Frank

[Ol_Girl_58]

Thanks Stinky and Grandmasterb.

Stinky, I couldn't agree more re: painting the support panel black/a dark colour.

Grandmasterb - I've owned Frank for nine years - I bought it when I was sixteen. I think it's been a while since anyone saw it in the flesh...

[jack_fc]

Good work, F.U.N.ction wins over form.
Yay! Nothing looks worse than a light coloured radiator support panel, except maybe a grey interior (eh Jack!) 

never pass up an opportunity for a dig, eh Stinky! 

Ol_Girl_58, it's looking great; keep up the good work!

cheers, jack

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi all,

Not an update as such, but last night I had my first actual drive of the car with the new motor in place, and it's full on. Driving a big (huge) cammed car with triple Webers is a different beast altogether. Last night it involved a fair bit of stalling from take off, as the engine needs plenty of revs to take off. The car was happy to putt along, but kind of like an eager dog, wanting to get off it's leash for a run. So, I was cruising in fourth, put it back to third and WHAM! I was thrust back into the seat while the car picked up like a rocket.

Most of the bugs have been ironed out, but the Webers are a bugger to tune. The car idles pretty rough, bogs down and fuels up when idling. But in saying this, the car does have good road manners and is pretty streetable. The idle is so lumpy I'm certain the car will shake to bits in time. There's a fair bit of oil coming from the oil filler, so I'll fit up a catch can to alleviate this problem. The motor shakes so much the exhaust knocks on the floor, so something will need to be done there - a bracket from the motor to somewhere on the subframe should do the trick.

The next thing on the agenda is to get the car to run well down low - it idles at 900rpm, but is a pig after this. Hopefully once I get the Webers sorted the car will be easier to drive, but if not I may look into a less aggressive cam grind. It's very tough and quite enjoyable to drive, but needs to be tamed.

I'll try to get a video up soon.

Ol_Girl_58

[weddo]

Good on Ya Josh,

Bring it on the run to Ross tomorrow thatle sort it out

Leaving Granton 9:30

Regards

Weddo

[CraigA]

Great to hear its on the road Josh 

Up the idle to about 1200rpm and you'll find it will be much easier to drive and won't fuel up as much. It will also smooth it out and make it less shakey through the car. Be careful though as you will lose a little bit of engine braking as you back off in the higher gears.

As you've said you just need to get used to it. Persevere though and don't go changing cams/etc until you give it and yourself some time to get to know each other 

The fumes from the oil filler will be a bit of blow by - which will continue until the rings bed in correctly. This may take a few hundred miles.

A catch can is a good addition as it will keep the engines internal pressures down, with an upside of no gaskets under pressure and therefore no oil leaks. The downside will be an oily smell when you're idling at the lights.

Have you mechanically balanced the carbies yet? Very important that this is spot on prior to worrying about mixtures.

If its fueling up under all conditions then you will need to change the main jet size.

As for the mixtures - give it a flat out run in top gear then shut it off and roll to a stop. Pull the plugs and check for rich/lean by colour.

You change the air corrector to fix this high speed mixture.

Have fun!!

[NosFEratu]

Been reading your updates but not had the time to post anything until now.

Super happy for you Josh - John and I know how keen you've been to get this up and running and now you have! Enjoy! 

[GMB-58FC]

Grandmasterb - I've owned Frank for nine years - I bought it when I was sixteen. I think it's been a while since anyone saw it in the flesh...

Purchased in Tassie???

[Ol_Girl_58]

Yep - from Tassie. I bought it off the son of a mechanic. He'd been trying to sell it for a while, apparently.

[GMB-58FC]

Yep - from Tassie. I bought it off the son of a mechanic. He'd been trying to sell it for a while, apparently.

It looks ALOT like the Lucas's old car, only reason i ask.

[Ol_Girl_58]

It looks ALOT like the Lucas's old car, only reason i ask.

Do you have any more info? I'd love to know more about the car's history. I bought it out Magra way, from a bloke called Luke.

[Ol_Girl_58]

Grandmasterb,

Are there any features that would distinguish the Lucas's car?

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi all,

Time for another update.

No photos this time, but I'll get some up in the coming weeks.

The Webers have been tuned and now they're running sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet  They took hours/days to do, but now they're done. From memory I used 50F jets, and now the car is pretty tame.

It idles at 900RPM without the car shaking to bits. Still, I'll make up a bracket going from the subframe to the block to eliminate any engine shake. I'm thinking that I'll need to speak to Marty Dean and get a deeper fuel tank made, as Frank likes to drink.

It's just the little things they are annoying. I fitted up a Sonic Injection thermostat spacer with incorporated Holley fuel pressure regulator bracket, but it fouls on the extractors, so extractors need to be trimmed a bit.

