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I tried getting the seat mounts and belts sorted this week but it got boring pretty quick, I've got the plates cut and a few in but need to rivet in the belt mounts. So I got to getting engine mounts sorted, the ply template gave me a rough idea of the sump clearance so chopped a bit out of the crossmember and sat it on place. Major issue is getting it in, the firewall sits midway along the engine, so I have to take 2 grabs with the crane, easy as long as the windscreen is out lol Once in it fits fine, I've given it 25mm of clearance between fan and radiator and it looks ok at the back for getting the trans in and out. Then i got straight into losing sleep over how to brace it all and mount engine and came up with this Which Im pretty happy with, I'll add the Panhard bar mount next then will get some paint in there and put motor in for good.

I haven't had much time in the shed this week, got a few jobs knocked off. My guy cut threads onto the steering crossover shaft to adapt the chev output rod to the Toyota crossshaft, it'll work but be tight with the Panhard bar so I need to.brain that some more, also need to make a bushing for the centre hole to take up the slop between the tapered bore and the mount stud on the steering damper to mount that. I got the back diff sitting in place,it's narrow but will work I flipped the shackles and ditched the blocks that were in there which gives me 5" of lift or so, I'm thinking I'll match the front to this, I want to add some airbags or gas riser shocks as well for driving when the boat is on and water tank full. I'll bolt it in tomorrow but won't weld the perches and shock moints in until engine and trans are in and I can set pinion angle I also got the front crossmember beams in. This was a bit of a job but I'm much happier with the spring hat strength now. Problems solved : - spring mounts stiffened - place to mount Panhard bar - ties front frame rails together again instead of just relying on core support - place for engine mounts to attach Problems created : - panhard bar sits at an odd angle with beams, needs brain - engine will sit too high to clear beams so I'll have to notch into them a ways then beef it up again after My welder was farting around a bit so have that a birthday and went back over a couple of beads too Next job is probably sort out the seat and belt mounts and frame up the roof for cert

Cheers yeah I'm pretty chuffed with that, I've built ply.wheels before to mock up fenders, but this thing is basic as and works a treat, I cut a couple of steps on the side bit for different width tyres as well

I had a pretty productive weekend on this pig. I got most of the wiring done, just need to add speaker cables and trace a couple of the back ones. I've got a generic Aeroflow GM harness, all coloured and labelled, great but of kit. I've used painless ones etc before that are sold as vehicle specific but they are just generic ones with add ons. In a wave of steamed genius in the middle of last night I decided I needed and engine template to get the mounts and sump figured out, i wish I'd thought of this last time with the Cummins. Mounts are offset between sides but it fits in just fine and gives me 150mm or so of clearance with sump I drew up crank centreline as well to calculate the " Static stability factor " for cert which need to be over 1.1, it's at 1.28 as is which is great as ive got no engine, so in theory it can be raised still but it's up 8" on what it was and I still need to be able to get in it. With the spring hats etc I'll weld in a couple of 100 X 50 beams and brace the shit out of it, that'll take care of the spring mounts, and give me somewhere to mount engine, Panhard bar mount and steering damper, I'll try and get that done this week. Also made up and offset gauge for the wheels, right side is going to be a problem with 33x12.5 tyres and -44 rims. I might get some bigger offset wheels made, I'm not keen on spacers and want space to run 35s.

I slipped in a half-day today. I went a visited the machinist this morn to sort a plan for the steering crossover shaft, he's going to cut a 21mm Metric fine left thread onto the chev steering output link and I'll be able to screw it all together and run a damper, easy as. I made up the Radius arm mounts, I've stood up and down 90 times this avo measuring and whacking and tacking etc. Slapped them in, lined everything up again, then again, then again etc. The whole car seems really straight, I've had mixed luck with the last few, up to 15mm off square with one of them. Van is good though, unibody obvs holds strength. Got happy, fully glued them in, plenty of attachment, I'm happy I got not that happy with the upper spring hats, I pulled them back off and moved the axle centre forward 40mm for guard clearance then welded them on as well. One thing that displeases me is the bottom corner, it's a big stress riser and I've had issues with this corner cracking on bagged cars before ( albeit with the older top hat frames ) so I need to brain how to apply triangles or brace it from above, through floor maybe ? Idk

I got the spring hats unbolted, bit of time removing the factory solid rivets off the top, shit of a job, I drilled out 80 of them on the last C10 frame I did, no fun I got them sitting in place and they look much better up high and there's plenty of surface to glue them on I've used a set of g30 springs for mockup, they are way overkill but trying to estimate sag is a bit of a job so I can cut them down if needed. The axle is now sitting where it should. I'll get some more steel tomorrow and get it fully mounted and welded over the weekend hopefully.

