Thanks Rob.

I will leave the original in and see how I go.

Clean the diff housing up today in preparation for a lick of paint. Do diffs have a number in much the same way as the engine and transmision to date the manufacturing date? I came across a number on the drivers side on the outer most part of the diff housing. It was upside down and face the rear of the diff. The number is 8H7H.

I came across another issue that I need to attend to. The drain plug appears to be stripped.

My options are:
1. Retap the hole (I am unsure of thread and size) and hope for the best along trying to track down another plug.
2. Retap to a larger hole and find a plug to suit (any suggestions??) OR
3. Find a replacement housing which I prefer not to do.

Fun and games.

Cheers Rod

I can't believe that it has been a while since posting. Where has the time gone?

I have done a bit but not as much as would have liked. I wanted the old girl back on the road for a special wedding anniversary next week. That timeline is going to pass as I always find something else to do. I have got the front end sorted. All back on, including guards etc... A little warning for those that undertake a lower A Pillar Repair. Be very careful on how far out you repair panel goes. I found out the hard way when I went to put one of the guards on. I had to modify the lower part of the guard slightly in order to for it the fit flush with the door profile. The other side was fine.

Everything is in place on the inside except for the fitting of the front seat. I have yet to have the covers repaired.

The last couple of days I have finished making new brake and fuel lines. It took longer than I thought. Installing the brakes will be on a to do list shortly.

Today I moved the rear end. I have had an oil leak around the diff centre for a long time. What I thought was a simple job didn't turn out that way. Removed the first axle (very easily) and was presented with an oil leak. I remember replacing the rear axle bearing some time ago (however, probably less than 500 miles ago) and wasn't happy with the oil seal in the kit. It is one of the newer type seals, where the depth of the seal is less than the older metal / leather seals. When putting it in I wasn't happy and rightly so. It had slightly twisted in the opening and there was the source of the leak.

I then moved to the other axle and guess what???, it wouldn't budge. I then thought the easiest option was the remove the diff all together. I am glad I did. The axle came out easy, I can replace the gasket easily by easy access to the diff centre and clean 60 years of oil / grease off it in preparation for painting. Not to mention, replace other rubbers etc....

I hope I can ask a question / advice. Now that the diff is out I will replace the gasket along with pinion seal. I will also replace the axle seal  where the leak was (has anyone got any better alternatives to the newer ones?) but should I replace the the other side as well which has the original seal which hasn't leaked. I suspect it would be good insurance.

All the best. Cheers Rod

Rob,

I must say I look forward to your updates. You are very thorough and the detail you provide is of so much help to others. I am not sure if I have said this but gee you need to consider getting on the Youtube bandwagon like a lot of others. You would be pleasantly suprised by the number of subscribers you would get.

Keep it coming. Cheers Rod

Thanks Rob.

Have a guess what - I have been downloading many of these late this afternoon. Looks like some interesting reading now regional vic has gone back into lockdown. I just read one V20 No:1, Jan/Feb 63, which discusses modifying the Rear Main Bearing Cap to address rear main oil leaks. Haven't heard of that one. Need to consider that one when putting my FE motor together.

Thanks again Rob. Cheers Rod

I support what Ken is saying. I have an FC ute that never had this "disease". So much so, a couple of lining changes in-between as still no grabbing. A number of years ago I had the front end and subframe off to do some rust repairs. Once I put everything back together without any changes to the front end / brakes, I had the grabbing issue, interestingly enough on both sides (not at the same time though) when there is moisture in the air. I tried the chamfer approach with some success but not totally. Replacing the return springs fixed the LHS but I still get it on the RHS.

I had the old girl out this morning and sure enough the grab was present but resolved quickly. I have found if I drive slowly and put very light and I mean very light pressure on the brake at the same time the linings heat up and the issue resolves quickly.

I have an FE Sedan and it has never grabbed at the front end. It did at one stage on the RHS Rear but this was due to oiled linings.

Interest topic.

Rob are you able to indicate what edition of Accelerator that this issue was noted?

Cheers

Rod

Thank you Ken and Rob. I just want to be sure before putting back together.

I had one upright without the stub axle on and I see what you mean Rob in regards to the angle of the centreline.

It is interesting you mention the cotter pin. It was one on those things I was comparing but its obvious not enough, so thank you Rob. I see what you mean in regards to the recess for the nut and washer. However, the nuts are on the rear of the support where the recess is on all of the king pin assemblies I have.

In my research, I came across this very old thread over at the FB / EK Forum - http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3470&hilit=king+pin. The original poster hasn't been online for some time however, when I looked at his photos (I think they are incorrectly labeled ie: 1st one should be left from front and 2nd one right from rear), I can see why he had issues with the King Pin Inclination. The stub axles are out by 180 degrees or are on the wrong side because the grease nipples are facing rearward instead of forward. I assume this is the case with FB / EK as with FE / FC with forward facing grease nipples.

