FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

 
Hey all.
This week me and my gf have finally saved up enough money to do something serious on our FC. For the last year we have just been doing bits and pieces and not getting anywhere. So the question is where do we start? First ill let you know a bit about the car so you can give your opinion. The 1959 FC is currently unregistered and garaged, over the last 2 years the car's carpet has been removed (dont ask me i dont know how it got there lol). The chrome bonnet emblym and special badges have been romoved and boxed. The two loose fins on the boot have been removed as well as the arial. The seats have been removed and sun visors as well as handles. The chrome has been removed to be polished, the interior bits have been removed to be recovered and stuffed. A week after we got it the "brake slave something" broke and it now has no foot brake. It has rust in the doors right at the bottom and the floor pans. The exhaust bracket that attaches it to the engine is broken. It needs all 4 new tyres as well.
    I know this car sounds like a bomb but it really is a beautiful carin the original green or acqua (debatable) and cream colour. We have almost hit the 2000 mark and would really love to jump into the restoration project soon.
Where should we spend our movey first and how would be the best way of going about it.
    Primarily i would love to have someone come take a look give a quote, take the car away and give it back rust free and with working breaks but this isnt a perfect world lol.
Please give thoughts, Trip and Gloria

Trip,
You're asking the right people the right questions, but give us some more information.  Where are you located, because that determines who has the local knowledge and tips.  Some idea of your budget also helps.
Also, get the identification and other numbers off the plate in the engine bay and have a look at the technical section of this site to get more details on your car's original colour etc.  If you could post that info then Ken from this site would like to have it.  Chassis and engine numbers too.
With this extra information posted, sit back and wait for the gurus to point you in the right direction.
Its a great journey to get a car back to her former glory, and I hope you enjoy that journey, and that you share it with us.  Lots of photos are always appreciated as well.
Welcome aboard the FE-FC  ride.
Cheers,
David

Hey thanks heaps ridgey_didge.
I about to head off to work but i have quickly grabbed the numbers you asked for,
Trim Number : 272 - 637
Paint Number : 256 - 203 or 266 - 203
Id Number 225 - 5769m.
I cant really climb under my car before work so ill grab the engine num later.
  About 9 months ago craig alderson came over and looked at the car and gave us some pointers but as we were still finishing our HSC and didnt have jobs most of his wosdom was lost and the car has changed a bit since he seen it last.
Also i took some photos but will have to nut out how to post them tonight.
Finally we live in epping, we have a budget of 1500 to 2000 at the moment.

OK, with a budget of $2000 you're pretty limited.  Does the motor run? Is the motor any good?
Do you have a big garage where you can spread things out and work?  Do you intend doing any of the work yourself?
Is the paint and trim good enough to leave as they are?
Here is what I would suggest using a few assumptions from the above questions.
Repair the floor pans and any other structural rust first.  Check sills and underbody crossmembers.
Cost will depend on how much is to be done.  But an estimate of $200 per floor pan is pretty normal.
Brakes slave cylinders (wheel cylinders) are pretty normal to stuff up especially on a car not driven much.  Look at $60 each plus labour to install.  Linings may need to be done a s well if brake fluid has leaked on them and soaked in.  Then assuming engine is good, paint is good, and trim is good, fire up the engine and check cooling system for problems especially radiator and water pump.  Flush cooling system VERY thoroughly.  Check fuel pump and carby are working properly.  May need to dump old fuel and start with new fuel.
New tyres will cost about $150 each
There are a myriad other things to check but this is enough to get you ready to take it for a RWC check.
Once RWC done you can register.
Just this work alone will probably cost your $2000 budget so if you want to do things like paint, trim, rechroming they will blow your budget big time.  Paint $6000, trim $3000, rechroming $3000 reco engine $1500 etc etc etc New rubber floor mats are available but cost $450 each
A full restoration on an FC costs in the region of $20000 and upwards nowadays
Send me a pm and we can discuss in more detail if you like.