I got the van back from the painters, they done a heap of work and I'm stoked with how the pillars came out,.nothing that'll be seen once it's back together but no more leaks and they pulled a heap of filler and silicone patches out, and a big one held in with liquid nails It fits in the shed, sort of, I had to push it in and roof only just clears which might make things interesting getting it out, I might get some little travel wheels for it Then I got excited and pulled front suspension out, had to cut 2 ball joints,.no fun. Then had an hour before misso got home so took to the front crossmember with the sawzall Then dummied front axle. Radius arm mounts will work good, I can plate up one of the existing crossmembers to mount them Spring hats sit way too low, I'll unbolt them and cut them down, then try them mounted another 7 inches up on the side of the chassis rail, then I can run the long cruiser springs hopefully.

Ive still got that hilux, cant believe it hasnt sold, it goes so good and burns nothing. Its got that 340LE supra / cherokee trans which the granvia had for some reason. Tough as. Yeah the Old c10 was good, I drove the shit out of it and taught myself to weld building the back end but once it was done I didnt like the engine ( wanted a 6 cylinder ), hated the shaved doors and it had a 3 link in back which handled not well, I think thats still in it Hey mate long time no see. Yeah I had the 60 pontiac catalina, I did that while the panel work on the 38 was being done, I just bagged it and put discs in, Kelvin up north has it now, its in good hands and looks way cooler with reverse cragars and laced roof. And yeah the 53 2 door sedan, the one that got away, I built it from stock and drove it the length of the country twice, should never have sold it Old mate came a picked up the 6.2 out of the van today, he clocked the trailer game

Yeah there's some interesting work in there. The steering and column box mounting look well done, but the screen surround is just nasty. I'm assuming the roof extension went on in the states then the rhd swap was done here but who knows, I dunno if eagle or wsv were doing them back then ( about 93 ) This is the only rhd older one I've seen. I fix whirybirds for a day job but do have an almost robotic habit of putting diesel turbo engines into everything. Edit , just thinking about that list : - 82 C10 > 1KZT ( plated 666c10, just went through a big rebuild and was in a magazine ) - 60 series cruiser > 15B coaster engine with turbo, a mate here has it now - 90 surf > 1KZT a mates car that needed an engine after he got it wet then I hydroed it trying to get the water out - 2012 FJ Cruiser > 1KD my last daily, I blew the gas engine so bought a prado engine, day and a half to fit engine, 6 weeks to wire it, never got trans ECU sorted, never again - 1990 hilux > 1KZT, lockdown swap, I was going to make the ute electric but during lockdown got hold of a cheap granvia from someone fleeing the country and slung it in - 76 C10 > 24 valve turbo common rail 5.9 cummins, current brick, very fun to drive, 500 kg engine but 510 HP, 1400 NM

Yeah it was at VTNZ here, you might have seen the inspector being baffled at how to open the back door, he didn't try pushing the button and pulling the handle. Special

I went and visited the panel shop today, they are right into and and have blanked off the AC hole, remade the screen gutter bit and are most of the way through the screen pinch weld, outside of a pillars are done and insides have been replaced. There were some real nasty old repairs in there, dunno if it was earlier rust work or what. I got some more arm brackets cut locally, took the guy minutes Also got the local certifier to go over it, nothing unexpected and he's happy with my plan with diff mounting and my obsession with caster. I need to plate under the seat mounts and come up with a source for the seat swivels, and add some belt floor anchors, the pillar ones are stock. I've got some work to do reinstating the roof structure where it was hacked out for the glass highroof so I can run a third seat in back but there's plenty of space in there and upholstery will cover the bars, all ahead full !

