Harko's rebuild

[HARKO]

I distinctly remember the day I laid eye's on her .
And I remember thinking to my self "Thats so cool, Someones really worked some magic on that one".



I didn't see her for years after that day but had a photograph etched in my memory banks nice n clear.

But along the way as fate would have it I had met a guy through buying some parts who I got along well with and became mates
with ,We had similar interests and tastes leaning towards low tough old Holdens that are built to enjoy street duties more that show ponies.
We had figured out that both of us had an EK and an FC in our shed's and it didn't take long for me to bring up the real cool green FC I'd once seen at the All Holden Day.
Chuck then proceeded to tell me that he had owned that car for years and it had been passed around his circle of friends which one of his mates was still in possession of.

So when the chance came to buy it I had neither the time ,space or understanding from the wife to purchase it, But I went and had a look with the car trailer in tow anywayz.

Here's what I found


I pondered to myself what situation it would put me in with the home life and decided to give the little missus a buzz.
I said ,you remember that shiny green FC with the fender skirts at the AHD ,And she did because she loved it too ,Well Im going to buy it I said calling her bluff to see where it would get me he he,
After a heated 5 minutes I said "I know you don't want me to buy it but I want you to trust me and just accept that I am buying it" .

I then went over to the car and sat in it ,This was the most I had ever outlaid on a car so you would think I would be a little sensible about it he he.
I sat in it and thought to myself "Is this me ?" I hopped out and said I'll buy it, Chuck was happy, my mate was grinning and I think Simon (Gree) was a little misty.

And so its new journey began ..... First thing I did was renew the rego that was 11 weeks out ,I did it real quick to save me losing the current engineers certificates
which expired at 12.
and 2nd I just cruised the wheels off her with a grin like a cheshire cat

This photo was the last one taken in its previous guise at the Nostalgia drags about 6 weeks ago.

[HARKO]

Since then I kinda havent wanted to stop and I keep going further and further into it....
Things that Ive changed without really needing to are the front seats ,rear seat ,Door trim's 'Rear wheel's ,Headlights ,and the engine got swapped for a reco'd one.

And at this point Ive had the floor and sub frame blasted along with the diff, wheels ,spring's and a whole heap of smaller hardware.

I have the Diff ,Wheels ,Grille surround ,Gearbox ,Engine and hardware all painted.
The intake has been prepped for a polish and a new intake tube and pod have been mocked up.

Here's some more pics showing some of the work I've gotten through so far......



The first thing I did was take off the doors ,strip em to metal and cut some door cards.




Second I stripped all the Jambs to metal and removed the engine ,The fire wall was a little rough due to the cars flamboyant history .
Chuck tells me the car has had almost every possible straight 6 and gearbox combination available ,And the triples cutout in the fire wall had been refilled when they were removed
which left it crying out for a smooth fire wall..





I was planning to have the engine bay blasted only by this stage but it was getting a little awkward to weld the edges and
I figured if I would have to take off the sub frame Atleast id know whats behind it.



Thats a mate who's been practically begging me to let him spray it ,Every day after I had the body in primer he came back and it was a touch more dismantled he he
Check out the look on his face when he came back to see the whole entire car stripped ...

So after I dropped the sub frame I looked deeper ..



and deeper..




Hmmm may as well get the whole underbody blasted too ,"But I wasn't going to go this far"
The plan was to just freshen up the paint - ever heard that one before.

So with some careful measuring I hoisted it up onto the box trailer ,let the tyres down and fitted it out under the roller door then off she went to the blasters.

[HARKO]

Back from the blasters it was full steam ahead .
The car has always been registered I think I heard Chuck say once.
And for the past 12 years he'd known of it had seen daily duty .

So uglies and running repairs are bound to need some attention.
So I started welding up all the unwanted holes in the body and sub frame



Then the repairs were made to the inner sill area's at the C pillar



B pillar



and A pillar ,The new sills were cut into position and the inner sills flappered ,wire wheeled and rust converted.

Today the floor pan is in position ,the sub frame / floor brace has been replaced and I sat back considering Fathers day when the Rat Rod day is held up in Sydney and my cool rat FC is in a million pieces on the garage floor.

Happy Fathers day ha ha.

[zulu]

Lookin good Harko!! when do you hope to have it finished?
Gary

[Martin]

Great stuff, Harko.  She's going to be a gem - not only a good looker, but all the good bits under the paint, too.  When was start date - how long has it taken to get to this point?

Bet you can't wait to go cruzin'.

Martin

[Ed]

Nice Harko,

It's good to see the car getting tidied up again  

of course you do nothing by halves.

The flat firewall is neat, (I love it!) but since you're there why dont you take the flat theme down the front floor sections?

keep up the top work

Cheers

Ed

[4hammers]

Hi Harko.
I have always liked that car too & am stoked to see it on the mend. I just love seeing this kind of work being done on the forum & the "Picture Progress" updates, as I don't have the facilities to do it myself, so I get a big kick out of seeing other guys on this forum doing it.
Can't wait to see the finished product.
Rob J

[HARKO]

Around the 3rd of July I had the brain fart and kicked it all off ,The reason it started was that I had almost completed a full drive line conversion on an FB wagon and was becoming frustrated with it so I moved on.

I think somewhere deep down I have a plan to finish all four cars in the one year ,Silly silly me....

I am hoping to have it completed and driving the week before Johns rod n custom do ,which gives me about 8 weeks .
ED theres lots of things I look at and I want to do ,and I almost con myself into thinking it needs to be done but I have to stop somewhere because I know If I get to a point when I step back and see that the whole floor is custom then I would have to do the tubs ,then  seam weld it ,then the whole standard raises a few bar's and Im stuck under it for month's instead of enjoying it

My two major project's are the chopped Ute and chopped Van ,I'll save the real focused effort for those two.