Ken

You might seem overwhelmed but just bite of little bits and it'll come along.......Do as much as you can yourself and it'll save thousands. keep the misses involved (mine chose paint, vinyl helps with telling me if lights are on off etc) and she'll love cruisin with you too.
Mate of a Mate is always a good source of labour / cheep parts too

hey guys,
In terms of space the garage was built in the 1920's and I think the owners never planned on owning a car of the 1950's and skipped right to the 1990's because it is tiny as lol. There is barley walking space on either side of the car. As for doing work myself i have recently discovered that if I want the money to do the car up i need to work, and with full time uni as well that leaves stuff all time. Half the problems I have are because over the last 12 months I haven't had time to run the engine or do the house keeping on the car so I really need to get the work done by someone else. $2000 is really just the start, I plan to put a lot more into the car after the december holidays. As for the motor being good, its good enough to get an RWC with the exhaust replaced but as far as being good enough for what i want in a finished job i would prefer something better. The paint is crazed but is fine for the moment, trim is also fine for the moment but would definatly look at revamping it in the future.
  I guess I would look at getting someone to take the car and fix the rust, but with it not road worthy i would need to find someone with a car trailer who could take the car without a working foot or hand brake.
Here are some pictures i took but in the cramped garage i had trouble getting good shots.
lol and as far as keeping the missus involved i guess i should seeming as its really hers, im just directing the project.
(http://i12.tinypic.com/29wo2g9.jpg)    engine bay
(http://i12.tinypic.com/2uhnud3.jpg)     bonnet
(http://i11.tinypic.com/40omcn7.jpg)    back seat :p
(http://i11.tinypic.com/334kr53.jpg)     Dashboard

[Edit by RET: smaller pics ]

I'd suggest a "rolling resto", get the car going/registered and start enjoying driving it, then small simple jobs to keep improving the car as money and time come to hand.
Don't forget "Harko's 20 minute rule", spend at least 20 minutes in the garage everyday doing something or planning something.

A lot of first-timers strip a car to a bare shell and get a little overwhelmed, then you see the unfinished project ad in the trading post.

welcome to the forum Trip and Gloria,

the car sounds in reasonable conidtion with not much required to fix up to get it running.

i'd probably fix the things that require it at the moment, then do some preventive maintenance.. ie checek things and make  sure they are in good condition, drive and enjoy.

the easiest way to fix the rust would be to take a door off at a time, and then get the rust welded up.  spend a weekend dressing up the welds and just rattle can it back to health.  do one door at a time, when you have time.

you will need basic tools, an angle grinder with brush attachments and cut off wheels.

so you're in Epping Sydney?  I'm happy to drop by and perhaps offer up a few pointers on where and how to start.

youve got to start some where, now's a good time.

when i started my project I could not weld either and its (mostly) finished now.

I purchased my first old holden while at uni, and it was a bomb, but a little maintenance kept it motoring  to Richmond on a daily basis.

I used to live in Epping, so can direct you to alot of necessary suppliers close by.

Cheers

Ed

Hey ed, Its Gloria here. Thanks for the tip about the door's i dont know if i will do the rust my self but i will certantly take off the doors and drive them in the van to a rust place and have it taken care of. then i should have enough money left over to have a mechanic come over to my place and fix the brakes. i just realised i can put the spare tyre on the car to get it off the rims :-).

get yourselves a workshop manual available on fleabay or on here.

get your brake master reconditioned (brakePro parramatta - would be closest)

and then fit  it up yourselves, bleeding brakes is easy!

that will save you considerable $$ already.

Cheers

Ed

stinky, great advice as i am first timer and feel like im drowning need to win lotto and send to professional until then i will keep treading water and hopefully stay afloat. i know i got you guys as lifesavers ;D

paddy

Take the car for a roadworthy and that will give you a clear list of what needs doing to start with. ::)

Welcome to the forum Trip & Gloria.   :)

Stinky’s suggestion is a good one.  I’ve got a “rolling resto” and it’s great!  

I’ve owned my FC for almost a year now and had it on full rego and drive it about four days a week.  I love driving it and almost every time it leaves the garage something has improved.  

My garage has about as much room as yours, but somehow I have managed to do most of the work myself (with the help of the workshop manual and this forum), saved $$ and learnt more about the car too.
You’ll find loads of info on this forum (run searches) and if you can’t find it, just ask.  There are heaps of great people here happy to share their knowledge and experience.  I’ve been lucky enough to have a few of the guys even come over and help me out with a some tricky jobs.

The only thing I regret is not doing this ten years ago!

looking forward to more pics and stories.

