Found Object

[Errol62]

The other thing I have seen done is welding a section of RHS between the facing ends of the original mounts.


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[Jolls]

Please excuse my ignorance; but does the shock mount problem extend to the utes/wagons?

Cheers
Jolls

[ardiesse]

Yes, utes and wagons are also prone to breaking the top shock mounts.  (The top mounts that Neil provided for me came from an FB wagon.)  I'm not familiar with the utes, but I think you get access to the top shock rubbers through one of the body members that the floorboards attach to.

But it's also worth saying that I have an extreme case here.  The car has had superlift shock absorbers on the rear, and they had seized up solid.  So the next thing to give way was the top mounts.  It all depends on what kind of use the vehicle has had.  Superlift shocks are notorious for causing fatigue failures of the mounts, and if the car's been used as a paddock-basher, you're at risk (obviously).  Examine the top mounts for fatigue cracks.  They'll also look like rusty zig-zag lines.

I also had to weld up the top mounts on the HD X2 I bought in '85.

For "normal" service, the factory top mounts will be fine, as long as they're not cracked or torn.

B.t.w., I also have a pair of ute/van rear springs for FE-FC, surplus to requirements . . .

Rob

[Jolls]

Thanks Rob,

As you thought the mounts in the ute can be accessed from under the tray floor. I assume the same for the wagon. I'll definitey check mine a bit more closely; they appear OK but I don't want to go to all the effort of restoring her only to have her fail after the first big bump.

I'm interested in the springs as a spare if they are surplus.

Cheers
Craig

[my8thholden]

Hi to anyone reading this ..I also have a set of FC sedan rear springs , re-set 2 inches ...not required ...north west Sydney ..free ..0405 703 413 ..

[ardiesse]

I began modifying the HT shock mount crossmember to suit the FC -

Firstly, I moved the fold at the front 12 mm rearwards.  Apart from folding the metal itself, I had to drill three spot welds in each of the large anchor plates at the front, then slice maybe 8 mm off to clear the new fold line (I'll seam-weld along the cut to restore some strength now that three of the five welds are gone).  And I checked that the shock mounting plates don't foul on the new fold.

Second, mark up and cut a 90 mm section out of the middle, then tack-weld the two halves together.

And third, make some cuts and folds to accommodate the two ribs in the floor.



In the HT, this section of boot floor in front of the fuel tank is flat.  I was hoping that it would be also in the FC.  It is, to a first glance, but in fact it's slightly domed up.  So I'll need to "relieve" the floor in a few places to make the donor HT part sit flat on the underneath.

I'll also have to make new returns for the right and left side.  One thing at a time, though.

Provisional verdict: I think I can make the modification work.

Rob

[ardiesse]

Imgur has decided, in its infinite wisdom, to "change things a little around here".  One of many casualties is the "resize image" button.  Trial and error has now shown me that "large thumbnail" corresponds to 680x480.

\rant

I've briefly turned motor body trimmer.  Because I have to move the HT rear shock top mount crossmember about half an inch forwards to get the mounts in the right place.  Which means modifying the upswept floor section behind the rear seat squab (cut transverse slot, bend metal forwards, and re-weld).  And I need to confirm that the change in the bodywork's profile doesn't hit the rear seat squab's wire frame.  It's easiest to strip the squab down to find out.



This is what remains of the squab cover.

And the squab wire-frame in place -



The whole frame's out of whack.  I think it got run over at some point when it was out of the vehicle (I can't think of any non-series-of-pratfalls chain of events to explain this . . .), but that's beside the point at the moment.  The good news is that there's enough clearance to accommodate the modification.  For once the engineering gods are smiling.

Rob

[Errol62]

Damn hot rodder……..


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[ardiesse]

. . . and looking at the FE Standard rat-rod thread has given me ideas.  DIY exhaust from commercial bends, namely.

It rained yesterday, and today I got distracted: six pistons and conrods installed in an FJ engine build.  In doing which I flogged out the ratchet in my piston ring compressor.  Junk.  Forty-some-year-old junk.

So not much to report.

Rob

[my8thholden]

Hi Rob .. did you ream the piston pin bushes or have them done at machine shop , what piston rings did you use ?

[ardiesse]

Vern,

You go to the heart of the issue.  The motor Jeff decided to use is a 1950 or 1951 build, with rifle-drilled conrods.  You can't get big-end bearings with the extra hole for piston pin lubrication any more; I was advised against drilling the bearing shells to suit.  So we had the conrods drilled from the top of the small-end, with new bushes and piston pins, all done by a shop in South Windsor, where Jason (ex-Duncan Foster, and general grey motor guru) now works.

