1963 AP5

If anybody is interested I know where there is a N/A 2+0 car just sitting with rego on hold. It used to be mine and I have considered offering to buy it a couple of times but can't really justify it. It is a real shame to see it just sitting in a driveway unused as it was a real nice car not that long ago as you can see from the photo. If anybody is interested in saving it I can let you know where to find it. Its in the Auckland area. 

Seems this discussion thread hasn't been active for a while but just wanted to say it was awesome to see your car go up the hill at leadfoot and thank you for taking the time to meet and chat with my mates and I in the pits between runs. The atmosphere at the event was fantastic and they way the drivers, mechanics and team members welcomed the spectators in and around the pits was just fantastic. 

Epic effort. Didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Well done achieving what others (like me) would have considered  impossible. 

So you will have it at 4 & rotors?

If so I am impressed beyond words!!

Hope to see you there.

Thanks for organizing this, I will be there with the family and the old Valiant.

I think the weather forecast is wrong and even if it isn't your car won't melt in the rain!!!

Hey love the Falcon!

I am looking for a carb from an XE or XF, any chance you have one among your spare parts? The Weber carbs off these old fords are pretty useful for transplanting onto any old 6 cyl engine of similar capacity (like Valiant engines). If you have one or know of somebody that does please let me know.

Keep the project rolling - the world needs more old Aussie utes!!

Yep that's what they are. They can be used for a few things but in this case the function is to delay the vacuum signal to the distributor vacuum advance unit. If the delay valve is not installed the vac advance unit pulls in too much advance too early causing a little knock under light / moderate throttle application. The valve delays the vacuum signal to the advance unit long enough for the engine to build enough RPM to handle the timing advance (or for you to get off the throttle). My one appears to be blocked or something because I never get any vac advance at all. 

Cool thanks everybody

I was hoping to find a local suppler that had new ones but I think scavenging Pick a Part or Zebra for the delay valve might be the way to go. I can see that they are available new in the United States but the shipping would probably cost more than the part. There must still be late 80's / early 90's cars lying around with these things on them.

Time for a treasure hunt I think!

I need to get a new vacuum delay valve for my car and it seems they are a little hard to come by these days. Does anybody know where I might be able to get one of these? The color code on the old one is Brown / Black and I think this means it is a 20 second delay.

It looks like this

not if you want insurance

That would always be my concern with any un-certified modifications these days.

Certification is no big deal if the work is done properly and it is not an expensive exercise.

I'd eat my hat if the average WOF 'technician' (I use the word loosely)  would know or for that matter be able to identify the difference between the original donk and a Grunter motor!

 

Keep it Roots mate, tickle up a 1725 and enjoy. 

You are probably right, they may not be able to tell the difference and you would probably get away with it.

Not suggesting anything radical, just pointing out that there are a lot of early 80's RWD cars around that can be picked up very cheap, often due to rust issues etc and they can make very good donor cars. The drive lines are very easy to transplant as many are pre EFI and even without any modification will run a whole lot better than any Hillman engine ever will due to better design.

You could get all carried away and go late model EFI but in this case the rest of the car will probably require significant upgrades for cert and things can get rather expensive.

Obviously not a good option if you want to keep it pure but it might be worth considering.

If you are going to do an engine swap then you should certify the conversion and if you are going to need a cert anyway you may consider using a different, more popular engine (maybe from another manufacturer). You can keep it oldschool with carbs etc but you may get more bang for your buck and better results with minimal additional effort if you consider other engine options. It might also be easier to upgrade to a transmission with overdrive if you consider other options.

I just went general admission.

I am not a particularly important person.

Looks like I'm in too, a bunch of mates from CHCH will be joining me so should be fun. Got my ticket today so guess I am committed now!

There's certainly nothing wrong with a few subtle mods and to be honest the manual conversion is something I would have done as it doesn't seem right to have an auto in one of these cars. Best of luck with the project and I will look forward to seeing the car when you have it up and running again.

Unfortunately Bill (previous owner) passed away a few months ago but I am sure he would be happy that you are looking after the car. He had an amazing car collection that I was fortunate enough to explore a couple of years ago. There was a wide variety of makes and models represented including some real flash stuff (e-type Jags etc). I remember that your car caught my eye because it was in such exceptional condition for its age. I don't think he used the car very much while he owned it but I guess that happens when you have a fairly large collection. You have a very special little car there and it is certainly worth putting the time and effort into the project. I hope we have an opportunity to catch up at a Auckland event sometime as I would be very keen to see what you have done with the car.

Did this car come from Wellington? I remember seeing one just like it in a collection down that way, the owner at that time was an older chap who had all kinds of cars in his collection including all 3 generations of MR2. He was actually my mates uncle and an very nice chap indeed.

I don't think you will be turned away in a 1985 model. I was thinking I might bring our 85 Holden wagon down from Auckland but maybe I should bring the Valiant just to be safe, it's certainly pre 85! Was anybody else from Auckland thinking of heading down? It would make a good day trip if a few of us headed down together.

Great to see the AP5 is up and running and back in use.

It was cool to catch up and thanks heaps for the spare glass, it cleaned up very well.

Are you going to take The Valiant down to CHCH?