Stinky, the stainless badges must be pried up with a putty knife or the like as they are clipped from behind.
The clips may break doing this so there is one other way to remove them if the boot lid is to be painted.  Remove the centre part of the badge and then tap the stainless badges away from the centre thus sliding them out from the clips.  This will scratch the paint, but save the clips.
Probably the boot has twisted and will no longer line up after welding- maybe easier to get another boot lid.
Try and see what happens.

The words "HOLDEN" & "SPECIAL" are done in red enamel paint.  Same colour as the hub cap red.

Ken

Bids can be placed through me as suggested by Leigh.
You can send me a pm, send me an email on ken@vic.fefcholden.org.au or give me a ring on 03 9734 7525.
As Leigh has suggested, all you need to supply is the lot number and description along with the maximum bid amount.  No money is reqd up front.
The bidding is done just like in a normal auction, here is an example;
Your maximum bid is $50
The auctioneer opens the bidding and the proxy bidder bids an amount (let's say $5) on your behalf.
Other bids follow and let's say they are going up in $5 amounts.
If the item eventually sells for $30, then this is the amount you pay for the item (postage may be added later).
If the item goes for $50 then you get the item for $50 UNLESS it wasn't your bid that was for $50.
If the item goes over $50 then the proxy bidder stops bidding on your behalf.

The auction is ABSOLUTELY legit and the auctioneer is Bill Wellwood from Shannons Auctions.  All bids are held in the strictest confidence and even the proxy bidders do not know who they are bidding on behalf of.

Many people from the interstate clubs including WA have won items in our previous years auctions and recommend it I am sure, as most have returned year after year

Hope you can participate in this years event

Regards    Ken McLean
President - FE/FC Holden c/c of Vic

You have to remeber that in the late 70's and early 80's, an FE or FC was worth nothing at all.   No car yard would give you a trade in value and even if they did - the cars were simply scrapped.  Consequently when people were finished with there FE or FC in this period, wrecking yards picked them up for nothing or just a few dollars.   My first FC bought registered in Ballarat in 1982 cost $45 and had no rust and was a good runner.  I looked at about 3 cars before choosing this one and knocked the guy down from $50 for it.
I used that car as a paddock basher and destroyed it totally on our bush race track by "accidentally" hitting trees.  My brother and I both had FC's and we would race them around this track which when wet was treacherous.  BLAT racing was definately the only way to go and this meant a lot of side swiping of trees.  We tried desperately hard not to hit trees head on as this would destroy the radiator and cause a cease to racing until repairs or another car was located.
I remember looking at an FC in a Holden dealership in about 1984 which had about 500 miles on the clock as it was a showroom car which had been collected by the dealer from new and never driven on the road.  Price was $1000 and I thought that was ridiculuos since no FC was worth that much money !!!

And you think some of the decisions you have made in your life have been bad - lol.

Ken

Steve, sad to hear of the passing of your parents, I remember them well from many letters and calls.  I still have a video of the assembly of the car.
Did you ever finish the FC that you were building ?

Regards   Ken

I had a set on the FE 217 at the last Adelaide Nats.
Origin is from a company named "PATRAY", but there is definately a link to Nasco somewhere as I also have a promototional pic of an FC offered by GMH in a raffle with heaps of accessories on it including the wire wheel trims.
I really like them with a dark colour behind the wires, they don't look as good on a white wheel.

Ken

The FE/FC club of Vic annual auction is in June this year. New date and new bigger venue.

Guess what one of the items is this year?  

A brand new set of Wilsonia Guages in the box with fitting instructions and all pipes and wiring.

A list will be done up shortly in about a week

I will keep you posted.

Regards    Ken

The FE is actually a gen FE 217 so hand rail and pull handles are original equipment.  The car also has the roof light switch on the B door pillar

Ken

BTW I just remebered, there are ones with a small plug and others with a big plug
The small plug is FX/FJ and the big plug is FE/FC but there may be a grey area where the changeover is.  The large plug is the same size as the plugs in the head.

Ken

The housing without the plug is FB/EK as stated, but they were made with the casting shape where the plug would be so that they could be used for all models as a replacement part by drilling and tapping to suit the early models.

Ken

It was agreed at the delegates meeting at the last nats, that after the Jindabyne nats in 2005, there will only be a 1 yr break and the 11th nats will be held in Vic in 2006.
This is 2 coincide with the 50th anniv of the FE Holden and our aim at the Vic club is to have 50 (YES FIFTY) FE's at this event.
This will be the event of the century for FE lovers and NOT to be missed.  We are even now planning some very exciting things for this nats.

So if you have an FE, are building an FE or are thinking about building an FE - here is your inspiration!!

By the way - FC's will be welcome.


Ken  Pres - FE/FC c/c of Vic

Jimmy,  first I would say 200 is too hot - 180 is the ideal.

