8ball

All my elec fuel pumps ive always ran wiring direct from the battery.

And ran a relay to a seperate switch which i mount hidden under the dash or even seat.

This way it also acts as a kill switch for anti theft.

I can also shut the fuel off in an emergency if i want.

Or i can prime the fuel pressure before i crank the engine.  Etc.

Just means i have to manually turn the pump on and off everytime .

Used to have it on the ignition but if you get a sticky needle and seat and the carby starts to flood you kill the engine when tyou turn the pump off. By having if on a seperate wiring harness i can just turn off the pump and the engine keeps running, which emptys the fuel bowl.

Usually i check - do 

Rip tail shaft and check unis (even pull a cap or so to check pitting etc.  Check tailshaft isn't out of balance or bent etc.

Balance all wheels

Check and grease all wheel bearings check shocks and balljoints (full suspension safety check and re- grease)

While rear axles out the diff check theyre not bent.

Check engine mounts 

Check engine harmonc balancer.

Check flywheel/flexplate bolts are tight etc.

Probably  something im forgetting that i normally just check but can't recall.

Id have the car infront of me and  e able to test drive so what ever order i do the above would depend on circumstances. 

If still no luck i then start checking engine balance etc.  .

*** dunno what ratios your car has. As to what it can achieve. But have you tried doing 70+ in 3rd or even 2nd gear? Is it still there? Is it worse? (Higher rpm may make it worse or clear up but force vibration earlier speed?)

All else fails start mounting go- pros under wheel arches etc trans tunnel engine bay etc etc and go for a drive.

Much safer than a mate in a boot. A bit more legal and you have a recording to watch not going by a half deaf/blind mates recount.

You dont hold the button. (Piston lifter)

You just press it- lift the piston briefly see what happens the adjust acordingly.

Then lift it again to see what happens.

If ya can afford it maybe splurge on some smiths gauges with a chrome bezzle and they will blend in with the rest.

Decent proper automotive trim tape would be a better alternative.

As mentioned above 

Pretty sure its what they used to use on the old stick on stripes.

(Have a set on a old wagon that have been on it for about 30yrs or more)

If you talk to a paint shop that sells tapes etc they should be able to help you out.

Then when you get the proper clips hair dryer the tape off.

Dont glue them

Or ya wasted ya money painting it.

Go to a wreckers and see if you can get some off another car. Or.

Leave them off till you get the clips.

Rushing now will only result in many years of.

"I wish id fucking waited......"

They're also super expensive to buy and fix.

Im guessing there's a budget here or else he wouldn't be asking for ideas etc.

Diesel engines are good yep.  But fuck paying for a new diesel pump when it dies etc.

As for the ford engine. Dont go ba. Go either bf or fg.

Myself i do like the commo v6 as there is more room in the engine bay for 2nd and 3rd batteries. 

And you can probably even sit /stand in there to work on.

Theyre cheap as. And myself i think the gm box is a better option than the btr box (more aftermarket upgrades avail for them etc)

Can pick up a whole running vs commo for about $200 these days. More if you want a supercharged one. (Or just turbo it..)

Any decent diesel engine will probably start around $1000 - $1500 without a box.

The original 3.5L 6 is only what 70hp?...

So 200hp should be a big upgrade.

Also being the fact he is traveling in aust, im guessing that its being built here too?

Alot of the afore mentioned combos aren't that popular/available. .

Mate had an old volvo school bus converted to a motor home. Shower, kitchen, lounge etc etc etc.

He dropped a vs v6 and 4l60e into it on duel fuel. Ran gas on the flats and petrol for the hills.

He also towed a small trailer with a tinny and 2 scooters and large generator. 

Would easily do 110kph on the flat. She did struggle a bit up the hill fully loaded with him wife 2 kids and luggage etc. and at times would get down to 60-70kph On steep hills etc.

If he did it again he reckons hed go a sc v6 and set the gas up better on a bypass intake so when its on petrol the fas mixer doesn't obstruct the intake etc. As with no mixer inline the power level was much better on petrol.

If your going to cruise Australian toads why not use something thats comman as in australia? After all you want to be able to get parts anywhere for it if you run into trouble.

Chuck a v6 commodore engine and gearbox into it (manual or auto your call)that way parts are easily avail and you will have over drive for the highway.

Its already setup for ac and power steer if you go that way.

And if its not gutsy enough, then buy a supercharged ecotec one from a calais or statesman and use that.

Should be more than adequate and parts etc will be everywhere.

They're able to run petrol or gas so you should be fine.

And brushless...

Lipo + brushless. So much better. Power, runtime and so much lighter.

Up and down a ladder all day with a nicad drill etc and then go to a lipo... so much better. 

Cheers guys.

Have a set on order. (Found a pair on ebay locally)

If they seem the go I'll look into doing all the others eventually. 

Thats cool.

Ive got a spare one i butchered trying to get a different one in that just wont fit due to poor build quality etc.

So ill trial fit to that bucket etc before i try in my good ones.

Yep thats basically what im after.

Old school looking with better globe setup. 

Been looking at upgrading the candle lighting for some time on a few cars.

Bought a set of h4 halogen lights once as a replacement. But they looked nothing like an old school sealed beam.

