THE HARD ROAD

[fc_mad]

keep going

[TTV6FC]

Great progress shots Mickus,nice score on the headers

[mickusmickus]

Well another few months have gone by and again next to nothing has been done towards getting my old girl back up and running again.  Over the christmas break I managed to make a few VERY small steps of progress.  Here are some pictures of my freshly powdercoated front cross member put back together.  This would have to have been one of the most frustraiting jobs I have done to date.  The spring compressors I used were obviously not the correct ones so I had to put them on the insides of the springs instead of the outside making it almost impossible to get the bloody things off once everything was bolted up.

Anyway after a week of mucking around i have finally got her done, shocks are yet to go in and new lowered springs will go on once the car is rolling again, I will be placing great importance on getting the right ride height.

[TTV6FC]

Hey Mickus,next to nothing is still better than nothing.This time of year is real hard....Every little bit helps.I know exactly how you feel.We are just about to start vintage here in the Barossa and we have been working 65+ hours a week since before christmas.Cheers,Jamie.

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

The spring compressors I used were obviously not the correct ones so I had to put them on the insides of the springs instead of the outside making it almost impossible to get the bloody things off once everything was bolted up.

There is a trick to getting springs in with these front ends, I used a long piece of threaded rod, nut and washers through the top shock mount and a metal plate at the other end to compress the spring with. Still a little tricky but it works and I have heard others do it the same way.

[zulu]

Yep, thats the way I did it



I tried the spring compressors also & found them no good

Cheers, Gary

[mickusmickus]

I don't know what I was thinking when I started having trouble???  Instead of coming straight to the forum and asking for some advice, I pressed on regardless, eventually getting the job done but not without clean snapping two threaded rods on my spring compressors, having about 10 let gos and wasting a month.

Anyway, onto the next phase, I started assembly of the stubs, brakes and hubs on the weekend.  Thank god I finally lashed out for a small blasting cabinet, it is saving me countless hours in preperation of parts.  That said, AGAIN I am finding more and more parts that were not part of the initial rebuild plan making their way into the cabinet and onto the bench ready for paint.  Hope to get a chance to post some more pics soon, but I feel the motivation coming back to an all time high so hopefully the next few weeks will be productive.

MT

[Johns]

I know how you feel Mickus, Nev's rebuild started out as the replacement of the NSR floor section in November 2006. I'm still not sure how I got to an engine rebuild, which isn't finished and he's supposed to go to the Nats 

Cheers
John

[mickusmickus]

Well Finally after 7 years out in the weather the FC has finally found her way into a shed!  After pulling her apart in the back yard of my parents house I have now got her resting safely in my shed allowing me to get back to work on her!

I posted on the General board about ideas for moving it with no subframe/crossmember and I will report that the Piano trolley is a 100% winner!

The trolley sits perfectly under the front chassis rail



Hauled up onto the tilt tray I borrowed from a bloke who is heavily into his Caddys, modifeid the tray bed so he could, slap the 66 caddy convertible on the back, tow his caravan and ride all around australia seraching for the best places to cruise in his awesome CAD.



Finally I have my car at MY OWN HOUSE!  What a relief!



And here she lies ready for some serious TLC!



I put so much work into keeping it dry and clean over the past 7 years using multiple tarps etc and it has paid off.  It has hardly aged a day in all that time!  Couldnt be happier that I can finally keep her high and dry!

Now I just have to come up with a new excuse as to why I havent got the bloody thing finished yet!

MICK

[mikey]

Well Finally after 7 years out in the weather the FC has finally found her way into a shed!  After pulling her apart in the back yard of my parents house I have now got her resting safely in my shed allowing me to get back to work on her!

I posted on the General board about ideas for moving it with no subframe/crossmember and I will report that the Piano trolley is a 100% winner!

The trolley sits perfectly under the front chassis rail

Yay, I won 

Now what is my big prize?   Nah in all seriousness, nice work in getting it on and did not look dangerous in doing so either.

