Sorry to hear it Rob. Please reach out if there is anything I can do to help.

Cheers,
Harv

Some info here on timing gear replacement:
https://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=19642.0

Cheers,
Harv

Now sold.

Cheers,
Harv

Zac's got good taste - that looks like a neat FE.

Cheers,
Harv

Be interesting to see if the suspect cap runs OK on the museum motor, or if it makes that motor run poorly too.

Cheers,
Harv

If you get stuck, here is one option:

https://www.kingswoodcountry.com.au/buy/holden-vent-window-handle-fe-fc-fb-ek-pair.-quarte/VH1001

Cheers,
Harv

Craig,

You wrote, "you will need to rejet the carbys or they will run rich as you are doubling the fuel intake which will be too rich at idle/low revs and foul plugs"

This is a common misconception, but in fact isn't true. 

This got me thinking. Bear with me... I've been trying to dissolve some of this fluid mechanics stuff in ethanol for the last 30 years.

There is some complexity here when changing from singles to twins (or triples, or fourtles  ). The inlet manifold flow path is very different, and gas density changes in venturis can screw with Bernouli's ideal world venturi model. Ignore that for now, as grey motors are not that precise.

Agree that the main jetting should be very, very close to needing no change when going from singles to twins or triples (or fourtles). The trick here is that the venturi pressure drop is dependant on the square of the gas flow through it. That same pressure differential is what the main metering jet sees. The liquid flow through the main metering jet is dependant on the square root of the flow through it. Simplifying the mefs, the square and the square root cancel each other out. This means that no matter how many carbs you add, as long as they see their equal flow of gas, they will meter the same amout of fuel.

The power bypass valve system is driven by the same pressure differential, so in theory no need to change the power valve either.

But...

The above applies to the main metering system, which is driven by the venturi. The idle system is not... it is driven by the inlet manifold pressure (this is because the main metering jet discharges into the venturi, whilst the idle system discharges into the throttle body. Simplifying a bit, the inlet manifold pressure does not change much with singles, twins, triples or fourtles. Adding more carbs, they all see the inlet manifold pressure, and they all deliver (roughly) the same idle fuel flow as a single. This means that when going to twins, you need to wind the idle system right down. There is an overlap between the idle system and main metering system, so getting the idle right not only effects the idle quality but also the main metering quality. If you are lucky, there is enough finesse in the idle mixture screws to rest the idle after going to twins, triples or fourtles. If you are unlucky the idle mixture screw is not so fine when it is close to it's seat. In that case a change to the idle tube is required.

The accelerator pumps are independent (roughly) of vacuum, but with twins, triples or fourtles you now have twice, double or four times the fuel shot each time the loud pedal is depressed. The pump circuit thus needs a tweak to deliver less fuel, though for a relatively rough grey motor the average owner won't notice a difference.

Cheers,
Harv

There will be some fore/aft effect from two varying carbs, but the grey motor is far from uniform across the cylinders. A good example is coolant flow - even with one of those fancy head gaskets, there will be a difference in cylinder temps. Similarly, the fuel/air rflow path from the for’ad carb to cylinders 1 and 2 is way different to the flow path from fore and aft carbs to cylinders 3 and 4… so they get fed different.

Should you make the carbs as similar as you can? Yep. Should you lose sleep if they are off a bit? Not if it runs well.

Cheers,
Harv

There are a lot of variables that can make two relatively-similar carbs flow differently. There is the obvious stuff (throttle body diameter, venturi diameter, throttle plate angle) but also some less subtle things - gasket orientation, coke deposits, throttle blade screw profile, main jet installation depth, degree of spray vs atomisation due to jet size etc. Some of the subtle stuff makes little difference, though sometimes it can.

Are the American cast bodies different? Hard to tell, though a flowbench would reveal the answer (there is a geeky part of me that wants to build a flowbench using David Vizard's guidance, and borrow all those hoarded inlet manifolds people have to see what flows best). As Rod found, there will be a difference in flow at idle that may not be linear to the difference at open throttle. You would need to flow bench at varying throttle openings, and then overlay the resultant curves for each carb to see if two were the same.

Is it critical? Not really. If you are running Top Alcohol then yes, you want every cylinder firing the same. Individual throttle bodies per cylinder to regulate flow, and different jetting per cylinder (all tuned via AFR and temperature) are all possible. On a grey motor with a common inlet plenum and siamesed ports then perhaps flow is not that critical.

If you get stuck for bits, give me a yell. I have a fair collection of Stromberg oddments

Cheers,
Harv

Man I've had days like those.

I'm stumped as to why the "old" clutch slipped.  The old driven plate and pressure plate appear to be in perfect condition.  The flywheel face is fine.  No grooves, no hot spots, no discernible wear.  I chose not to get the flywheel machined.

Any chance the clutch springs are not springing as they should?

Cheers,
Harv

Yep.

Cheers,
Harv

You can get the bench seat in/out of an EK ute without taking the doors off. I did my daughter's ute that way. I assume the FE/FCs are similar.

Cheers,
Harv

The time has come to sell Grace’s EK ute. It spends more time idle now than on the road, so time to pass it on to someone who will use it more.

There is a build thread here which shows what I did on the vehicle: https://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22653

I bought it in 2017, and had the bodywork done on it. Exceptionally low rust car to start with, and rust free once done. Car was then painted in the original Silverton grey, new rubbers all round. Minor mechanical works done to keep it on the road – radiator, improved cooling head gasket, steel timing gear, brakes all round, clutch master, new distributor, tyres. I will go through the brakes again before selling the car to make sure they are right. A few accessories – tonneau, towbar, vanity mirror, WEY rocker cover, retractable seatbelts, aftermarket period style radio.

