FC 219 Standard Wagon restoration

[zulu]

Well I have finally made a start on our FC Standard Wagon that we purchased back in 1989 


It had a fair bit of rust, but on the up side it had its original Stack & Co wallet with the original dealer paperwork, (York St Sydney) detailing owner & vehicle identification.

It also had a wilsonia gauge, Stack badge and a large 2 way radio cradle / holder under the glovebox.
There were modified scuff plates at each door, I assume to keep dust & water out and a spare tyre door like Ute / Van to access the spare without unloading / opening the tailgate.

According to the paperwork, it may have started life as a commercial travellers vehicle with J C Ludowici & Son (a tannery business).

It subsequently ended up at Mitchell & Townsend (a now closed Holden dealer at Blacktown) from where it was purchased by a Mr Turner, who had a Higginbottom engine installed in 1974

It then passed to a lady who sold Amway products, then ended up in a paddock out Londonderry way as you see it now, so after having a good look at it every time I drove past it, I haggled & bought it about 2 months later.

Cheers, Gary

[customFC]

Hey Gary.
Looked fairly sound when purchased.
I realise a single photo does not tell the full story though.
A few interesting additions on it.
Keep them updates coming.
Regards
Alex

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Sounds like an interesteing car, looking forward to updates.
(BTW, I tweaked the picture for you)

[Rusty_T]

 

Gary ,

Another Wagon.We can share tails of Wagon Restoration.

Good luck with it Gary. If another hand is required you know where I live.

( I now have lights in mine).

Cheers Rusty

[zulu]

Thanks boys, well here are some more progress pics, way back when I found it I had decided to make it slightly modified & part of that was to make it Automatic so I hunted around for a good EK hydra-matic donor wagon.



That way I could use the floor with the auto hump to replace the rusty one and also use the floor around the petrol tank.



Here I tried the FC subframe against the EK floor to make sure it would fit, it did!

So then we stripped the wagon out, it had 3 coats of paint, the original Ascot Grey, then what appeared to be a very well applied tan colour (this could have been the company colour of the business that purchased the wagon new, and lastly a sort of flat black (way ahead of it's time)



More soon, Gary

[zulu]

Here is a pic during the boning out of the wagon



The car now stripped and with a replacement front subframe & the donor EK floor was now ready to go to a bloke that used to be at a place near Parklea Markets (Mario Tuema?) who had the car for ages, no, make that years!



After welding in braces to keep the car straight, Mario drilled out all the spot welds of the existing rusty front floor & transplanted the whole front EK Auto floor in plus 2 NOS outer sills, 1 NOS inner sill & 1 made up inner sill.



He also replaced an area around the petrol tank with parts from the donor floor.



In this pic, just prior to it going to Marios, you can see the spare tyre door, pretty unusual for a Wagon

[zulu]

Here are some more pics, a lot of years had past after the initial work, so it was now time to re-start the project.

Subframe removed again ready for blasting


Made up some wheels to make it easier to handle


At last! Off to the blaster

[FATBOY]

looking good zulu you could do with one of my rotisserries
regards fatboy

[customFC]

Hey Gary.
Looking good.
What are the plans?
I guess it will be modified since you are going down the auto path....but how much?
Regards
Alex

[mcl1959]

Gary, I know we spoke about this wagon many years ago, and I can't remember if I asked at the time. Does the spare wheel area look like it was done in the factory with all factory spot welds, or was it done later on at a body builders.  Any ideas on the origins of this mod?

Ken

[zulu]

Not planning a lot of mods Alex, as it started life as a Standard, I want to retain that image but tart it up a bit as a dealer or owner might done have back in the day.

I am retaining the grey motor but had the engine reconditioner fit a mild cam, it will have twin Stromberg's & Jack Meyer headers, can't go too wild  it will be hydra-matic  as I have a few of these along with some nos parts.

Ken, Many years ago, actually, I am not sure it wasn't before 89' that I acquired it. I would have to say that the spare tyre door was probably fitted by a body works, the rear bumper was altered to fit by cut & shut with a filler piece welded in to close the open ends, looks pretty unusual, but neatly done.

I can only assume it was done by the original owners, J C Ludowici & Son (a tannery business) & used as a commercial travellers vehicle, possibly necessitating access to the spare without unloading the samples. It also had odd looking raised scuff plates, possibly to keep dust & or water out & a large 2 way radio cradle (looks like a small meat safe) under the glove box.

Also, one of the original rear bumpers had a circular disc welded to it, possibly for a bush areial.

Hey Fatboy, I might take you up on the offer of a rotisserie for the next project, a hoist would be good too, your build looks like it's going well, keep the pics coming!

Here are some after blast pics
 



Then it went to Alf's for some additional rust work & paint

[Hewart]

Nice work Gary!!

Looks like a great wagon...

It's great you're aware of its history and therefore deduct why some of those mods had been made in the past... like that spare tyre door and bumper modifications... Awesome!

Keeps those pics coming!!

Cheers
Les...

[zulu]

some zinc bits, doubled up on a few bits with this car so I can have a head start on the next one, maybe the Ambulance.



Dash



Firewall pad

[zulu]

Grille, chrome was done by that crowd down at Queanbeyan, they do nice work.



EK Auto Column, changed the wiring harness from the column over to the FC one, had to undo that little black box thingymijig 



Heater, was going to put aircon in this car but have run out of time, so it's just the heater for now 

[coolaride]

Gary

this 219 `s looking great ! keep the updates coming .

coolaride 

[zulu]

Well I was hoping to have this wagon ready for the Nationals but I'm running out of time! Assembly is well advanced but there are still quite a few things to do.

Here are a few more pics of the rust repair & paint


I had a NOS Victoria flash kit in the shed so decided that it would look pretty good on the wagon
Went with the original Ascot Grey below the flash & Teal Blue above 


Back home & started putting it back together




More soon, Gary

[Johns]

Looking good Gary.

Cheers
John

[zulu]

Thanks for the encouragement fellas, well in the last week or two the wagon has been on the move, drove it up to the Muffler Man at Kingswood (NSW) to have the exhaust made & fitted.
Then trailered it to John Denniss the Motor Trimmer for the headliner & a few other bits.
Then on to Ralph Moore Autoglass at Mascot to fit my NOS windscreen  & cargo area glass.
Then on the way home called in to see Mal Owen, he had a listen to the donk & made a few adjustments for me, thanks Mal.
Then  drove it (just) up to Marko Auto Transmissions, he went crook on me for not having enough oil in the HYDRA-MATIC box, hence veeeeeerrrrrryyyyy slow, now it goes.
Been working long & late to try & have it ready for the Nats,so decided today to take it for a blue slip, fully expecting to get it knocked back, as she is still partially undressed.
But....surprise surprise surprise  a pass, just put the plates on, but should have been attending to more pressing matters.
Still got a fair bit to go & only the weekend to do it, looks like it will be a Trailer Queen  this outing as I have not had time to test it & if I don't finish it, we will bring the FE over instead.
Here is a pic of the tank going in

Haven't had time to upload more pics, see you all at the Mount, BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

Cheers & safe trip, Gary

[RET]

Great work, Gary. That's a huge effort.

I saw this car about 6 weeks ago and it was just a shell.

Here's hoping you can get the rest done in time - it would be a real shame to "miss it by that much".

cheers
RET

[customFC]

Hey Gary
Sounds like some great progress.
Good luck with the finishing touches.
It would be a shame to get this close and not take her across for the Nats.
Hope to see it there.
Regards
Alex