My first old Holden 59 FC 225

[Oggz]

Hi guys, well after about of year of casually looking I recently stepped it up a gear and have been actively look for about 3 months and after missing out on several nice ones I finally got my hands on a 59 FC Special Sedan, I was truly after a wagon but phaw! I found some rocking horse s**t in a guys shed, but no FC wagons worth looking twice at! I figured I would put this in here as she is not road worthy yet.

I know almost nothing about its history apart from what I could glean from its body plate, made in Melbourne and is two tone Fountain Blue on Indian Ivory, looks like it has been resprayed at some stage. The engine number (from middle of right side of block? 7 digits no letter prefix) according to the table in the tech area appears to be from a FJ, I guess its had the motor replaced at sometime. It also has an alternator which looks like it was fitted along time ago, the phone number on the sticker for the place that fitted it is only 5 digits long! The guy I brought it from trailered it to the Sunny coast from Melbs and then left it in a shed for 3 years before moving back to Melbs and leaving it behind.

Its in reasonably good nick body wise but does have normal rust spots from sitting about for so long, 90% of it is surface rust with a couple of places that need some attention. The motor hasn't been started in 3 years but did run and can be turned over by hand easily. The brakes are completely shot and it needs new cylinders and shoes all round and possible the master re-kitted. The solid brake lines look good and I cannot see any perishing on the hoses. The steering feels solid with minimal free play, but I wont really know until she gets driven!

I plan to get her back into a driveable condition as fast as I can and then work on cleaning her up as I go, she wont be a daily but she will get regular use.

And last but not least, some pics







Cheers
Oggz

[DN2168]

Looks like a good starting point Oggz, Have fun with it.

Dean.

[fe350chev]

Well done nice pick up. whats the front crossmember like, the one that goes from gearbox mount? Its good that she can be driven in and out of a driveway etc. Look forward to following the progress. I have 2 on the go thats how silly I am    but mine much sadder than yours 

[Oggz]

Well done nice pick up. whats the front crossmember like, the one that goes from gearbox mount? Its good that she can be driven in and out of a driveway etc. Look forward to following the progress. I have 2 on the go thats how silly I am    but mine much sadder than yours 

I take it you mean this



There is also rust in doors and right rear bottom guard, but apart from that cross member piece, the floor is awesome, well, so far

[TTV6FC]

Nice mate,my sister has an FC with same colours in about that condition.

Cheers,Jamie.

[Oggz]

That's nice! a bit shinier than mine too, I am still out on the bonnet bird tho, don't know why mine doesn't have one and not sure if I will add one yet. 1st priority is still getting on the road!

[fe350chev]

Thats not too bad then, just done go digging around too much 

[Oggz]

Well, I am a very happy man tonight, after 3 years this ole grey motor runs again!

Fresh battery, some fresh fuel, new oil and it was all go...untill the fuel pump stayed empty...we cranked and cranked and cranked, and we got nothing.

So on the offer of the next door neighbor we pulled out the air compressor and started to blow air down the line, backwards! We managed to get air blowing from the pump "in side" of the fuel line into the tank, so we decided to give the pump a helping hand and pressurised the tank and pushed some fuel down the line to the pump.

After a few more seconds cranking after we had fuel in the pump we got spark and without a choke she just started! quiet as a mouse she just ran, I think we all just took a step back and went "what?" looked at each other and went "shes going!"

I must admit it was a bit surreal, there are fuel no leaks, no coolant leaks, no exhaust leaks, plenty of oil leaks but thats a given, no loud knocks, no bad noises...it just, goes!

very bloody happy! now I cant wait to take her for a drive...just need some brakes

[MattFC]

  That's awesome! I just hope I can get a similar result when I fire mine up.

[Old_Mt_Isa_Boy]

Oggz That may be grounds for a small celebration. Well done.


Keep those pictures coming.

Rgds

Wayne b

[Oggz]

Ah well, good progress and bad.

I put the front brakes back on the car tonight, new cylinders, fresh shoes and re-faced drums, I am still a little surprised at how simple the system is. But before I screwed the flexy hoses back in I thought I would put some air down them, just to see...blocked, both of them!

This does not bode well for the rest of the system but I will have to try and check that tomorrow night. Can ya just take the line out of the m/c and blow air down that line? or will I need to find the blocks and go from there?

