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Have driven this around for about an hour few rattles from exhaust needs lots more mounts who knew 3.5" exhausts were really heavy, go figure.... easy fix though it's quiet enough wastegate has a bark to it. Appears PCV system will need an upgrade its struggling a bit few more oil leaks than normal. Catch can incoming. 2000rpm idle is a bit annoying either I have a vacuum leak or a dead IAC valve, trying a new IAC as current isn't right it's gm but never has been 100% so bought the expensive commodore specific one. If it's a vacuum leak that might be trickier. All in all no check engine lights gets up and boogies seems pretty happy has lightest wastegate spring I have so should be about 4psi. Time to figure out wideband and do road tuning once the niggles are done. Think the stock bumper is perfect BTW.

Priming finished. Apart from the fuel flap but that doesn’t matter too much. Shitty primer was fun, created a bit of extra work but got it done Will let it cure and start sanding shortly. also painted weather strips, door handles, grille and rear garnish 2k matty B. Tried out wiper blade top bits too because faded but the paint reacted. went pretty good except a bug landed in a door handle and on one handle I got it a bit thin on top. Will have to invest in some fly spray. And also cos I’m not used to playing with the fan pattern. Iirc if I narrow down the fan, then I should lower the air pressure to compensate. also my rear garnish should’ve been primed first really but I would like one that has all the lights rather than a plain plastic cover. So not too bothered if it’s not 100% perfect. still got some other stuff like mirrors and other trim to Matty B.

While waiting on the new Super Pro suspension bushes to be put back into production I did some googling and found some in the UK which are now on their way. So, while waiting I decided to work on the brakes and replace all the hard lines with new. I bought a 12m roll of 3/16 tube and made-up new lines for the diff and the one from the MC to the distribution block them to the rear. Still have the fronts to do. I went flash and bought a new fancy tube flare tool which is now my new best friend. How easily it makes perfect single, bubble and double flares is super cool. I striped down the MC to see how the bore looked. At first inspection it didn't look well. It was quite rusty around the circlip end so I thought it maybe junk. Though once apart the bore was clean, so I will get some new seals for it. I will give the outside a couple of coats of por15 if a test on some is resistant to brake fluid.

Sealing up the cut out tunnel top and under the rear seat was to be the next stage but first I decided to make some new beefed up engine mounts. The originals I had made from a mixture of 3 and 4mm steel were probably fine but i wanted to move the crossmember backwards away from the engine for a little bit more clearance. So while I was at it I thought it best to use thicker steel. To start with I made a jig based off the original mounts. Now there were datum points to build to, allowing for extra clearance while I was at it. I popped into G3 engineering where I get a lot of my steel offcuts from and grabbed some 4mm plate. I had 5mm at home for the main backing plates. Used the hefty steel bender.. Tigged the majority of the welds except the inside ones I couldn't reach which got mig welded. Plenty of heat. These wont fail. Added gussets just to be sure... The new mounts now set the crossmember further back by about 5mm. I could now drill the holes through the chassis rails. I made up a new pair of backing plates with extra holes and captive nuts. The plates extend further forwards to line up with the holes that Datsun crossmember bolts through. I can now easily bolt in either crossmember. I was super happy to discover that due to the flat six being only 3 cylinders long I have enough room to pull the engine back so its gearbox bobbins are clear of the gearbox crossmember. I can then raise the car up and away from the engine, all without having to remove the rear bumper and valance. Now the engine was in its final position I could replace the lid on the tunnel, now 50mm higher. I started with this bit and had to cut out a section to allow for access to the toyota spec gearbox speedo sensor plug... Making sure there was ample clearance all round so the box cant knock the tinwork on rough roads I proceeded to box the tunnel back in... Kneeling down on folded up bits of foam and towels was my home for the next few hours... Cardboard trials, then steel, cut, trim, tack, check, weld... Finally boxed in. Another access hole let in so I can get to the top universal joint and lube the gearbox selector shaft. It was a very good part of the build to finish. Seeing it all sealed up, strong again. I have yet to check the rear seat squab but I feel confident it'll fit with some modifications to the wire frame within. Underneath looked neat... Hannah has now painted the tunnel inside and out with Epoxy paint. After I have finished any other little fabrication bits or hole filling/drilling in the engine bay I'll give it a flick of blue paint (hopefully not making everything else in the workshop blue like the first time) Now it was onto the rear suspension arms. I am using the set that came on the green imp 2. Surface rust needed wire brushing off outside... Painted with KBS rust seal (Aussie por 15 clone).. Another bit I could have got away without doing but I thought best to make while I'm under the car was this brace... Pulling up tight to the floor via spreader plates under the seat base... I have added it to brace the floor halves inline to help keep the suspension mounts inline during hard corning. Like said, I'm not sure if its essential but it might just help avoid any weird effects like rear steering. I know its a bit ugly but hey, at least its hidden under the car. On the subject of bracing I also made this little brace... To help stiffen the top of the tunnel near the shifter so it doesn't flex. again, not really needed but I do want a really positive shift action without an excess movement. So now my next job is to run out the brake/clutch/fuel pipes back along the tunnel and then reassemble the rear suspension so I can setup the handbrake cables. I'll have to paint some bits too. The crossmember, mounts, fuel tank etc. The work area looks like this with bits everywhere... In other news we had these treats turn up in the mail, a surprise present from my brother in Wales... He had gone to a big collectables/toy and model show local to him where he then spent a good amount of time asking at the various collectors stalls for any Hillman Imp models and found what is quite a rare and sought after Dinky toy car... Plus a cool little Imp police car .. They turned up in the post yesterday as a surprise and made our evening. Very cool. Thanks bro!