To cure the oil mist, I'm putting a catch can in, and also getting rid of the ill-fitting push-on oil cap and tigging a screw-on cap into the aluminium rocker cover. To tidy things up, I'm getting rid of the tall, clumsy looking 2 core Commodore radiator and replacing it with a custom triple core radiator that fits under the radiator support panel (refer to previous engine bay pictures). The engine bay wiring will be hidden, too.

I'm moving to dual-circuit brakes, so next on the list is to find a suitable master/booster combo to suit falcon discs. I am leaning towards Torana.

I'll get the Austin A40 seats in soon. I'm pretty chuffed the car is slowly getting that sedate sleeper identity that I am aiming for.
 
That's all for now.

Ol_Girl_58

[CraigA]

Great news to see you get it sorted Josh.

The Webers are a really nice carby once set up correctly.

Get a video up soon 

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi all,

I thought I'd post up some update shots (but no video yet, CraigA  )

It's all happening very slowly. The brakes, steering, radiator and exhaust are the things to be tackled now. The old braking system has been pulled out and a dual-circuit system is on the way. I give my mate Crossy full credit for tackling the brakes.





The brakes still need to be plumbed in, but I am holding off as I am unsure what brakes I will run, which is dependent on whether I leave the standard HR front end in, or whether I go for a R&P set up. I will either run HQ discs, or Hoppers Stoppers twin piston jobs.

Here's a picture of the sorted Webers. I bought a Lokar 'gas' pedal whilst I was in Canada recently, so the throttle cable is being adjusted to fit. The radiator has been pulled out and is being cut down and being changed to triple core (I have always hated the radiator that was in the car when I bought it). The car is also being rewired soon, and it will all be hidden.


As I said, slowly slowly. I wish I had more cash so I could finish the car sooner 

Kind regards,

Ol_Girl_58

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi guys,

It's time for an update. My good mate Crossy and I finally had some spare time to do a bit more work on Frank. The car has been off the road for 10 months now, being slowly rebuilt. The car was just meant to get a new engine and then be back on the road - that was back in May 2010

We spent last Sunday afternoon pulling the front end out in order to get out the motor, box, exhaust and tailshaft so that the underside of the car can get sandblasted.

I've been accumulating a heap of parts, so when the car comes back from being blasted, in will go a Torana rack (JB - is the rack still on the roof of your shed?), Hoppers front brakes, Supra box, short shifter, rear discs and LSD, new exhaust and extractors, chassis kit, mini tubs, larger fuel tank and Corvette seats 

The car is now at the stage where I need to decide if I want to continue going down the hot 6 route, or go with a V8. I am quite partial to the Toyota/Lexus V8, so I need to have a think.

I'm now at the stage of considering paint colours. The car has to be green, no question. The question is, what green? I am a huge fan of Forrester Green (the Holden colour, not the Subaru), but have been wrestling with the new VE green, too. I think that I want to go with stock looking paint, but I could could swing towards a custom-looking green. Choices, choices! I would be grateful for any other suggestions and pictures.   

Anyway, enjoy the photos - I'll put up some more when I get some more work done.

Kind regards,

Ol_Girl_58

[FCRB26]

Looking good i love green too but everyone will say are you trying to make it look like peter fitzpatricks car.

I didnt mind that blue on your car it looked pretty plain in your other photos but under the light it looks bloody unreal..

Keep at it.


Pete

[Ol_Girl_58]

Thanks Pete,

The colour the car is now looks like the colour Fitzy first painted his FC!

I'm thinking a colour similar to Mitch Reinders pro street wagon, or like 'Old59', rather than a flashy green like Trilogy.   

Also up for decision is wheel choice. This choice needs to be make soon, as the stud pattern is soon to be Falcon PCD. I haven't decided whether they are going to be 15" or 17" 

Choices so far include:

15x7 and 15x10 American Racing Salt Flats
15x6 and 15x10 Weld Prostars
17x7 and 17x10 Boyd Smoothies (or something similar)

Any suggestions would be great.

I'll put up some more when I get some more work done.

This quote sounds like it's me doing all the work. I need to credit my mate Crossy, who has been instrumental in getting this project off the ground. The car wouldn't be at the stage that it is without his knowledge, skills and assistance, as well as his time and patience showing me how to do things (this is my first project). So thanks, Crossy.

Kind regards,

Ol_Girl_58

[Ol_Girl_58]

I bought a solid centre brass button clutch today. Hopefully I made the right choice, rather than opting for a sprung centre. Time will tell... 

Ol_Girl_58

[FC427]

I bought a solid centre brass button clutch today. Hopefully I made the right choice, rather than opting for a sprung centre. Time will tell... 

Ol_Girl_58

That will be a hand full  in traffic  .....FC427.....

[FCRB26]

Traffic in Tasmania is there such a thing ??

Maybe stopping for sheep crossings