FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi guys, got some bad news today when looking for a rwc, Kingpins, lower outer bolts, pitman and idler arms all need replacing, also axle seals and seal on the diff head all need replacing.

I have a contact who can get me a rusted out HR prem minus the engine and g/box reasonably cheap.

I am getting a second opinion on all of the above and I think I may get the same response.

Should I just put the HR running gear in? or leave it stock, suck the sav and get the original gear refurbished?

I must admit I like that the car is stock, but I am no purist who must have everything original. Also my kids will be riding in the back of the car when I get it on the road which is why have already refurbished the brake(those bloody cylinders are $$$$)

so, keep it stock or go HR? I know they both have +/-'s but....I am feeling a little like a stunned mullet at the moment and just don't know what to do.

Cheers
Oggz

Put the HR front end even if its drum they handle a lot better pull up a lot better.
My FE brakes are OK but i very rarely take my family in it if its a trip i meet them there we have a turbo territory with all the safety mod cons

I had a close call last week going down the highway a car pulled out with a trailer on me and my daughter were in the car i  braked heavilly doing 90 KPH 4 wheel drums locked and it scared the shit out of me just re assured me even more to not take the kids in there on a large run.


As for the diff just change the centre to the hr one you will have to fit the HR unis into the rear of your tailshaft as FC are a flange style not u bolt style.




Pete

You should also factor in the price of having it engineered if you decide to modify the braking system ....FC427.....

I dont think i engineered mine when i had the grey in it with hr drums never really ocurred to me and it was never pointed out at rego time.

Could be a insurance thing tho.

It will need to be engineered. If it isn't and is inspected a later time it could be deemed as unregistered. It will need to have engineers certificates for the front end change as well as the brakes (Steering and Brakes)

Would be better than the standard steering and brakes.

Keith

If its dollars that are driving your decision then I think the HR swap will cost more in the long run - you may have to replace ball joins and other stuff in the HR front end.
If it's safety then the HR brakes will stop better, but the FC brakes are fine if you drive to the conditions and leave more space than you would normally do in your late model. Idiots do cut in on you though as fchoon testifies - that's life. You can get run into in your late model by poor drivers.

Ken

Thank you for all the replies, I got some good news yesterday. When I took it to someone who actually knows what they are looking at, he said it was all fine, the only thing that really needed to be done was adjust the drag link! Big weight off for me as my start up $ were starting to run out.

He did give me a list of things that it needs for RWC, but the list was much shorter than the first one and I can do 90% of it myself.

I am a bit surprised there weren't more calls for keeping it stock tho...I drove an FE with HR disc front end when I was looking for my holden, I didnt rate it, but it may have just been set up wrong or in poor condition as my current drums feel like they pull up better than that HR front.

There were alot of calls for the HR front and I guess its for a reason but I think I want to keep my clunker as stock as I can for as long as I can.

Thanks all

Hi Oggz,

I have an original vehicle in excellent condition, rust free and unmolested. I to wanted to keep it original but after some discussion with Ken (guru for good reason), he asked me a series of questions, the answers to which have lead me to decide to do some mods to make it more user friendly. I am fitting a HR disc front end with torana rotors and callipers, a HR diff with 3.55 ratio, a red 161 (painted grey to fool the uneducated at least) bolted to the grey gearbox, 2 speed electric wipers and some creature comforts inside eg CD, heater, seat belts in the front. I have been using my car as a daily driver and to run to brisbane and sunshine coast from kingaroy fairly  regularly. We also want to take it to sydney to visit family and I am going to take my wife along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. The mods I am doing are bolt up, that means easy to reverse. The car will maintain its original look fro the outside. It wont be until you open the bonnet that it will look different and there the grey paint might fool some and if it does then they would never know disc brakes werent standard. There are some who will say that a standard car will do all we want to do, and it would, but these mods will make it easier on the car and easier and safer for US to go touring. Think about what you want to use it for and then decide how far or if at all you need to modify it. But at the very least power assisted disc brakes have got to be better than the standard drums.

Mark

Oggz, I try never to give an answer that tries to change your mind to suit my opinions. Rather I try to inform the reader of alternatives and consequences and lead him/her to the decision which best suits them.
I don't have prejudices about what should or shouldn't be modified. Sure I have my own opinion, but what does that matter between someone else and their car - My wish as always is that your car turns out to be exactly the car you always dreamed of.

Ken

Hi Oggz,

Just to throw another option into the mix, I an putting an EH front end under my car at the moment. Drums are a bit more efficient than the FC drums (not by much though ;)). The reason I went this way was to keep the car looking original. Both are KP front ends.

This forum is a wealth of knowledge & I know I have a lot of people to thank on it who have offered advice previously.

Dean.

Well for what its worth regarding brakes/frontend options, when I got my FJ I had the frontend redone with new kingpins etc, it runs EK brakes, warm grey motor and 3.36 diff centre. I went this way to keep it "period correct" as a hot humpy, the drums do need to be kept adjusted but they are fine. The kingpins weren't cheap but as the FJ isn't a daily driver I know I'll get years of service out of them, like any old Holden the do need some maintenance but the dollars spent on frontend and brakes are well worth it ;)

Mick 8)

Hey Oggz.
I changed out my HR front end when I still had the grey.
For me it was a safety concern, with my car being a daily driver and the only car I had, and a young family......
With the stocker, you must drive within it's limits, and drive defensively at all times.
Regards
Alex

ps. where is that HR located, and what is the boot floor like?
I need parts for a resto on my wifes Grandfathers old HR.

I bought my FC in 1979 in stock condition with 35000 miles on it. I drove it around for a while until I got bored with its performance and I found it a bit of a chore to drive, so I dismantled it for an upgrade. In went a HP 179, HR ball joint front and rear brakes, LH girlock front disc brakes, EH steering column and diff banjo, selby (I think) sway bars, lowered front springs gas shocks and 6.5 inch torana rims with 215 BF Goodrich TA's. Mostly brand new gear.
          The transformation was awesome, wouldn't even know it was the same car. An absolute pleasure to drive. I went off and had a life at sea so its been driven rarely since then. (still only 42000miles) Its now on vintage rego so I'm hoping to get it out a bit more as I love driving it, even compared to modern cars. I have a M21 four speed and FB front floor section I would like to fit one day, just having a bit of trouble bringing up the courage to cut the pristine floor up.
          In the late 70's (before rare spares) new old stock early holden parts were cheap and easy to get at holden dealers so I used a fair bit of my apprentice pay collecting new parts which I still have. I have heard that people restoring some of the plastic badges can have trouble in working out exactly what colour they used to be. I have a brand new still in the box steering weel centre that has never seen the light of day. I can post a picture of it if anyone is interested in seeing the colour.

Hi Glen, welcome to the forum.
Always interested to see pics of anything FE/FC  :)
Why not start your own thread of your car, I for one am always interested in all things FE/FC


Cheers Stewy   8)

Thanks Stewie
Still feeling my way around the forums. In the next few weeks I'll get the covers off and get her out of the shed and get some pics. My son can help me get them on the net and I'll do a thread in the members cars forum. She's stood up remarkably well after all the years.  I've allways been carefull about how she's stored. Its good to be thinking about the FC again.