doullama

Getting so close to wof-attempt time now, got windscreen squirters & fuel gauge going, chin spoiler on (+10 bhp) seats, door cards etc. Hopefully just re-attach the earth to the horn and a pair of tie-rod bushes (which I should really order) to go. Brakes work well with new fluid and various levels of abuse to free them up

time for some panelvan particularisation! put the motor back together with the supposedly recon head from aforementioned engine collection, im no expert but looks a lot nicer, can still see toyota logo stamped on valves, rockers move a bit more freely etc, used oem gasket and the arp headbolts and pushrods from head-donor, and lower thermostat-holder thingy from the old head. I laugh now but when I fired it up, immediately a loud & terminal sounding knocking resounded, after extensive jerking about turned out to be the valve cover needed to be .027mm to the left to stop a rocker tapping it! Is now running like a dodgy 70s sewing machine, i.e beautifully. Also put the windscreen in, used the ol string trick which quickly devolved into the "steal missus good crochet-hooks and use them like tyre levers" when my crappy string broke. Used swearwords as lubricant. This led to the revelation that the windscreen wipers are in fact still operational, in all of their glorious 2 speeds (one of those speeds being "off") Have some more bodging in the works so should have another update soon

Well the lord taketh away, and the lord hooketh it up. Scored 2x complete 4k engines locally today for the princely sum of $200, one has a reco-ed head, arp bolts etc and flogged rings, the other went hard for what it was. Good score, came with all accessories, manifolds mounts clutches etc

Well, tits. Hooked up the speedo cable (bodged ke20), a vacuum gauge (epic bodge involving the cut down end of an old grease gun extension, v proud) and a new temp gauge. Had the thing running for a while (perhaps 10 min) when I plugged the temp sender in, oh f**k its boiling! turns out the thermostat was seized shut, didn't even think to check if the radiator was getting warm. Binned thermostat and now theres oil/compression bubbles in the water, hooray! thankfully only a half hour job to tear it down (realistically 15m of which was smoko). Never would have happened with a leyland product, thermostat would have been binned decades ago! Will get head reco'd & planed, some new head bolts & round 2

Cheers! I was actually a bit gutted when I unmasked the thing as it looked rather pink under the shed lights, however its significantly better/purpler in daylight. The internal struggle between purple & 70s burnt orange was huge. Just done in matte nitroalkyd (molotow specifically) rattlecans, couldnt be arsed with the extra masking and cleanup with the gun. Have ordered the black violet in 2k to ensure I actually get it done eventually, preferably when the neighbours are out for sure! hopefully i've found some seats by then for round the block stz. Was driving it around the yard sitting on a crate today haha

Not so much marinas in general, just this one the earlier cars and all the commercials didn't get the swaybars, and with the coby exhaust, various missing weatherstripping & grommets + tin box effect it got pretty damn loud in there at speed! Nothing my early 2000's warehouse car stereo (mp3 compatible!) and massive 70s house speakers that doubled as seats/joint rolling tables couldn't handle of course. Had a sedan with the ohc 1700 for a while, was pretty quick, much faster than comparable (i.e also old & unrestored/generally falling apart) cortinas & avengers. In fact the 1300cc van dragged off a sketchy matte black cortina once

Van update time! Been reasonably busy fiddling with it (and the van), tuned it up more, turns out the missus good tweezers are a good substitute for toyotas tamperproof mixture screw adjustment tool. hooked up the largely un-necessary manual choke, found the speedo cable randomly missing (lucky is just plain ke20 spec) so ordered an $11 replacement from thailand. managed to break the ancient aftermarket temp gauge and one of the front indicators due to incredibly fragile 70s plastic and general ineptitude, luckily I wanted an AC brand gauge and needed new parklight/indicator assemblies to go on the front spoiler anyways. Have ordered generic but kinda OS looking led ones. Got the hole in the passenger floor welded up, now i'm getting fussy and am going to grind out some old bog in the front valance and passenger outer sill behind the guard and weld that too. Missus and I gave it a quick blow over with some random purple for that coveted "one colour" stz, will suffice as a working paintjob until the body is straight enough for leyland black violet, as per coupe below. Also have found a u.s outfit that does a badass frazetta "the huntress" decal, which alone makes me keen to get it paintified. Been going a bit ott with the leyland stuff, I now even have a british leyland notepad (doesn't work in the rain obviously). Yes those are leyland-logo'ed valve caps, nothing worse than when your valve caps don't match your long-socks

question the sexual decency of my female relatives here :

Wasn't too bad from memory with the 5 speed, comfortably went as fast as you'd want to go in a dubious marina anyway. I do have an auto estate diff which is apparently taller but probably less fun, and converting it to the vans 4x114mm hubs would doubtless be painful!

We have a runner! Set, tappets, shimmed up the exhaust, set the timing and away she went, runs nicely stationary anyway. Once new h/brake cable turns up can commence "round the block" testing. Thought for sure i'd have carburetor trouble since the twin aisans have been shelf-bound for so long but so far, so good. Can now hack into the body in earnest

Had work today, didn't stop me hitting up eBay though. nos rh tail-lamp on its way from blighty, along with a marina key-ring. On the lookout for Leyland mud flaps, perhaps a 4k inlet manifold with single carburettor for initial ease, may get the twin Aisans overhauled. A set of good rear doors would be nice, the ones on there have seen a few inattentive drivers over the years. Has a meaty steel step about 1 1/2 ft wide to go on the tow bar, which ought to prevent further damage. 27/6/17 Have ordered a one piece 7kc manifold gasket, the reason it was parked up was it kept blowing manifold gaskets between 2 & 3, measured up and seems it's fallen victim to the ol' 12mm intake flange, 10mm coby extractor flange scenario, plus crappy acl 2-piece gaskets. I could get the intake machined down, but that's not bodgy enough for me so i'll just chuck a few cut down 2mm washers on there. Need a smaller feeler gauge set for the tappets, mine only goes down to .010 nyaaah. Finished removing and tidily-ish storing the van-load of spares from van finally too, even has a fully siiick chin spoiler from estate edit: also all fluids, belt, plugs, feeler, ground strap, filters, extra bodging supplies etc. Thanks supercheap with yo free delivery. Will try 4rage oil filter, better startup oil pressure the 4k foamers say. Can't wait to get this motor buttoned up.. luckily found manifold & rocker cover bolts in parts mountain. studs would probably be better, see how it goes. Better get a battery at some stage too I suppose. Cheap bunnings compressor has finally died after years of abuse, plus theres a "mysterious" 6" piece of air-hose missing, probably an 8mm socket too. May spring for a fancier 2nd hand unit, though it did provide great service! painted 4-odd bedfords, several cars and a good deal of my house over the years. Am kinda leaning towards heinous mustard or satin black for its initial repaint at this stage

Very true, nice low cost option too. All Nz assembled goods vans (not sure about Utes) were only available in white. Passenger ones could be had in awesomely heinous bl shades. Need to wreck a good Morris minor and steal its brakes, Not to use but for revenge haha

Tbh factory ones are a bit woeful, 1275 a-series, 4 wheel drums and a low-geared 4 speed = a comfortable cruising speed of 50mph

Everybody used to think it was an escort van, especially if I put on the morris grille rather than the austin one in the pics. Marina is a bit bigger in all directions if put side by side but very similar proportions

And today, was a good sharn/tow expedition