70 replies to this topic

[Swarbs]

For the last 8 years i have sat and looked at this car sitting at the end of the patio ... beer after beer... and not having a place to do it or having the time due to work... i suppose it was getting me down
People came and went and the comment was always "when are you going to do something with that" it became the butt of jokes
One mate even reconed he would get a big picture of his ute (ford) and he would get me to sit in the car and he would hold the picture up outside and we could have a drag race

Well, the planets have all lined up
Current project at work allows me week on week off roster from last week till right up till x-mas .. mate has offered me a shed on the proviso that this is not going to be "one of those" long term things and it wont as i will be building a house soon with a triple garage so the space is now not a problem and once the shell is in Perth i can bring the rest home to tuck in a corner to do there

So all good

So the plan is to strip / rotisserie / bare metal / prime / and get as much of the rust repair done as i can before it heads south behind my Landcruiser on the 15th Dec
It will then go in to a panel and paint shop for the remainder - time is not a problem with this as the house will be getting built during and i will be gathering required bits -- rebuilding engines. front ends, diffs ready for its return

Have been on this site since round '07 so a big thanks to you all for the forum and its input, ideas, knowledge and comments
Big thanks to the guys on the build threads who have bit the bullet and done the hard yards - inspirational stuff

Thanks to KNOATH (Dick) for going out of his way last year and picking up, packaging and sending me the 15 x 10 H/wires in Torrie pattern i had torn the place apart looking 2 years for
Thanks to Garth (fatslr) and Col (Col) for continuing to kick my lazy arse into gear

SO
Weapon of choice is a "76 5000 originally Aquarius and a manual car
It sat outside up here from '93 to '04 at a mates place until i final wore him down and he sold it to me

Started last Thurs with the big move - 50 odd k's to another town









Much shuffling of boats and cars took place and it was a full mornings work as the LE in front of it doesn't run either
Now i have the same problem as before but just an LE instead of the Torrie but at least its a change of scenery

Thursday arv tucked away ready to go

[Swarbs]

Comes Fri and after picking up the last couple of things i need head out to make a start

Couple from around
Dash has been painted black and the shit stuck on the seats is an old curtain melting to it -- removable
Seats are pretty brittle and the houndstooth is not a good match







Engine is still original unit -- apparently has done a bottom end but not too bad
Has been rebuilt once before and had only done round 5000k's and it was let run out of oil
Time and a tear apart will tell



So Friday Lunchtime i am ready to rip and after a quick dip in the pool i head back to the shed
It is now round 38 degree's



But i have this

[Swarbs]

Also you have to prep yourself so i took a minute -- well actually it was 5 -- just to reflect before the first big push

8 years of planning and copping it and i was not going to not savour the moment



Anyway up and attem for the arv

Have this shot but put the big day in and on top of this i got the rear glass out (both in 1 piece) and seats bar the drivers side -- had 2 bolts to go and final ran out of steam
I think it was round 8 pm

[lx308]

Well done Swarbs. Get into it!
Gonna be hard work in that heat... I reckon you'll need a bigger esky.

[Swarbs]

Saturday after waking up like a truck has hit me (btw i'm sleeping in a swag in the trailer on the other side of the car) cup of coffee and a few brisk star jumps out in front of the shed -- well no i didn't

I actually jumped in the pool and livened up that way

Removed the pesky seat that proved so difficult the previous night and with great fear pulled the carpet -- all good bar a bit of surface rust
Boot floor was the same bar 1 small hole in the spare tyre well

Dash out and hoodlining including trim -- dash is in a sad state with fibreglass repairs etc

Tail lights and arse end wiring -- all good bar this bit






Had to then go out that night with the girl so round 1pm finish



Back on the job on Sunday round 10 am and into the wiring
Rest of the dash out including pedals , booster . ducting etc


found this -- not too bad as i have seen worse on the build threads so i consider myself lucky
Had been repaired with glass prior







Prepped the arse end for removal so the day ended something like this

Had some stands ordered but they never arrived in time (and still haven't) so i had to resort to the old tried and tested
Perfectly safe (i'm trained in these things)







So Sunday night and ready for the big bits tomorrow

[TempesT]

soooo cool, have fun!

[Swarbs]

Gunmetal stay tuned
Cheers Tony -- but wait there's more
- esky was just the right size she's only a lateish afternoon come into the evening thing -- water is the need during the day
And yes it's been bloody hot


Sunday morning and yes its going to be hot again

Prepped the front end for removal and gathered the needed rigging equipment ( and a mate - cheers Jonno)

Front end first made harder by the missing gearbox
It had a Supra 5 speed in it that i sold years ago











As you can see i have a rust issue here as well but it is just the box section, nothing else





Then the back end
Quite surprised at how light these things are i picked it up and done the turnaround -- Jonno also had 2 stands which made it easier (where was he yesterday when i risked life and limb
So this stage only too 15 odd minutes









Then the back end
Quite surprised at how light these things are i picked it up and done the turnaround -- Jonno also had 2 stands which made it easier (where was he yesterday when i risked life and limb
So this stage only too 15 odd minutes








So at the end of the day i was left with this ---- NOW we had those beers



As you can see in the background i have bagged and tagged everything

[Swarbs]

Monday (today)

Three things left to do
Remove the brake line that runs behind the engine
Remove the plastic fan cowling from the firewall
Remove the wire that has been giving me the irrits from the trans tunnel - reverse lights i presume ?





