I had a new set of Eagers put on the 'Ol girl a few weeks ago but the front 205's rubbed on the ball joint. The tyre place had spacer plates in stock that alleviated the problem (they looked liked a "universal" sort of item i.e. one size fits all stud patterns )

HTH

Pete  

Thanks again Jock, I'll try the stuff you recommended.

(I hope I don't drive you round the twist before I get this car sorted out!)

Pete  

Hi,

The Old girl's got a terrible rattling sort of squeak coming from the front end as I cruise down the main drag (on the way to work, of course!   ) If I put a little bit of pressure on the brakes the noise disappears. It's a HR front end, new pads, machined discs, "rattle" pins are there. The wheel bearings have been checked and everything else seems as good as gold.

Any ideas?

Pete  

Thanks Jock!

Pete

Hi,

I'm planning on a re-build in the near future and am considering fitting a blue head onto the ol' 186. I know the blue head doesn't "fit straight on" and some mods are necessary.....are these mods to the head or block? (or both ? :-/)

I was hoping to build up a blue head (with LPG in mind) and have it ready for when the block is refreshed.

Thanks for any advice,

Pete

To finish,

I filled the hole (with that messy expanding foam stuff) but still the water got in so I took the Old Girl around to the panel shop. There was a few rust holes as well as that bolt hole, but also a hole up under the chrome windscreen trim. The windscreen hasn't been sealed and water tends to bead in the corners, so I've got some mastic for that...

The driver's door appears to be sitting low - it's not sealing against the rubbers at the top and letting in water as well. I'll try loosening the door/hinge mounts and lifting it a bit (they're not countersunk like the hinge/body mounts are they? )

It's funny how you find these faults with your bus only after some decent rain!

Thanks to everyone again...

Pete

Thanks Fellas

I read Craig's reply earlier today and resigned myself to removing the guard pretty soon. I grabbed the service manual and had look at which bolts had to come out. It said to remove the 3 concealed bolts within the cowl pillar and I could only find 2.....now I know where the 3rd one is!!!
It looks to me as if the captive nut or thread is no longer there, probably replaced by the bog along with that bit of guard  :-/  As a temporary patch I'll try some kind of sealer, eventually it'll get fixed properly (along with the rust in one rear door and a ding in the other) I need to attend to the motor first - sounds like there's an old holden employee in there trying to find his way out with shifter  

Thanks again, your help is much appreciated!

Pete.

Hi,
I've got a bad leak in the old girl. When it rains heavily I get water pouring in from above the top hinge of the driver's door.  
I did some contortions and groping resulting in the discovery of a hole which appears to be in the top of the Shroud Lower Panel. You can see some pics of it at
www.reynolds-valveart.com.au/fc.html
The 4th pic shows where the water flows out forming a lake under my feet  
Is this hole meant to be there? I want to fill it with something (silicone or expanding foam) as a temporary measure until I get the rust/bog in the guard fixed.
Thanks for any advice,
Pete

Thanks Craig, I'll go for a run and then come back and burn my pinkies    I think I've got an old rocker cover too!

Pete

Hi,
Can somebody tell me the correct clearances for a 186? It's got the "adjustable" rockers (nut on the rocker post). I've just put new lifters in the old girl, one way she's lovely and quiet but then idles rough as guts when hot. The other way (set at 5 thou hot) she taps better than Fred and Ginger.
One mechanis told me to tighten each rocker until the engine runs rough, then back it off half a turn. Is this right??? (seems a bit dodgey to me!)

Thanks,
Pete R

Thanks Fellas,
Ok, we'll choof off to the wedding half trimmed (we'll still be in the best car anyway )
I'll save the trim for when I have to replace the screen!
Thanks again,
Pete

Ok fellas,
We're going to a wedding tomorrow and "she who must be obeyed" has declared that we're taking the FC (instead of her computerised VS do everything Wondercar), there's going to be BM's, Merc's, HSV VX's blah blah wank wank...
Now, the FC isn't too bad - but she's lacking all of the chrome windscreen trim (see http://www.reynolds-valveart.com.au/fc.html)
I got hold of the missing top and bottom trim and have buffed it up, but....how do you fit it ?!? !?
I know that the trim fits into the groove/split of the windscreen rubbers but does the windscreen have to come out or is there a another method?
I know I haven't left much time but the Old Girl, m'self and the dragon (ahem, wife) will be going regardless. If the trim isn't fitted I'll just BS my way around the Yuppsters
As always, many thanks
Pete

I've just checked out the 'gasresearch' site...Thanks!!!