Cheers   M

[EffCee]

Well done Mickusmickus,

Now the work can begin

Keith

[mickusmickus]

HAHA No prizes for the piano trolley as that was my initial idea!  Ill give the prize to myself then!

I also need no reminding that there is plenty of work to be done, Im hoping I might get home from work today and find it all finished?  Not liking my chances, unless the dogs have gained some metal work skills over night?

[IFC.58]

nice work mate

where abouts are you in qld
in brisbane ?
i,m in northlakes
and doing the same thing to my wagon atm,
get it back from painters on the 10th of murch
and it needs to be back togeather to do a wedding for a mate on the 20th of march

terry

[pedro]

get it back from painters on the 10th of murch
and it needs to be back togeather to do a wedding for a mate on the 20th of march

, G'day Terry,Not trying to put shit on you but if you can get your car back together and on the road in ten days I reckon we should all put in and get you a trophy for the fastest FC/FE build ever, I could be wrong but I don't think it's ever been done before( I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong ), am moving back to the Gold Coast this week so hope to catch up with you guys at some point, I will be joining the Brisbane FE/FC club so maybe I'll see you at the next meeting.
         Pedro 

[NosFEratu]

, G'day Terry,Not trying to put shit on you but if you can get your car back together and on the road in ten days I reckon we should all put in and get you a trophy for the fastest FC/FE build ever, I could be wrong but I don't think it's ever been done before( I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong ), am moving back to the Gold Coast this week so hope to catch up with you guys at some point, I will be joining the Brisbane FE/FC club so maybe I'll see you at the next meeting.
         Pedro 

Can definitely be done - in fact 10 days is a holiday!  I got mine back as a bare shell on the 19th of December 1989 and I drove it to Canberra on the 26th of December 1989.  Never missed a beat the whole way there and back!  So Pedro - he has 3 days to sit back and have a few beers and admire his work! I reiterate - it can definitely be done!  Now where's my trophy?

[pedro]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong

I stand corrected obviously it can be done, I was going to write " I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, won't they Kathi ", should have stuck with my instincts shouldn't I  , I'll have to put some thought into the trophy, I'm sure we can come up with something given enough time and alchohol .
                                                                         Pedro

[mickusmickus]

Well just to give everyone a laugh, I was intending to do a quick straight out engine swap over in mine.  Unfortunatley the more things I took off the more things I decided to do....................In the backyard of my parents house mind you.

Anyway 4 years later i have a new engine, primed subframe and fire wall, rebuilt and powdercoated front cross member and brakes and that is about it!!!!!!!  The pictures show how far away I am from finished!!!!!!

10 days has clearly been WAY beyond me!  At least I am finally working out of a shed now!

MICK

[mickusmickus]

Hello again people,

MY poor old FC has again rolled it's way out of the back corner of my shed.  For months my partner has been nagging me to get rid of it, but that is something easier said than done. Sunday drives in my 1964 Vauxhall Victor Super Sedan simply arent enough to satisfy my taste for classic motoring.

I finally caved in to the nagging over the weekend and started to get everything together ready to advertise for sale.  In doing this I decided to bolt the sub-frame and cross member back up for ease of movement........BAD MISTAKE.  Now I am more eager than ever to see the old girl back on the road with me at the wheel.  It is amazing how much of a bond you form with a car without even knowing it.  Every time I have walked past it for the past 4 years I have thought to myself, "there is just too much time and money required to get it back on the road", yet all of those negaitve thoughts were squashed in just half a day of spinning the spanners.

As always the budget dosent stack up for a fast fix to my problem, and my lack of metal working skills leave me paying big dollars for rust repairs, yet for some reason I just can't seem to let the thought of one day being back behind the wheel go!



With her front guards back on and a set of front wheels under her she is VERY hard to resist!!!!!!!!

[ridgey_didge]

You've convinced me that you should keep her (the car "her", not the partner "her" about whom I have no relevant information and hence no opinion.)  Now work on yourself and your partner and everyone will be happy.

Cheers
David

[TTV6FC]

my partner has been nagging me

Good,so it's not just me then.....