You may ask why I posted, possibly an unrelated thread, but I wonder how many refurbed king pins have been incorrectly assembled with stub axles out and or incorrect uprights being used ie: two rights (or lefts) or a mixture of both situations.

Ken and Rob, I really value your input. It is always valuable and I continue to learn in reading your threads and response that you provide throughout the forum.

Cheers Rod

Its been a little while. Still plugging away at the front end. I hope to have in shortly in order to get the wheels on and moving.

Knowing my stub axles are both FE and FC 9(different bearings), I thought I better double check that there wasn't a mix up on the stub axles and or upright supports. In reading this thread http://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=7032.20 some time ago there was a mention that there is a difference in the upright supports but not fully confirmed hence this.

The stub axles are left and right but in looking at the part numbers on the uprights I was presented with 8871/2 for both. When I went to the parts catalogue,  74088712 is listed as RHS while 74088711 being LHS - Bugger. I thought I would explore further. I have another four assemblies with three of them having the same 8871/2 number with the other having no number at all. Two of the three with numbers, were from a car I knew its history relatively well as it was my grandmothers and I can never remember a time when the King Pins were replaced. But I may very well be wrong.

I am going to jack up my ute tomorrow and see if I can get easy access to the part numbers for further clarification.

In the mean time can anyone confidently confirm there are clear differences between the LH and RH Supports or alternatively if they are the same. The thread above mentions there is an angle difference which effects castor.

Cheers Rod

Thanks Rob. I think I might be able to find enough seals in my collection. I have purchased 3/4 Heater Hose and will make some inner seals up over the weekend.

In the mean time I have got slightly side tracked. Took the covers off the front seat as they need some minor repairs, Mainly the hold down points of the fabric have decayed. Looks like it has been caused by the surface rust on the metal retainers. There is also a couple of minor holes caused by the broken plastic side covers (which I removed some time ago).









The condition of the burlap and covering foam is quite remarkable. More than usable. With anticipation I found a number of surprises - 65 cents, plenty of confetti again and the winner - a 1948 Three Pence.

The "side springs" were gone as I suspected( a copy below of the passenger side for reference) on the drivers side.



In another thread last year I made mention of the differences between the FE and FC. (http://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=27783.msg175019#msg175019). Using the donor coil springs from the FC I placed these strategically on the FE frame. While there is a slight difference in their location compared to a photo of the FB / EK, I did so using one of the original mount points on the rail hence the second spring had to be in a slightly forward position. I had to weld and reinforce one side "rail / wire as it was broken before installing the springs.









Finished off reclipping burlap back in place in readiness to install the foam and covers once they are repaired.



The "firmness" on the drivers side is now as firm if not slightly firmer than the passenger side.

Have a ripper.

Cheers Rod

Thanks Gary and Rob,

Gary I have the plates that go underneath. The bolts I spoke about hold the plate in place. In looking closer at the bolts, it looks like they have been replaced in the past but not spot welded to the wishbone.

Rob, thank you so much for the information. It is great. I am fortunate that they was no movement at all in any of the pivots, partularly the Upper and Lower Inners. Of all the seals I was missing  three I think and I suspect that these wear blased of when I pressure clean the assembly. Most of the others were hard and brittle and broke when I removed the wishbones. Thanks for the heads up about the Rares Seals. I was about to order them. I suppose I still need to order them for the other seals or could I get away with heat hose?

Cheers Rod

And has led to this....

While I had already given the front end a quick lick of paint I have decided to do some dismantling as some of the seals were no existant. King pins good - win!, Outer Upper and Lower Pivot Pins good - win!, Inner Upper and Outer Pivots seems solid - win!, One broken spring - replace, Shockers ready to replace, Bump stops perished - replace, Upper shock tower needs work (see below) and lower wish bones need work (see below).

This is at I found at the top of one tower. While the "original" shocks were still in place, it indicates that they have at least been removed in a past life.


It is missing one a rubber support as shown.


I will modify one of the 'old' supports and weld to the top.

The lower wishbone need attention as the bolts that hold the lower shocker support have to be welded back in (I assume that were welded going by what I could see) - weren't they a "shocking" job to do in getting a spanner to hold the head through the spring to stop them spinning.


Has anyone got any pointers in removing and more so reinstalling the Inner Upper and Lower Wishbone support bushes so I can replace the seals?

Intil next time.

Cheers

Rod

 

After the firewall card was back in place, in went the wiper and other cables etc.. that could be done until the card was in place.

I modified a set of wiper cranks I made some time ago for the electric EK wipers. The reason for this is to lengthen the primary so the wiper arms don't foul on the card. I reused / repurposed the pivot point from the vacuum crank. I then made a inset into one of the arms so it is more hard wearing while leaving the original rubber inset in the other arm which will pivot on the old vacuum pivot.

