azzurro

A+ job bro. Nice trailer to tow and reverse etc, one careful lady owner. Suits small cars, but allergic to FIATs. No regerts, would FIAT with this trailer again. GLWS

I like this guys whiteboard explanation (skip to 5.42) After watching that listening to David Vizard blab on makes a bit more sense

getting a bunch of sizes wont be that cheap even from aliex? Even scooter jets arnt that cheap a set of jet drills and some solder would be cheaper once you know the size you need Dellorto.co.uk Carbparts.eu

My other old Holden story is my (step) Uncle Gary is into them, and still has a pile of them (in northland) Me and my step bro learned to drive a rusty/mostly fibreglass HR? Ute that he must have given his brother (my step dad/old man) to use in the 5 acre paddock we had out the back of the house. It was good for chucking old farm crap (rubbish, fence posts, thistle, boxthorn etc) into to take to the bonfire pile and doing donuts in the paddock that couldnt be seen from the house. The problem was, that the donuts left marks in the grass that could be seen by the old man when he went on his walks around the place, so then we couldnt do that any more. I remember getting it stuck once and not being able to rock it out of the hole it had dug (i was like 12, the only thing i new which was giving it more jandal wasn't working - what to do???) and Gary saying, ill show ya, jumping in and rowing the column change and heavy clutch between 1st and reverse like a drift car driver, SKILLZ! From what i can recall the ute disappeared when we had tidied up most of the paddock and built some fences, Uncle Gary probably grabbed it back, and probably still has it. Less classic Holden yarns The old man also had a series of new two tone (maroon upper, silver lower) V8 Calais, i think VS, VSII and then maybe a VT, before changing tack to a V8 Cherokee (in the same colour) - i think he said the Holden salesman gave him some side eye or tried to stiff him on the trade in or something, and after buying 3 new top spec cars in 5ish years told them to shove it and must have gone to the Jeep place instead. The VS was the best one (IMO 12yo opinion) still love those flat rear arches. Mum also had a first gen Opel Vectra GT at the same time, that was pretty quick too (when the old man drove it!) and had a great sporty exhaust note The 90s were a good time.

what im picking up is that the Holden 6 engine is the B&S of the car world. everybody has or has had one (meaning the n opinions is equal to n bellybuttons) , and they basic and reliable in the face of both benign and active neglect, but also imminently tuneable by the most barry of barries, given enough time and money, but also subject to the same 'but why would you when there are other alternatives?"

In high school my best mate had an hq surf wag. 202 trimatic on lpg. It was good and cool. It wasnt as good or as cool as my other mates xw wagon. 4.1, 3 on the tree on cng (all of the cng).

Well they are alloys, and the car came from near to Palmerston North, but i think they are Cheviots based on the centre caps, and that they dont look very much like the Wards i have on my 125. When i make a start on the brakes ill let you know but i do have some Ward centre caps (with the PALMERSTON NORTH text on them) i could use

tis very true, i reached, she settled

cheers, i been watching this meathead bogan slap together an HQ and record it on a potato, has some good tips and stuff, but i think hes secretly a bit a bit of a nerd, i reckon you might like him:

Regale me with your HQ related tales of triumph and woe, and ownership hints and tips here ^

Tell me about - how you/brother/dad/uncle/cousin/mate used to have one - why my mrs is now tougher and cooler than me - why big Australian cars with a mix of metric and imperial fasteners are better than silly little European ones that only use metric ( i had to dig out my very limited and mismatched Imperial sockets and wrenches that had been banished to the back of bottom draw of the tool box and put them right in the top bit ) - where to get new parts easily/cheaply/locally - why the second hand stuff on FBMP is outrageously priced and clearly owned by meth head bogans and how to avoid them - tips and tricks for hotting up your 173 using OEM + parts (commie inlet and exhaust manifolds? - the single stromberg and right angled log exhaust manifold offends me!)) - can you bolt a 202 to the Torana 4 speed? - where to find a nice 202. - why do i even want a 202 (re-rego mainly), the 173 is probably perfectly fine, KPie doesnt really care (unless its a v8), and it wont be the engine from the Torana any more, - where the fuck is the fill port for the CNG system on this car? (its not behind the number plate with the petrol filler)

Now we know it runs, next step is to make it worth driving The interior was pretty good condition but there was a lot of evidence of rats eating and storing snail shells in the engine bay and mice droppings in the interior, but no evidence they lived there long, and the shed it was in wasnt water tight so it was all a bit smelly and musty Anyway, all needed to come out for a clean & deodorised the seats, throw away the original horsehair underlay and to make it easier to do a few other jobs, like... Improve the shifter opening, replaced the galv flashing and countersinks that dind really cover the hole with some alloy sheet (from the Sign of the Year! - now in 5 of 5 of our classic cars!) and a rubber boot - adding my first FIAT part Removed everything else and give it a good cleanup. Floor condition is excellent, no rust at all! 'New' Underlay (free second hand stuff) to replace the original horsehair stuff that was a bit smelly and flat. I think the front carpet might be ex-torana too, it doesn't quite meet up with what im pretty sure is the original HQ rear carpet. Both carpets are in nice nick, and we will cover the gap (which under the seats) with some cheap nylon outdoor carpet from m10 that we will also use for the parcel tray that is also unmolested by axe holes for 6x9s etc. Rear came up nice as well, car has a tan interior with dark brown headlining - class! Removed the steering wheel spayed the steering column black (was grey and still has the column change mech in it) and tidied the (omg its so janky!) dash up a touch, and the wiring behind it mainly by removing anything that has added in And then remove the dead weight out of the boot to make room for bodies and crates of DB Its easily 80kgs, empty Things will likley slow down a bit now, as from here its time to start spending money on parts, most likley starting with brakes which i have not even had a wheel off yet to even check what they are apart from being discs up front and drums out back) I suspect the weird too easy/dead stop half way pedal/no brake function issue is the piston is jammed halfway down the master cylinder, as there is no leaks from any soft lines, and lots of fluid in the MC.

