FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi guys, well after about of year of casually looking I recently stepped it up a gear and have been actively look for about 3 months and after missing out on several nice ones I finally got my hands on a 59 FC Special Sedan, I was truly after a wagon but phaw! I found some rocking horse s**t in a guys shed, but no FC wagons worth looking twice at! I figured I would put this in here as she is not road worthy yet.

I know almost nothing about its history apart from what I could glean from its body plate, made in Melbourne and is two tone Fountain Blue on Indian Ivory, looks like it has been resprayed at some stage. The engine number (from middle of right side of block? 7 digits no letter prefix) according to the table in the tech area appears to be from a FJ, I guess its had the motor replaced at sometime. It also has an alternator which looks like it was fitted along time ago, the phone number on the sticker for the place that fitted it is only 5 digits long! The guy I brought it from trailered it to the Sunny coast from Melbs and then left it in a shed for 3 years before moving back to Melbs and leaving it behind.

Its in reasonably good nick body wise but does have normal rust spots from sitting about for so long, 90% of it is surface rust with a couple of places that need some attention. The motor hasn't been started in 3 years but did run and can be turned over by hand easily. The brakes are completely shot and it needs new cylinders and shoes all round and possible the master re-kitted. The solid brake lines look good and I cannot see any perishing on the hoses. The steering feels solid with minimal free play, but I wont really know until she gets driven!

I plan to get her back into a driveable condition as fast as I can and then work on cleaning her up as I go, she wont be a daily but she will get regular use.

And last but not least, some pics

(http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/6121/img0446h.jpg)

(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/3031/img0444hg.jpg)

(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/3797/img0445ra.jpg)

Cheers
Oggz

Looks like a good starting point Oggz, Have fun with it.

Dean.

Well done nice pick up. whats the front crossmember like, the one that goes from gearbox mount? Its good that she can be driven in and out of a driveway etc. Look forward to following the progress. I have 2 on the go thats how silly I am   :o but mine much sadder than yours  :D

I take it you mean this

(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8329/img0450mf.jpg)

There is also rust in doors and right rear bottom guard, but apart from that cross member piece, the floor is awesome, well, so far :)

Nice mate,my sister has an FC with same colours in about that condition.
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa281/ttv6fc/Picture012.jpg)
Cheers,Jamie.

That's nice! a bit shinier than mine too, I am still out on the bonnet bird tho, don't know why mine doesn't have one and not sure if I will add one yet. 1st priority is still getting on the road!

Thats not too bad then, just done go digging around too much  :D

Well, I am a very happy man tonight, after 3 years this ole grey motor runs again!

Fresh battery, some fresh fuel, new oil and it was all go...untill the fuel pump stayed empty...we cranked and cranked and cranked, and we got nothing.

So on the offer of the next door neighbor we pulled out the air compressor and started to blow air down the line, backwards! We managed to get air blowing from the pump "in side" of the fuel line into the tank, so we decided to give the pump a helping hand and pressurised the tank and pushed some fuel down the line to the pump.

After a few more seconds cranking after we had fuel in the pump we got spark and without a choke she just started! quiet as a mouse she just ran, I think we all just took a step back and went "what?" looked at each other and went "shes going!"

I must admit it was a bit surreal, there are fuel no leaks, no coolant leaks, no exhaust leaks, plenty of oil leaks but thats a given, no loud knocks, no bad noises...it just, goes!

very bloody happy! now I cant wait to take her for a drive...just need some brakes :)

 :o :o That's awesome! I just hope I can get a similar result when I fire mine up.

Oggz That may be grounds for a small celebration. Well done.


Keep those pictures coming.

Rgds

Wayne b

Ah well, good progress and bad.

I put the front brakes back on the car tonight, new cylinders, fresh shoes and re-faced drums, I am still a little surprised at how simple the system is. But before I screwed the flexy hoses back in I thought I would put some air down them, just to see...blocked, both of them!

This does not bode well for the rest of the system but I will have to try and check that tomorrow night. Can ya just take the line out of the m/c and blow air down that line? or will I need to find the blocks and go from there?

