sr2

The front end is finally finished. I had some drama identifying a few of the parts; the outer tie rod ends in particular. Thanks to Steve from Autolign for identifying them as AP5, (after none of the opposition could). Have to say all those years ago I really nailed the steering geometry, still looking good! Etch primed and rebuilt the calipers…. Hub/discs, bearing and pads all purchased and waiting for the front end install. Big thanks to my old friend Kevin from ADL; the way you can pull 45 year old part numbers out of your head is a little scary to say the least, mate you might need to find a hobby!

Just thought I'd post a link to the Cosevo's engine, for a little inspiration. 4G63T RWD rocks! https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/413969151.jpg

Who...me.....that incident with the vaseline, the wet suit and the tethered goat was nothing more than a nasty malicious rumor! (Ducks for cover!).

My favorite for finishing chassis, mechanical components, etc. is a light spray with CRC Rust converter ($11-99 per can from BNT) followed by a brushed coat of Wattyl Killrust etch primer (similar to PA10 but much cheaper). This combination is a fraction of the price of Pour10, doesn't peel off from smooth surfaces and does a great job of controlling corrosion. I then finish off with one or two brushed coats of marine enamel, current favorite being Hempel Marine topcoat, very similar to Epiglass Marinecoat but at half the cost!

Apparently not so; it looks like only spacers or adapters are required to be wheel/hub-centric, i.e. there is no requirement for a wheel to have a hubcentric fit on the hub. "Rob July 19, 2015 at 10:31 pm I want to fit a set of wheels which are perfectly compatible in size, width & offset – however the centre bore size of the wheels is 57mm & the car has only 54mm centre hub size. Is that 3mm “gap” legal? Do I have to fit some sort of ring to fill in the gap? johnbrett July 20, 2015 at 1:39 pm Hi Rob- the wheel needs to be centered on the hub, but if there are no spacers fitted, the tapered wheel nuts center in the tapered holes in the wheels and serve that function. If spacers are fitted, this introduces bending loads on the wheel studs, so then a centering ring is needed. So the answer is- if there are no spacers fitted, a centering ring is not required. Hope this helps, John" (Copy and pasted from http://lowvolumevehicle.co.nz/2012/02/wheel-spacers-faqs/ ) Interesting debate, at this stage I'm erring towards turning up alloy "locator rings' if there's enough internal radius on the rims center bore to keep them in place.

Thanks for your input mate. love your Lada thread, when are we going to see the twin cam Fiat transplant? I think I have 3 options; make a thin hubcentric spacer, make a hubcentric bush that fits in the middle of each wheel or simply run them 'as is", as many cars have and still do. I've recently upgraded my little old bench Myford to a 10" Emco lathe so it's easy to turn up either spacers or bushes.

Still stripping rust and painting car parts but have managed to pounce on a few good bargains to feed my compulsive Trademe addiction, (as with the best of my addictions, it’s never satisfied). Found a Steel case W50 5 speed and snapped it up for $150 (Rigamortice will love the extra gear). A quick visit to Zebra parts Manakau found a Triumph 2000 Steering Column for $24, the original one had dry worn out “unobtanium” bearings and was getting a little manky. (For all you “Trumphy” exponents out there Zebra have two cars in stock). Talk about on a roll; picked up a complete HD rear end for $50, (I suspect the old girl has a bent axle and possible bent flange from the accident). (The megaphone gets the occasional “recreational” use with the beautiful Mrs sr2 but its normal application is deadly serious!). (Sometimes playing in a Pink Floyd tribute show has a lot to answer for!). Buy of the month had to be a set of these bad boys. The world’s coolest 14 x 7 old school Cheviot mags that still even have the original centres, all for only $100! Plan is to get Bruger Engineering to give them the once over for alignment, do a little dye penetrant crack testing, (boring safety stuff), do a little media blasting and then apply a lick of matt black Paint. (Very flash stuff and a big step up from rusty old HQ rims for my dear old Rigamortice). The only problem is the cheviot’s are not hubcentric, i.e. they rely solely on the studs for wheel concentricity. Question is; after 20 years of refusing to have non hubcentric wheels near any race car I’ve been responsible for do I swallow my pride, say the rules do not apply to street cars and bolt them on to the old girl? Any opinions will be gratefully accepted and deliberated on by both Rigamortice and myself. (Please feel free to visit and contribute to our project discussion thread- //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49843-sr2%E2%80%99s-1947-vauxhall-%E2%80%9Crigamortice%E2%80%9D-discussion-thread/ )

Mate what can I say? You might be complaining about your welding skills but I am totally blown away with your woodworking ability, you are indeed a craftsman. The question has to be asked, when are you building a full sized version?

