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Smooth firewalls

Started by _447SBC_ , May 28 2014 09:52 PM

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24 replies to this topic

#1 _447SBC_

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Posted 28 May 2014 - 09:52 PM

Hey lads, in the fabrication stage of my LX Hatch and thinking of cutting out the firewall and replacing it with a flat panel.

Anyone got photo's of LX engine bays similar to these?

uploadfromtaptalk1401277796679.jpg 64.38K 15 downloads

uploadfromtaptalk1401277809713.jpg 91.65K 11 downloads

uploadfromtaptalk1401277964561.jpg 88.76K 13 downloads

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#2 dattoman

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Posted 28 May 2014 - 11:16 PM

I hate when people remove the heater box and do nothing to the other side

It doesn't clean the area up.. it looks stupid because the engine bay is not symetrical

This is the only Torana I have ever seen done 'properly' to address the issue

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#3 madtoranajzedded

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Posted 28 May 2014 - 11:30 PM

yeah thats pretty good fab work,would that be running an underdash setup datto.

love the bonnet hinges.no wiring anywhere...smick

you would think having no ribbing on flat panels would cause vibration....

Edited by madtoranajzedded, 28 May 2014 - 11:40 PM.

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#4 _447SBC_

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Posted 28 May 2014 - 11:56 PM

Thanks Dattoman, you are right about the heater box.

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#5 _LXSS350_

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Posted 29 May 2014 - 09:33 PM

Everyone has different taste (so take with a grain of salt) but on a torrie I am not a fan of straight, flat and square. To me it doesn't make it interesting and being square and sharp looks out of place. Such sharp flat styling angles and shapes may look ok on say an XD Fraud Falcoon.

I prefer curves and soft angles on a torrie with embossing patterns and embossed ribs for hi-lite interest

Also personally in a street car when replacing with the whole firewall I would make it more than just a visual modification and I would gain some room to give better accessibility. Pretty much most things have been done on a torrie but by looking at lots of different solutions you might even choose to mix and match or get a spark for an original solution. Its not that I like or recommend these images but its just throwing ideas around.

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Edited by LXSS350, 29 May 2014 - 09:41 PM.

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#6 _447SBC_

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 07:37 PM

Clearly that torana is not street legal!

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#7 N/A-PWR

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Name:Dave I
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Posted 30 May 2014 - 08:03 PM

Great Thread Luke,

I will keep this Firewall Dressing in Mind for My Rat,

I like all the different angles that everybody sees in the Modification,

So it is an idea now to have no other tell-tale sign's of what was there,

and to dress up the new panels with Curves and embossed names like the Type of Part/Model Impact.

will keep thinking

Edited by TORYPOWER, 30 May 2014 - 08:08 PM.

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#8 _NewsuxLX_

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 08:09 PM

I plan to make my engine bay wild custom and smooth but i still plan to keep the simplicity and and the basic sort of shape of the toranas. Standard engine bays look terible unless your going for a resto. And big flat panels look ordinary and plain in my opinion. To me a good engine bay should flow and have nice symmetry. Thats my 2 cents anyway. That blue lh-lx was street registered back in the day and if its the one i think it is it had a rover v8. Something very different haha cheers

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#9 _mumbo_

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 08:17 PM

So should I fit a brake booster and steering column to the pasanger side to make mine symetrical ? Then I could use it as a driver ed car

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#10 N/A-PWR

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 08:21 PM

If I see this right Kevin,

your Brake Booster has to be hidden.

Now, I didn't think about that one, as I would like my XU1 Booster on display.

you got a Like Button for that

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#11 _LXSS350_

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 08:42 PM

Clearly that torana is not street legal!

That Blue one is not that wild and it is registered in SA. It has a full boxed chassis and of course the ultra light aluminium P76 engine. Its solves the biggest issue with Torana's with so much weight over the front axle and firewall that prevents moving the engine back. That's why that Blue one would be close to 50/50 weight distribution making handling and braking vastly superior to other torana's.

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#12 dattoman

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 12:29 PM

...

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#13 _LXSS350_

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 12:59 PM

I know building under ICV this doesn't effect me, but if modifications are done under NCOP is firewall removal and replacement legal? I seem to remember something along the lines of cutting the chassis rails. The pink one looks like its double plated (flat panel in-front of original) to get around the rules? Be quite restrictive however.

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#14 _MATT LH TORANA_

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 10:45 PM

My engine bay is now finished I agree and disagree with what to do an what not to do. im going for a pro street look and wanted it differnt so the fire wall is flatend off and full custom inner gaurds made up but in saying that im still running a brake boster and can still see the 2 big holes in the chassie rails because i still wanted a bit of torana left in there when the bonnet lifts up insted of a full smooth bird bath look.Each to their own im not building my car orig or for money im building it how i want it Some will say i have wrecked a good car others i hope will say thats cool at the end of the day its not a SLR or A9X so chop it up and have some fun!

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#15 _447SBC_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 12:34 AM

Got any more photo's of that blue LH? Didn't think you could pass rego with open wheel arches?...

That pink engine bay isn't my style, needs some radiuses in there to flow in my opinion, curves!

