i love the sandman and the modified fc cool

Ditto here, Simon, but the stocky looks very nice, and I'd like to see more pics of the poor neglected green wallflower on the far end of the line too...

Tis a pity you don't have access to your "one legged" feathered friend anymore...  aaaaaaay Calico Jack?   

Probably a good thing, Kathi... I manage to get myself into enough trouble with two legged non-feathered birds already... 

Jodes, I personally know 2 FE windowless vans, and they're both very fine examples - one in Geelong (Tony H) and one in Adelaide (Kathi aka NosFEratu on here...)

By now, you're probably getting the message that out of ALL the FE/FC models, FE windowless vans are the rarest... 

Because of their scarcity, there would have been very few sales over the last few years; therefore hard to judge its value. Of course, its current condition will have a huge impact on its value also. But fair to say that it would probably be worth considerably more than any other (non-windowless van) FE/FC in similar condition.

And re VAN059s offer; I'll match that and possibly throw in a little extra...    like an arm or a leg 

cheers, jack

Jodes, take no notice of that Grubby bugger; he's trying to rip you off! It's worth much more than he says - I'll give you 6 slabs of beer and TWO bottles of Capt. Morgan, and just so as you know we're not all theives on this forum, I'll chuck in a fresh crayfish as well...

cheers,
Honest Jack

The front end didn't come out as I had imagined  .

Dean.

Yeah, Dean; unfortunately them bloody FE owners refused to part with a decent grille and indicators....   
I tried, mate; I tried... 

 

Gday Al
Yep, it was 2 tone grey originally - I've got a pic of it before the kid and his old man (Mark and Ron) started work on it 
And you're dead right about them being very fussy and spending lots of $$ and time on the rebuild (this was the 13th old Holden they'd rebuilt). They told me it had all original panels, sills, subframe and floors; it certainly looked like that when I thoroughly checked it out, and that's the main reason I bought it (that and the top-notch rebuild; oh and I must admit I loved the colour it was painted!)
Since then, I have changed/modified/rebuilt almost every aspect of the car bar the gearbox and diff, and while it was being repainted and also stripped out for a new interior, I had a chance to have a real good look at the body - what they told me and what you've just said all seems to be correct  which probably makes it a fairly rare item...
It's now running a warm 202 and modified Traumatic with an XU-1 LSD and HR disc front end.

I'd be real interested in seeing any pics you may have of it, also any other info about the car.

Thanks n cheers
jack

Ken, are there any good links with the 59 embossing on here and pics of riff red and black interiors on here? I am not being lazy, having trouble finding good examples with some level of detail.

Ken would undoubtedly know of more, but you could start by taking a look at Stinky's website (google StreetTrim - sorry; dont know how to do the link thingy  ); I recall pics on there (under 'finished work') of red and black '59 seats with the correct embossing.

hope this helps
cheers, jack

I've got the $15-worth out of my copy already! 

You wouldn't use a Commodore tie rod end in an early Holden drag link because the tapers are different, so why would you knowingly use the wrong nuts on your wheels?


Ken

Obviously, you wouldn't...if you knew precisely which model wheels were 45 degree taper, and which were 60.
Furthermore, it's apparent that quite a few people (and that includes until recently, me) are unaware of any difference in wheel nuts, and therefore could unknowingly use the wrong combination of wheel and nuts - which is precisely why I asked the question in the first place.

A reply to a similar thread on the FB/EK forum indicates that the Rare Spares website lists one wheel nut part nbr (45 degree) for FE up to HK, and another (60 degree) for HG - WB; don't know what happened to HT though

So it appears that ACE is closest to the money so far... 

Any more info out there? Anyone got a Parts cattledog(s) covering HK - WB that lists wheel nuts parts nbrs by models?
It's looking fairly sure that HK is 45 dergrees, and HG is 60, but would be great to be certain on all three models as HK/T/G rims/centres are all very commonly used on FE - EKs

cheers, jack

The more I ask/look, the more confusing it gets 
Re angle of taper on wheel nuts - exactly when (what model) did it change from 45 to 60 degrees...
Evidence so far -
1) ACE says 45 up to (and including?) HK, then 60 to HT - WB
2) Someone on the FB/EK forum says 45 up to EK (and EJ?), then 60 for EH - WB
3) Holden Master Parts cattledog says "Nut, Wheel Hub, FJ - HR part no. 7407655, 20 of..." (note cattledog goes up to HR only)

Anyone got an opinion on the wisdom (or lack thereof!) of using 45 degree nuts on wheels meant for 60 degree nuts; also vice-a-versa...
Given that some of us like our steel wheels, and often use wheels sourced from FE up to HG on our FE/FCs, it's probably important that we get a definite answer on this one...
Also, many of us use aftermarket chrome nuts on our steelies; I've got 3 sets and they're all 60 degree taper.... could these have serious implications if used on wheels that suit 45 degree nuts??

All/any input sought and welcomed...

cheers, jack

well!  excuuuuuuse me for caring! 

Regardless of your comments here is the priority list:

(1) bloody flamey shiney thing
(2) white spare wheel
 


And I want visual proof too! The list is yet to be made! 

 

  geez, right, I'll get onto it straight away then... 



um, does anyone out there want to swap a bloody flamey shiney thing for a bloody non-flamey shiney thing??