Ma te wa to Bill and whanau, then we headed home, with our van loaded up with other treasure from the shed(s) Forgot to mention i got jealous of her getting new car, so I got me one the same colour as hers on the way up. Given i had to drive this, Kirsty was driving the van the whole way home, she was none too pleased about it (But, yes it is better than my current 2005 Forester X its replacing in every way, thanks for asking - 2002 XT, totally stock, sub 200k and after a few wee issues (MAF sensor, oily connectors, new spark plugs) it really kicks when the whirly boi winds up!) Good Day in Welly before overnight sailing Breaky fry up in Kaikoura a quick stop to rise the north island off And about 3 days after we got home, this turned up. Used Classic Towing - worked out fine, but lucky both Bill and myself are home most of the time because the communication around changes of plan was a bit lacking tbh. The man can sure back a trailer tho. Its a fricken whale compared to my 'big' Fiat, an easy foot wider. Time to poke the bear First thing, remove the CNG stuff from the engine bay. Not only is it unfillable, the electrics are one of the layers of fuckery (the least bad to be fair, but also totally redundant), the tees that loop into the factory heater coolant lines to stop the regulator freezing up were corroded apart, and the carb hat gas injector thing made the air cleaner butterfly nut rub on the underside of the hood. 'New' heater hoses (from the old CNG line) and a bit of a wiring tidy up Fuel pump clean (no go in Feilding, leaks like a sieve now, still no pumping action), now bypassed with a clicketyclack, needs a rebuild kit (diaphram and gaskets) Carb cleanup, was pretty clean inside the bowls etc, works ok now, needs a kit too (tore a gasket) Sitting clean on the still very oily 173 Dizzy removed, cleaned and oiled, gap reset, but all the points, cap, rotor, leads and sparkplugs all look relatively low miles Changed the oil and filter (black and smelled like petrol but no chunks), re-crimped a new loose connections, taped some twisted wires, removed some vampire taps and chock blocks as well Put it back in starting from first principles (ignoring the marks, get cylinder 1 on compression stroke at as close to tdc-ish you can with a long thing in the spark plug hole, rotor pointing to lead 1) and it was about 90 degrees off where it was before - dizzy couldnt be turned enough to get the right timing, so i wonder if it had been tutued with before and the hassle of it not running well was why it got parked. Bill did say it had several minor issues needed sorting out and they got a newer, better car and he just stopped driving it. Anyway, buttoned up and after some further fine tuning it starts on one pump of the pedal and idles smooth. Not smoky (any more) Still no coolant or brakes.

Then of course it was time to have a good look while cleaning it a bit, and taking stock So, its a 1974 Holden HQ Belmont Sedan in Orchid Red. Last wof/reg in 2001, so was on the road into Kpies early 20's around the same time i met her. Seems it also got the Torana front seats, maybe the centre console? Interior looks pretty good under the dust. Overall looks pretty straight and complete. Some rusty bits of course but not too bad at all for one of these 8s out back and 7s up front, massive CNG tank in the book gives it a rake. This car was a NZ new factory 202 manual 3 on the tree car. Bill bought it cheap from a guy who bought it to put the v8 that was in it into something else, or something - bought with no engine in it anyway The engine and box now in it is a 173 (2.8l) with a manual 4 on floor from the aforementioned rolled Torana, which had recently had a fair bit spent on the engine (??) It has a single barrel Stromberg and also has CNG. Only $4.20 to Whanganui! Took the plugs out and oiled the cylinders, cleaned the sparkplugs and filed the points and hooked up a battery. Neighbours come to assist. Many opinions were shared We managed to get it to fire off on squirting gas down the yap, but it just wouldn't keep running. The consensus is that the timing and/or the electrics are weird Brake pedal does nothing till halfway then hard stops, no braking action. Handbrake kinda works. Engine isnt stuck and clutch is free and gearbox goes into all gears. Bill is stoked it fired up, Kirsty is happy, and that it rolls at all is good enough for the transporter man. We push it back in the shed to wait for the transporter

Organized time off and ferrys etc and a cool 10 days hanging in Fielding. Real barn find! Her names on it so this must be it. We pumped up the tyres and had a general look around one day Then cleared all the stuff out over the next few days, did a lot of gardening too, Hooked it up to the van and pulled it into the light