2088 replies to this topic

[Covert]

Nice work Heath, looks factory. You'd think with some of the out there accessories available back in the 70s a cup holder would have been one of them

[Ice]

Nice work Heath, looks factory. You'd think with some of the out there accessories available back in the 70s a cup holder would have been one of them

No Mav
Because in the 70s we weren't a bunch of poofy latte soy almond milk coffee drinkers
thats why

✌️

[claysummers]

Yeh we drank long necks and chucked them out the window real men wtf


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[SHEEL]

I'm having Heath's Hatch update withdrawels ... just sayin!

[sibhs]

Love your work Heath!

 

 

Marty

[orangeLJ]

I think heath's progress has been severely stunted by lockdown and being further than 5km from his workshop.

[mitchg]

I think heath's progress has been severely stunted by lockdown and being further than 5km from his workshop.

 

Hole saws are portable 

Saw him lay some glass out on the grass the other day, can't wait to see the weight reduction pics lol

[Heath]

Sorry gents. Having a factory space where I normally spend my life that I can't really access due to Stage 4 Melbourne lock-down is ahhh... a significant limitation.

 

However, I am still alive, which means this car build is front and centre, even though my baby itself is 200km away and I have no way to access it. :(

 

Time to get a bit better up to speed...

Clear was cut back in preparation for the traditional A9X black-outs.

 

 

 

And the money shot.

[Heath]

I have no idea how hard it is to find horns for these things nowadays, but anyway I had a good working UC horn from this car, and a stuffed LH/LX horn I had lying around. As you can see, the brackets are not compatible:

Lick of satin black and she's looking good to go.

 

Not sure what tension bonnet hinge springs I'm going to need for this glass bonnet with the big scoop, and I was due to get another batch of zinc done, so grabbed some old shitty ones, stuck a big steel bar in the vice, slipped half of the spring over the bar and leant on the spring in different angles/positions to open up the gaps between the coils.

Cleaned up:

 

Fresh batch of "blue" zinc. A keen eye may notice my Porsche 917-inspired ignition key, hehehe. Also I thought the holes in the fuse panel bracket were a nice touch in a typically forgotten component of a Torana. 

 

These parts allowed me to put the bonnet striker together finally.

 

The motor has of course been in my possession the whole time... so getting a bit more prepped with that.

 

Winter sucks for painting wrinkle finish. I'd already had a go at this with no success, so made a heated booth using cardboard boxes and a heat gun... finally some success!

Quick sand & polish of the fins, and fitted the AN-10 breather fittings:

 

Pulled the CVR Gear Reduction starter out. This actually came with my motor, which was convenient.

The billet adapter is a bit ugly and wasteful.

This photo probably makes it look like a 2min job. It ain't.

 

Went to fit my chrome oil dipstick and it was... ahhh, what the hell does that even suit?

Bend, cut, drill, slight touch of paint on the cut:

Alrighty vegemitey.

 

Ported out the cooling path a little in the Aeroflow timing cover that came with the motor.

Installed the pulleys:

Decided the alternator hung way too far from the block and looked shit, so cut and shut this adjuster arm, and then filled it with holes.

 

Have to start wiring this motor up... so started to think about sensors etc. Had to pull the oil pump apart to re-tap the sender hole (get the taper a bit deeper) and if you're going to pull it apart, may as well address the shitty finish on the inside. I believe this is a 'Mellings' brand of standard volume oil pump, and seems standard across all holden V8 oil pumps.

Edited by Heath, 06 September 2020 - 03:05 PM.

[Heath]

BTW, I'm pretty pleased with how this whole kinda shindig is starting to present:

 

Probably the only part of my car that is specific to what it started off life as (yes, it was an actual UC SL/E Sunbird... the cream of the crop for unhurried, luxurious motoring by Torana standards) is the factory Anti-Sun glass. I LOVE this glass, and my car came with a full set of it, original aqua colour with rear de-mist. Just beautiful. The previous owner had the car tinted, and while I don't particularly like tinted windows on old cars generally, this one looked particularly bad because the aqua and grey tint combine to an ugly colour.

 

I stripped the tint last weekend during my lockdown at home. It peeled off really easily because the tint wouldn't even be a decade old.

Then spent hours with metho and a brand new razor blade (which I was treating very carefully) to soften the adhesive residue left ont he glass, and scrape it off, eventually being able to wipe it clean. Probably took about an hour on each glass panel.

 

I've actually included a standard LH quarter glass window in this photo for comparison of the glass colour (you can barely see it). A lot of people don't seem to know about this option on the later cars, hence why I'm rambling a bit here.

 

Picked up a reproduction 'SS' grill badge on eBay, but it was missing the mounting bracket. Typical die cast finish with the ejector pin bosses all through it.

Ground them smooth, and I'll paint this area:

And made my own little alloy bracket sheet metal bracket to secure it to the grill.

[rodomo]

Maybe leave the bonnet springs off and use a stay like early Commodore?

[Ice]

Maybe leave the bonnet springs off and use a stay like early Commodore?

Struts

[SHEEL]

I feel like the old saying "better than new" doesn't even get close to describing 10% of the potential of each component on this car, and the some of all parts is just 90 levels above.

 

I mean, de-burring that back of a badge!!! 

 

the engine detailing is just sex....

 

The amount of show winning trophies this car is going to haul in, will offset the weight reduction of the car by double!! 

[76lxhatch]

The rocker covers look great, and those throttle bodies are going to sound awesome!

[Rockoz]

Gas struts would likely be the best bet.

You would need struts used on a ute canopy rear window, rather than struts used for a bonnet.

The bonnet ones will have too much mumbo in them and send the bonnet flying backwards when opening.

And will likely have you hearing cracking noises in the bonnet as you try to close it against the force.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[Heath]

Really all of the details of this car are only going to be seen when you read the build thread, lmao. Thanks for the very kind words though.

 

A bonnet strut or pair of gas struts on the bonnet would be an absolute last resort. Not the style I am after at all. I'll persist with the original hinges with some kind of coil springs until I can't.

[SHEEL]

I wonder if you could source a lighter spring from some other old car or tractor or sewing machine or something!!! 

[UCgazman]

Gas struts would likely be the best bet.

You would need struts used on a ute canopy rear window, rather than struts used for a bonnet.

The bonnet ones will have too much mumbo in them and send the bonnet flying backwards when opening.

And will likely have you hearing cracking noises in the bonnet as you try to close it against the force.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

You can take them to a strut regassing place and have the pressure reduced to suit the lighter panel...

[Heath]

Well I already have some trampoline springs, and some standard springs. So when I can assemble my car, I'll start getting an idea of what suits.

[Ice]

This car really needs billet bonnet hinges anything else just wont be up to the standard of this build
just my worthless 2 cents worth

[gtrboyy]

Crazy amount of work,very nice.

 

Cool thread for oil pump mods with pics if you haven't read it before.

 

https://www.aussiev8...rmance-use.html

[gtrboyy]

Pics on page 7

Edited by gtrboyy, 07 September 2020 - 04:13 PM.

[rodomo]

I wouldn't use struts or the original springs. It will snap in half as you try to close it. I'm sure you are aware of that to.

 

If you want to use original hinges, Bunnings have a selection of springs on the shelf.