My FC Rebuild

[DJ]

Congratulations Jim.

[graham_fuller]

Congrats Jim.
Cheers,
Graham

[Maco]

Congratulations Jim, Pleased you have joined the club,enjoy retirement.
Cheers
John

[fcwrangler]

I have finally found an engine reconditioner that will do the right thing and not rip you off. He was recommended by a customer off mine who has had work done by him in the past. So I have pulled the motor apart and will be dropping it off this afternoon so he can check it out.
All being well, it will be cleaned & tested, bored +60, new bearing & brass welch plugs. Head will get 202 valves, hardened seats and stronger springs. Hopefully it will be ready when we get back from our cruise, so I’ll post the results when we return.
Jim

[fcwrangler]

Picked up the engine this morning all finished ready to put back together. Everything’s in good order, no cracks or damage so nowI can begin the rebuild. Was told by the guy that did the work that the pistons & rings I bought are 3-1/16 plus 60 so I now have a 3-3/16 bore, so with the head work, the triples & the cam it should be a good performer. I’ll post some photos and a video when I have it running.
Jim

[geebeefc]

Hello, Good you have found a reliable engine re-conditioner. I may be wrong, but I think 3 1/16 + .060" is closer to 3 1/8 bore as  1/16" is .0625", while 1/8" is .125", therefore   3 1/16" + .060" would be approx 3 1/8". This is a good, reliable size for an oversize bore. Cheers.

[fcwrangler]

My mistake, they are 3-1/8 plus60 advertised on eBay.
Jim

[fcwrangler]

Back on home soil, have the engine back together just need to rebuild the cross member and fit it into the subframe so I can fit the engine and gear box in place to set up the header pipes. Have them bent up now it’s a matter of getting them in the correct position to clear the mounts and gearbox. Will let you know how it goes.
Jim

[graham_fuller]

Hi Jim,
Who did you use to do your engine? What was the approximate cost?
Cheers,
Graham

[fcwrangler]

Hi Graham, Les Noyce at ElToro estate Liverpool, $2900 which included chemical clean all parts, gaskets, bearings, rebore & hone, clean and check oil pump, rebuilt head with 186 valves & springs, hardened seats. I supplied the oversized pistons & rings and the rebuild.
I’ll be at the meeting on Tuesday if you want any more information.
Jim

[fcwrangler]

Now the house is sold and had no luck selling the FC, I have been finishing off the front end and diff so I can get the car mobile and move it to a mates place. He has let me use his shed for storage so I can work on it over the next few months and get it back on the road.
The only trouble with moving into an over 55s village is they frown on a lot of noise from hammering and grinding. But at least the villa has a double garage so I’ll have a place for it when complete.
Jim

[Stash]

Hey Jim,

Just been catching up on your progress.
Retired hey! Great you can help me with my project 

Selling the FC - Please tell me it is not true..

All the best

John

[fcwrangler]

Hey John good to hear from you, due to health issues with my wife and myself I was going to sell it but not much interest. We have run out of time as we are moving in two weeks so it’s a mad scramble to get the car mobile so I can move it over to a mates place. He has let me store it in his shed so I can work on it a couple of days a week to get it finished.
Jim

[Stash]

A good mate.

You dont want to have to sell it after all the work you put in.
Sorry to hear about your wife, hope she is on the mend.

Will try to get to a meeting one of these days ... 

John

[fcwrangler]

Got the front end all finished yesterday, cross member rebuilt and bolted back onto the subframe. Cleaned up and painted the engine and all the boltons as well as cleaned the gearbox ready for new gaskets and paint. Next step bolt them back together and fit them into the front end and set the header pipes for clearance between the gearbox and the idler arm.
Jim

[fcwrangler]

Not a happy camper, rolled the car out of the garage onto the patio so I could finish off the fit up. Fitted the motor and gearbox into the front end and started the header pipes. Then jacked up the rear end and changed over the old FC diff with the cleaned and painted EH 3.55 diff only to find out when I put the wheels on there is a real slap and lag in the diff. The while rolling the car back into the garage, my son noticed a distinct noise from the diff as well (so much for the in good order diff from a customer). Luckily I have a 3.36 centre I can swap over and hope it’s in better condition. At least the car is mobile and ready for the move tomorrow.
Jim

[fcwrangler]

Just thought I would fill everyone in on what’s been happening since last year. The health gods haven’t been all that kind to me and as a consequence not much has been done one the car. I have, however had a few days here and there to get some work done. I’ve been able to adjust the Rh sill enough to get the gap ok but still need to fully bolt the guard on and check the alignment of the lower swage to make sure. If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to cut the sill off and replace it.
Till next time,
Jim

[DJ]

Good luck with the alignment Jim. Hope your next update says good health has returned for Christmas & you are ready to tear into it again in 2020.

[my8thholden]

Good to read your update Jim ,little by little you will get there ,and thanks for your phone call yesterday,for heads up on rear window seals for special ,as I said yesterday I will attempt to fit the trim in the rubber ,hopefully tomorrow ..For those of you reading this ,Jim is going to fit my front rear screens ,I went to him with both glass and trim to fit up to be prepared and down the track he would put them in body ,I elected to do it that way as I was alerted some of the Rare Spares seals don't fit..Sure enough the front wasn't easy but he got there ,the rear would not assemble up ,not putting in the body ,just putting it on the glass and fitting the stainless trim in ,I took the seal back to Rare Spares and they replaced it ( in July ) , told Jim ,put it aside till we are ready again ,Jim rang me yesterday ,he is doing another rear one ,recently bought and it wont fit ...OK companys have problems..but surely you test fit your products ,and if not correct withdraw it ,don't sell a product known to be faulty ..twice ..Rares have acknowledged the problem and have no stock they can guarantee ...so where to now ??who else sells screen rubbers ? Old Auto are Rares ?Any one have one to sell ? all the best Vern .

[fcwrangler]

I’ve noticed that there have been quite a few more views on my page, so I thought I should give an update. Since my last post I decided to remove the offending sills and replace them with the NOS one I had acquired some time ago, the quick fix approach didn’t work and after looking at what I’d done and how it looked I bit the bullet and crabbed the grinder. With our recent cruise and the mates place being flooded and now the lockdowns, time on the car has been limited once again. Hopefully this or next week I’ll be able to get back into it and get it all sorted as this is really the only thing stopping me from having the car painted. I think I will also need to replace the bonnet as there is rust bubbling through below the letters and across the rear corners as well. Will post some pictures when I have the sills done.
Jim