this might sound a bit strange,
but somewhere in your driveline needs to be weaker than the rest and much preferably something cheap to replace,
so the axles on a commomly available and cheap rear end would be a safe bet,

just spotted this and thought i would post,dont know owner or details but could be a great bargain if its truly a reco,in Brisbane area.http://cgi.ebay.com.au/genuine-reco-holden-138-motor-complete_W0QQitemZ170039374673QQihZ007QQcategoryZ32058QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i cant believe it he was a true legend in his own lifetime as was Steve Irwin,
even the others on Ford forums are in shock, he was admired by anyone who loves cars  and car racing.
RIP Pete.

RUST
what rust? looks very very clean ,even the chrome is all very nice. great first car bud. my first car was also an FC and i loved it, not as clean as yours is and that was 30years ago, so this machine has been very well cared for.
im sure you will get lots of enjoyment out of it.

vn and vp diffs are same length, but VR are 20mm wider than the VN series.

well son,
if you're going to do a job,
do it properly,
lol
you sure made a good job of that one bud.
ive never seen one snap like that before,

maybe thats the one but i dont think so as i cant remember any see through panels and im sure the one i saw had flared guards but half the reason he kept dropping price was because his photo's were blury like an old camera phone used to take,(640x 480 ) not even a meg,lol.why did you sell it for half of what you paid,mind you i just sold my ute and a couple of other cars for less than id spent.as i needed money in a hurry.

as Ace said,
Its a little notch so you put  pistons  in right way,as notch always faces front,they are on most pistons in one form or another all around the world.

i nearly brought this two years ago,and it was in MT Gambier(or very close town) it was sold after weeks of advertising with rust comong out in bottom sections of car,so i imagine its being restored in some form as we speak.as with lots of bad timing stories, i finally sold something for enough and emailed owner to be told it had just been sold couple of days earlier.i thought it was dirt cheap from memory only around $3000 and it had different wheels i think they were prostars

ebay sale half way between brisbane and Sydney,
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-FC-FE-FJ-PANELVANS-STATION-SEDANS-X-7_W0QQitemZ250017947359QQihZ015QQcategoryZ135412QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

thanks, its funny i can get any info on toploader,saginaws,aussie 4 speeds but the t5 commodore box fits in lots of cars but no one seems to be able to tell me anything about interchange's with them on the commodore forums , you have given me as much info on an FC forum in one day ,that took 5 days on 3 different forums, lol.
cheers Nick

can anyone tell me if i can bolt up a commodore VN V6 ,5speed  to replace my V8 one as i have found a few v6 ones but no v8 ones, from what ive seen in photo's they look very similar except for the bellhousing's,

the Volvo disc brake rear is about two inches shorter giving more room for deep dish rims,you have to cut off the volvo mounting plates,and weld in the Holden HR spring brakets,

need the room, $1500 and you still get the red motor and gear.

Hi Phil.
before you panic and imagine the worst,take the KISS rule(keep it simple stupid)and do as Terry says and remove the sideplate to check those welsh plugs,
cheers Nick

a photo would help identify what brand your roller rocker is?
cheers

due to needing cash,ive decided to sell my FC project car, no major rust,has tbar auto,179HP long motor that needs rebuild not running but will if i put manifold , waterpump and  distributer it will, comes with another low km 186 running engine, with good auto (both autos are trimatic) not bad for rust and quite straight,has full custom interior not fitted yet that includes front LJ Torana buckets ,back seat and full door trim set all reupholstered in burgundy velour and grey vinyl ,done by a pro in Sydney,comes with matching burgundy carpet and velour roof lining,good set of dragways , has HR front and rear ends fitted but drum brakes will include set of LJ Torana discs and calipers, and patch panel (full cut out) for passenger side rear lower quarter with wheel arch,as lower bottom rear quarter needs new bottom. make an easy rebuild into a hot car,will also toss in a set of twin carbs and manifold, plus a hot cam with gear drive set up.
$2000,no offers im 3 hours North of Brisbane in Hervey Bay (Urangan) p/c 4655.email nick61@in.com.au

yes its a straightline but cant remember what grey one looks like, one thing for sure on a grey box shifter is much faster than box can handle resulting in crunching gear changes until you learn the right hand movements to syncro speed on box, make sure its in good condition or you will jam it going from first to second .Impala also made very tight H Pattern shifter for grey box's,an absolute pleasure to use,id say they were very rare to find one now but you never know your luck at swap meets .

just looked on SBS and saw glimpse of an FC drag car,show  on NOW been watching 5 minutes and have not seen car appear yet.time now 1.15pm

sold sold sold sold