quick update, for now

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

I got 235s to fit on the FE, went a little too much inwards with the offset on the wheels and they scrape the inner guards (tubs) on tight corners, the lips aren't rolled and they have never touched there.
A torana diff would be another option.

[smithy]

hiya stinky, these are actually 17 inch we were discussing to run on a commodore diff.
the commy diff im using was cut down to HR specs and the problem was trying to find decent rims with commodore stud pattern....
 ah the joys of modification 

[smithy]

just picked up a 215 x45x 17 case and it looks like this will be the go, i may get some scrub on the outer so i might try a bit of massaging on the inner wall of the outer guard.

looks like you were on the money there mark...
thanks for your help mate


dean

[FC427]

Dean can you get  a few mm turned  off the center or did Show Wheels already do that  .........FC427........

[smithy]

hey mark, they already took 6 mm off.
that was the first ph call i made
unfortunately they shave them before they drill and taper the pcd, but judging by the hub width there isnt much more that could safely be taken off,
it was sort of my error, when i measured the backspace i was working with a 6 inch rim, i didnt take into consideration the extra inch.
it looks ok though and besides having the 215 x 45 brings it very close to original rolling diameter which will keep mr rego man happy....

always room for later on down the track once i get the car on the road

[FC427]

Dean didn't you end up with 110mm back space ??........FC427........

[leon]

G Day.
I would  have to say, job very well done boys and I just love the white upholstery.
Definitely professionals at work here.

[Philby]

Hey Dean,

Any working bee's planned in the next month?

Cheers,

Phil

[smithy]

OK its been a little while since my last update and i have completed a few more jobs bringing me just that little bit closer
but before i get into it just a few replies.

mark- the 110 backspace is on the front, this will give be ample clearance on ball joint and tie rod ends, the rears are closer to 118 backspace.
i had another good look in the daylight and the 215's will clear, i have about 50mm clearance on the inside and when $$ prospects improve i will look at diff options.

leon- thanks heaps mate for the compliment. actually a few "professionals" have been used in the construction with body/paint and a very talented trimmer, thanks stinky to stitch up the covers then re-padded and repaired and attached the covers to the seats myself, apart from 1 small incident everything fit up quite well. and i cant forget the assistance of keith in the welding of the boot for the new tank.
windscreen fittment, and brake lines /handbrake will be the only other 2 jobs i will seek the services of a pro, apart from the final EFI tune/programming
i have been trying to keep costs down as much as possible by doing as much of the work myself, and learning a hell of a lot in the process

Philpy- no working bees in the pipeline just yet but there is always something to get done, or conversation required so your more than welcome to pop on over

ok now on to show and tell

finally got windscreen fitted after a few minor dramas with the screen not fitting properly on the first attempt, the guy who fitted it seems to think the windscreen surround on the body may have sagged a bit due to no screen being in the car for quite a while, he has fitted screens to FC's for over 25 years and has seen this on the odd occasion, last one he had to get a porta-power in to lift the roofline a bit

something to keep in mind everyone 

second attempt and a change in tactics worked but still very tight, not sure if rares rubber has anything to do with it but we are giving it a month to bed itself in then he will come back and do some final massaging
unfortunately he could only get the tinted band




scored myself some dynamat 
and after a few days of back aches fitting all is ready for carpet
not really the most enjoyable job to do with a crook back




finally got some scuff plates after months of searching, thanks heaps pedro your a champ, so spent this weekend in the sunshine ( 12 degrees ) prepping and painting.
they were in pretty good condition with only 1 really requiring a bit of work, with a fair bit of rust but thankfully still metal underneath.
rust converted the lot and a little metal work and got the paint shop to colour match & mix up an aerosol can and so far they have come up pretty good, hopefully will clear them in the next day or so ( today is 10 degrees and a bloody chilly wind )




got the 215 test tyre fitted and this makes a hell of a difference to the rim look, starting to look like a car now




hopefully be getting into the final stages of painting and installing fuel tank this week along with running fuel lines, after a bit of uncertainty i will be setting on running 3/8 copper fuel lines ( lpg pipes) it was almost impossible to get 3/8 steel bundy tubing as no one carries it stock and freight to get the amount i need was crazy. spoke to the transport departments technical standards guys and they gave me the all clear to run copper, as long as it meets design standards for fuel and is secure.

picked up a few more things during the week, vehicle speed sensor for the EFI, charcol cannister and some intake tubing plus a few odds and ends

indside door rubbers now installed from clarks rubber, they seem to fit better than the rares and a hell of a lot cheaper.
gauges in the console all ready to go,

carpet and front seat to go in in the next 2 weeks then brakes and engine starting   
then trim the boot area and all should be good

still working out clutch ideas to lessen pedal pressure, plus have a little special something which ive got to work out before i let the cat out

but things are progressing,
and  cant leave without saying very big thanks to Kathi, John and the guys at PAW Performance for their ongoing support and subtle motivational skills  

stayed tuned boys and girls the best is still to come

dean

[ridgey_didge]

Great work Dean - it is really looking fabulous.

