FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi all,

My little project to get my FC back on the road again has begun.  As usual my initial plans just to do a quick engine transplant have now blown out to a much bigger project.

The engine/box were taken out on the weekend and will be off to the reconditioner early next week.....In the mean time off will come the front end and subframe......new coat of paint for the engine bay and freshen up of the front end......the rats nest that is currently the wiring will be stripped and redone before the fresh new engine is dropped back in.....that should get me drivin the old girl again anyway...

TRALA

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/003.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/002.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/001.jpg)

Aaahh,it has begun.I hope for your sake you can stop at the engine bay.Good luck with the tidy up anyway.Cheers,Jamie. ;)

Well another week goes by and things on my mini project are still moving forward.  Have most of the front end stripped, grill, guards and wiring plan for next weekend is to get the subframe and front end off and start prepping for paint........

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/allparts.jpg)
LOOKS LIKE A TRANSFORMER!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/chromebumber.jpg)
chrome stripped washed and ready for some TLC

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/enginebay.jpg)
Filthy engine bay.....cant wait to compare this shot with the finished product!

TRALA

The picture of the front end you called it a tranformer well Ithink it looks like you are going for the
LOW N' WIDE look!

Thats it.....you should see it when the guards are tucked up over the wheels and the cover is over it all........it seriously looks like the car is sitting on its guts!

nice...

is that an XR400 in the background?

Cheers

Ed

Trust you Ed... ;D

hahahaha,

far from a XR450 its actually a modified CRF50F, another of my toys.......it has an 88cc head, exhaust, cam, 24mm carby, i-shock, hardened fork springs, longer fork legs......the list goes on and on.....

It is banished at the moment as I got a 200 dollar fine for riding it last weekend.

MICK

Hello again everyone,

Well another week down and I have taken a few more steps down the road to getting my old girl back on the road again......This weekend my goal was to get the sub-frame and front end out leaving just the few minor bits and pieces to take out before preperation for paint begins...........

After initially struggling a little to get the subframe fre from the body a little gentle persausion with a gemmy bar soon had it swinging in the breeze......turns out the subframe is in perfect condition, cant see any rust at all which Im very happy about....

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/subframe.jpg)

front end is also now out and before long I will have started pulling it down for a complete re-build...

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/frontend.jpg)

This next pic was taken a little before work finished for the day but the fire wall is almost ready for prepping, steering column, wiper motor and cluth and brake master cylinders now stripped, photo shows my axel stands looking a little wonky better get in and fix them before it all comes crashing down......you will see the fantastic conditions I have to work on my car, I wish I could have $1 every time I dropped a nut, bolt or washer on the grass/dirt (water is scarce up here in QLD)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/firewall.jpg)

Next it was off to pick up my new long motor, thanks very much to forum member Troy who helped me out here.  I got my new donk out of his onging project which is now ready to undergo a V6 ecotech conversion.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/newmotor_2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/newmotor_1.jpg)

And to finish it all off I just could not resist taking a pic of the point where new and old engine technology collide.....the motor and box in the back of the ute did make it look very tough.....

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/ute.jpg)

TRALA

Just another quick update,

Preperation on the fire wall has begun and after only about 3-4 hours of grinding and two and a half wire wheels the firewall is almost done.....Next is a full rebuild of the fornt end....If anyone has some good contacts for getting bits and pieces for a standard FC front end I would be very appreciative......

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/firewall_1.jpg)

In other news my motor is being put together today and should be back in my hot little hands before the weekend..........will post some more pics soon......

AAAHHHH! memories of rebuilding fc's in the back yard,just glad you didnt drop the box on youre safety boots ;)
Cheers
Deano

I was joking about that with one of my mates, I have to admit I am an OH&S nightmare when it comes to using PPE........

MICK

Hey all just thought id put another quick upade up......got my motor back last week havent had much chance do anything with it yet as I have most of the cront cross member in getting powder coated.....here are a couple of quick shots I took, will no doubt post a few more once I get her out of the plastic and shoot a coat of paint and strap on a few of the pretty bits and pieces I have collected.  All in all it ended up costing me about 2500 for a mildly worked 132....