Pete  :D:D:D

Thanks fellas.
Pete, I'll be really interested in what you think of the EH after gassing.
Like I said, I had a Toymotor Townace on gas (duel fuel) for 10 years, the tune was a compromise...LPG wanting more advance, ULP wanting less.
The engine oil looked like honey after 5000k's, it never 'pinged' on LPG but rattled like a lagerphone on petrol, however when climbing big hills it would pull 3rd on petrol but LPG would see me looking for 2nd.
In theory an engine built for LPG only should put out more grunt than it's petrol equivalent - LPG having a higher theoretical Octane rating (so I've been told )....my only experience in this regard is tuning petrol engines for Methanol (but you've gotta use nearly twice as much Metho for around a 15% increase in geegee's)
Plus, I think it'd be pretty easy to a good sized tank(s) in the old girl to increase her range.
Hmmm - I can only think of pro's...no con's. I wait with much anticipation!

Pete(R)

Hi,
Has anyone got their FE/FC running on LPG?
I use mine as my everyday car/business vehicle and do about 1000/1200 miles a month. She doesn't hold much fuel and is a little thirsty so I'm considering changing to straight LPG (not "duel fuel"). I know I'll have to do the valveseats/valves but aside from this has anyone experienced any dramas?
The old girl pings a fair bit up the mountains on the way home - I know LPG helps in this regard.
I had a Toyota van for 10 years that ran on LPG and it was really good (slow up hills tho' )

As a newbie I apologise if this has been gone over before -

Thanks for any info...
Pete
Oh yeah, the engine is a 186!

Thanks Glenn,
I think I'll put up with the idiosyncratic steering for a while until she needs new rubber. When the time comes I think I'll go for 195's on the front and 215's on the back (gotta do that 'tractor' thing )  I was tempted by the Tasman mags on ebay (14 inchers, gear it up a bit and stop it revving so hard)....but I think I'll stay with the jellybeans/kidneys.
The old girl needs a bit of attention in other areas so the money could be better spent. But you know, I'm really just grateful to be driving around everyday in such a wonderfully cool old car!

On a side note, how hard is it really to jam a V8 in that engine bay?

Cheers,
Pete

Hi Glenn,
The rims are 7" wide and have a 4" offset. The l/h rear tyre touches only rarely (no visible sign), however I think 225's are a bit big.
The engineer's report states that the maximum rim width is 6.5" (oops!) and that the car sould be considered as a HR from an engineering POV.
Thanks,
Pete

Hi,
Can any of you give me some advice on ideal tyre sizes?
My wagon has 13" HR "jellybean" mags, a HR disc front end and a HR rear end.
At the moment the front tyres are 205/65 and the rears are 225/65 (they came with the mags ) and are about half worn with minimal feathering. The steering gets a little "iffy" at speed and the car tramlines/traintracks quite badly (steering box has been rebuilt and a wheel alignment done).
I realise that new tyres will improve things but when the time comes what widths should I opt for?
Thanks,
Pete

Thanks for your kind words fellas, it's good to feel welcomed

Craig, I downloaded the flier for the 21st party but Acrobat wouldn't open it. It said "Invalid ColorSpace"
I'm a bit of a cybertwit, perhaps I need to update my version of Acrobat.
'Tis a bugger anyway, because I have to go to a mate's 40th this Saturday  (bummer!) However I'm sure we'll catch up soon - are the many members out Hawkesbury district/Penrith way?
Re- the beast...it's a '58, I've only owned it for a month and there's a bit of sorting to be done. It was rebuilt in 1996 (got the engineer's report), got a HR front end and rear end, still got the FC steering box (which I had rebuilt last week), a 186 with noisy lifters (but goes well) and an Aussie 4speed with shot synchro's in second (it also does the "let's engage 2 gears at the same time" thing at the most embarrasing moments . With yesterdays deluge I also discovered a rather nasty leak on the driver's side - there was a large, deep puddle near the accelerator. Plus there's a little bit of rust here and there but nothing major or structural and a few electical bugs to attend to.
They're all the bad things - there's too many good things to list!
Coolaride - yes the L/hand rear door is straight, but the L/hand front door is dinged

I hope we get to meet soon so you blokes can tell me how to fix the gremlins!

Thanks again,
PeteR

Hi,
I've just joined the NSW club (well, sent in my membership application!) and have got some pics of my beast here..

http://www.reynolds-valveart.com.au/fc.html

It needs a bit work so I'm probably going to be a pain to those at the tech forum , but this car reminds me of how I felt when I first got my license 25 years ago. I just want to drive it - even if it's just around the block!
It's my everyday transport/work vehicle - I'm going to get the business logo put on the rear windows (it should look ok - if it doesn't it'll come off!).

'Tennyrate, heaps of thanks to those responsible for this forum, and I hope I don't hassle you all too much!

Best wishes,
PeteR