Kiwibirdman

For your seat, Grant at Grants Auto Upholstery, 92 Ellice Road is good and doesn't charge like a wounded bull. He has all sorts of cool stuff in his shop.

I would assume that they are talking about the banjo diff that came in the 6 cylinder HQ Holdens. This was used from the EH onwards until the HZ in the 6 Cylinder and some 253 V8s There were 2 versions, fine spline and coarse spline axles. Rations go from 2.78, 3.08, 3.23, 3.55 and 3.9. The 3.23 and 3.55 were standard issue in the sedans and wagons (auto got 3.23 and manual 3.55) Toranas got the 2.78 and some utes got 3.9. Also early cars (EH for sure ) got the 3.9. To answer your question about how strong, some of these lived for a while behind 350 chevs and some last 5 mins behind a 202. Come down to torque and shock loading. As you don't have a lot of weight and not a lot of torque should be OK. No idea if they fit the Hillman housing, worth a try.

The stuffy people of Chatswood have been given similar delights, brake tests to check that the right end locks up first are very popular.

Just saw the latest update, you are getting near terrorising the North Shore in Rigamortice. Excellent work!!

On the first go for the WOF it failed on the LH outer headlamp low beam barely working, indicators flashing too slow and LH rear brake only 40% of RH Headlight was pull the plug off and push it back on, now works. I swapped the flasher units between the indicators and the hazard lights (2 flashers on these) and then the brakes. I adjusted and rebleed with a fair amount of air coming out, should be good. Went back for the recheck, lights, indicators all good brakes still the same. I had a spare drum which I chucked on and gave it another bleed. Nothing but fluid for the first couple of pumps then this monster air bubble. Got back to the mechanic about 5 mins before closing on friday. Chucked it on the machine and good enough for a pass. I did the rego on line and when we came back on Saturday from a week away there was a nice new rego sticker. Sunday afternoon youngest son and I took it for its first legal drive in over 6 years. At 80mph on the northern motorway all was good, lots of wind noise with the windows down and the roof up. The EFI helps for a nice drive, good brakes,clutch is light enough. Already for some summer miles./ Big day in my life, every vehicle I have is legal. Still plenty to finish off and other toys to play with.

Certification is done. The oil leak ended up being the wires going to the alternator getting caught under the corner of the rocker cover. Rookie mistake. Original seats back in and Willwood proportioning valve installed. I also fixed the interior lights that have never worked. A couple of LED bulbs then made rubber spacers to go on the front edge of both doors to hit the switches. Still a list of stuff to finish off. Align the front panels and get the bonnet to fit properly, strip paint and fit the lower stone tray, add sound deadening under the back seat. Nothing important, just stuff to keep me out of trouble. Booked for a WOF next week. Dangerously close to having everything legal. Future plans, drive it.... lots

Or pull it apart and have a look, might be something a bit more serious.

One step forward and 2 steps back. The car passed the brake test but locks the back wheels up at the end. It doesn't have a proportioning valve so putting in an adjustable one will sort this out. The big issue is that the BMW seats I put in have failed because I trimmed the mounting legs, which is a big no no. It this point I'm going to put the original seats back in and later on get them made a bit more comfortable. Luckily I'm only in this for less than a $100 and 20 hours of my spare time. Also have to fix the leak out of the drivers side rocker cover, it runs down on to the exhaust and smells evil. Normally a 10 minute job but there is almost no space between the brake booster and the cover. I have been procrastinating because it looks like a prick of a job.

Thanks Clint Planning to recycle the SaaS wheel off my Firebird.

I just bought a C4 corvette, pre airbag model, and the steering wheel is buggered. Is there any problem with swapping the wheel with an aftermarket one?

Took it for the recheck by the certifier. Couple of minor things that got missed the first time, missing lock washers and a sway bar that didn't get bolted back down properly. Wont take long to fix. Then all it needs is a dry day for the road/brake test and we should be away. I took it out on Sunday night to bed the brakes in, and much driving like a lunatic couldn't get them to fade so the test should be fine. I will be great to have it done and driving legally, only been 6 years since the last WOF

Try Brass Fit. They have all sorts. brassfit.co.nz

For anyone who is interested. I spoke to the Guy up north. he said he was away and would e ack home after ANZAC day. All good I said txt me your address and I will have the ECM waiting for you. No response to several txt messages and calls. Next plan was call Peter Church at American Pick up parts. HE was the parts guy at Bunce Motors for many years. He put me on to Carl Jensen at C&M Performance. Had a chart with him and he said no worries, bring it in and I can take the VATS off while you wait. I turned up and he took one look at the ECM and said what year did you say. 1990 was the replay and he said sorry I thought you said 1999. I haven't got a chip burner any more. He put me on to Dave Green at Specialty Cars in MAtamata. I rang Dve and he said yes I can .... but 1 in 10 chips wont reflash and new chip aren't available. Knowing my luck so far with this car I wasn't prepared to risk it. My nex stop was a crowd in the US , PCM of NC. The make an interface board that goes between the chip and the main ECM. I fired them off a request asking if they would sent to NZ. No problem was the answer straight back. I order one through their web site late Thursday night. Next morning I get an email back from PCN of NC saying the payment didn't go through and one from the bank saying there was a possible fraudulent transaction on my credit card and it was on hold. 45 minute on the phone to the bank had the hold taken off but the transaction still wouldn't go through. I ended up setting up a pay pal account and paying that way. Once that was sorted that transaction went through ( Monday just gone) and the new chip arrived Thursday. I thought that was pretty good from North Carolina. Installed the chip and the car started but ran on about 4 cylinders and super rich. With the shit weather and life being busy I didn't get back to it until today. Got the car running and out of the garage. It wouldn't even make it up my driveway. Check for air leaks and found a few that could be a problem. Still not running right. Though that the only thing that changed was the ECM. Opened it up and checked the new chip. One god press and the clip on one side clicked on. Put it all back together and away it went. it still has an intermittent miss that got better as I drove round the block. I think a new set of leads, plugs, fuel filter etc could be in order. Happy it is fixed.