[Spinner]

Harko,

The story & pictures are worth the frustration you were feeling yesterday.  It's good to see a nice car being given a thorough tidy up as opposed to a full rebuild.

What different type of inline six will you give it?  A 300 ci Chev six?

On a more serious note, what do those outriggers (off the chassis rails) attach too?  Do they bolt on to pieces welded onto the inner sills?
Cheers

Brett

[minifcvan]

HMMMMMMM very nice harko

[customFC]

Hey Harko
Looking good so far.
Do you plan to repaint the same colour?
Oh, and about those door frames....a little bit tall for a Harko creation aren't they?
Regards
Alex

[HARKO]

Thanks guys , A reco'd 6 exactly identical to the one I pulled out will go back in but somewhat healthier and cleaner with no leaks.
And the outriggers are to attatch the sidepipes so they will be staying.
And jeez it feels like a full rebuild ,New paint ,New trim, Rust repairs, Different wheels, etc etc let me know when it is haha ,Cheers

[HARKO]

Funny you should mention that Alex ,I was just playing with it in photoshop as you were typing , I'm trying to avoid it but it may be inevitable ,Paint is changing but I'm not revealing all secrets , And Ive got dibs on the color for me van  .

Hmmm It does look good in that picture dont it

[Chuck]

Hey Harko

Thanks for posting the build pictures of the sedan.  There is a lot of stuff there good and bad that I haven’t seen for many years.  I remember when I first saw this car in 1991, it was late at night and I was lying on a creeper under that tubbed pink 2-door EK in Glen Innes when I hear the awesome sound of straight cuts screaming up the road.  It rumbled in, resplendent in Porsche yellow, jelly beans and a hot 202 with a roller rockered 12 port.  As they say in the movies it was love at first sight and later that night in a moment of stupidity I swapped my newly completed EK Ute for the yellow shell sans driveline.  During my HSC year, I put in a grey which was followed by a stock 186 at the same time as a beat and spray in what we called BP or Kermit Green.  Every part of the build except for paint was done at home (thanks mum for the sewing machine) and was completed for $2K (I wish I could do it that cheaply again).  Since then it never saw a garage again, cruising the east coast daily for the next 6 years.  I have taken it to Cairns and back six times and even had the foot prints of several female passengers on the hood lining, are they still there?  To say the least there are some great stories that go with that car and it was a huge part of my life.  To finance the move to Sydney a few years ago, I sold it to a good mate who in turn sold it on to Gree (we all went to school together).  The entire time this car has been on the road it has been constantly evolving into a more serious kustom and in my opinion, this is the best life it could have had.

Good luck with the rest of the build.

Chuck

[HARKO]

lol Yeah wish I kept my first one too hehe.
Thanks Chuck that adds a bit of history and culture to the car now going into its 3rd phase ,I realy hope the army brown color I chose suits it and matches in well with the mexican rug trim which by the way means you can have that smelly roof lining back if you want it

Alex Ive decided against chopping it !.
Ive got four grinders, Three are buggered and the fourth is vibrating enough for the missus to enjoy so I dont wanna wreck it,

[FATBOY]

harko ive got 5 grinders in all different sizes when do we start the chop im keen

cheers fat

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hey Harko,

Congratulations on your acquisition.

I just thought I'd put in my two cents' worth.

When I first ventured onto this site as a wide-eyed 17 year old, it was this very FC that caught my eye. I instantly felt a deep admiration for it, and followed all of Gree's posts, in awe of all of this FC's extensive modifications, and the creativity that took place in creating it.

I guess you could say that it was this car that made me want to hold onto my FC, and keep on improving it.

I can see that I am not alone, that although the FC 'is just a car', it has managed to influence many people.

I'm glad that the car is safe hands, and we can still follow its' progress. I look forward to it!

Well done.

Regards,

Josh

[gree]

hey harko i just got back from overseas and saw this post.

it is great to see the new lease of life you are breathing into the car, i only wish circumstances would have allowed me to do the same. i had such grand plans for it and was happy steadily chipping away at it, but as i am sure everyone knows other committments come to the fore at a certain time in your life and you have to let go of a few things. (every time i get into the (gasp) mazda i am driving now i still feel a pang of loss).    

it certainly has had a varied life, and when thinking about it i owned it for about 6 years as well, and i remember when chuck first swapped his new and very shiny ek ute for it - we all thought he was absolutely insane (especially because of its taxi yellow colour - i can still hear the taunts of the guys in the workshop before chuck painted it "taxi!") i remember cruising around in it in my highschool days when each sometimes reckless but always blissfull experience only served to draw me deeper into the old car culture - building great memories of great cruises and friendships.

i loved seeing it transform slowly after i bought it, planning and gradually changing towards the car i always wanted. there was a perfect time with this car for me (all one colour, skirts and lake pipes, nice and low with whitewalls and smooth caps, custom grille, welded bumpers etc etc) before the old lady (not my wife but an actual old lady) ran her car down the side of it resulting the primer finish it had when i sold it.  

nothing beats that feeling of cruising down the road with the arm out the window with that distinctive burble ringing in your ears. ahhhhhh think i will cry again! i have never had so many looks - not that that is what it is all about of course!  

anyway my whole point was that i am really glad that you ended up with it harko so that its life can continue to evolve in the way i saw it happening with me before i had to part ways with it. i know that it will contribute many more memories during its lifetime. I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out... keep the pictures rolling in.

[TAYZ]

harko,
            Whats the progress with this FC?


                                                                 TAYZ