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/motor2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/motor1-1.jpg)

Hi Mick
Who did you get to rebuild your grey for you. ?

Cheers Jim

Gday Jim,

Had a local engine recon guy here in QLD do it, they are called RLC, I looked around a lot of places and spoke to a lot of people before settling on someone to do it.

MICK

Just to make a few people jelous I thought I would add a pic of the latest addition to my project.  Got in touch with a guy out at Woodford QLD who had this set of Jack Meyers headers on an old FC that had been sitting for years.  He had great intentions to do the car up but wasnt planning to run a grey in it.  It does go to show that there are still some great old finds out there........I had a good chat to the guy and told him they were selling for stupid proces on ebay at the moment, he was just happy to see them go to a good home with the knowlege that they would become part of my pride and joy.......$300 was the end result......and I am a very happy camper........

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/DSC00152.jpg)

Mick,

you got a good buy there and I think that the bloke who sold them to you is happy too.

I'm intrigued by the marking on the block, behind the front flange.  Is it a plate put there by an engine rebuilding company?  Can you get a better picture of it please? 



Cheers

Brett

That looks like a "Repco Gold Star" sticker, indicating that the engine has been reconditioned.

I think I recall reading somewhere that Gold Star engines had additional work done on them to improve performance.

I have an FJ Gold Star donk down in the shed, one of these days I'll whip the sump & head off and have a gander.

Nice pick up on the headers MICK, he'll probably throw the engine in too for a slab, might be good for bits.

Keep up the progress pics. Cheers, Gary

Guys as Gary correctly pointed out it was a REPCO gold star engine......I know absolutley nothing about them but the guy who owned the car told me that they were supposed to be pretty special back in the day.......Only problem was REPCO took all of the standard bits and pieces out of them and installed parts that could only be sourced from REPCO, hence giving themselves a monopoly on the parts for them.......not sure on the validity of this story but Im running with it.......

I already have my brand new recond motor and one other for parts so I didnt take the motor......from what he said about it when inspecting apparently it has been under water anyway......

Well another weekend has passed and thank god I finally made a little progress........

New Jack Myers headers sandblasted and painted.  Still need to be re-studded as you can see.....

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/IMG_0442.jpg)

Firewall primed and ready for paint.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/IMG_0440.jpg)

The floor of your bedroom is a great place to store a freshly powdercoated front cross member......Its amasing how quickly the dust builds up (read: its amasing how quickly the completion date for a project blows out).  The powder coating came up absolutley brilliantly and would you believe it the whole lot only cost me $40.....Way to get yourself some repeat business..........

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/IMG_0160.jpg)

keep going

Great progress shots Mickus,nice score on the headers :o

Well another few months have gone by and again next to nothing has been done towards getting my old girl back up and running again.  Over the christmas break I managed to make a few VERY small steps of progress.  Here are some pictures of my freshly powdercoated front cross member put back together.  This would have to have been one of the most frustraiting jobs I have done to date.  The spring compressors I used were obviously not the correct ones so I had to put them on the insides of the springs instead of the outside making it almost impossible to get the bloody things off once everything was bolted up.

Anyway after a week of mucking around i have finally got her done, shocks are yet to go in and new lowered springs will go on once the car is rolling again, I will be placing great importance on getting the right ride height.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/IMG_4682.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/IMG_4683.jpg)

Hey Mickus,next to nothing is still better than nothing.This time of year is real hard....Every little bit helps.I know exactly how you feel.We are just about to start vintage here in the Barossa and we have been working 65+ hours a week since before christmas.Cheers,Jamie. ;)

There is a trick to getting springs in with these front ends, I used a long piece of threaded rod, nut and washers through the top shock mount and a metal plate at the other end to compress the spring with. Still a little tricky but it works and I have heard others do it the same way.