I know with the NCOP any modification to any part of the body requires engineering. I plan on going down the ICV route, yes more money but less restrictions and headaches which will be worth it in the end.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

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#16 _LXSS350_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 05:08 AM

I only had a few of that car although I loved his thinking on corners. While everyone was doing the big n littles drag pro-street thing, his whole thing was corners and make it light (1000kg) and move the weight backward to get good handling and brakes. With its 4.4litre P76 mild cam and small holley it probably be lucky to be 250-270Hp into a bw gearbox and bw diff. Spax coilovers and homebuilt suspension arms and crossmember on a full chassis built by Sanders.

It started off as white in SM Dec 1990 edition before it went blue in SM in May 1991 edition, It then went Red sometime in 2005-2006.

It was in that era one of the few that was built to be street legal and a driven show piece for his business. As blue it won Top Pro-Street and also won Top Pro-Street Engineered at Summernats 4. Its build cost was only $25k because the guy Mark Sanders did it all in-house and it was not high horsepower and had nothing super expensive and extravagant. Pretty sure he did a lot of work chassis work on rock3 Howard Astill's showcar as his business was called RPM (Road Performance Modifications)

Most of the cars from the very last of the 80's to the early 90's where the pro-street drag look like Beauchamps Torana and then dunnydore.

Some pics of it Blue and then later in Red

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#17 N/A-PWR

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 09:41 AM

The Pink one has a Pink Radiator as well,

very nice job done there for any colour,

I only just noticed, as was only looking at the Fire Wall before.

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#18 N/A-PWR

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 09:45 AM

So having no front inner guards mean,

it can only be a Registered Show Car for being on a Trailer to Shows or not?

May have been able to drive on the road before, but what about now

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#19 _LXSS350_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 02:38 PM

As like MYSS427 who legally has his BBC licensed even though today it couldn't be engineered, however his was engineered and built under the old rules. Much like an old EH that doesn't have airbags, anti-lock brakes they can't say its legal and licensed then change their minds. Of course some may have a stipulation where if sold (owner change) the vehicle has to re-apply.

http://www.gmh-toran...-holden-torana/

As far as the LH it's so mild its laughable, just because it has no inner guards what is that really going to hurt - paint on the bonnet, water and mud splashing on the engine or firewall? I mean seriously its not like having no inner guards is dangerous it has no effect on other road users or rocks are going to fly through the windscreen. Now if it didn't have front fenders then sure it would be an issue. Hell his 225 tyres have far less effect than my 335's or 275's under flares.

Even today I can mid mount a GM V8 behind the seats in one of the hatchbacks, put full chassis, front fuel tank, abs system and make it out of all aluminium and carbon fibre and yet get it legal and licensed under the ICV rules. Of course its about a balanced build and without even driving that blue LH I bet it is a far safer better handling and braking car than any Torana GMH ever made and far safer than 95% of cars on the forum. It's about engineering not buckets of HP and big tyres.

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#20 _Pro308olh_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 04:24 PM

This is what I have done so far. Subtle but effective :driving: :shoot:

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#21 _LXSS350_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 04:53 PM

With spark plug access and header room I have always liked what MYSS427 did without loosing the whole torana flavour and while still keeping a soft look rather than square, sharp and overdone. I have never liked the offset hole smoothing look when trimming the chassis rails (not to mention the strength issue without the fold). Like brakeman (datto) I am not into removing the heater box with the booster still in place as it looks out of balance.

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#22 _447SBC_

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Posted 04 June 2014 - 10:32 PM

That MYSS427 is really nice! Need more photo's lads!

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#23 _LXSS350_

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Posted 04 June 2014 - 11:14 PM

Since I brought my first hatchback in 1976 I have been to countless shows and seen thousands of modified to extreme LH/LX Torana's. However seriously besides plated heater boxes the amount of replaced firewalls would account for probably 8-10 cars. It just not done to Torana's that much and I have seen all the good ones built by some of the most renowned car builders in Australia.

I would check that you can legally remove it as be nothing worse than doing it twice.

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#24 _LXSS350_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 03:38 PM

The pink one looks like its double plated (flat panel in-front of original) to get around the rules? Be quite restrictive however.

Just a correction. I read on this forum from the owner Rohan (copbait) that the pink engine bay datto posted had the original firewall cut out and replaced with the flat one.

http://www.gmh-toran...ps/#entry227502

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#25 _NewsuxLX_

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Posted 06 June 2014 - 06:38 PM

G'day LXSS350 i agree with what you have been discussing here about the the inner wheel arches. I have seen plenty of cars with no inner guards and your right its no danger to other people, youll just end up with a chipped engine bay. Having said that most of the cars ive seen are things like HQ-WB that have removable inner guards and a chassis or half chassis. The cool blue lh on the other hand is a mono chassis vehicle and the inner guards form part of the vehicles strength. i realize it has a cage and what not so it would be plenty strong enough. And for the people that say " that wouldn't pass a roadworthy' generally you register the car then modify it, not encouraging that but thats generally how it goes, same with big wheels,lowering, tinted windows, lift kits, just about most modifications lol

cheers jake