I dont really want to replace all the line, they are all covered buy underbody anti rust stuff and will look outta place if they go in fresh!

Oggz

You will probably find that the blockages are from the rubber hoses that have perished and have now filled the inside of the hoses with perished and swollen rubber pieces and rubber flakes etc. This is a common problem. Remove the hoses and you should be able to blow compressed air from the disconnected pipe from the master cylinder through the brake system. If there is still a blockage then maybe there has been moisture in the brake system. This would have caused a rust deposit that has now blocked the pipe.

If this has happened, take some tie wire and feed it down the  brake pipe. when you get to the obstruction, keep wriggling the wire. If the obstruction clears continue to repeat the wire movement until all the rust is gone. It should be noted that the pipe at this point would be weakend and the better option is to replace the pipe. As these brakes are a single circuit system, once you lose fluid, you only have the handbrake that wil stop you should the pipe fail.

But I would put money on the brake hoses being the cause of the problem

Keith

Hey Oggz,yeah brakes are a pain...Just remember,THESE ARE YOUR BRAKES!!!!You know ,the things that are designed to stop you from slamming into stationary (and mobile)objects while you drive and protect you and your family.If it is the only thing you spend good money on it will be worth it if only for piece of mind.I have just replaced everything as I could see that the old lines/shoes/cylinders could not be trusted.I bent up my own lines which needs to be factored in of course.Here's a breakdown of my costs.
       
4x slave cylinders @ $65  = $260
1x Master cylinder           = $66
Bundy tube                    = $26.40
Tube nuts                      = $22
Brake shoes re bonded      = $170.50
Brake hoses x 3              = $82.50
Drum machining              = $66
Total                            = $693.40

Piece of mind.........        = Priceless....

Jamie.

Thanks for the advice guys. The front hoses are defiantly going to be replaced, not only are they blocked, they have rub marks on them also, one of them down to the string. I will go and see the man who did the shoes and drums for me, I am pretty sure this will be right up his ally.

The Family will be going in the car at some stage so if there is any doubt, I will replace the whole system.

One more thing, when I got the car, the brake lines were empty, when I spoke to the owner, he said that when he moved the car out of the shed, approx 6mths ago, it was still holding fluid. I figure when he moved he tried to use the brakes and has popped a hard seal somewhere and that's where all the fluid went

TTV6FC, some of those costs are a bit scary high and some of them are nice. Where did you get your parts from? I have been using Global so far.

4x slave cylinders @ 80 = $320
Shoes radius grind, arms off old shoes fitted to new and drums surfaced = $122
Total so far = $442

I think I will have to take the m/c of and check that over too...it looks reasonably new

Cheers

I would suggest you change those rubber hoses.
The rubber swells up internally and restricts the flow.
Even if you can blow air through them, they may not flow fluid as they should.
Regards
Alex

Hey Oggz,been using my local brake place here in the Barossa Valley/SA and from what I can see his prices are pretty reasonable.Cheers,Jamie.

Progress today! got brakes :) took her for a road test, still cant take the smile off my face...next obstacle, rust, meh.

Looking for a panel beater, Gold Coast.

Well done. You have the cheapest part out of the way  :D. I wish mine were running already  >:(

Decided to grab some polish and see what I had under all the oxidised paint.

(http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/6847/img0504t.jpg)

(http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9208/img0506iz.jpg)

Only managed to get on door done to where I was happy. Did the rear guards and boot....didnt come up so good, need to go over it again.

All up the paint isnt too bad.

But after a conversation this morning with another forum member this car maybe up for sale soon...

Well, getting closer to a road worthy, got a list yesterday that was a lot shorter than I expected.

Rust...heheh yep, but only the surface stuff on the doors and RR lower guard, there isnt a lot and no hold so I am going to grind back and fill for now, will do proper cut and plate later

Shackle bushes, front and rear, also front out rigger rubber

L/H front door handle, $5 all ready done

Number plate light, easy fix, spotted a loose wire when I removed the old plates.

That's the list for me to do. I am going get the mechanic to adjust the drag link and replace the axle seals, both are leaking...so hopefully by next weekend I can go for a nice cruise!

