Art's FC Sedan Build 2.0

[Longman]

Had a good weekend with a mate working on the front subframe. The front tie rail was cactus, as you will see in the pics below, so that was replaced with a Rare Spares item which was a great fit, needed no massaging to fit.  Several spots on the side rails needed some patching but were overall quite good, both sway bar mounting points needed replacing with new captive nuts. I'm using a VT commodore radiator, which is very wide, so we custom fab'd some mounts and supports. The grille, apron and radiator support panels were all test fit to ensure clearance. I've left a fair bit of wiggle room up, down, forward and back, and will finalise it all once the motor is test fit.  I'm happy to say that the subframe is now rust free.

[Longman]

whilst at it, we welded on the subframe strengthening plates. Plenty of copper weld-thru. My little 135 mig performed admirably!

[ACE]

Are you modifying the front bumper brackets?

[Longman]

Are you modifying the front bumper brackets?

Yes mate.

[camxsmith]

Wow you a moving along love the work on the front frame for the radiator..

[Longman]

Wow you a moving along love the work on the front frame for the radiator..

Thanks Cam, I am having a blast, best hobby ever.

[Longman]

Grabbed a few hours over the festive break to spend in the shed. Managed to finish stripping and coating the subframe & engine bay. Just got a few un-needed holes to weld up then ready for a coat of epoxy.

[Longman]

Slow and steady wins the race. Finished firewall mods and fixed up the join around the tunnel to the replacement floor, all welded up and ready for some filler. Whilst at it sorted out some tunnel bracing and sealed up the ends of the new No.1 cross-members with some nice curves.  Next job is to bolt on the sub-frame and front end for a motor test fit, before commencing bog work.

[Longman]

More slow and steady progress. Got the inside of the roof stripped, de-rusted and coated, was a filthy job!  Also finished the rear wheel wells, they needed major repairs which were done early on in the piece. I finally got the last of the welding done, then some seam sealer followed by a good coat of body deadener.  With the work that was required, I've been able to gain about 1.5 inches of extra room in the wells. The pics aren't the best, but you get the idea.

[Longman]

For those of you that know me personally, know my car, and the basket case it was, will know how momentous this weekend has been. It was time to test all the welding, cutting, modifying that had been done over the last year to see if everything fits. For the very first time, the front end was bolted up and the engine/gearbox fitted to check clearances. First thing I will say is that if you are planning on replacing your sub-frame legs, do it on the car. We did all 4 legs using the car as a jig, followed by a sh!tload of other welding a few months ago. When it was bolted up, it slotted right in without any effort, I was sure that it would have moved or warped, but not at all.



We were then ready to bolt up the HR front end. This front end had never been in my car before, but same as with the sub-frame, she bolted right up, with all new rubbers from Rare Spares, and brand new bolts, thanks Pete Mallaby. Unsure how low it will sit, but that's for another time, today was all about getting the engine/box in.





We learned some valuable lessons with the test fit. For final fitting, we will mount the engine by itself and then bolt up the gearbox from underneath, so much easier this way. Again, with minimal effort, the motor and box slotted in like it was always meant to be there.



We also took the time to test fit the radiator, heaps of room!







Got me about 4 inches of room at the front. Front mounted thermofan coming me thinks.

[Longman]

Continuing on with the previous post. With the engine/box now in place we could have a look around it, there is plenty of room all around the motor box for other stuff. We fitted up the extractors after cutting the holes in the bay, I'm not fussed about making snug ones, these CRS ones are fine.

[Longman]

We got under the car and trial fitted the chassis kit, this is a super heavy duty home made one that I got in a trade. Once again, fitted perfectly. The gearbox crossmember in the kit only needed the mount holes adjusted to fit the T700, too easy, lady luck was smiling.





Final task for this weekend, was to fit up the VT brake booster and pedal assembly.





Then we pulled it all apart again, so that all the filler and body work can be done. Many thanks to my buddy, Mick for the assistance. What better way to finish a massive couple of days, than this:

[NES304]

Ain’t nothing like quarantine for smashing car work. Going so well mate. Looks awesome! Can’t wait to hear a running 304

[Longman]

Ain’t nothing like quarantine for smashing car work. Going so well mate. Looks awesome! Can’t wait to hear a running 304

Thanks mate, slow going!

[JB]

How easy was it to fit the pedal assembly! 😊
What I needed to do with the cab was to cut some of the original and bolt it up to where it goes on the dash and weld the 2 together.
On the front of the booster I also needed to make a support bracket to the subframe to stop flex when the pressure was applied to the brakes.
Good work mate!

[Longman]

How easy was it to fit the pedal assembly! 😊
What I needed to do with the cab was to cut some of the original and bolt it up to where it goes on the dash and weld the 2 together.
On the front of the booster I also needed to make a support bracket to the subframe to stop flex when the pressure was applied to the brakes.
Good work mate!

Thanks. We played around with positions until the pedals were right. Only had to take a nick out of the accelerator mount to fit.

[camxsmith]

Wow thats looking great

[Billy Blackarrow]

Wow thats looking great

Did you mean the car or the barby , I am sitting here hungry so the barby is looking good.
 

[Luke Healey]

Cool. Thanks for the photos

Sent from my G8342 using Tapatalk

[Longman]

Slow and steady. Firewall mods finished. She ain't pretty yet, next job is filler.