I had plans to make the vehicle breath better on the highway, but got halfway there before life intervened. The lumpy cam is fitted and idles like it should 😊. A little over-cammed for the current single Stromberg and head. Will include a set of rebuilt triple Strombergs, ram tubes and foam filter socks, manifold, linkages, accelerator cable and new accelerator pedal in the sale – you can then choose to either fit the carbs and run a worked motor, or sell the carbs and use the cash to put a standard cam back in it.

I’ll sell the car with NSW rego through to April 2025. It currently has custom plates on it (GH-2002), but I’ll put them into storage and put standard plates on it. I’m asking $35,000 for it, firm - it’s pretty close to what I have in the car, and I'm in no rush to sell. Car is in Western Sydney. PM me for contact details.

Cheers,
Harv

This hopefully shows the bits that are not quite right in the FuelMiser kit.

Bottom (green) gasket is the correct size for the grey motor BXOV1. The (grey) gaskets supplied in the FuelMiser kits are for the larger BX carbs.





(lookit all them leftover gaskets... a misspent youth overhauling BXOV1's ).

The plain steel pump arm is for the BXOV1, whilst the cad-plated ones supplied in the FuelMiser kits are for the later carbs. The difference is in the rectangular mounting hole - that cad plated hole is too large, and gives shaft slop. Normally the slop (from the round pump link hole being flogged out) is what you are trying to cure. The steel one shows a fair bit of slop.





(there is a pile of those cad-plated arms here too).

Cheers,
Harv

Fuel Miser are not bad, though the pump arm is not correct (it is a red motor pump arm, and sloppy on a grey) and the base gasket is also not correct (SAE2 instead of SAE1). Carb Service Co in Burwood used to supply the correct arms and gaskets (and lost motion kits) but I understand they have now closed up. Sad day.

Cheers,
Harv

Accelerator pump not squirting well. Pull air cleaner, operate throttle linkage by hand and watch for a blurt of fuel down the carb throat.

Cheers,
Harv

Voyager 2, this is Ground Control. We appear to have regained contact.

Cheers,
Harv

Moderators - please delete if inappropriate for the forum.

I have for sale my car trailer. I bought it about 15 years ago, and rebuilt it. The coupling hitch was replaced, and has over-run brakes. The brakes are able to be mechanically locked out at the hitch to either tow with no brakes or reverse the trailer without the brakes locking. The hitch is also able to be locked on to the vehicle with a padlock. The photos show a lot of heavy chain on the drawbar - please ignore this, it is only in place to lock the trailer to a tree to stop it being stolen. I have recently replaced the master cylinder. The trailer has four-wheel discs. I replaced the brake hoses to the calipers some time back. Two safety chains are fitted. Wiring is a seven-pin flat plug with recently installed LED taillights and normal incandescent side markers. There is a tailboard (not shown in the photos) that holds the license plate and license plate lamp. The trailer was originally yellow, and I painted it blue with Rustoleum paint. It is showing chips and scratches, and comes with a 1L tin of the correct paint. I replaced all four tyres when I rebuilt it, and one tyre recently - all have great tread. A simple toolbox is mounted to one side, and the other side has provision for mounting a jerrycan. The 1830mm long ramps were built using SuperCheap ramps, but heavily reinforced by a boilermaker... you could almost drive a D9 Cat up them. The ramps mount simply to the front of the payload area. A two-speed manually operated boat winch is fitted to the front of the trailer.

I bought this trailer as it is not as large as some. I have a single car fibro garage and a narrow driveway, and it fits into them... just. The payload area is 1700mm wide x 4000mm long. It readily fits an early Holden, and I have done multiple trips towing my EK wagon, Grace's EK ute and my FB sedan as they were either built or broke down. I can get the doors on these vehicles open when loaded, though the side rails would be easier to live with if they were dropped down to about 4" tall (simple welding job, but I cannot weld). I cannot get my sons VL Commodore onto it... the payload area is almost the exact width of the VL track. Including the guards and drawbar the trailer is 2260mm wide x 5530mm long.

I've done a lot of highway miles with it, mainly to Tamworth and back, both empty and loaded. It tows quite well, tracking true. The jockey wheel has the standard clamp-type mounting, and could do with a heavier mount (tends to cant sideways slightly when it has a huge load on the jockey wheel). Using the jockey wheel the front two tyres can be lifted off the ground, making it fairly easy for one person to steer around by hand. It's built sturdily, but two blokes can (just) lift the back of the empty trailer and shove it over a few inches (hand for squaring it up to a load). The trailer has been stored mostly indoors since I rebuilt it - it is unusual to see it chained to a tree as per the photos.

The tare weight of the trailer is 420kg. In NSW, the maximum that can be towed (with brakes on the trailer) is 1.5 times the towing vehicle weight. I have been comfortable that I can use my early Holden to tow another early Holden on this trailer and still meet the weight constraints. You will need to make your own choice as to what you are comfortable towing, and what you are comfortable towing with.

The trailer is located in Greystanes, western Sydney and is registered in NSW until the end of July 2025. I costs me $221 per annum for rego. Asking $1700 for it. New car trailers are around three times this price.








Cheers,
Harv

The spare gaskets are slowly going out the door as various people want them. All good.

One question that has been asked is how big a bore will these gaskets support. I was talking to the manufacturer about another project, and finally remembered to ask.

The feedback from the gasket manufacturer is that they will support a bore size up to 81.75mm (3.219").
For a 132, this is up to 220 thou oversized.
For a 138, this is up to 155 thou oversized.
They will not support a full-out overbore (3.25").

Cheers,
Harv

No problem. Send me a PM and let me know when you want to pick it up. I'll see if I can get some photos of it when I am home in a week or so.

Cheers,
Harv