Yep, thats the way I did it

(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x152/nebedag/FC%20219/DSCF0010.jpg)

I tried the spring compressors also & found them no good

Cheers, Gary

I don't know what I was thinking when I started having trouble?????????  Instead of coming straight to the forum and asking for some advice, I pressed on regardless, eventually getting the job done but not without clean snapping two threaded rods on my spring compressors, having about 10 let gos and wasting a month.

Anyway, onto the next phase, I started assembly of the stubs, brakes and hubs on the weekend.  Thank god I finally lashed out for a small blasting cabinet, it is saving me countless hours in preperation of parts.  That said, AGAIN I am finding more and more parts that were not part of the initial rebuild plan making their way into the cabinet and onto the bench ready for paint.  Hope to get a chance to post some more pics soon, but I feel the motivation coming back to an all time high so hopefully the next few weeks will be productive.

MT

I know how you feel Mickus, Nev's rebuild started out as the replacement of the NSR floor section in November 2006. I'm still not sure how I got to an engine rebuild, which isn't finished :P and he's supposed to go to the Nats  ::)

Cheers
John

Well Finally after 7 years out in the weather the FC has finally found her way into a shed!  After pulling her apart in the back yard of my parents house I have now got her resting safely in my shed allowing me to get back to work on her!

I posted on the General board about ideas for moving it with no subframe/crossmember and I will report that the Piano trolley is a 100% winner!

The trolley sits perfectly under the front chassis rail

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/FC1.jpg)

Hauled up onto the tilt tray I borrowed from a bloke who is heavily into his Caddys, modifeid the tray bed so he could, slap the 66 caddy convertible on the back, tow his caravan and ride all around australia seraching for the best places to cruise in his awesome CAD.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/FC2.jpg)

Finally I have my car at MY OWN HOUSE!  What a relief!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/FC3.jpg)

And here she lies ready for some serious TLC!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/FC4.jpg)

I put so much work into keeping it dry and clean over the past 7 years using multiple tarps etc and it has paid off.  It has hardly aged a day in all that time!  Couldnt be happier that I can finally keep her high and dry!

Now I just have to come up with a new excuse as to why I havent got the bloody thing finished yet!

MICK

Yay, I won  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Now what is my big prize?   Nah in all seriousness, nice work in getting it on and did not look dangerous in doing so either.

Cheers   M

Well done Mickusmickus,

Now the work can begin ;)

Keith

HAHA No prizes for the piano trolley as that was my initial idea!  Ill give the prize to myself then!

I also need no reminding that there is plenty of work to be done, Im hoping I might get home from work today and find it all finished?  Not liking my chances, unless the dogs have gained some metal work skills over night?

nice work mate

where abouts are you in qld
in brisbane ?
i,m in northlakes
and doing the same thing to my wagon atm,
get it back from painters on the 10th of murch
and it needs to be back togeather to do a wedding for a mate on the 20th of march

terry

:o :o, G'day Terry,Not trying to put shit on you but if you can get your car back together and on the road in ten days I reckon we should all put in and get you a trophy for the fastest FC/FE build ever, I could be wrong but I don't think it's ever been done before( I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong ), am moving back to the Gold Coast this week so hope to catch up with you guys at some point, I will be joining the Brisbane FE/FC club so maybe I'll see you at the next meeting.
         Pedro 

Can definitely be done - in fact 10 days is a holiday!  I got mine back as a bare shell on the 19th of December 1989 and I drove it to Canberra on the 26th of December 1989.  Never missed a beat the whole way there and back!  So Pedro - he has 3 days to sit back and have a few beers and admire his work! I reiterate - it can definitely be done!  ;D Now where's my trophy?

I stand corrected obviously it can be done, I was going to write " I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, won't they Kathi ", should have stuck with my instincts shouldn't I  ;) :D :D, I'll have to put some thought into the trophy, I'm sure we can come up with something given enough time and alchohol ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
                                                                         Pedro

Well just to give everyone a laugh, I was intending to do a quick straight out engine swap over in mine.  Unfortunatley the more things I took off the more things I decided to do....................In the backyard of my parents house mind you.

