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Neal's Rangi Hemi Wagon (VH Valiant)


Threeonthetree

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I'm probably going to cop a bit of flack for this but I am actually removing the lowering blocks in the rear and winding up the torsion bars.

It's just too low for me. And with that statement I'm anticipating being chased out of OS town by an angry mob hahaha.

 

angry_mob.png

 

 

The front tyres rub badly with any steering input and guard rolling won't solve this.

I'll also being towing all manner of trailers with this so keeping it low in the rear isn't an option. Also, I like to be able to drive over things at speed. Not on a silly angle at 1mph while craning my head out the window looking at the sills about to be beached. I admit it does make many cars look better but I find them terrible to drive.

 

Are you going to fix that dent in the front?

 

I've bought a straight front bumper and will get the indicator/sidelight working. That will tidy up the front enough for now. Wasn't planning on fixing the dent, it's only cosmetic so it can stay.

 

HIGH FIVE!!!!! welcome to the valiant family!!!!

essage me if your after some parts and il ask the mates around hamilton who also hord valiant parts like myself. also let me know im buying parts from hemi performance tomorrow so if u want in on the shipping and bla bla il hold off to make it cheaper.

as for that FUCK YEAH!!!! WAGON LIFE!!!!

also hemiperfomance nz are under new owner ship and are now bassed in chch and have a face book page also

 

Thanks Greg,

 

Currently I'm after a master cylinder but will be whipping my current one of this afternoon and sending it in to be refurbished.

It's the only thing stopping this wagon from being able to start, run, drive and stop.

I'll hold off on the engine mounts etc for now. I have a feeling it will pass a WoF as is :wink:

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Removed the master cylinder last night. It's about as bad as can be but I'm dropping it off to be refurbished this morning.

It will take less time than ordering the seals (two weeks away) and doing it myself.

 

Oh I also went and saw the Snakeskin VH Coupe yesterday. It's partway through restoration. The owner has installed a 318 V8 and four speed manual. This is an old photo of when it had a VJ front end fitted.

 

kumeu1.jpg

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I managed to remove the front bumper today as I'm collecting a straighter one tomorrow.

It was a Kent of a job. The bolts are all in awkward places and the lower two were rusted solid. So I cut them out with the grinder.

I installed the missing piece of trim to the left of the grille, fitted both corner lights and have made space for the dixie horns.

 

Tomorrows job is to reassemble the front hubs, remove the rear lowering blocks, drop Val onto her wheels and raise the torsion bars.

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Front hubs are back together but I spent most of the time wrestling with the nosecone.

I've removed it to allow the rust repairs on the radiator support panel to proceed.

 

I also cleaned the filth off an engine with a rag, my way of taking a break from the frustration of having to remove a plethora of rusted and seized bolts/nuts.

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When I get passed with rusty nuts and bolts etc  I tend to go out the back of the workshop with the digger or bulldozer and wreck shit other day took the motor box out of a corolla on about 10 minutes ,flipped it over and ripped it out with out undoing nothing

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So the engine in this is a D331C

What that means:  It's a 'High Performance' 265 Hemi with a factory fitted 2bbl carburettor, coupled to an automatic transmission and was manufactured in 1972. I appreciate Chrysler's simple engine coding system, unlike the messy hieroglyphics that are found on Holden engines.

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Aren't there a lot of bolts (with nuts) that hold that nose cone on? One has to be quite patient to get them all undone.

I wouldn't fret the brakes too much. I overhauled the rears on my VG for around $100. (shoes, and wheel cylinders) drums are still available new, and run around $100 each.

if you have to fuck with the front calipers, and the pad retaining shoulder bolts break, give me a whistle. My dad broke the ones on his Val a week or two back, and had to borrow one off his VH ranger ute to keep it on the road. So he's about to turn up some new ones. The guys from hemi performance NZ said he imports them from OZ, and they're quite dear. One of dad ute ones broke, and other one which he used on his coupe looked to him to be one he'd already made a few years back when he did the pads on his ute.

Just saying so that if you find yourself in that position you don't fret too much, or spend more than you need to.

How are the discs on this bad boy?

from my observations over the years fucking with vals, I've seen that the brake calipers on GV's and VH's are the same. And that VG, and VH rotors don't seem to be too worn. (There's sure to be exceptions to this of course) But pretty much ALL the VJ's  seen have had pretty badly worn rotors. Maybe they cheaped out on the material when they changed to VJ's?

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Heaps of bolts held the nosecone on. It took a lot of time and patience to get them all off. I was a bit surprised at how bolts and nuts were used rather than captive nuts.

The front rotors on this are severely worn. I have a pair of brand new rotors coming in soon from a local supplier and some second hand ones in Wellington that need collecting. I wonder if these are VJ rotors then. Or maybe they've just been worn right down. Wouldn't surprise me as the rest of the car has been very neglected.

Cheers man. I have new front pads to go in when the rotors arrive. Current pads are worn to the max.

I will let you know know if I break anything when I whip them out.

I had a good look at the rear brakes. Not a leak to be found and it looks pretty good in there. Might be able to roll as-is.

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There are two kinds of valiant rear wheel cylinders.

Those that leak, and those that have been replaced.

probably find if they aren't leaking, they're seized solid. 

The pics posted recently in Greg's AP5 thread reminded me of how val brakes always used to be when I'd pull the drums off. oily, leaky, and generally pretty shite. If you do find that a tu meke bay master cylinder makes the rears leak, I'd say do the axle seals at the same time. They're also a cunt to get old and oil up the rear shoes.

Seen as though nowdays it's a shitload cheaper to go through and fix everything than it used to be 20 years ago. God bless cheap chinese slave labour.

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