I dont really want to replace all the line, they are all covered buy underbody anti rust stuff and will look outta place if they go in fresh!

[EffCee]

Oggz

You will probably find that the blockages are from the rubber hoses that have perished and have now filled the inside of the hoses with perished and swollen rubber pieces and rubber flakes etc. This is a common problem. Remove the hoses and you should be able to blow compressed air from the disconnected pipe from the master cylinder through the brake system. If there is still a blockage then maybe there has been moisture in the brake system. This would have caused a rust deposit that has now blocked the pipe.

If this has happened, take some tie wire and feed it down the  brake pipe. when you get to the obstruction, keep wriggling the wire. If the obstruction clears continue to repeat the wire movement until all the rust is gone. It should be noted that the pipe at this point would be weakend and the better option is to replace the pipe. As these brakes are a single circuit system, once you lose fluid, you only have the handbrake that wil stop you should the pipe fail.

But I would put money on the brake hoses being the cause of the problem

Keith

[TTV6FC]

Hey Oggz,yeah brakes are a pain...Just remember,THESE ARE YOUR BRAKES!!!!You know ,the things that are designed to stop you from slamming into stationary (and mobile)objects while you drive and protect you and your family.If it is the only thing you spend good money on it will be worth it if only for piece of mind.I have just replaced everything as I could see that the old lines/shoes/cylinders could not be trusted.I bent up my own lines which needs to be factored in of course.Here's a breakdown of my costs.
       
4x slave cylinders @ $65  = $260
1x Master cylinder           = $66
Bundy tube                    = $26.40
Tube nuts                      = $22
Brake shoes re bonded      = $170.50
Brake hoses x 3              = $82.50
Drum machining              = $66
Total                            = $693.40

Piece of mind.........        = Priceless....

Jamie.

[Oggz]

Thanks for the advice guys. The front hoses are defiantly going to be replaced, not only are they blocked, they have rub marks on them also, one of them down to the string. I will go and see the man who did the shoes and drums for me, I am pretty sure this will be right up his ally.

The Family will be going in the car at some stage so if there is any doubt, I will replace the whole system.

One more thing, when I got the car, the brake lines were empty, when I spoke to the owner, he said that when he moved the car out of the shed, approx 6mths ago, it was still holding fluid. I figure when he moved he tried to use the brakes and has popped a hard seal somewhere and that's where all the fluid went

TTV6FC, some of those costs are a bit scary high and some of them are nice. Where did you get your parts from? I have been using Global so far.

4x slave cylinders @ 80 = $320
Shoes radius grind, arms off old shoes fitted to new and drums surfaced = $122
Total so far = $442

I think I will have to take the m/c of and check that over too...it looks reasonably new

Cheers

[customFC]

I would suggest you change those rubber hoses.
The rubber swells up internally and restricts the flow.
Even if you can blow air through them, they may not flow fluid as they should.
Regards
Alex

[TTV6FC]

Hey Oggz,been using my local brake place here in the Barossa Valley/SA and from what I can see his prices are pretty reasonable.Cheers,Jamie.

[Oggz]

Progress today! got brakes took her for a road test, still cant take the smile off my face...next obstacle, rust, meh.

Looking for a panel beater, Gold Coast.

[fe350chev]

Well done. You have the cheapest part out of the way  . I wish mine were running already 

[Oggz]

Decided to grab some polish and see what I had under all the oxidised paint.





Only managed to get on door done to where I was happy. Did the rear guards and boot....didnt come up so good, need to go over it again.

All up the paint isnt too bad.

But after a conversation this morning with another forum member this car maybe up for sale soon...

[Oggz]

Well, getting closer to a road worthy, got a list yesterday that was a lot shorter than I expected.

Rust...heheh yep, but only the surface stuff on the doors and RR lower guard, there isnt a lot and no hold so I am going to grind back and fill for now, will do proper cut and plate later

Shackle bushes, front and rear, also front out rigger rubber

L/H front door handle, $5 all ready done

Number plate light, easy fix, spotted a loose wire when I removed the old plates.

That's the list for me to do. I am going get the mechanic to adjust the drag link and replace the axle seals, both are leaking...so hopefully by next weekend I can go for a nice cruise!

Oggz