276 replies to this topic

[LXCHEV]

Probably the best colour on the planet - I will own a barbados Torana myself one day - personal promise to myself!!

 

Congrats, it's looking amazing. You must be stoked.

[Hatchback13]

Looks fantastic, hope all the head aches are over now. Cheers

[gtrboyy]

Who are new mob doing paint/panel?

 

Lost all confidence getting my vk into 2 shops after being in year long waiting lists & also private bloke had lined up busted his back.

[SmacT]

Thanks legends. I am beyond stoked.

 

gtrboy, I feel your pain. This is my fourth painter, but I got lucky with him. Covid meant he couldn't restore another car he has, he couldn't get the bits, so he took this on via a mate of a mate, who just happened to mention my predicament. He has done man extras (within reason) just 'cos he's a perfectionist, and his communication and skills are beyond awesome. He isn't taking on any more restos after mine for a while though, as he has a couple of others to do. I'll sound him out for you, DM me deets of your VK. He has actually got through mine quicker than he thought, so if there aren't body kits to fit, etc, he may be able to help? 

Interestingly, the other painters loved to point out all the bodywork bits I did that weren't perfect, and bag me out. I didn't mind, I'm not a panel beater. This older guy, with nothing to prove, makes a point of telling me "good job" on something, then suggests a "next time..." way, rather than big noting himself. A proper champion. 

 

This car was always going to be red, then I spotted a fresh Barbados build at Toranafest, and that was the end of that. Glad I made the choice.

[SmacT]

The spoiler is being stenciled as we speak, bumpers next (bumper rubbers arriving today, going body colour/rubbers), then let it set for a bit before final block and clear. 

 

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Anyone remember "Bolistc"? The owner is the bloke I bought this one from, back in 2008. I just sent him pics. He nearly fell over. Funnily enough, the guy I picked the car up with is now the editor of Street Machine. Ha ha.

 

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How cool are cars and their owner's stories? :-) 

Edited by SmacT, 13 October 2021 - 01:26 PM.

[axistr]

Well done Sam, it looks like your a happy vegimite now. At least you can see the light at the end of that very long tunnel.

[SmacT]

Thanks Lenny. So, about those power steering racks...

[axistr]

Ha ha good to see your getting soft like most of us old blokes. I just happen to have one with your name on it.

Cheers.

[SmacT]

Aha! Good news. I'll get in touch.

[gtrboyy]

vk is fairly solid shell mainly needs boot floor,boot seal section when previous owners left it on hill apparently & section near wiper motor...doesn't need painting as want to keep it looking like dated barn find...will look like base model 84 ss...asteroid silver,scheels interior,15" aero wheels,efi 304/4l60e/4.11 b/w.

 

Ironically got the vk from forum member who used to own FROG U or FROG U2 lj torrie back in the day.

 

If nothing happens next year will send it to my cousins out in country..he was panelbeater in his younger days..

 

Kind of thought if found reliable panel shop who did good work send vk there as test example then if happy with results get damaged gtr repaired but as you've also experienced it's like someone is playing a weird joke on us.

 

What build you got planned with other car?

Edited by gtrboyy, 14 October 2021 - 09:50 PM.

[SmacT]

The painter is finished. Everything is just hanging there, so I can remove the nose panels and flares while I fit everything into it. Very effin carefully. Ha ha. I'm a bit panicky, but they can fix anything I scratch/dent. I have a spare room for panels until it's done too. So, a good day. I never thought this thing would get painted, but here it is. :-)

 

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And sorry gtrboyy, they aren't taking anything else this year, but might have scope next year. I'll keep on it for you.

 

Is there a sticky on putting the windows and mechanisms back in...?

[LXCHEV]

AWESOME!

[Hatchback13]

Looks magic!

[RIM-010]

Barbados is so nice. Looks good!

[racean69]

fantastic sam

[SmacT]

So after a year of this thing gathering dust on the fresh paint, reading Heath's epic build thread and moving it to a fifth house since I bought it in 2008, I finished another project and set sail on this one. I finally have some space to work on it, which makes such a difference, particularly when you need to just down tools and walk away for a week...

 

Speaking of needing to walk away, I insisted on doing the headlining myself, which i actually really enjoyed, and took my time with. There are lots of ways to look up how to do these things these days, with YouTube and whatnot but this forum and the LH Torana manual were the places I kept coming back to. Pretty happy with it, though the bits around the A pillar aren't quite right. Still room to move there, but it's all glued in.
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Doors next, the front doors have had sound deadening installed, vinyl door tops glued in as per the LH manual (from Cools, need a bit of trimming here and there to fit, but I'm very happy with them), glass, weatherstrips and mechs etc all fitted, I am just painting the door locks then they are done.
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Rear doors, it turns out the rear weather strips are missing from my Rares rubber kit (which has been great, BTW), so are on their way. Myself and the painter forgot you can see the rear door quarter window frames, so we didn't paint them -I am going to do it, so I can say I painted some of the car. Ha ha. Then they are done.