Oggz

Sounds good. Are you thinking of buying another in better nick off a forum member and selling this one then? You're nearly there with this one!  ;D

Hmm not sure about the better nick part but its a wagon and what I am really after, but I am not rushing into anything

Anyway, I haven't put an update in for a while and a fair bit has happened since the last one.

(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/7996/img0520ce.jpg)

(http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/4946/img0521r.jpg)

before and after shots of the drivers door of my 1st go at panel repairs, turned out alright I think and enough for the road worthy.

Had to take the seats out to get the carpet out to get the side rail welded...anyway once the carpets were out I see more unknown history on the car. Looks like new front floor plans have been welded in at some stage, with the old ones left in there! and when they chassis blacked the "repairs" they only did the front half so the rear half was covered in surface rust! So, hit all that with a scratch pad and painted on some rust converter/primer ready for some fresh chassis black.

(http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6608/sdc12773k.jpg)

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/3733/sdc12751a.jpg)

got dust?

(http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/5507/img0523hz.jpg)

Didn't get any pics of my work on the rear suspension but replaced all the rubbers. Spring, shackle, and shock. When I took the shocks out they were covered in I think 50 years of dirt and crap. They came up nice after some time the in sand blaster. More 3M rust converter/primer and some satin black they look a treat! I think the old original shocks must be amazing things if they are still good after so many years!

So took it to the mechanics last week Wednesday thanks to my friend who lent me a trade plate to drive on and I had registration on Thursday morning! whooo! I am soo happy its not funny.

Been doing some miles in her since then but as with old cars that have sat for a long time, it appeared to run really nice but the more I drove here the worse it got. Last night on the way home from work @ 1am she conked out and wouldn't start. Took the RACQ man a while but we found the fuel pump bowl was so full of crap it wasnt funny. He managed to get her running for a bit and it got me closer to home. But alas I still had to push her the last 1km.

So today I am blowing fuel lines out, emptying the tank and trying to fit a filter somewhere. I spent 2-3 hrs running around to different shops and places looking for fittings to left me put it just before the pump but could not find the right fittings anywhere. I then decided would have to cut the hard line between pump and carb and put it there. I undo the fitting at the carb and start wiggling the pipe out, next second I am holding a 300mm section of pipe in my hand and going WTF! take a closer look and this is what I found.

(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7973/img0549zp.jpg)

obviously after I also took off the other half. The hard line was joined just behind the thermo with a small piece of fuel tubing! no clamps, no glue, no nothing, the pipe was just sitting there held in place by the fitting at the carby! I am amazed it never leaked the rubber looked seriously old!

Now I think I need to rebuild the carby, I get the feeling its so full of crap now...

Hey Oggz,

if you haven't already done it, maybe you should 'start at the start' with your fuel blockage probs - clean out and check the tank; then work your way forward to the carb...

Great to see you're still having fun despite a few 'teething probs'  :) :) (hope you had some help on that last km home!)

cheers, jack

Yep still having fun :) but alas no help on the last km home, it was about 1:30am at the time and not a soul in sight(was more like 500m but 1km sounds better haha!)

Think I know what your problem is your front end needs an alignment, looks like too much (TOE IN).... ;D

LOL dude my missus may the same comment before she knew it was my post, "WTF, whos are those toes, they look huge"

Well, this car is certainly causing highs and lows.

Stripped the carby down and cleaned it all, put a kit through it and she all went back together nicley, started easy enough, ran easy enough but I still had a nasty stutter at higher revs and when I planted my foot.

(http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9987/img0560fj.jpg)

You can see the layer of crap in the bottom of the bowl

So, I figure my next issue was probably electrical and I decided to pull the dizy and clean that down too. Fresh points, a nice clean up and lube. The man at cheapa auto's didn't have a condenser for me but we think we found the right part number (bosch GB551 listed for a merc?) and he is going to track down a new one for me next week. Cap and rotor look fine so am keeping those.

So, a while back I noticed a bit of soot at the exhaust port at 2,3 and decided to pull the manifold for a fresh gasket too. The old gasket was pretty rusted and had also caused some minor pitting on the manifold but I didn't think it was that bad.