(shit I hope it's 'flamey' bit she's objecting to, and not the 'shiney' bit... or worse still; what if it's the 'thing' itself?? the car just wont be cool at all without a bloody 'thingy'...  )

come on, you blokes; I need some help here... 

Thanks Josh and Ed.

Yeah, Josh; shit like that really does shake your faith in humanity.
I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone...

(hang on... yes I would! On the c@#ts who do things like that!)

cheers, jack

Looks great, Rusty 

Gotta agree with you, Ed! (even though I drive an FC and don't like mags... )

Thanks, Craig 

If it's not obvious from the pics, the interior is a pearl white. And so far, it hasn't turned out to be half as hard to keep clean as I thought (then again, it's not exactly a daily driver either...)

And if the car you're talking about for a new interior is the white one in your avatar, I'd personally keep WELL away from grey, but to each his own - it'd be a bloody boring old Holden scene if we all thought alike!

cheers, jack

Now, next on the hit list......... when are you going to get rid of the bloody shiney flamey thingy under the bonnet?     

  you just never give up, do ya??

OK then, which of your current gripes would you prefer I tackle first; the white spare wheel or the 'bloody shiney flamey thingy'? 

(given that both of these 'offences against good taste and etiquette' are normally hidden from view, I hope you'll understand when I say they're not exactly up the top of my list, but I will definitely get around to fixing them before Pudding-time Christmas...  ) 

Thanks David and fasteddie 

Raiding my shed fridge is not very Australian, but I can live with that; desecrating the FC for absolutely no material gain is just totally f#@ked 
The shed is alarmed now, and a, er, um, 'truncated explosive device' lives under my bed waiting patiently for the next arsehole...
(to comply with warm and fuzzy  'pc' requirements and weaken subsequent litigation  , there's a sign on the gate that says "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again...")

The trimmer is none other than Stinky (google 'streettrim') a moderator on this forum; he's located a bit out of Gawler, S.A.
There's no need for me to give him a big rap; just have a look at pics of his work 

cheers, jack

Jack your car  look fantastic but I think it should go straight to the pool room ..... .......FC427......

haven't got a pool room, Mark - so it'll just have to be the road 

(the $8k paintjob has got a few 'trophies' already  but I've had lots of fun collecting them!)

Finally got it all (almost) back together.
First outing with the new paint (2 pack, blue is a modified version of GMH 'Torquay Blue' with a few hard clears, white is Honda 'Premium Pearl White')





And after lots of swearing, cursing etc, new interior in...





(yeah, I know - still hadn't fixed the wheel arch covers in this pic, but I eventually did...  )



So the old girl had new clothes, but it still wasn't quite enough... she needed some sexy new underwear as well!

new sidecovers and other bits (thanks Keith[EffCee]!)


and some new crutchless knickers air cleaners (thanks strong A$!)





BIG thank-yous to the long-suffering trimmer, Stinky, and to Kathi for her help, advice, and trialling of the seat pinstriping 
(Stinky, the kisses are for Kathi; sorry mate!!)

Now I'm definitely in the best phase of all this - as much driving as possible 

cheers, jack

Last post March 2009?  Been quite a few changes for the old girl since then, and seeing as it's Winter, closed season; no fishing-no work; freezing outside, warm by the computer, here's an update...

Last September, 'The Leader of the Opposition' and me went for a little drive. Swag, tent, food, water and beer dont fit well in the FC; also I'm a little reluctant to flog it over 100's of k's of dirt roads, so it stayed home locked up in the shed and we took the trusty old Statesman (with a 350 SBC on straight gas, it's cheaper to run than the FC too!)

Had a great time until up around northern NSW somewhere, we got a nasty phonecall from no.2 son - some lowlife c@#t had broken into me shed and stole all the beer from the fridge.... and while he was there, gouged every panel of the FC (bar the roof) back to, and into, the metal 
This ruined our day, and I got a little upset; said things like 'oh dear oh my' etc... Weeks later, we got home, but it took a further 2 days before I could go down to the shed and look. It wasn't a pretty sight, and I must admit I got a bit angry.
Was too disgusted to take pics of the damage, but luckily it was insured so months later I took the poor violated old girl away for some new clothes







while this was happening, I did some work on the cooling system and some other bits seeing as access was real good...



I stripped the whole interior out before the car was painted (didn't want overspray on my lovely grey interior)
Was thinking of some way to restore the old girls dignity after she was so violently raped; remembered all the shite consistently put on the grey interior by certain people  what about a lovely new interior?? 
And who better to enlist assistance from in the selection of colour, design, material etc than the two biggest critics of the grey interior??
What a brilliant way to get even with the bastards! 
I drove both of them crazy with questions, ideas, severe challenges, etc for months. Kept changing my mind on the design and generally made a real 'sheilas front bum' of myself; and it was GREAT FUN!!! 
Strangely enough, they both put up with me!    (although I reckon the trimmer was awful bloody glad he only had to make the seat covers, etc, and I was to fit it all, AND that I was 700 km away...)

Testing, one two...



The 'Leader of the Opposition' having a test drive in the shed...



More test fitting...



(the wheel arch covers were a failure  had to do them again...)

I have just purchased an fc ute
Cheers    fasteddy

Welcome to the forum, fasteddy 

Given your choice of model, maybe you should consider a name-change to 'fastcharlie' or similar... 

Don't forget to post pics when you get your ute.

cheers, jack