Cam is going strong, 1500kms of ripping round, haven't had any issues to report. Did a decent loop today, about 250kms of varying road type. Next step is to CC the pistons and the head again to up the CR a bit, slightly more boggy down low and I think upping the CR a bit will help this. ALSO. SSR MK2's are back, need to be painted. These were fully intended for the Wagon build, but with the rust progress not happening - I think these can do on the Sedan for now. Watch this space

Oh yeah it goes hard! Got a go pro vid of first drive will edit get that up.

Finished up the intercooler pipes managed to make the passengers side one piece really happy with how it turned out. Everything done by eye only welded one pipe on backwards.

Had some plumbing to do under car first one was hooking back up exhaust. Which is done not 100% happy but fully functional though I migged it as currently it's one piece front to back was to hard to do with tig. Will order a few more v bands and a flexi make it 3 pieces.

Epic day on this! It's back together finally just fettling now it's a running driving car. Front bumper back on kind of a sleeper kind of isn't.

So far no issues, and I gave it the fullest of full beans over the hill to Moutere today. The tyres are IRL pretty shit at anything over 80km/h, I may investigate finding something with actual sidewall stiffness. And here is an *action shot* that at least proves my wiring is legit.

Started the afternoon by emptying everything off the car floor and vacuum the carpet to find any lost screw. Got stuck into scratching off the rotten/dried/mankified insulation from the passengers footwell and found out it isn't really too bad, has holes but could be alot worse. So obviously after such a good start i spotted the musical airhorns i pulled out of it sitting on the bench and decided that would be far more rewarding getting them to work again. Stripped the pump down and gave everything a good clean and lube then slotted it back together. Good news is it works again. Bad news is the compressor still sounds like it is grinding rocks. Calling it a day now. In all their trademe spec 2006 glory!

I will guarantee you one thing, i have no idea what i am doing!

Bugger re the plenum rust, have been putting off doing same repair for the valiant. Might use this as inspiration to kick the work off…

Like a premonition I had earlier in the thread, I am considering moving this beautiful 240c on, much to my dismay.. I have the opportunity to buy the house I'm renting, it's a long and boring story but basically I've got about 3 months to scratch together the rest of the deposit, and as you well know every dollar found is $4 extra house debt I can climb into. Yippee. The house needs the muchos loving so this would go some way to lubricating that project, which will be the primary project once in my possession.. Most recent pics. I would however ensure she was rolling again. I've got a manual box for it, and I've also located the elusive side glass so she's all but complete. Jump in my chat to start a bidding war, lowball me, or talk me out of it.

Deal

I have, what is guess is, a coin purse from the 1950s. It's about 2mm too small to put a bank card in, and pull back out easy. So I made one slightly bigger, original has 3 sections, but I made this one 2. Just sealed the edges, will sand them down tomorrow to tidy them up Water lizard skin, with nz lamb interior. Aaaannnd wife has claimed it. So il probably make another just out of leather for me Sewed with my vickers machine. It flew through even the 4 layer bits like it wasn't there.

Yeah ken

Jeeze I just spotted this on Trademe - speak of the bloody devil! https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/holden/brakes/listing/4706364924?bof=Fx6hYD2b

I have owned this car for the past 3 years. It has had a 3.3 engine and a cresta rear end installed. The front end has been gone through with rebuilt ball joints and shocks all around. New dual exhausts that cackle. I have an overdrive that is going to be assembled and installed. The 65 front grill is because I had a 65 when I was in my 20’s. Photo from Kumeu two years ago.

Guess same spot same time in a month @- i5oogt -?

Was Ken for a burger but just not able at moment. Mushroom burger sounds decent!

Cheers @deankdx, the idea has crossed my mind. But that wont stop it from happening again, if i take it all apart i can rustkill and paint everything as it goes back together.

Yeah I'd like to put some blue and black on it to match the rest of the bike. Just happy to get some white on it and get it rolling. Went for a ride with a mate on Tues and had my speedo cluster come off/brake. Had been watching one on trademe for the last 4 weeks. Rang him and picked it up and changed it while we were out and about haha. Squshed my quadlock phone holder onto it and held it in place while we rode to the guys house. Speaking of quadlock, I got that and some wing mirrors off Aliexpress. Happy with the quadlock stuff and how the mirrors look. But they don't hold well at 100kph, the move a lot so I might have to find some none Aliexpress mirrors that look similar

that rust in the plenum, before you drill out 100s of spot welds. just check from under side if they are accessible (from under the dash) you may need to turn the car on it's side/upside down, or weld upside down (liquid metal falls in your elbow vein if not wearing leather sleeves) I've seen it done twice now welded from this side when the majority is solid. (have also seen just a section of the plenum cut out rather than the whole thing) just thought i'd mention it as an option before you get into it.

The last one of those I did , needed extra mounts , as the tank was a lot bigger than original but still bolted in with 4x 8mm bolts or whatever an rx3 has Plus sealing the boot, making sure fuel can't leak onto electrical or exhaust etc