They had a very flat surface instead of a curved surface.

Another set i looked at had a curved surface but were made of clear plastic and made poorly.

Has anyone else swapped to semi sealed or h4 style headlights yet retained the old look to the car?

Another reason is that it can be a real pain to access and do a light swap (remove trim, light bucket etc etc) and then have to readjust the light angle etc.

With a h4 halogen id be able to access the globe from the engine bay pretty easy so a globe swap is but mere minutes not an hour or so.

Pretty sure was printed on lead 15kohms/m or something like that...

What im saying tho is.

Why pay and fit new leeds (of the same brand and model /series etc ) whenthe new leads have a higher resistance level to that of the 5yo leads they're meant to replace??

I sure wouldn't buy new Bridgestone eagers (or what ever) if the new tyre had less tread than the old ones they were replacing.

Am i the only one that ohm checks new plug leeds?

Bought a set to replace an old set (my own car).

Same brand everything. 

The old coil leed 4kohms.

New leed 10.5kohms.....

Wtf???

And the rest were just as bad.

Was so tempted to offer him a "brand new" chicken parmi from last night....

Yep ive got a set of tyres on an old falcon out the back. Fitted to the car then 2 weeks later it shits itself.

So i left them with it as id get around to it..... theve done about 500kms and are about 6yrs old.

Hit em with some soap and a hose and they look like new..... but would be hard as a rock and grip like golf shoes on an ice rink. (Bolt em on and would be like gaining an extra 200hp at the wheels on any car. Lol)

Im just sick of hearing.

"But its new..."

Car ran like shit. Replaced parts and now purrs like a kitten 

So c@nt got told.

I went to look at a car a few months ago. The one thing the guy was raving about was -

"Its got brand new tyres on it....."

I swear he used a while can of tyre shine on each tyre.... close inspection and the tyres are dated 2009.

So new my f#cking ass... closer looking revealed some minor side wall cracking and the tread was hard as a rock = zero grip..

Sure i understand that people forget just how long ago things were bought or fitted. But when they're confronted with the evidence etc and they still claim its like new or is new.  Then it pisses me off.

I offered him a bargain price of some engine oil from my work hack.

Its "brand new" i only filled it 6months ago.......

Would you call a set of spark plugs fitted 12 months ago "brand new"

Or a pair of shocks that are 2 years old "new"??

To me a part fitted about 1-2months ago is "fairly new/recent"

Brand new is when its never been fitted, or you just fitted it yesterday etc.

Just had an argument over a rough running car that i then diagnosed and fixed with a set of new plugs, dizzy cap, and points etc. 

Only to be told "but they're brand new!!"

When a receipt for said new parts was produced it showed they were over 18months old.  Which id consider reasonably  used. 

(I swear parts arent lasting as long these days.)

Mpg isnt always a good indication of running well.

Had an old codger once come in for a service and tune on his old statesman

Said all was well but figured its done him well and it deserved a bday.

So new oil, air cleaner, plugs etc etc.

Then threw the sniffer up the tailpipe etc and hooked up timing light etc etc. 

Man this thing was lean as. If you drove it as he did it was possibly ok.

But if you ever went to tow with it or heaven forbid open the throttle past 1/4 it would pop n fart etc and wouldn't rev.

It would probably do a few valves etc and hole the piston if you tried to hild it too long.

So we tell the old guy and hes like.

- oh yeah for sure make her happy.

So we tune it and get it running sweet as.

A few big revs and test drives etc to clear the crap out the exhaust  (was like spy car smoke screens) and she definitely was happy.

3 days latter the old guy comes in unhappy.

Apparently its now drinking like a sailor on shore leave....

So we check it out and mixtures are perfect and no fuel leaks.

Off he goes again

This happens 2 more times til we sit down and chat.

We agree to "fix" his fuel economy but we wont warranty it because its way to lean. He's happy because he just puts around in it.

So note goes in file not to touch fuel mixtures etc and never open throttle etc on test drives.

We saw the car regularly for 7 more years before he lost his license due to being 92 and half blind.

Moral of yarn, awesome economy. Shit drivability.

How many enginebay / firewall holes did he weld up and smooth out to "neaten" the engine bay during the build?

Seen it many times.

People rip it apart and tidy it up only to finish it many years later and somewhere in between have filled in important needed holes etc

Looked at that. Definitely not bolt in.

Chassis width is different. 

Steering position different. Etc etc.

Plus its heavy as f@ck compared to the original. 

So then may aswell just go LC,LJ 

Be very interesting to see what their fitment is like and what mods etc are needed to fit.

Finding decent brakes and wheel options for the front has always been an issue here.

Ahhhh ok.

So id be needing new stub axles, hubs, calipers etc.

Was hoping to avoid stubs etc. As viva gear here is thin on the ground. 

Would hate to see what international freight to Australia, for stubs hubs etc would cost let alone the parts.

I guess ill have to come up with another idea for brake upgrades (if its possible)

* if it was just a caliper + spacer and new discs it probably wouldn't be so bad.

Id also say most of the upgrades deletes the usage of the factory 12" rims?

So the 1.8 and 2.3 hub. Is that different to the normal hb hub?

And what caliper do you run?