Cheers
David

[smithy]

thanks heaps david,
yeah its all slowly starting to come together. its funny how many jobs cant get done until you do something little but before something little gets done there are so many big jobs to do

[NosFEratu]

Hi Dean

Great to see the progress to date – it must feel so good to be so getting much closer to the end (but are they ever really finished?).   Those scuff plates are looking real good and WOW, Bubble's gonna look stunning when you get her down on the ground with those wheels and tyres! 

You certainly have had some really good support from a wide range of forum members in many different ways – either through passing on their knowledge, the provision of a lot of moral support and encouragement and not to forget some really good physical support either through the supply of a few parts or actual physical labour - it was great to see Philby asking when the next working bee was! 

And in relation to those written (not to forget the occasional verbal) “smack around the head” you get from me and John, well, it’s the very least we can do due to the tyranny of distance!  Oh yeah, the guys at PAW Performance really like them swish “Dine Mats”! 
 
Keep up the good work!

Kathi 

[TTV6FC]

Looks fantastic Dean and good to see you are getting real close now.

[pedro]

G'day Dean, looking good, the rims look shit hot with tyres on them , unusual not to see buster in any pics, has he been banned from the white upholstery or was he just busy chewing on another real estate agent
                                            Pedro

[NosFEratu]

Come on Dean, time we started getting tough on you again!  It's Sunday night so ........

Where's your update??

Kathi 
F4+ =^{^^}=

[smithy]

well, here it is again, the sunday update......

thankfully i was spared last week due to the f*****g hackers hitting the site so this weeks makes me look like i was busy

desperately fighting off the cabin fever and sub zero garage conditions i did manage to get a bit done.

fuel tank before and after hours spent with a wire brush




and once again in the car ready for straps to secure it,



almost looks like it was made for the car



fuel filter and fuel & return lines fitted




and instead of getting my fuel sender modified from 240-40 ohms to 0-30 ohms to suit the FC gauge, i spent about an hour going through bins at the wreckers for a suitable commodore fuel gauge and found that a VL commy has about the same sweep and is very close to the FC size.
so today was spent rugged up in the shed adapting the commy gauge to the FC housing which wasnt as easy as i thought it would be. just about every component of both had to be modified.
last year i apid $40 for the Ozito rotary tool in the pic below and it has been the best money i have spent, i wouldnt even like to think how i would have done this without it.





this mess is about half way through


this little plastic needle is now half its thickness and im in the process of cutting the VL face down to suit the original gauge



i had to take about i.5 mm off the height of the needle shaft and re-glue because the whole VL unit is over 4 mm too high to sit in the FC housing, the needle has now been completely ground down, beyond the white cap on top and is about half the diameter, shaving about another 2mm off. damn hard trying to carefully grind clear plastic

i then had to cut a support from the old VL housing for the needle to sit on and attach this to the back of the FC face and take a large section from the FC face to allow the needle to sweep cleanly, and shave 2mm from the underside




because the VL unit plugs into a circut board on the VL dash, and the whole housing is plastic, while the FC is all metal and grounds to the dash i have to make sure that no metal components will come in contact with the guage  ( i hope im right in this theory )
after this shot was taken i realised that some of the fine wires in the VL guage would touch the centre of the metal FC face so a large section then had to be removed. i will glue the VL face onto the original which will all sit nice and neat behind the original facia and hopefully wont notice the difference unless you know what to look for, plus it will give me better accuracy when im running out of go juice

i now just have to work out which is the correct wiring sequence from the back of the unit

i also have had to section the metal dash facia ( or whatever the piece is the hides the blinker, fuel gauge) because even after shaving all the plastic off it will still foul

then i decided to change the whole appearance of the dash but you will have to wait for a day or 2 for pics until i put it all back together

made myself up a fresh air intake pipe, fitted injectors, and have started plumbing fuel and vac hoses to engine....heater tap i'll fit this week, do a tidy up on the wires, and fit the charcoal cannister and lines to the tank



painted brake hubs and calipers finally and have now installed the 02 sensor and vehicle speed sensor for the EFI.
just waiting to fix up a few little things this week then start on another area of the beast.

oh yeah and the scuff plates are now cleared and looking quite funky

s**t i have been a bit busy, all this and bloody house inspections and trying to find work and a new place to live......
just wish the weather would stay in double figures so i could spend more than 4 hours in the shed

cheers
dean

[smithy]

sorry to keep you waiting there kathi, you can call off the henchmen now.
just took a little longer to write then i accidently hit a button and had a hissy fit cause i thought i lost it all....


"picked a hell of a week to stop sniffing glue" 

[NosFEratu]

I was wondering what took you so long to respond to the throwing down of the gauntlet! 

You have been a very busy little boy!  Looks like you should, all things going well, definitely be on target for November! 

Kathi 
F4+ =^{^^}=

[smithy]

shhhhhhh dont curse me, im quietly confident at the moment


but with house moving coming up its going to be close,real close
im not sure about registered but it should be good for the wedding photos


and nice and shiney too

[NosFEratu]

Sorry, the 10 minutes has passed for me to be able to modify or retract my above statement! 

Regardless, you're moving in the right direction! 

And yes, I'm sure it will be nice and shiney too!