I hope it all works out in the end as I took measurements from an original crank.







UNtil next time.

Cheers

Rod

Slowly moving along.

Sound Deadner has been put in. I decided to cover it with a thin layer of underfelt to take away the "sharpness of the lines where the deadner was pushed into the curves of the floor.







Oh and put the confetti back in for someone else to find in a future life.



I am a little further advance than these shots. Slowly plugging away with the interior including putting back firewall card, vent mechanism, steering column, tidying up electrical etc...

Hi Ken and Vern,

Thank you! As it turns out, the internal horn body was out out by one hole if that makes sense. Thanks Ken for the heads up. I had to rotate it one hole clockwise and I think I am in the right spot now, even though there isn't much room for error in the length of the wires.

A huge shout out to Gary for emailing me some photos of a couple of horns which showed the correct position. Thanks so much.



Cheers Rod

Hi Ken,

Thank you. Gee it has been some time since I gave the horn a coat of paint. If my memory serves me correctly, I think I did pull the horn apart for a clean and then paint. I will investigate if I have put it back together incorrectly.

I did a quick 180 degree turn as shown below and now the terminals are on the other side and line up with the leads ok. But it doesn't seem right. ie: the horn seems to be forward too much (won't know fully until I put grill in) and the main body of the horn is now not in the recessed section of the radiator cowl (I hope that makes sense).



Thanks again Ken. I will dismantle and see if I can get it aligned properly.

Cheers

Rod

Hi All,

I am in the process I putting the wiring loom and little bits and pieces back together with my FE. I did take many photos of before but one I didn't was the position of the horn. Now when I have reinstalled it after a lick of paint, the wires don't seem to be long enough. Please see photos below.





I am not sure what I have done. Does anyone have a photo of the position of the horn I can compare to?

Thanks in anticipation.

Cheers Rod

Great work Cam. I am enjoying your journey.

I look forward in seeing her around in all its glory.

Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

Ken, this information really adds to our experiences and for some of us, the reason why we have FE / FC. No doubt this is the reason why you have such a vast knowledge of these models which we all benefit from. Have you ever been able track down your Grandfathers cars / follow their history?

I have just watched another Custom Resto about a dealership in South Australia. Another great story.

The other thing I forgot to mention about the figures I posted was the interest I had in the people who purchased these cars etc... Many have passed on but I remember them when I was young.

Anyway, have a great weekend all.

Cheers Rod

Hi All,

I have just purchased some flare nuts for both fuel and brake lines. They are imperial for both thread and nut size. I mention this as there was a thread (excuse the pun) some time back that while the threads these days are imperial, the nut size is metric. If you are after "old school" sizes check this site out - http://www.autoaer.com.au.

Further to that I did pose a question about the thread pitch for the 1/4 inch brake lines. I can confirm they ar 24 threads per inch (Thread - 7/16 x 24 T.P.I UNF).

Cheers Rod

Hi Rodger,

Bugger! Ken and Rob will correct me but I think the area which you describe as having a crack is an area that if the block is going to crack, it will be in this location. I was going to say common but I don't think that would be fair. However, I had to discard a block as it cracked in the same location that you have expericenced.

All the best.

Cheers  Rod

Hi Ken and Ken,

There are no Standard Station Sedans on the list. I have a little theory on this which I will talk to more below.

Thank you Ken for sharing the FE (and FJ Ute/Panel Van) sales figures. No I haven't got this list but when I see Greg next I will ask if I could get a copy or when I am am "back home". Greg gave me the FC figures as he knew my ute was on the list and I had a interest in it history. While I do have an FE Sedan, it wasn't purchased at this dealership as far as I am aware. What I take from these figures is that there were more Standard and Business variants sold during this period than during the FC period even though the total sales were slightly more by your figures.

I have a little theory on the number of sales during the FE / FC period in this small country victorian / mallee town but also the slight differences between what Ken and I have supplied. In growing up in this area you always knew when there had been a good season for the wheat crops etc... - Farmers would be driving around in new cars (no doubt now it would be 4x4's now). I am sure it would be much the same during the 50's.

Looking back to historical records during this time, the seasons were very good, and floods led to the filling of Lake Albacutya, which is close by to this town (Noramlly dry). The season would have been good in 56, the beginning of the FE era but continued until 1959, the end of the FC. Buying a Standard or Business would have been like buying a stock standard Commodore, while the Special variants would have been like getting a Calais. In 1956/7 there may have been a hesitency to busy the Specials not knowing what future seasons might look like, but as the successful seasons continued in 57/58 they would be a great ease in buying "Specials"

Anyway, that is a theory I have.

Cheers Rod