I spoke to Nick at Ron Wood. He has a man up North who can turn off the VATS. I will get that done and hopefully will work. Thanks to everyone.

I bought a 1990 Corvette from the south Island and drove it up to the North Island over Easter. When I got to Levin it refused to turn over or start. After getting it back to Auckland (than you very much AAplus) I have worked out the problem is somewhere in the VATS system. After spending many hours I have come to the conclusion the best way round this is to remove the VATS completely. The VATS appears to cause all sorts of on going issues. Does anyone know some bright bugger who knows how to delete VATS off the ECM. Once this is done I can bypass everything else.

8 inch wide wheels are pretty big for an escort, too much on the out side which is why they hit the guard. What size tires do you have?

The tank I bought cam with the pump and sender, they had to be fitted. The pump cam with 300mm long wires. The earth was connected to the body of the car and the power wire extended to a relay up by the battery. The computer operated the relay which powers the pump. The fuel sender has one wire to earth and I changed the connector to use the original wiring for the fuel gauge.

Here is a photo or 2 and a bit more of an update. I'm really happy with the way the car sits. Getting rid of the cast iron intake and putting on an alloy one has raised the front about 20mm. This is well hidden by the wider wheels. Front are 18x8 and rear are 18x9.5. Originally I wanted 17 inch wheels for a bit more sidewall, but they wouldn't go over the brakes. I am a bit worried how I will get on with the shit state of the roads. The EFI is not really obvious at first glance, just the end of the fuel rails and the regulator on the side of the motor. The reg is temporary until the proper one comes from the US. It is an Edelbrock that goes onto the fuel rail in the same style as most factory EFI. One of the things I had to fix was no shroud on the fan. I have mounted an electric fan in front of the radiator, not done in this photo. It will be controlled by the computer.

Sorry, just saw this post. No problem with Tax etc, its all calculated when you pay. The tank was easy to fit, it was the Holley retrofit. COmes with everything, a bit of dicking around to get the depth of the pump in tank right and the same for the fuel gauge sender. Both are a standard item that goes in various different tanks. Biggest thing is making sure your alternator is up to it. I killed an electric fuel pump years ago when the alternator couldn't keep up with everything.

I lied Very long time, no posting. Car is more or less together, runs and drives and has had a the first run through with the cert check. It was a big fight getting the panels to line up. Jack the car up and the door gaps shift all over the place. The the drivers side has come up pretty good, the passenger side not so much. The right hand guard has been hit a couple of times and even had lead in it as part of a very old repair. Reality by the time I bought the patch panel and had the guard blasted, it was most of the price of a replacement. The cert check came back with a list of stuff that is mainly easy, Some of the stuff is wheel studs are too shot by one turn of engagement, lock washers on the rear spring shackles and tighten up the engine mount bolts. Also in the list is move the exhaust so that it clears the driveshaft on full droop (only been like that for 25 years), Crush tubes on the spacer for the belly plate and lock nuts on the drive shaft U Bolts. The EFI is awesome. Once I sorted the timing out, I completely fucked that up first time round, it fired instantly and idled perfectly. It might be my imagination but it sounds quieter than before. The in tank pump is noisier than expected, this might be because I don't have carpet and sound deadening in yet. The last major challenge is the clutch, It is a hydraulic master cylinder, to an external slave and doesn't want to disengage properly. I am wondering if I need a bigger master to get more fluid to the slave. There also might be some air in the system, I have to take the slave off to bleed because the bleed nipple ended up on the bottom. All of it is fixable with the right application of time and money. It is still meant to be finished by Americarna, even though we probably wont take it down.

Going back to the bottom of the memory hole, some of these cars used a rubber Oring to hold the release bearing in place while assembling. As @Mof said once it is together it can't go anywhere.

Have a look at Fitzees Fabrications on YouTube. Lots of good tech tips and ideas on real world fixing rusty cars. I used his cut and butt method to weld new back guards onto my Firebird.

I bought it from Summit Racing.

Quick update. I have been bolting stuff on to the car, engine is painted and in, EFI manifold is on. The corvette brakes are back on, with the new tie rod ends the bump steer is much better. As the suspension drops it doesn't go cross eyed any more. I'm sure it does move a bit but nothing like stock. The plan has been to clear the piles of parts up from being spread round the house and put them back on the car. I have been procrastinating about bolting the front guards on. Basically I'm scared of scratching the paint, first gen F-bodies must have the inner guard bolted to the guard and then the whole lot put on the car. Need to find my big boy pants and just get on with it. When I was going through the EFI stuff I opened up the box for the regulator and found a fitting missing. This is the only thing let to get to finish off the fuel system and get it running. Not looking good for getting another one before the end of the month. I promise a better update and photos soon.

Here are some photos of the paint job . I brought it home today. The guards and bonnet are still at the paint shop, I'll collect them once the chassis rails are painted and engine in. Quote from oldest son, Even though it is the same colour it looks completely different. Also went via the certifier to get a baseline toe test on the front suspension, 34mm of change through the full motion. Just have to make it better than that with the CPP C% corvette brake kit. I have some factory style raised tie rod ends that should do the trick.