FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi All, new to the forum, I have a FE Ute I pulled out of the Shed after about 20 years, finally going to have a go at it.
It has a 202 motor in it and a 3 speed gearbox on the floor, otherwise it is completely standard, original paint and barely broken in, I think the guy who had it before me only put the motor in it in the shed and it never was registered.  To run this motor do I need to do a front brake conversion, is it the same if I swapped it for a 186?
Also HR front ends are like hens teeth down here (Tasmania) is there another front end I can run in it without alteration or anyone doing convesions at all??

Thanks for the help,

Damian

You will need to do a brake conversion - but HR discs should be enough for your car. The HR front end is by far the easiest front end to adapt to your car. Torana can be used but is a lot more work.
No difference between a 186 or a 202

I may be able to get you a HR front end - I'm in Melbourne.

Ken

I thought as much, been doing some diging here for a while now for a HR front end but no good....might have to take you up on your offer...

Why cant you run a EH front end and brakes ?

They came out with a 186 ..

Unless the little boy racer comes out then you might need some brakes.


Pete

 g'day Damo,

 A lot will depend on what your states registration requirements are.

 A mate of mine here had a friend (in Vic) that was having trouble with an engineer changing his mind part way through a conversion (SBC into 49 pontiac).

 I helped him find a sympathetic engineer that allowed him to use the original kingpin frontend with a hq rotor conversion and boosted dual circuit brakes as the sidevalve 6 was of similar weight to the small block (with a few aluminium parts added.)

 Keeping the kingpin frontend may be a workable option but if you can source a hr frontend you will probably be better off in the long term if the car sees a fair bit of road time. Easier to service and get parts (balljoints) for.

 Cheers, Rob.

G'day Damien,

Where in Tassie are you located, I am at Lewisham and may be able to help you with bits and pieces.



regards


Weddo

im also in tas, have a set of hr stubs, discs and calipers at home somewhere.... 8)

Thanks for your help guys...ill chase up some of these parts and get her rolling....Ill shoot over to the shed and take some photos shortly to put here.  I think it has the standard FE rims, will I be able to put these on the HR discs?

Also does anyone do the replacement ute tray interior side panels, I only have the quarter ones at the back.

 I'm pretty sure you'll need hr disk brake wheels (or centres at least to make new wheels) to clear the calipers.

 With a bit of luck you might be able to source the tub panels you need from someone who is wrecking a rusty ute.

 If you know of someone locally with a bead roller you should be able to make up something decent looking from a couple of cardboard templates from your ute.

 Cheers, Rob.

Thanks again, Weddo, I sent you a message but not sure if you got it, i'd be keen to grab your spare front end if i can?
I am trying to upload a photo to this post and would appreciate your comments, I am now thinking these are not FE hubcaps, does anyone know what they are off? How do I tell if it is still running the same front end, if they are different rims maybe it has been changed? they are definantly drums though.  I know mine has square blinkers, but what else looks fiddled with?
(http://i.imgur.com/OqKxD.jpg)

Damien

Believe your hubcaps are of a HK model. Not sure on the rims though.

Have fun with your project.

cheers

Craig D

Hey Damo2
Your ute did not come from the factory with front indicators. At some point in time it has been fitted with aftermarket units on front. The hubcaps and wheels look like 14inch HG units. You would have to pull the wheel off and give us a look at the brakes to know what has been changed.
Regards
Alex

I have taken a front wheel off to see if you can tell me if they are FE brakes or it has been upgraded, the rims are 14" anything else I should measure?
(http://i.imgur.com/nhHRw.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/I3uq8.jpg)

Thanks again for the help

Gday Damo 2, looks like a nice old ute, why not just give it a wash and polish off that little bit of surface rust and use as is :o

It's rare to see one wearing so much of it's original paint

Your front end looks standard, it's not uncommon to see 14 inch HK Holden wheels in place of the 13 inch FE FC wheels, but only some 14 inch rims will fit without problems (something to do with the odd shape of the brake drums) and I think HK, not HT or HG are the go, maybe some Volvo rims fit as well.

