New to FCs and lots of questions

[oldjohnno]

After many years of wanting one I've finally gotten myself an FC ute, very little rust with nice straight body. Rather than charge into the work blindly I thought I would tell you (experienced) blokes what I want from my ute and let you suggest the best mods. Basically I just want a practical daily driver and I dont really want to be spending a lot of time on unnecessary mods.. I dont need a million horsepower - if it will sit comfortably at 100ks I'll be happy. I'm thinking a std 202 would fit the bill, does that sound reasonable? Any suggestions for gearboxes? I want to keep the body as stock looking as possible with the exception of 14" wheels, so tyre size and wheel offset suggestions appreciated. I realize these will be affected by the frontend/stub/brake setup. I definitely want it to steer and brake reasonably well, so suggestions for this are welcome too.
Basically what Im looking for is a setup that isnt too over-complex (I dont want to spend months working on it) that will give me a reliable car thats pleasant to drive... Thanks!

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Is it a driver now or in parts?
The old grey isn't a bad motor and with the right diff ratio will hold 100 fine.
If you are a newbie and the car is a driver, wait three or four months before doing anything.
Drive the car and find out what you like and dislike.
Do heaps of research, the search function on this forum covers 5-6 years of forum activity so any questions you have, have probably been asked before.

[RET]

Welcome aboard.

Fill us in on what state you're based in, as the rules regarding modifications vary from one to another.

For example, in NSW if you go over 200ci there are additional rules, so you might want to consider a 186 or 192. Any of these can be mated to the original crash-box, if you want to avoid big mods, at least at first.

You'll find stacks of information if you dig around in the forum here. Your local club is also a great source of assistance and advice. It's a hell of a lot cheaper to learn from other people's experience

cheers
RET

[oldjohnno]

I'm in NSW, the car is complete and drivable but needs paint and wheel cyls etc before it would be ready to register. I guess what I'm trying to do is plan the job so it doesnt take forever - I've already had my share of projects that take several years to complete  
I think Ill go with a red motor and 4 speed, I'll spend some time researching these forums before I decide which one. And likewise with the frontend and brakes.. Ive driven stock FCs which felt a bit vague but then again maybe that was because of wear or tyres... Does a later front end significantly improve the handling? Anyway thanks for the quick responses (computers at work are wonderful eh?) I'll trawl the forums and see what I come up with...

[mcl1959]

202 & 4 speed gearbox makes the whole thing more complex with floor mods, gearbox mounts, seat mods, handbrake mods, accelerator, brake system, tailshaft, speedo cable etc and an engineers report needed. The HR front end with any number of brake variations is the front end you need and will improve the cars characteristics. .
The easiest conversion I believe in NSW is 149 engine bolted to original gearbox which doesn't need a report, next would be a 186 bolted up to original gearbox. Late red with auto or 4/5 speed is the most complex of the red motor conversions.

Ken  

[JB]

G'day Johnno,

I was just looking at this post and it hit me why this site is so great... The answers you have recieved so promptly have come from three guys who have been around these things for many years and still are happy to answer the age old question about engines time after time with a smile on the dial.
This is probably the same question I asked these guys originally 6 years ago, and without people like this I would have been lost.

Sorry for the slight hijack,
Good luck with the choice... I went for a V6 in the end by the way.

Cheers
Jason.  

[oldjohnno]

You're right Jason, this is a valuable resource and it only works cos people take the time to share their knowledge... I've spent the last couple of hours going through hundreds of posts, and already I have a much clearer idea of where I'm going.. and to the posters in this thread thank you for your input.  

[Al]

Hi Johnno,  A good and simple combo which I,ve done a few for people is a 149 red, original gearbox, EJ or EH front and rear ends , these will fit straight in, they have a far better braking system , with a 3.36 diff ratio. All you have to do is work out a handbrake system which isn,t hard to do and change were the support for the flexible brake hose is on the diff housing ( it,s on the opposite side to original support ) It,s a good reliable and economical daily driver combo.                                   Cheers Al