The Long Road

[Ed]

Hi Ed,

Amazing attention to detail.

Is the nickel, the brighter of the 2 finishes?

also why did you choose nickel vs zinc or vice versa?

Cheers

Ed

[craiga]

also why did you choose nickel vs zinc or vice versa

If he had his way EVERYTHING would be done in nickel, which IMHO looks too much like chrome to be suitable for all parts.

This WILL be the most detailed stock FC ever built. And probably the easiest to put together because of the incredible effort Edward is making to prepare components.

For God's sake - he's even re-zinced the instrument carriers!!!!!

[Fast_Eddie]

Ed, the nickel parts in the photo have a yellow tinge, the zinc parts are the more silver ones.

Nickel plating results in a thicker layer of metal being deposited, so some parts are not suitable, such as the outer pivot shafts and bushes.

I find the zinc finish can be varied, despite surface preparation. I blast everything with a very fine glass bead medium which does not pit the surface - it almost polishes it.

Most of the parts were originally plated with cadium, hence the description "cad plated". I understand that cad plating is a (more) toxic process than bright zinc and is not generally undertaken. I also believe that the finish discolours more quickly.

[Fast_Eddie]

Wiper motor assembled and installed





Handbrake and cowl vent assebled and installed

[Fast_Eddie]

Dash board almost complete.

Just got the floor mats back from the painter  ;D ;D ;D



Impossible to distinguish from the original



... and with a flash

[Fast_Eddie]

Testing the light circuits...



... to enable the installation of the hardest, most annoying and frustrating part of a wagon... the cargo area trim cards.



The rear seat also went in:





Finally the fuel tank went in. This tank is a reproduction tank fabricated in stainless steel, made by the same guy who does Streetneat's tanks - Marty.

I placed a special order to have it built to original dimensions and details, including the disk around the drain plug.





The yellow residue is the cavity wax that has been liberally applied to the framework and enclosed sections of the car. It comes off with prepsol and elbow grease...  >:(

[Fast_Eddie]

A few detail shots of items coming together

Speaker:





Guages:



Grille:



Front crossmember:



The rear of the car is nearing completion

[RET]

Wow, that's just incredible attention to detail.

You must be pleased to be getting close to the end of this long road at last.

cheers
RET

[TTV6FC]

That is an awesome amount of work!It would be hard to find a more detailed and comprehensive rebuild.Well done Eddie! :o

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

I hope you aren't bringing that to the Mt Gambier Nationals?
No one else will want to enter their cars against that work of art  :o

[customFC]

Regards
Alex

[Hewart]

Ed and Craig....

Just wanted to say that's looking fantasic!!!!

The intricute detail and quality workmanship going into this build is a credit to both you... better than first class!!

I'm loving the fantastic, and detailed build pics also... please keep 'em coming!!

You guys must've had a productive day.... when I saw the wagon, the dash was still in pieces on the table, no back seat, no badge on the tailate etc etc. Awesome work! I enjoyed seeing the project yesterday and all the quality parts you've assembled for the build.... those mats looked awesome also!! Work of art alright!!

Keep up the great work
Cheers
Les....

[Fast_Eddie]

Thanks guys.

It was a very productive day's work in the shed on Saturday - as you can see a fair amount was fitted up.

Next big task is building the front end now that everything is back freshly painted/powdercoated/plated.

I'll keep you posted  ;)

[collecta]

    



                      INCREDIBLE  ;D

[NES304]

                                BUGGER ME....

[fccool59]

holly $h1t

[craiga]

We are just about to start rebuilding the front end for this car - everything has either been 2-packed, power-coated, re-zinced, or nickel plated. Lots of effort was expended on repairing what was already a NOS front cross member to make it perfect.

I laid it all out last week, sort of like it appears in the master parts book and it looks amazing.

Photos should appear later this week.

[Ed]

Guys..

I think you've missed a bit lol...

seriously impressive stuff.  i recall seeing the wagon prior to the final refinish and was blown away then.. I reckon these pics wouldnt be doing it justice.

nice work. :)

Cheers

Ed

[Fast_Eddie]

Thanks.

Front end components are now ready for reassembly.



Steering column is well underway as well. The column has been painted, box stripped and cleaned.



Some highlights of the column rebuild:

A tidy box...



New wheel



Horn ring



Reverse switch



Horn contact ring

[FC0058]

Eddy and Craig
Its good to see the progress made and the hard work and effort put in to restore the wagon. I thought I was going to see the wagon make its first appearance in Jindabyne, I did not make it to Philip Island and nor did the wagon,. Not to sure if I am going to make it to the Mount but by the looks of the wagon 3rd time lucky, keep up the hard work she looks even better this time around.

Cheers Jim