(http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/7236/img0573qj.jpg)

this is what I saw when I pulled the manifold, I see a new head gasket in the near future, possible before I even drive it again :(

Dizy went back in, I brought a new coil as well, I know the 50 year old one is probably still good, but I think maybe not performing as well, so a new one went in. Turned it over and no spark, looked like I was too gear tooth out when it went back in. While cranking and getting no spark I noticed the new coil was getting very warm, just while cranking so it came out, old one back in.

Got her running but what a racket! looks like the only thing sealing the manifold before was the swollen rust of the old gasket. this is what I found when I got the manifold back to the bench.

(http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/8275/img0579w.jpg)

The outer two flanges are level with the inlet flanges, but the inner two!!! that's a 2mm gap!! and yes that missing bold on the right sheared straight off.

I was planning to pull the manifolds apart, leave them loose then tighten them back together after I had the flanges all tightened up on the head hoping this would let the two inner exhaust ports tighten up. Now, who knows WTF I am going to do, don't really have the tools to get the broken bolt out, or even all 4 if they all break off...this just might be the call to buy some headers when money permits.

Bloody hell all I want to do is drive the damn thing!

Might leave this for a bit and move on to getting the doors back to white.

Oggs, If you are going to all the trouble of doing a head gasket you might as well get the valves relapped and a thin skim off the face of the head to make sure it is flat before you put it back together otherwise you will be taking it apart later on down the track to do it all again $$$$$$ >:(

Haven't put anything up for a while, well because I haven't really done anything to the car in a while. Money got tight up until the missus went back to work after a year on maternity leave.

But tax check came in so I splashed out and ordered a pertronix kit.

Took about 30mins to install, then about 2hrs to sort out the timing issues I had. It appears the dizzy has been out a tooth since I got it, couldn't get anymore advance, the vacuum pot was hitting the block, so had to move it back a tooth and reline the dizzy up.

Butt dyno says its running alot smoother and revving harder. 1st cold start this morning I didnt bother with any choke and it idled fine without using the go peddle.

All up a very easy conversion and worth it to not have to change points every 1500miles

Some progress is better than none. How did you go with the problems with the head?

Regards

Wayne b

Didn't touch the head, so far the leak hasn't got worse, almost seems to have stopped, so in my books, if its not broken, don't fix it.

It may just be me burying my head in the sand be cause the thought of pulling the head off is still too scary, but I have started looking around for someone to rebuild a head for me. So far prices range from $600ish for a stock head to $1000 for a head with over sized valves, hardened seats and some porting.

Thinking back, I did have some fun with spark plugs about 4 months, I should do a right up on what I found because the BP5's listed for a grey motor in every book i could find where too short for the thread in my motor...

http://fefcholden.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,17007.new.html

Here is a post on Spark Plugs. Its a good read.

Regards

Wayne b

Well some more stuff got done today, bit of a mission and my poor family didn't see much of me today.

(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/8950/img0910f.jpg)

That was the end result i guess. One stuffed front engine mount, one completely rooted mount and one spare side mount in case of emergency.

What I was trying to do was actually rebuilt the clutch slave, but to get that out you gotta undo the drivers engine mount, so I figure I would replace them while I was at it. They were looking pretty old and I had no idea what the front one was like, but the amount of movement in the motor I figured something wasnt right. also figured while I was under there I would replace all the sway bar bushings too.

In the process of unbolting everything to get and the front mount (my car still has those two trays below the front of the motor so the front bumper come off for a look see too) I managed to snap the head of one of the sway bar bush mount bolts and one of the hex head screws that hold the trays in place. Not happy, I had left my tools at work so I could not drill them out.

Ah well, will just have to drive to work tomorrow without the front sway bar! haha the test drive around the block wasnt pleasant, that little bar does alot of work!

I am going to try and get those two trays back on at some stage, I figure they act similar to a radiator cowl and kinda force air through the radiator instead of under it and into the engine bay.

Well, been a while since any reportable progress, but this old girl is now for sale!

I will post up a thread in the For Sale section tonight

Cheers!