Am leaving the fuel and brake lines for when i get it to 90 degree's

Bit of a tidy up round the place
Fixed the shed door frame where the mates young bloke had backed into it and bent it, so the roller door door worked

Sat down and nutted out my rotisserie build


So
I start work again Wed night and knock off next Wed morning
1 day off then back to the shed of heat and pain for a Rotisserie build and body bare metal

[dattoman]

Shame you up in the bush... but I guess you already have use of or building a rotisseie
Looks like a good start there Swarbs
Are they my door trims >?.... lol

Get stuck into it and let us know if you need anything
Have pieced together abit of those front end parts quote you wanted
Some stuffs not avail in rubber anymore it seems... except from rares

[Swarbs]

Ahhh Datto me old son -- no i haven't forgotten you

I think these will match up nice

I actually took one of them just for you



Bottom one looks different as it hasn't had an armrest screwed to it for a while
No scuffs rips or tears and on original cards

You like ??

Will be gathering the needed gear for the spit this week and building it the next week off
Very happy with the progress and am ahead of schedule


Back on nights Wed so will catch up

Edited by Swarbs, 15 November 2011 - 09:26 PM.

[dattoman]

I think they will do the job nicely

[hanra]

Ahhhh tear down... the fun and easy bit!!!

[Evan]

Great to see your finally getting stuck into the project Swarbs!

I saw you had to snap the plenum chamber as the screws were seized in there.. I am currently trying to get mine out to repair the rust and have been putting CRC on them for a few weeks now. I don't like my chances of getting them out either.

Keep the thread updated wit the progress!

Ev

[Swarbs]

L8VD69
Hi Ken - it is an 18X interior and i will be going back stock
The colour is my biggest internal fight, i like the Aquarius but never have owned a black car so that is the way it is going to go
Looking at yours,hanra's and Dr Feggs has convinced me

And i think that answers your question Gunmetal


Hi John and thanks for the comments
I think the slog is going to be the prep work getting ready for the cars return -- sort of the "nothing seems to be happening stage"
It will be a big moment when i put the first piece back on to the prepped shell and i cant see myself loosing motivation -- just set a target and as long as the component is ready to go on and things aren't stalled because of it -- keeping momentum will be a big factor

G'day hanra
Fun? - Yep and doing something i had wanted to do for a long time made it more so
Easy? - easier than i thought it was going to be
Dripping sweat for four days wasn't fun or easy though - ha ha
Welcome to my build -- i have been following yours for a while - inspiring stuff and some good tips


G'day Even -- yep she's finally off the patio and the redbacks were not happy
I think the screws had been broken previously as the unit was already loose and the glass was the only thing holding it in
I will have a good look and do the repair when she is upside down -- helps keep the shit out of your eyes

[Swarbs]

Gold - Factory paintout with the black lettering
Saw a picture of a black one with gold LX lettering and it looked shocking
Was hoping to get it Photoshopped and asked for pictures a while ago but haven't checked the thread as i have been busy

And you pinched my rims

[A9X]

might as well paint it pindan red.

Save you the trouible of cleaning it !

[fatslr]

I can't believe it's true .


No turning back now Swarbs love your style "tag and bag" if you need help with anything give us a call .
Great to see you hooked right in like you said you would .

What's the plan on the drive train ?

If that is the original matching number engine can i suggest you find a quiet corner in the new house for it to sit and build or buy another engine to have mountains of fun with while the "valuable" donk stays put and is not put at risk.{Are you reading this Col?}


Garth

[Swarbs]

Hi Welby
Yep fully know the perils of the chosen colour and what IS going to happen with it being up here
Only have a couple of years left as it has been 25 ish now -- it can then be tucked away down South with me
Wont be a daily so the novelty won't wear off
Pindan is a nice colour and it will blend in with all the other cars and houses and shops and boats -- Oh, and the cockys ha ha


Garth -- i was wondering when you would show up -- ha ha
Going to do the original up for rego purposes and yes will be building another

Drive train
This 308 for starters with a super T10 and leaving the Banjo in it until it gets rego'd and the car is with me down south
T10 is in the budget but time and building new houses may stretch the friendship on the home front if i start lashing out
Focus is getting it back on the road and have no intention of playing silly buggers until i am confident of not breaking anything -- the diff will keep me in check


Once down south THEN i can start to talk turkey

[a9x868]

good to see a start dave
doesn,t matter how long it takes so long
as your happy with the end result!
took me a loooong time but now
i have the results
cheers
davemc