LOL; attacking the person because you disagree with their opinion is anything but informative. That aside I've enjoyed reading the thread, there is some great information here.

Despite his obvious lack of subtlety it's obvious to most of us R100 is anything but trolling. It's obvious the point he's trying to make (one that the majority of the end users of our existing "cert" system would agree to) is that trying to build a car that conforms to the "opinion" of the designated certifier can sometimes reach the point of being nothing short of ludicrous. By all means disagree with him, (I for one love a robust debate) but dismissing him as being a "Troll" possibly says more about you than it does about R100's opinions.

Woops! (Should have avoided that last Turkey!).

Not much to report; spent the evening cleaning, wire brushing and painting car parts. I couldn't help but notice how guitar amps enhance a man-cave..... (Thanks, Marty).

I'd love to get some clarification on this subject. I was talking to Diffs R Us recently and they said they often welded and re-drilled axle flanges and if done properly there should be no certification issues. Enjoying your thread by the way, great fabrication skills and I'm green with envy re your access to a 3 D printer!

my pleasure mate, take the clutch master cylinder body with you to the brake shop and ask the guy to give it a quick hone while you wait. (The steel bores are more susceptible to corrosion than alloy ones but hone up well). I've heard good things about theses guys in NSW (they sold a lot of grunters in Ozz), I've been buying a lot of parts from Aussi for my latest project and it's often easier and faster than sourcing them in NZ. http://www.southernhemimedia.com/index.html

The circlip is more than capable of holding the piston in place in the rest position, many cars used that system. At a guess the failure you experienced was from either incorrect initial assembly, corrosion, or (long shot) if it had been re-sleeved in brass. We re-sleeved hundreds of them in brass at APCO Brake and Clutch in the 80's and there was the occasional failure from the circlip grove having been machined too deeply into the sleeve, ( the sleeve would fracture under the grove). With older hydraulics rather than trying to rather than trying to buy a "kit", strip the unit and find a good brake parts supplier that can match the parts. The Hunter "tin can" clutch master cylinder is a very simple unit and only has two critical seals. I'm Auckland based (Wellington has too many Politicians and too few businessmen for my liking) so can't recommend a local supplier but if you get stuck let me know and I can probably sort the parts out for you from up here.

Time to have a look at the booster and master cylinder. I found a crack in the Bakelite valve body but a mate in a local brake shop (thanks Kevin) donated some 2nd hand parts and a few new seals. Spent an evening turning this….. Into this…. And putting it back into the can’s…. To end up with this….

+1; I just don't think (from the photo's) there's enough room there to fit one.

Always had a soft spot for the Hillman "Grunter" ; I'm showing my bloody age again! Looks like a great project, thanks for sharing.

With a dual circuit system the OP would need to fit two remote hydrovacs. Not only would this be a big step backwards in braking technology it would result in an overly complicated, less reliable system with reduced feel and driveability that would be at best described as a “bloody plumbers nightmare”. (No offence intended but I have had far too much experience with such systems in the past). My guess would be to relocate the battery to the boot (or rear foot well if it’s a competition car) and relocate the existing mastervac/master-cylinder assembly offset to the left in front of the strut tower. Have a look at some of the early Escort extended booster setups for inspiration. What can I say; absolutely love the car, love the project. Shame you’re not closer to Auck., if I can have a good crawl over a car I can usually figure the brakes. (Worked for PBR in Aussi in the late 70’s, APPCO Brake and Clutch in NZ in the early 80’s and have been building/co-driving Targa cars for the last 20 years). Keep us all informed with your progress.

