FC Ute Project Fink

[my8thholden]

yes if you wanted your own engine put through as if it were and exchange that was done , it worked out a little more costly , but you kept your original engine ..I cant recall for sure but I think when we started 149 and 179 exchange engines they were painted correct Holden red ..and to get the ball rolling we had to have reconditioned engines in stock ready to go , so engines were bought brand new from Holden and put into the system as an exchange engine ,all the pistons , rings , and bearings were Repco anyway ( ACL actually ) then owned by Repco , and of course we bought many from wreckers to put into the system ..and every man and his dog who wore out his 149 wanted to exchange for 179  .company policy NO !! ...when you pull your engine down the pistons will have a part number stamped on them and the oversize it was bored and honed to , you will need that if you are going to order rings ..also the big end bearings will be 6B5001 and the undersize ,that was the standard copper lead bearing , if it is 6B5001AL that is the Alluminum lead bearing , a stronger material developed when blokes wanted to  increase compression and power ..you may find the pistons are ACL , or genuine Holden , if we ran low on pistons we would buy back from Holden  .I will be interested to know what your engine is inside , if and when you pull it down ..cheers Vern ..

[SquishyShoes]

Got in the shed after work today as Dad wanted the ute out of the way, and while I was there I got under the hood and found the engine number. L3851XX. From my own research that would be out of an FE? Sept-Oct 57? Such an oddball this ute hahaha.

[ardiesse]

Looks like Repco fitted a reconditioned motor whose number wasn't too far removed from the original.

Rob

[my8thholden]

gents ..I am trying to recall accurately just what was the procedure for an exchange Grey Holden engine , I don't recall any specific attention paid to the series of the engine number , for sure we had to record all sales in the Police register , and it was for police not the DMR as it was a police matter to trace stolen cars and therefore engines , the onus was on the registered owner of the vehicle to advise DMR ( the then Motor Registery ) of a new engine number ,because that old engine would go into the system and go back out again into another car , and there would be 2 cars with same engine number if that was not done , it also covered Repco as to how that engine came into their possession. I seem to remember the Repco in house part number on the engine would determine which model it fitted ...at Waitara , Brookvale or Chatswood there would have been about 10 engines in stock at each branch , so if a service station or fitting station rang up , " long motor for FE please ,plus a clutch kit ,and we will give the flywheel to driver to be surface ground to come back on next delivery  " he would have got any engine in stock,If a customer was fussy he could choose one from what was available.The old engine coming back in had to be reconditionable , a rod thru the block would cause a forfeit of deposit .cheers Vern .

[SquishyShoes]

Hey all, so the other week, we got the clutch unstuck and Fink has his first drive around the yard. Now, I figure a 1L bottle of petrol sitting loose in the engine bay probably won't pass RWC, so I was wondering what the best solution is for fixing the rust/holes/etc around the fuel tank. I'm not sure how airtight this fuel tank is. It has a few gaps around the edges, where the two pieces meet/are pressed together, it might work. I've heard of some people putting in commodore floorpans and fueltanks for efi engines, is there a certain model, say the vs ute that's a bit neater to weld in? Or is there a replacement piece available aftermarket to suit the fe-ek ute? I haven't found one so far.




Any and all advice is welcome, thank you. I'll try and get some better pictures soon.

[SquishyShoes]

I was going through the forums again today, looking at all the nice cars here for inspiration when I stumbled on this thread again. I thought I had posted these vids last time, but apparently not. Back when I first picked the old boy up, we put some fresh fuel down his throat and he started straight up. You'd think I cut this vid short, but it's literally turn key and straight into this.
https://youtu.be/Abz9aFqY6DE
https://youtu.be/pE1BeDuvWEk
A few weeks later, after we had redone the clutch cylinders, we got the old girl to move. Still no brakes though hahaha.
Haven't really done much since, just trying to find the motivation to get back down there again.
https://youtu.be/UBDG8DQQmaI

S

[Errol62]

Repro early mustang tanks seem to be popular lately. The just fit, making the exhaust an issue, and you have to relocate the filler inlet.

I think Neil (Firecracker) used a VS ute tank in his EK ute, but with V6 up front.


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[FireKraka]

I use VN VP tanks as they’re metal and easy to move filler neck etc I believe the later ones were plastic.
I use them as Clay says because of the V6s that I have fitted and I can use the standard in tank fuel pump makes parts cheaper. Even with these tanks you have to put the exhaust up and over the diff and in between the spring and body to keep it away from the side of the tank.
I probably have some photos if anybody was interested 😜