Anyway 4 years later i have a new engine, primed subframe and fire wall, rebuilt and powdercoated front cross member and brakes and that is about it!!!!!!!  The pictures show how far away I am from finished!!!!!!

10 days has clearly been WAY beyond me!  At least I am finally working out of a shed now!

MICK

Hello again people,

MY poor old FC has again rolled it's way out of the back corner of my shed.  For months my partner has been nagging me to get rid of it, but that is something easier said than done. Sunday drives in my 1964 Vauxhall Victor Super Sedan simply arent enough to satisfy my taste for classic motoring.

I finally caved in to the nagging over the weekend and started to get everything together ready to advertise for sale.  In doing this I decided to bolt the sub-frame and cross member back up for ease of movement........BAD MISTAKE.  Now I am more eager than ever to see the old girl back on the road with me at the wheel.  It is amazing how much of a bond you form with a car without even knowing it.  Every time I have walked past it for the past 4 years I have thought to myself, "there is just too much time and money required to get it back on the road", yet all of those negaitve thoughts were squashed in just half a day of spinning the spanners.

As always the budget dosent stack up for a fast fix to my problem, and my lack of metal working skills leave me paying big dollars for rust repairs, yet for some reason I just can't seem to let the thought of one day being back behind the wheel go!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/mickusmickus/FC.jpg)

With her front guards back on and a set of front wheels under her she is VERY hard to resist!!!!!!!!

You've convinced me that you should keep her (the car "her", not the partner "her" about whom I have no relevant information and hence no opinion.)  Now work on yourself and your partner and everyone will be happy.

Cheers
David

Good,so it's not just me then..... :P

They all nag, but hey thats thier job.

Cheers Jim

Nagging...... reminds me of my wife..... ::) ::)

I was driving to pick the kids up from daycare some time back, when the radio announcer on the station that I was listening to asked "If you were going to get a tattoo, what would you get and why?" I had just been given a serve from the Minister for War and Peace and was fuming, so my answer was easy. Straight onto the phone, rang the radio station, spoke to the announcer.

I said that if I got a tattoo, I would get one on my upper arm with three horses looking over a stable door, to remind me of my wife.

The announce replied, "How would that remind you of your wife?"

I said that I would point to each horse and say "Nag, Nag Nag"

The announcer thought that it was funny. After I got home I thought no more of it, until we were sitting down to dinner when the phone rang, it was the radio station, wanting to talk to me, as I had won a prize.

Think I was in the bad books after I explained what the prize was for, and how I had won it.... ::) ::)

Hello again everyone,

Well I can report I am slowly starting to get things moving again with my project.  I have moved house and the car has found it's way to my farther in laws workshop where I have access to welding equip, compressed air, a pit and lots of other goodies!  Look forward to showing you some of my progress in the coming months.

In the mean time I have been doing a bit more digging into the history of my car and was surprised to find that it was actually exported to Lae in Papua New Guinnea in late 1977.  At that time the car was still owned by the first owner I have been able to identify (not sure if he owned it from new???):  Robert Martin of Margate QLD.  The car changed hands a few times while in PNG and was eventually sent back to Australia in 1992.

Does anyone else have stories OR even own a car that has been or lived overseas?  Apart from Paul in Ireland of course!!!

MICK

Mick,

That is incredible to find out that the car has been sent overseas, AND been sent back to Australia. How unusual. I love hearing the interesting stories behind some of the cars. It just a pity that they couldn't tell you their story themsleves.

I hope that you are able to find out more about your car.

Keith

I also know it was used in PNG as a company car for Hastings Deering in 1977 - 1979 (old for a company car), I found this out from a few "Infringement Notices" that were in the glovebox.

The thing I find most amasing, was that I actually lived in PNG for 3 years during the time the car was there AND the bloke I believe to be the original owner lived (in the early 70s) about 5 minutes drive from where I work now!

IT WAS MEANT TO BE!