Fitting CRS rear mount rack to HR x-member

[Chuck]

Hi All

I'm in the process of fitting a Rod Hadfield/Castlemain Rod Shop rear mounted commodore (VC - VK) manual rack to suit a HR front end with a Holden 202.  I have followed the instructions for fitting the rack making sure that it is centered on the cross member and since welding I have checked this by measuring several reference points from side to side.  I'm confident that the rack is within 0.5mm of being dead on centre.

I have moved the HR engine mounts to the back of the cross member and have centered the motor by making sure that the centre of the crank pulley is perfectly centered between the subframe rails and centered over the top of the cross member outrigger.  I have also made sure that the gearbox is centered by measuring the distance from the centre of the output shaft to the sill panels on either side.

The problem is that the intermediate shaft from the rack does not clear the oil filter (the small Z190 filter - not the larger Z9).  For it to clear, either the motor would have to go about an inch to the passenger side or the rack about an inch to the drivers side.

I have called Rod Hadfield and he just says that I have stuffed up when mounting either the rack or the motor.  However, I have made that many measurements that as far as I can see it is exactly how the instructions say it should be.

My question is, has anyone else used this set up and if so, have you had any problems with clearance for the oil filter.  Maybe my method of cerntering the motor is wrong.  Is the centre of the cank pulley actually the centre of the motor or is it another point?

Any help is, as always, greatly appreciated.

Cheers - Chuck

[Dr Terry]

Hi Chuck.

You said you moved the engine mounts to the rear of the X-member, does this mean you are mounting it in an FE to EH. Does Rod Hadfield allow for this or is his rack kit, or is it only made to suit an HR X-member in an HR body, which probably would clear.

Hope this helps.

Dr Terry

[sgo]

Just something to maybe check, but is the rack mounted in the right hieght position , and would that have any effect on the clearance? Though there should only be one correct spot for the steering arms being used.

[Chuck]

Hi Terry and SGO

Terry - Great suggestion, I went home and had another look, but even with the motor forward an extra few inches, there would still be a clearance problem.  I also checked and the kit is for an early model Holden (ie pre HD - HR).

SGO - the tunnel in the ute is from a VC Commodore and allows the gearbox to sit right up high at the back so that is not a problem either.

I went to the Gosford swap meet on Sunday and talked to a couple of guys who have experience with this set up and short answer is that the kit simply does not work in the way that Hadfield describes in his instructions.  The instructions say that you use a torana uni at the top of the shaft and the commodore uni at the bottom.  At the swap meet I was told that some people have moved either the motor or rack to one side to get the intermediate shaft clear of the oil filter but in my opinion this causes other larger problems.

The solution is to use three universal shafts on the intermediate shaft and a heim joint to stabilise the shaft.  This is a complicated solution to what is after all a kit.  I went and had a look today at another front crossmember that had been holy modified by Hadfield.  While it was still running the recirculating ball steering I was able to slot the rack in the back and see that it is absolutely identical to mine.

As I was told at the swap meet, this kit does not work the way that it is described in the instructions but I guess that I am not the first or last person to experience problems with this companys kits.  BTW, it is always great to be told that you have stuffed up when you have followed that persons instructions exactly.

Cheers - Chuck

P.S. I was told that the rear mount commodore racks supplied by Pat Gardner from V6 conversions are not shortened as much as the Hadfield racks.  This causes the pinion shaft on the rack to be positioned further away from the centre of the cross member therefore preventing the clearance problem.  I wish I knew this to begin with.

[sgo]

Sounds like you're well on the way to sorting it out, but another thought, could you hook up a remote filter off the block to get the necessary clearence?

[gree]

hey chuck, haven't talked to you for a while. sorry to hear about this latest drama - bugger eh? does this all mean the ute is getting closer?

[FE_225]

Hi Chuck
Would this cure your problems?
The adaptor is off a 4 cyl Holden. A Starfire 4 donk I spose???
Hope this helps
Cheers
Tony

Not sure what happened to the link, it died, so I deleted it.
Pic came from ehholden.com.au.
link to pic was
ehholden.com.au/gallery/pics/m1063g.jpg
Cheers

[Chuck]

Hi Tony

Thankyou very much for the photo.  It is all very easy now thanks for that little bit of info.  Only thing is that I've already machined up the two intermediate shafts and bought the tie rod - bugger.  Nice of Hadfield to automatically tell you that you have stuffed up when you can see from your photo that the standard filter has no chance of fitting. Regardless, I will head off to the wreckers and check out some starfire filter mounts, I think that your option is far more attractive.

Thanks again - Chuck