ozrocket's blue '58 FC sedan "return-to-the-road" project

[ozrocket]

Hi all,
I'm a newbie here, but I will be posting regularly on the restoration section shortly. This is my FC "return-to-the-road project".
I bought the car from QLD about 2 months ago (from carsales.com), had my father-in-law check it out (he lives in Brissy) and on his advice went ahead and bought it. Then I had it immediately trucked to Melbourne.The body and interior is in excellent condition, although there is still some work to be done. The engine requires a complete rebuild, and over this last weekend a friend and I removed and dismantled the engine (photos below). Apart from the mechanical overhaul required, there are seatbelts to find and fit and many small items requiring attention to get the old girl roadworthy and registered. But here we go......!

First Up
Here are the images from carsales.com that 1st attracted me to the car....

[ozrocket]

Next, some photos of the engine removal and dismantle.......

[ozrocket]

I did have some photos taken of the actual removal with the engine hoist but sadly they did not store on the camera card (finger trouble I suspect!!).
Anyway here are post-removal photos....







Not a bad day's work. Stopped by the harmonic balancer.......but only for one day! More to follow.

[ozrocket]

Removal of the harmonic balancer - thanks to the very kind loan of a harmonic balancer removal tool by Tony Galea (thanks also to Jason Blanchard, Scott McKenzie and Joe Galea, who all had a hand in getting this tool to me)......

[JB]

Those photos look fantastic, 'bout time you got your hands dirty!!  

Are you going to paint the engine bay while the engine is out?

Keep them coming! Welcome back to the Fe Fc fold after some years mate.

Cheers
JB

[ozrocket]

Thanks JB! Yeah it's been a while!!
I will be re-doing the engine bay - looking at using KBS coatings rust sealing product http://www.kbs-coatings.com.au/ - any thoughts?
Now more photos.......


Progress stopped again today by yet another special tool! Here's the removal of the timing gear cover......now to find a thin-walled 7/16th socket to remove the Camshaft Retaining Screws!

[GOA350]

Great work Ozrocket, good to see everything worked out. Good luck with the rest of it and don't be afraid to sing out if you need any help with anything.
 Cheers Scotty

[EffCee]

Going great guns Ozrocket, keep up the good work

[ozrocket]

Thanks for the encouraging feedback!
Progress finally re-commenced yesterday with the purchase of a thin-walled 7/16" socket, and removal of the Camshaft Retaining Screws, followed by the camshaft itself and finally the cranshaft!
The engine strip-down is complete! Now to get the components re-conditioned before reassembly.

[ozrocket]

Time to remove the bumper bars so they can be taken off-site for re-chroming.




That went a bit easier than I expected! I am now considering removing the other chrome peices than (almost) need restoring, and having it all done at once.

Then it was time for the now-vacated engine bay to get it's 1st real clean up. A quick brush down, removal of the bonnet hinges, a quick scrub down with a wire brush, and a good vacuuming. Amazing how much cleaner it looks already!!







Almost ready now to commence engine-bay phase 2 and fully prep it for re-painting!

[JB]

Looks like you are having a ball Mal, I cant wait to see it in the flesh!!

Be there in about 3 weeks!!

JB

[GOA350]

G'day Ozrocket,
 what is that lume running from the Generator regulator, is it for an alarm or something similar?

[DN2168]

Hi OzRocket,

What are the plans for the engine? stock or hottie?

Dean.

[GMHwagoon]

hi ozrocket

  could you tell me  where you are getting your chrome work done and how much was the front bumper to get rechromed  thanks greg

[ozrocket]

Sorry it's been a while posting. I will be posting more photos in the next few weeks - dissy, gennie, starter motor & oil pump strip down & rebuilds, and more chrome removal.

Now to answer the last 3 questions.....

1. The lume running from the Gennie Regulator is a bypass lume from the old reg (which i assume is no longer working) to a new one (not original part) on the other side of the engine bay. I will be removing both the non-standard reg and the lume and restoring the original reg to it's former glory (I picked up 2 original regs at the last auction night/ swap meet which will give me parts!!!).

2. The engine rebuild will be stock. The block & head are currently being re-conditioned and the only real mod thus far is new 3.020" (i.e. +0.020") pistons & rings and a re-bore to +0.020". This is a minimum re-bore required to straighten everything up!

3. I've not taken the chrome in for re-plating yet, but plan to take it to Classic Chrome in Geelong, as recommended by other forum users on this site. Will post photos and feedback on that when that has happened.

More soon!

[Rabbitoh]

Hi ozrocket,
Who are you using for the engine re-build?
I'd be interested in any feedback you could provide on this aspect of your restoration.

[GOA350]

Hi Mal, just wondering if there has been any progress?

[JB]

C'mon slacker give us all an update, and some photos!!!

[ozrocket]

Hi all, I'm back after a LONG break!
COVID lock-downs and stand-downs have given me an opportunity to start work on the old girl again.
I will give an update on my progress and post some photos very soon.
Right now however, I am working on the rear suspension, brake assemblies and differential.

Specifically I am in the process of removing the REAR leaf springs at the moment. I have successfully removed the rear shackle plates and bolt assemblies.

But I'm stuck on removing the FRONT mounting bolt and bush assembly.

I have removed the right and left spring front mounting nuts successfully (after applying a lot of WD40), but try as I might I have not been able to extract the bolts.

I have tried more WD40, and applying many very firm taps to the end of the bolts with a heavy duty hammer (whilst protecting the threads for the nuts), but the bolts are just not budging.

Any ideas please?

[ozrocket]