The pistons are 3.000 + 0.020" four-ring pistons.  JP was happy to supply the rings with an extra set of three-piece oil rings.

Rob

[my8thholden]

Thanks Rob ..So rather than drill a hole in the rod half big end bearing , you drilled a hole ( slight countersink ) in top of small end to gather oil mist to lubricate the pin , do the pin bushes have internal oil ways ? Were you advised not to drill the bearing shell because of the risk of the bearing material erosion ? I assume one oil control ring land is below the piston pin ? I am interested in these kind of procedures when working on engines ..THX Vern ..

[ardiesse]

Vern,

Basically yes to all your questions.

The early conrods need to be drilled at the top of the small-end when using new big-end bearings.  This change was made half-way through FJ production.  I think the pin bushes have an internal groove.
I was advised not to drill through the bearing shell because of the risk of burrs. Apparently, the shells are drilled, if needed, before the bearing metal is applied.
And the fourth ring groove is below the piston pin, less than half an inch above the skirt.

Rob

[ardiesse]

It looks like if I don't post, nothing gets posted (Clay excepted) . . .

So I had an hour or so free this afternoon, marked up the floor behind the rear sat squab, cut a long transverse slot, and pushed the metal forwards (duck-bill vice grips work very well for this).  It still cleared the frame of the rear seat squab.  I call that a bonus.

I'm off to Parkes for a week.
I get back from Parkes, spend a day at home, then get on a plane to Texas to chase an eclipse.
I come back from Texas, and nine days later, I get on a plane, again, to fly to the US, again, this time for work.
Don't ask the obvious question.  I tried, and was was shut down even before the thought could be articulated.

Franz Kafka is the patron saint of bureaucracy.

Rob

[Harv]

The hard part will be deciding what parts to bring back from the US in the four empty suitcases

Safe travels.

Cheers,
Harv

[ardiesse]

I would very much like to have brought home a supercharged, 427-engined '62 Chevy II coupe that I saw in the carpark of the Route 66 Diner on Central Avenue, Albuquerque . . .

But today, despite appearances, it didn't rain, so I took advantage of the lull.  I massaged the rear shock crossmember a little more, then massaged the slot I cut in the body shell, then marked up the centreline of the rear shock top mounts on the body and crossmember, and then, all of a sudden, the part I was modifying to fit looked like it wanted to fit.  So a couple of self-tapping screws and a row of tack welds later, here it is, temporarily installed:



This way I could make the bodywork fit the rear shock crossmember.  More work from the passenger compartment with a hammer, and then I laid in a row of "bridge-welds" (complete with hedgehogs, which I'll grind off when time comes to install the shock crossmember for good).



The wire-frame of the rear seat squab doesn't hit the modified bodywork, so that's a bonus.  And I think I'll fold up a channel to retain the bottom of the rear-seat-to-boot divider and tack-weld it in place while I'm at it.

Still to do: the returns at the right and left side of the crossmember.  I'll make them conform to the body's profile and then fill in the gaps with 1.6 sheet.  And then the donor piece might even look like it was part of the car originally.

Rob

[ardiesse]

. . . and today the rain held off long enough for me to zip the slot up shut, dress it down and breathe a layer of paint over it -



Rob

[ardiesse]

I am now "working from home".  Or -

My "coronavirus project" is now indeed my coronavirus project.  Well, it's been two years since my last case.  But this time I have no symptoms, except maybe the hint of a sore throat from time to time.

I am isolating by working outside.  Today I put in a couple more self-tapping screws, and tapped the side returns down so they conform to the bodywork and tacked them in place.  Then I took paper patterns and cut the filler pieces out of 2 mm sheet, taped them in place and laid some tack welds in.

Which leaves the gaping holes in the boot floor.  I'm going to re-use the part of the HT boot floor which was spot-welded onto the "dimples" of the rear shock crossmember.  I've marked it up ready to cut out the sections I need.

Photos to come, when it's not dark or raining outside.

Rob

[ardiesse]

The easy side first.  Here's a section of the HT upper boot floor cut'n'shut into the FC's upper boot floor where the access hole for the top shock absorber mount used to be.  I even managed to get the drilled spot weld holes into alignment:



I then turned my attention to the big hole on the left side, but, predictably, it rained.

Rob

[ardiesse]

The more difficult side turned out to be easier.  I'll put it down to having done the other side.  But this time I needed to slot and bend forward the return of the rear floor to get better access to the seam at the front.



And with more drilled spot welds, I could line this piece up exactly.

Rob