Cheers,

Phil

Hey thanks for the support guys
I just got my hands on the work shop manual (stoked)
Does anyone know what kind of oil i should get for it, i think if i can put some oil in it she'll start. Ill hopefully get it out of the garage and get the new wheels on her. ill get some photos while she is out in the sun. lol actually i think its going to rain tomorrow but well see.

I felt overwhelmed too but god bless harkos rule and "neighbours/ home and agay" I get an hour on most nights to play cars. As for time, I too am busy with two kids 3 cars two jobs part time TAFE studies a massive mortgage, daycare fees and lets not forget, a wife that loves shopping. If you can't do it or have never done it, give it a go. I'm sure we can help you too

Update on the FC
Today we got the car up and put the new tyres on as well as pumped up the other three tyres that were low. I also got the brake thingy's off and will take them this week to brake pro. We found out that the brake fluid was leaking onto the rear left tyre, thats why it had blown so altho i have the brake thingy's off out of the engine bay i need to figure out how to fix it at the wheel and soon.
(http://i13.tinypic.com/34qqkk4.jpg)
(http://i13.tinypic.com/42xp5if.jpg)
this is the wheel with the leaking brake fluid before and after we changed it.
(http://i14.tinypic.com/4ctiant.jpg)
(http://i14.tinypic.com/29zu102.jpg)

[edit by stinky, smaller images again]

Great to see progress Trip, keep at it.
A workshop manual might come in handy at this point, if you don't have one already.

BTW, could you get a copy of ifanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) or similar to resize your pictures please. 400x300 to 640x480 would be much better for all.

 AAHHHH its good to see some pics of my old fc on the forum again,cause every now and then i wonder what happened to all the old holdens that ive sold over the years!!good luck with the resto job guys,geez it still looks in great condition!!cheers jamie ;)

Looks like a real good FC to start with, good luck

Thanks guy,
yeah i have the workshop manual that came with the car i just need to find it lol. That new wheel is going to wind up like the old one if i cant find someone to fix the leak in the axel. I have exams for the next 2 weeks but after that does anyone know of someone who does home jobs? Id hate to see that pritty wheel go like the other one.

A good mate of mine is a mobile mechanic, you could give him a ring if you like, Paul 0419 437 475, tell him Shane sent you.... ;)

 ;)As i know that fc very well i can say that the crossplys on it were very old and that i wouldnt have been the brake fluid that caused the tyre to deflate,its just the old tyres,if your concerned about it you could put a set of vice grips on the rubber hose on the drivers side near the diff that should stop the flow of brake fluid,then buy some new wheel cylinders for the rear and when fitted  should solve the leak problem!!the workshop manual will tell you how to do this simple job!!why did you pull the master cylinders off out of the engine bay?as the clutch one was full and the brake one had leaked out via the wheel cylinder,but still probably both still working!!if you are on a tight budget i suggest you only fix things that are knackered for now as a full restoration done by tradesmen could cost you up to $30.000!!for 2 grand you will be pushing to get the rust fixed properly unless you do it yourself,if you have no idea then its best to talk to a few people before you hand over hard earned cash!!cheers jamie

lol The brakes actually arn't working at all. I thought it might have been the master cylinders because every now and then the clutch also slips and sticks. Im going to get a friend of mine to look at them. If its not them could it be somewhere along the lines???? Are they prone to blockage or something? When craig alderson had a look at the car im sure he said that the master cylinder needed a new sleeve and that the wheel cylinder needed replacing. Im guessing brake pro could put the new sleeve in for me?
  Thanks Srvlives i'll ring him as soon as my exams are over.
Once the brakes are done ill send her off to get the rust work started. It feels good to get the project started. :-)

get those brakes ready mate and you'll be able to stop it while you steer it! Wish I had a rolling resto.

Yay uni had finished so its fc time for the holidays. Im looking foward to many days in the sun with the old girl, oh and with the car to  ;) .

Hey Trip,

If your clutch is sticking and slipping you may find the pressure plate and or flywheel are greasy/dirty.  I haven’t experienced this myself, but when I was putting on a new clutch and had the flywheel shaved, many people recommended I ensure they were both clean as possible to prevent exactly that.

I just gave them both a good spray with parts cleaner until they were spotless and I haven't had a problem.

There could be more to it but that’s my 2c.

Nice work by the way:).

Cheers,

Phil