I got the front axle rebuilt and ready to sling in. All new bearings and seals etc, just waiting on the brake hoses. One thing I didn't know that I didn't know was that 80s are full time 4wd, but some clever dingo sausage figured a mod to lock the centre diff gear and use it to throw the front driving gear and make it 2wd / 4wd so I got the kit and put manual hubs on the front. I made so some radius arm mounts too, plan is to use them for mock up / alignment then maybe get some snazzy triangular ones profile cut, or add triangles and black paint to these ones Wiring harness and a few other bits showed up, also ordered a super cheesy LCD instrument cluster which I'm pretty excited about, sort of like the nasty old Dakota digital ones that tried to look modern but ended up quite the opposite.

Lift and muds ftw

so it should fit 15x10s at -44p, 33x12.5 MTs and poke out 15mm so ill run plastic fenders , omg Im good at photoshop

So it needed a bit of work, the RHD conversion hasnt aged well with leaks and the wiring was just flat out shit, tape covering soldered joints everywhere, 3 feet of extra loom in the engine bay where the fuse box and AC had been moved, then leaks around the windscreen from the AC box install etc. And the roof had just been chopped out for the glass top. So I got the shits with it and listed it, figured Id sell it and get something newer and dump some cash into a pointless but fun fwd rx323 which will now be on hold for a bit I had a guy. lined up then took it in for a wof and it failed on sketchy details around the RHD conversion and cracks in the filler / sealant around the roof. I got upset for about 3 seconds then decided Id keep it and fix it. This was on friday Friday night / sat morning : Sunday night : I wanted it 4wd but couldnt find axles wide enough in NZ ( 66" ) , the conversions Id seen mostly used Dana 44s and 60s and leaf springs up front, not ideal from a handling and turning perspective but easy enough to fit. I have a 460LE with transfercase from a suburban which I planned to use but was going to have to import axles, not keen. So off down a google hole I go and the widest diffs I can find were 80 series cruiser at 63". Theres room in the fenders for a narrower front end and itll fit and turn 15x10s I reckon ( see below ) I found pair of axles, engine ( 1HDT ) and trans close to home ish for a good price so got it all home ( sunday before pulling van motor ) 6.2 dinosaur after 110ks : 1HDT after 300ks , I did timing belt etc yesterday and it all looks clean as inside I probably run a modified pump but these things and a piece of cake to get running, needs alternator wiring and power to fuel cut solenoid. Ill rewire the whole van, have a harness on the way. Back axle will go back on leaves, ill just weld new perches on it Front is the fun bit. The van has a big crossmember which holds the motor and upper and lower arms, spring hats are in the right places but new diff will hit the crossmember so ill cut it right down to clear the diff and put the new ( offset ) engine mounts in. Im rebuilding the swivels now, one of the hub bushings / bearings had disappeared so will get those done this week. Ill run coils on the chev upper mounts and cruiser axle mounts, im pumped on the coils. Then trailing radius arms with some mounts with vertical adjustment ( lots of holes ) sio I can correct caster while Im sorting ride height. So this static rollover threshold with LVV for lift limits might be an issue but once I sort the crossmember itll give me some space to drop the engine and get crank down. The van is over getting the rust etc done now, meantime Ive put new vent windows and frames in and will make up the roof stiffeners itll need for cert

This is my G20, I got it a year ago after a trip to the US and deciding I couldnt live without one. Originally I looked at importing one as I wanted something 4x4 but alot of the conversions looked pretty shit and I didnt fancy my chances of getting one road legal here, that and the 12k odd shipping cost put me off. There were a few for sale here but mostly newer with TBI engines and just werent quite right. Then I found out a mate down south had one, road legal, diesel 2wd, 84, RHD, cheap, you beaut ! main issues were the colour and it smelt like soup kitchen, some dude had been living in it apparently, and sounds like he enjoyed a dart or 10 Plate I wasnt allowed So I drove it home and started planning, gutted the inside and got it over to the painters, similar colour to and old car I had and made new kitchen and beds etc, drove the shit out of it last summer, so good having a bit of space and sliding door. I drives good, stops good, steers good

It gets towed by go kart or ten speed It'll take a puppet on a biscuit And it fits on the van