But as others as have said - do the following roughly in this order to minimize wasted money.
Check cap is 7 lb non recovery type
Check bottom radiator hose has a spring inside it as without one, the hose will collapse on itself when hot and restrict flow.
Check thermostat is OK - probably best to replace if unsure.
Check guage is accurate - once again replace if unsure.
A simple test I did recently was to put a couple of thermostats in a pot of water and set up 3 guages to find what was working or not.
Boil the water and you will see the thermostats open and at what temp they open.  By having 3 guages you can work out pretty effectively what's working & what's not.
If after the 4 steps above the temp is still hot, then do the following;
Flush the block - this is best done by removing the manifolds and taking out all the welsh plugs in th eside of the block (not very expensive to replace- about $15.  And you will be surprised how much gunk is in there if it is a fairly old or origianl motor)
Have radiator reverse flushed and a report from the radiator company - it may need the core cleaning (approx $60) or a new core(approx $200)
Replace the water pump with a new one if it is old.  Use a cast iron impellar rather than the cheaper pressed metal impellar (it works better)
After this your cooling system should be in tip top condition.
Then throw the guage away & don't worry about it anymore.

Ariel batteries are still operating & still have casings available for those people who don't have an orig battery already.  These are 9 plate batteries & are far superior to the stuff you will buy elsewhere.
And of course the Vic club have repro decals of the original GMH sticker that fits on this battery.

As for FE grilles,  near perfect means no pitting in the surround or vertical bars and excellent chrome with no scratches etc.
A grille in this condition is worth $100 or maybe even more, but if there is any pitting in the chrome then it falls into the $10 category where all the other FE grilles you see at swap meets fall into.

Ken

I would like to add my congratulations as well to the QLD guys, just about everything was perfect which was a top effort for the few guys who put the whole thing together.
The cruises were good - getting the cars out onto country roads without traffic lights and other traffic was achieved well.
The sports were entertaining with the hub cap bocce was a hit being new and kept the crowd entertained for a good couple of hours.
The meals were simple and well executed, (as well as delicious), the music wasn't too loud.
The show venue was about 6 cars too small but very nice anyway in regard to being close to ammenities.
I agree entirely with RET about the judges as the reputation of the head judge should have warranted the trust he was given - obviously this was not forthcoming and I am sure that ACT will employ some judges with relevant experience and due diligence for the job at hand.
I for one attend not only to see the cars and meet new people but to see who wins the trophies is a big part of it for me, and I have to say that the botch up with the vote counting spoiled Sunday for me.
I really feel for the QLD guy who was awarded a first place trophy only to have it taken away from him.  I know if it was me I would have been devastated, so please don't give him such a hard time.

Ken

Steve, dont be annoyed.  No one expects to break down and like others I read your kind offer of assistance before the nats but omitted to record your number.  If I had broken down later on after the nats I would have been in the same position.  Just having to pay for repairs wherever they could be found.
Please don't think that everybody ignored you, as you sound like a genuine guy who would do anything to help.
It's just that if a guy didn't write your number down, it's too late when your sitting beside the road with a car that wont go.
We all do appreciate your offer and I look forward to catching up with you at a nats sometime.

Ken

Slim, just to be a little more complete.
Kev Woollard won grand champ - FC V6 ute
Mick Koetsier - runner up - FE STD wagon
Top Modified FC sedan was won by a 2 tone green car with supercharged V6 as well - from Newcastle
Top Modified FE sedan Yellow V8 from Qld
Top Modified commercial - Kev Woollard
Top Stock FC sedan - Tony Galea - Blue/white car
Top Stock FE sedan - Mick Koetsier - FE std wagon
Top stock commercial - Bruce Wilson - Black FC van
There were lots more trophies and places which will eventually be posted when a comprehensive list is made available from the QLD club.

Ken

I have a pair in very good order - no pitting, no legs missing.  Just need cleaning and repainting.
Price is $40 for the pair.

Ken

BMC surely stands for British Motor Corporation doesn't it.

Ken

Commodore pcd is 120 mm, HQ to WB is 4 3/4 inches.  The wheels will fit on the studs but flex them over ever so slightly when you tighten them up.  Not so much that you would even notice until the stress caused by this breaks the stud off and you potentially lose the wheel at 100 kph.
This is NOT the time to work out that you shouldn't have put those Commodore wheels on the old HQ.
This is why at Hoppers Stoppers we make and supply 2 different hubs for the brake upgrade kits for HQ to WB.  One is if you want to run HQ wheels, the other if you want to run Commodore wheels.

Ken

Kathleen, I'll give you just one example (I have lots but lets not make a novel out of it!!!!!!!)
Badges are offered as part of the package at an extra cost - quite a large extra cost I might add - One of the points raised at a meeting was "do the badges look like the picture on the bottom of the single entry form which our club received?"
The reason why they asked was because they didn't like the modern format of the badge and were not keen to buy one if it looked like that, but did not want to miss out if it was different.
Anyway - I phoned the number on the entry form that was marked "for enquiries ring this number" left a message - got no reply.
Left another message - got no reply.    Gave up trying

Do you call this promoting the event ??

In answer to your earlier question about what info we need to promote the event is just contact.
Even stuff like "Nats committee report for July meeting - surveyed and routed the Saturday cruise last weekend - Great cruise - entrants will love it"   or
"Signed up the band for the dinner dance - heard them play at a function and they were terriffic"

This is the sort of stuff when read out at a meeting gives people the feeling that there is life up north and they are not spending a few thousand dollars and a week of their time on something they know nothing about.
We told our members everything you rattled off every meeting for 2 years - eventually they want to hear something else!!!!!!


Ken

Sorry Grant - they are sold

Ken