I wasn’t happy with the condition of the lower wishbones…. I didn't realize how scarce on the ground HR Holden parts were getting but a quick call to Bernie at Horopito Wreckers (Smash Palace) and a replacement pair was on the way, you guys rock! The R&P looked so good that I just shouted it some new grease, a set of boots and a lick of paint. A box of new suspension joints had arrived from KC spares in Aussie and I couldn’t resist assembling some of the front end.

Once the mess was cleared up I was left feeling slightly shell-shocked/hung over with possibly the world’s largest pile of J14 Vauxhall “bits” strewn the back yard. First step was to purchase 20 liters of Supersol (cold parts cleaner & decarboniser) and 10 liters of Tergophos (phosphoric acid for rust removal) and set up a couple of 50 litre “pickle baths”. Thought I’d start with the front end; it came apart easily. The smaller parts went into the pickle baths for cleaning, rust removal, inspection and a coat of etch primer followed with marine enamel. I was worried re the condition of the cross member so I sent it to Kwik Strip in Avondale for the full treatment. On its return I could see some rust in the left chassis mount and decided I’d re-plate the bottom which had been used as a jacking point for many years. (This would give me the chance to see the condition of the inside of the cross member and rust proof as needed). I made some extra gussets up for the rack mount just to be safe. Then I started on the Chassis mount.

The next step was as simple as it was brutal; pull out the gas axe, the 9” and 4” grinders, the reciprocating saw, my treasured set of Whitworth/ AF sockets & spanners and show no mercy in the back yard. To be honest I’d been dreading this day for years; initially the plan was to put the new shell in storage but for some strange reason it was easier with it parked nearby in my driveway. I stuck the glasses and muffs on, looked Rigamortice squarely between the headlights, muttered “harden up you old tart this might hurt a bit’ and fired up my favourite big 9” grinder. (A small note here for any of the fairer sex that may be reading this thread; contrary to popular belief, yes size is everything!). “Skanky Sam” our cat however was giving me the evil eye, having bonded with Rigamortice for some years she knew what was coming. It was brutal and uncaring and I just did it, (and then drank the remaining the Wild Turkey).

The lovely old guy selling the car looked me in the eye and summed me up. I gave him my best man up stare back, he told me the price, I nervously said yes, we shook hands and it was mine. The following week I picked up a car trailer and headed North with an old mate to bring it back. With it finally sitting in the driveway I couldn’t believe what I’d found, sometimes you just get lucky.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

When I finally got the jack out and had a good look at the lower rear section of Rigamortice’s shell the panic started to set in. There was no denying how bent she was as a result of the L300’s untimely demise but my early teenage attempts at rust repairs, (galv sheet brazed with an overlap) had created a corrosive time bomb; after too long in the back yard the lower part old girl’s rear end had simply dissolved. My initial brainstorm was why not reincarnate Rigamortice as the world’s first 1947 J14 Vauxhall ute? Problem was I didn’t need a ute and if I did it would have to be certified which would involve Rigamortice and I feeling obliged to attempt to be nice again to the “angry certification men”. Despite having experience with certifying a number of tarmac rally cars, (in Targa we drive on public roads in the touring stages) having to compromise a restoration project would have been as pointless as the rules and regulations the “angry certification men” would have been trying to make us adhere to. Sitting in Rigamortice in the back yard at 2:30 am in the morning after a ¼ bottle of Wild turkey (I’m a cheap drunk) the solution was as drastic as it was obvious, I needed to find a donor shell. The next year was spent visiting smash palace, following up false leads, finding cars in dilapidated conditions, falling in love with complete cars that were crying out for original restoration and after almost giving up I was finally given a lead to a car that was for sale up North. Que the dramatic background music... "In an ordinary garage, on an ordinary suburban street, in an ordinary town, I found...... this….." Sometimes you just get lucky……….. My initial impression was that I’d found yet another original car in need of restoration until I looked closer. Although appearing to be in good condition the body panels didn’t line up properly and it was confirmed when I was told that the car had been rebuilt (obviously by an enthusiastic amateur) from a rust heap some 15-20 years ago. Sometimes you just get lucky, I’d just found Rigamortice’s donor shell and unbelievably it was even the original color. (To be honest it was more than too good to be true, it was downright bloody scary!).