Rear lights, number plate mount and rear bar went on, but the bumper has a slight effin' bend in it. Will either back it into a tree, or have another think about how to straighten it, hopefully without needing paint. I can't live with it like that. 

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Fitted the flare bolts and piping, one of the rears isn't quite how I want it, which is weird, cos it was right before it went to the shop, hopefully the paint legend can sort it, but I think it will need some adjustment, bugger it.

Otherwise it's taking shape, I have done a heap in a month, and I haven't scratched or dented anything yet. Yet... Engine is being built now - a VT roller motor - and I will be taking all the front panels off (they are just hanging there) to fit that and wire it in. With engine things taking forever these days, I don't know when it will be ready, but I am enjoying this part of the build more than any other. 
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[Liam S]

Looks fantastic mate. Nice one.


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[YellowGTR]

Great to see you still kicking along and getting into some of the work yourself. Looks like a great shed and must be fantastic to have somewhere close to work on it Interesting set of wheels, are they Neales. Keep at it

[SmacT]

Thanks fellas. They are Centerline Lazers (now discontinued), which I thought were a good idea 10 years ago, but not so sure now. I will see how they look once an engine is in there and it's stance it right. I will defo stick to 17s, but yeah, some GTS style or Simmons B45s with black centers may be a better idea. 

If anyone has had any experience with the Viking front coilovers, please let me know. The Vikings look good on paper and don't seem hard to fit, but I don't know much about them. I'll ring McDonald Brothers, but keen to hear a user experience of them.

 

https://www.mcdonald...oil-over-shocks

[Heath]

Fantastic stuff! So pleased to see an update on this thread.

 

The Chamois and Barbados combo is lovely! And the assembly work you're doing is looking marvelous.

 

Geeze, I'm not sure that the bumper is much worse than anyone else's? Would it look a bit better if you made the bumper brackets a bit "lower profile"? Is the back of the car itself perfectly flat? (they often do get stoved in by rear-end collisions). Being that you do have the rubber on there, I reckon there would be a way of carefully bending the bar a little straighter without damaging the paint, but I don't know who you take it to if you aren't keen to rig some silly contraption up yourself.

 

I'm not totally in love with the wheels either, but they probably need to be judged with the car sitting nicely around them.

 

No experience with the Viking coilovers, sorry. I get the impression they are "okay", and by that they are probably better than the tiny bore Monroes that are in the front of most Toranas, lol.

[Bigfella237]

I don't mind the wheels, they look like a nice width & offset. Either way I wouldn't be in a hurry to do anything until it's on the road and settled in.

 

You could always paint those centres black? Or Barbados?

[SmacT]

Backing it into a tree I was thinking, Heath... Ha ha, Thanks for all that. It's a new beaver panel on it, and by new I mean done 10 years ago, but a straight edge indicates it's good, it's the bumper with a slight curve. But yes, will have a play, could well be a bracket angle thing. They look great on a Torrie when they are parallel wth the beaver I reckon, but will see how I go. And yes, Vikingswould have to be better than a set of Monroes and Kings Springs I was thinking...

 

A question on coilovers - people talk about adjusting ride height with them, but it looks like all that is on the Vikings and QA1s is increasing or reducing spring pre load. Spring pre-load and ride height are two different things - how do these coilovers seperate the two? Pre-load will change the ride height of course, but will affect the spring performance, too. If it's just spring preload that's adjustable, i won't bother.

 

Yeah, was thinking the same - black centers could work too Bigfella, the backspace and width are good. And yes, will just get it driving, then worry about that expense...

[Bigfella237]

That is purely a ride height adjustment, you can't change the spring rate unless you swap out the springs.

 

You can't actually "pre-load" the springs unless you were to "top-out" the shocks, but A. I doubt there would be enough thread to do that, and B. That would reduce your suspension travel dramatically and destroy the shock and no time flat!

 

Also keep in mind that you will likely need to at least check the wheel alignment every time you change the ride height. Can't remember your exact suspension setup but with camber and/or caster gain built into the geometry the static figures will change with the ride height.

[SmacT]

So it doesn't change the length of the spring, just moves the spring up and down the shock body at the same length? That explains it. In motorcycle world, people often wind in more spring pre load on the rear shock (basically a coilover), but it stuffs the spring's performance. To get proper ride height adjustment on a two wheeler, you need a seperate ride height adjuster, hence my confusion. Played with bikes a lot more than cars. Thanks Bigfella.

[Peter UC]

Winding the spring seat up or down doesn't change the spring rate (changing the spring length doesn't change the rate either for what it's worth), in fact the installed spring length won't change that's why the car goes up or down, only the shock will compress or extend.