liked, still i managed to clean most of the factory bitumen based sound deadner off the inner wheel wells.
Found some more rust to repair, probably next weekend if it doesn't rain.
The rain held back today so i was able to repair some minor rust that was coming up behind where the bonnet hinges bolt to. Thankfully it wasn't too bad & after doing the initial exploratory cuts found i didn't need to unpick the reinforcing plates.
Found some more rust to repair, probably next weekend if it doesn't rain.
The rain held back today so i was able to repair some minor rust that was coming up behind where the bonnet hinges bolt to. Thankfully it wasn't too bad & after doing the initial exploratory cuts found i didn't need to unpick the reinforcing plates.
#50
madmax
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Posted 17 April 2011 - 06:02 PM
mate top work 
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