Kiwibirdman

Looks good. I have an engine stand in the garage you are welcome to borrow.

Finally got round to taking it down for compliance. There were a few other minor issues, back brakes dragging, handbrake needs improvement, one ball joint not great, and front windscreen doesn't have the standard mark and the speedo bounces round at low speed Biggest issue is I had never got a repair certifier involved before it was painted. I have got a certifier involved who has been really good, fundamentally it is OK except for a repair that was done above the rear hatch. I have spoken to the panel beater about it. He is booked solid until after Christmas. Over Christmas I should be able to get the inside of the floor fully painted, sound deadening in and carpets fitted. That should cut the noise inside right down. It is fun to drive round, I might have to put a better fan on the radiator as it gets hot sitting still, no problems as soon as it starts moving. Not a lot of space on either side of the radiator.

If I can get it registered and get out of Auckland yes.

Looks alright in the photos. I would put it together and do some miles, have some fun. It's too easy to have a project that carries on and you never to ride (drive) it I'm up for a ride, if you don't mind triumphs.

Once the Holden cam home from the certifier it got parked and pretty much ignored. I started on my Firebird, the wife gave me some budget after Americarna and then I bought a new to me motor bike. I really should start a build thread on the Firebird.

Funnily enough I was about to drag this thread up from the dead. After the car came back from the final cert inspection it got parked with a cover over it and ignored. A couple of days ago I fitted a horn, adjusted the bonnet stops and got it ready for compliance. Its booked in tomorrow, so wish me luck. To answer your question, it is not possible to used a booster and keep the original brake pedal location. I used the clutch pedal and bent it over to the right and then used a commodore automatic foot plate and rubber. This has to be TIG welded and the crack tested. The 7 inch booster does bugger all, at some point I might get an 8 inch dual diaphragm and swap it out. I also ended up stealing the master cylinder off my 1968 firebird because it has exits on the right hand side and is very narrow. The bolt pattern on the booster is standard GM. Also to get a brake light switch I used a Willwood distribution block with a light switch and built in proportioning valve. To pass the brake test I had to get some really good pads and the proportioning valve is not used. I guess I could wind it in for doing burnouts. Send me a PM if you need any more info.

Too many toys.....too little time.......

Good to see you are back at it.

@yoeddynz Dredging up memories from a life time ago when I was a telecommunication tech. With all these technologies the faster you go the less distance you can get. I had a quick google and 1.5kms looks like the maximum distance for VDSL to be faster than ADSL2

How much louder did the side exit make your truck, I did a side exit on mine and it got quieter, probably due to the 120 degree tight turn out of the mufflers.

This was the Weldtech machine. I finally got my shit together and connected it all up. Using Bunnings Mig Gas and 6mm wire also from Bunnings. Very happy playing with some scrap panel steel. All up investment for everything including the deposit on the gas bottle, 5kg wire and a reg was just under $900.

Finally got booked in for the recheck on the cert ........... and it passed. Has little temporary tag thing on the engine bay and the really cert plate will turn up sometime. Then it can go to be complied. Cert process took 8 months, mainly due to look downs, availability of parts due to ports of Auckland cluster fuck, certifier being busy because everyone is building cars instead of spending money going overseas and my own lack of motivation. Little things like Americarna, Beach Hop and going caravanning for the 9 days of the 2 long weekends earlier this year also didn't help. I also washed it for the first time, first wash in 26 years, and yes it did leak. Its had about 6 or 8 cleans with McGuires Ultra Rapid detailer to the water beaded up beautifully. Really looking forward to putting some serious miles on this car, apart from the heavy steering at parking speeds, it drives like a late model car.

Welder turned up yesterday. I'm planning to get the Bunnings gas bottle. Which is the best mix to use? I'm mainly doing panel steel and light fabrication.

Still on special, just ordered one.

I know enough to be dangerous here. I believe that not all VH40 boosters are the same. Some are application specific. Check with the supplier that it is the correct replacement.

Thank you

I am looking at options to put some decent brakes on the front of my 1968 Firebird. Summit racing has these kits from Classic Performance that use C% corvette calipers, discs and hubs. The question I have is will the aftermarket spindle pass certification or not?

The T5 to get is the World Class out of a late 80's Camaro, people are asking $1500 to $2000 for them. They are rated for 300 ft/lb of torque. The gear leaver is at the end of the tail housing and will not clear a bench seat if you are short, in the right spot if you have bucket seats. This gearbox will bot up to any chev(GM) factory bell housing. You will need a clutch with a 26 spline clutch plate. I have one in my 68 firebird, generally shifts well, except for the 4-3 change. The syncros on 3rd aren't wonderful and the down shift is a double clutch, sorts the men from the girls. I also put a mustang hurst shifter on it, much better than factory. If you use any other T5 version, there are heaps (V6 commodore, falcon, mustang, various pommy cars) you will need custom bell housings, modified input shafts, not worth the hassle. If you are going to do this, a W50 is a much better box. Tremec TKO is a better option but the are $4k if you bring one in yourself. Will fit on GM bell housing, has 3 shifter locations, option for mechanical speedo output. IMHO a 6 speed is over kill unless you can get one cheap or you like spending lots of money.

Late to the game, I'm on the shore and can have a look.

For connecting the TH400 to the column shift use a cable as above. The factory cross over is almost impossible to get and really complicated.

This is a bit generic. I suspect the unconnected wire is the switched auto park wire. When the motor is in any position but parked it will supply 12 volts which will be cut when you reach the park position. This is normally connected to the low speed wire via the wiper switch. There are a couple of things you can do to check, the first is check for continuity between blue/blue and blue/white when off park. Then connect blue/white and blue/black together apply power to blue/blue and earth to black and the motor should auto park.

sorry @piazzanoob not going to make it.

It's in my diary

took it down today for the recheck on the cert. All good......exccept I didn't put a heat shield between the brake line and the exhaust, I even looked at it when I did the other side .....dumb ass. Also it failed the brake test. by the 4th stop it had run out of brakes so fail. The pads that are in the calipers are probably 30 years old even though they haven't done a lot of miles. They have managed to be on 3 different cars. I don't know if they get worse with age or weren't that great to start with. I'll get them relined with the flash new material and working properly. Then I can adjust the back brakes to work properly using the proportioning valve. I had to reduce the back brakes because it was loci=king the back wheels up first. The certifier has driven it further than I have because he has to go for miles to get to an open road where he can do 100ks. He did say it drives a lot better than he thought it would.

I would start with checking the wires from the door switches to the light. lots of places to rub through and short out.