I bought the Grom a little jetboat a few years ago, it's 1300 long or so and had a gas powered trash pump for a donk, it was built in greymouth I think. it was loud and slow but she had some fun in it So ran it like that for a few years then it blew up and sat under a tree. A few months back I dragged it out..made a new intake, bolted a 140mm ski unit in the back and sorted steering then put a 48v electric chainsaw motor in there for a drive unit. It went ok but wouldnt quite get on step and got wet and fried itself. So then I got a 5000w 72V emoto kit ( ex surron ) off AliExpress with a foot pedal. All waterproof they reckoned. So here it is, I'm running chain drive for now til I get the gearing right ( it's turning at 6k or so max now ) then will put a belt on it I think. A mate at work built the pack and bms and it's good for 40 minutes or so. She loves it and missus fits in it too. Highly recommended I can vouch for the waterproofness, I got in it and tried doing doughies on Friday and sunk it, girl laughed at me, dried it all out and it's fine. Here's a quick vid of it : https://youtube.com/shorts/wcsHLeL9Xzo?feature=share

cheers yeah it seems like theyre in demand, Ive ended up with a complete C160 conversion including axles and dash so im sure someone will want it. Havent had any C56s jump up at me yet, then a mate hit a deer in his sp20 the other night and fucked it so that might be a good option to strip, dunno if the later mazda manuals are any tougher than the early ones

Sweet ok thanks I'll keep an eye out for a c56. I don't need 6 speeds. Power wise ideally I'd keep it around the 200 hp mark, I don't need lots and won't run a turbo or anything.

Some progress on this lemon, I've been googling tranny's more than usual. I've read posts from Honda guys ( most special ), Toyota sprinter / guys ( less special but still ) and hardcore Mazda guys ( generally good ). Gist of it is older Mazda trannys are shit and not worth using, regardless I've got hold of an F series one with shifter and pedal box etc. I also have this Toyota sprinter/ Levin etc 6 speed c160 box with shift linkages etc. Finding this was a bit punishing, the box doesn't feel great so I'll either find another one ( ideally with LSD ) or rebuild this and fit a slipper. Flywheel and clutch are small and apparently Toyota axles with slide into bg Mazda hubs, which I also got, so can run later 323 struts and brakes etc.

Ive started looking more closely at this thing, cut some rust out of trunk lid on outside, will do inside next then bottom corners of front doors. Went in for its forst wof in a few years, just failed on an exhaust leak and a brake dragging , easy as. They didnt mind the torn cv boots or oil leaks out the front. No more surprises yet, its very tidy in places I had a good look underneath, no rot which Im pretty happy about. Front end isnt what I expected, rack is bolted to firewall and tie rods come in from the back of spindles so thats easy. Front axles have plenty of clearance around them too. One thing with the newer ones is that the long shaft has an idler which might make them a pain in the hoop to use unless theres space on the motor for a mount, but itll be busy enough with water pipes and exhaust etc I also went a saw a mate locally who froths triangle powered stuff and old mazdas in general, he has a couple of these things and he may have an engine and honda trans I can pry off him, as though the jesus just shat them into my lap, its got to be a sign to push forward.

Yeah cheers any options are good at this stage, apart from dropping 20+k into a new engine, that don't seem smart

yeah that could be the go if I could get one, my thinking was the donor trans doesn't matter too much, I just would try and start with something closer to the wanger hp wise ( i figure 200 at flywheel ) which seems closeish to what the 2.3 later familia / atenza motors are. Im might start pesting round the rally prep shops and see if any of them have any old mazda stuff

cheers yeah Im pumped on it, pointless but it'll keep me busy. Ive got a mate in town with another one the same, he wants the same swap done. I dont need it to be fast, I have other fast shit, its just needs to be loud and slow looking. My main concerns will be flywheel diameter, starter placement and track width etc, hopefully the tie rod inputs etc arent too dissimilar on the later mazdas or whatever I use and I can keep the steering rack and everything stock. The last design approval I did sucked the life out of me for a while. I sort of need to get the engine first to start mockups but haven't had any good options jump out, 13b sounds the best bet for parts availability. One gem I read was the the auto counterweights on the 13b has a different flange which will allow alot more flywheel options, that what the grey BFMR used. Talking to a few mates in motorsport the Honda boxes sound like the handle the power better and probably easier to get brake upgrades etc for, I might need a parts car