It's a way of giving you lower revs and longer legs on the highway, without changing to a taller ratio diff

I think a couple of blokes in the NSW Club have done this and have also managed to get the FE FC Hubcaps to stay on the bigger wheels either by a crude but effective screw, or by welding a few well placed knobs onto the wheels

Re your engine, if you can change it to the lower spec red 149, you should be able to keep the existing front end as this will already have been adapted to take the red motor mounts

Good luck with it whichever way you decide to go

Cheers, Gary

 

Yep - looks stock as a rock ;D

Ken

What are the numbers on the plate mate and paint number.

Its Shannon Green, still original paint, and the Plate # is FE/2106-50 41M
The Interior is cool Green, the brown seat in it is from another I got with better springs
I dont think it is all that common a colour but I am going to stick with it, its very retro

I like it, the colour that is, I also like your loader/tractor. Im from Tassie also but live in Victoria, I wouldn't muck around with steering and brakes taking short cuts if your going to use it regularly because some of the hills and driving condition there require extra safety and not "just adequate" brakes etc. Where bouts are you located, which region?

Do you have or know where the car is that the brown seat came out of - I am quite interested in the ID plate details of this car because the brown seat material is very unusual.

Ken

Ken Ill have to have a think where I got that brown seat from, it was almost 20 years ago...see what I can come up with, I think it might have been out of a wrecked FE Ute that is up the back of a neighbours property, will see if thats right or not.
I think I have found a HR front end down here for it, it is a disc front end, but doesnt have stub axles or rotors, HR ones seem expensive, he said you can run Torana Stubs and Rotors on it? Is this correct?

Have made some enquirys regarding sandblasting, and cutting out the rust, would you normally get the blasting done first and then primed before going to the welders? Also ballpark how much are companies charging for a full sandblast on the mainland, thinking I might have to do some hagling down here, only a few options.  The rust seems to be only in the normal places doors, infront of back wheel, spare tyre door, behind the headlights and floor pans and try underside, if it didnt have as much I would be keen to polish it up and leave it as is, but it is a bit far gone for that I think, at least I shouldnt find anything that has been painted over!

 

Depends what wheels you wanna run, why not HQ stubs, gotta be a bit careful with torana ones, it affects geometry and they might be hard to get down there. You will need to keep the HR stub axles, as Torana  have the wrong inclination, and will not allow you to set up the front end geometry correctly (castor and camber will be affected, making front tyres chatter on turn probably).

HQ or later discs (up to WB) can also be used, allowing for a change to the later Holden. But depends on what ya want to do with the rears. It's quite cheap and easy to do a shortened borg warner diff at the back, either drum or disc. Again you have some thinking to do while its being re bodied  ;D

You should have a look at some of the build pages mate, lots of info, or use the search function and type in "sub axles". It really depends how far you gotta go, I dont see the point paying a blaster to spend hours blasting stuff you wont keep, like outer sills, when the inner sills are not exposed, the floor when its gunna be completely replaced etc etc... Ask your fabricator dude if they can cut the outer sills off if they are knackered, get it to bracing stage and all bits off, then see if they can get a mobile guy to come into where its being worked on and only blast what needs it. I'd personally do as many flat or accessible  panels with a large polishing type sanding disk, 80 grit or lower and get hard areas blasted, but all depends how much u wanna do yourself.

But you will get differing opinions, but its a lot of wasted money on painting areas that are gunna be scrapped. It also depends if you wanna do a rotisserie job or roller.

Torana stub axles have the wrong camber angle- they will fit but wheel alignment will be out. Hk-HZ stub axles are another possibility but wheel choice is changed to 14 inch. Dropped stubs can be used OK.

Yes blast first - then start repairs

Not up to date with current pricing

Ken

Hey Ken....found the wreck that I pinched the brown covered seat from....couple of problems, a tree has decided to fall over it, and someone has nicked the id plates on you, it looks like it has had an aftermarked special upgrade, neither the white paint or the green are the original, the engine bay shows some of the brown which is a match to the brown vinyl on my seat, there was also a vinyl door trim to match in the wreck still, the brown vinyl is definantly original.

Got my HR front end, just fixing up a few bits for it and have also managed to find the last couple of bits I was missing, have started stripping and blasting in a fortnight or so.  Does anyone do the vinyl door trims to match original that I can buy and fit myself?

Also someone will know, did the FE come out with those built in armrests in the front trims or only the FC's, was thinking of getting a set of '56 Chev armrests, is this what an FE would of had?


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