sr2 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 The last few months have been a bit of a blur, I started getting busy at work and then Targa time came around very quick…… https://www.facebook.com/gazapowell/videos/10206888860212021/ I also had to invest a bit of garage time into giving my latest middle aged crisis a birthday……. Then all of a sudden it was holiday time and I and the very lovely Mrs sr2, our son and a bunch of his friends were packing the van to head up North to stay at a mate’s batch……… Even the view from the batches garage was stunning………. Back home and back to reality; lurking menacingly in the garden was this…….. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 The rear end was from an HR Holden, I’d filled the stud holes so as to be able to re-drill it to an HQ stud pattern and fit the larger HQ drums and backing plates. I’d built up and turned the hubs so as to make the brake drum fit hubcentric.There has been some controversy over the years as to the safety of welding and re-drilling to change stud patterns. The fact that this rear end setup had not only covered 300,000 plus Km but had taken the full impact of a T-bone accident speaks volumes about how strong the hubs still are..... The drums had finally come off with the judicious use of a sledge hammer, everything was seized and the right rear hub (where the maniacal lady courier driver had hit it may years earlier) was anything but straight………. It’s often said that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ but of late I’m firmly of the opinion that combining the lack of an appropriate tool with a good mig welder and the obligatory collection of scrap steel under the work bench is the mother of many a good man-cave invention!Problem; how with no slide hammer how do I remove a 45 plus year old, rusty & bent (that bloody girl in her L300 again!) axel from the diff housing?Not the prettiest solution but surprisingly effective………. At this point Rigamortice decided to remind me who really was in control and proceeded to piss oil all over my clean garage floor! The next job was to tear it all down.The diff head looked in surprisingly good shape; bearings were smooth and still lubricated, crown wheel and pinion showed near perfect wear marks (many years ago my dear old Dad had the patience to teach me how to set up diffs) and only the planetary gears showed a little more wear than expected (those damned “one wheeler peelers” strike again!). I made the call that that the existing diff would be fine for the time being.I had a spare set of HD/R axels so I dropped them off at the Steel Surgeon in Manakau to be welded and turned (too big to fit in my lathe). Not only was the price less than what I’d expected they had even had drilled the new stud holes their jig; great guys, great service.A new set of bearings and they’re ready to go….. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2016 As with any project that involves old cars you spend a disproportionate amount of your time dealing with rust! I’d try been meaning to give electrolysis a go for quite a while and thought now would be as good a time as any.All you need is some sort of tank, an old school battery charger, some washing soda and water…… Connect the -ve to the rusty car part and the +ve to a few bits of scrap steel and throw the lot into water with a little washing soda added, turn on the power and watch the fascinating yet friendly little bubbles forming ……… And more friendly bubbles…………… After a period of time you’ll discover that despite your initial burst of enthusiasm watching friendly bubbles forming becomes very, very, very boring and you’ll feel a strong urge to drink heavily!The following morning you end up with a fuzzy head and rust soup………. An interesting by-product of the exercise is that you will also end up with the rust gone from your car part. Before and after shot….. A bit of paint and the results speak for themselves… Can’t help but wonder if you could de-rust a whole car body in the neighbour’s swimming pool with an arc welder, (while he was away on holiday of course!). 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2016 More painting……. And a stack of new parts……. Why does assembly always feel like Christmas…. Some new brake lines…….. And it’s done…… 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 I still remember (although some 50 odd years ago as a child) my father taking me to the famous “Snell Springs” in Newmarket to have a set of springs made up for one of his many projects. As you turned into a now long gone side street off Khyber Pass rd. you saw a decrepit brick building with heat waves pouring from derelict chimney and the sound of big metal hitting big metal with a regular almost hypnotic beat. With my dear old Dad well known in the Industry (maintenance engineer at Chelsea Sugar Works and night time “management and supervision” lecturer at the then new & burgeoning “ATI”) an awe-struck kid got the full tour- in hindsight they laid it on for me thick! The sight, smell and sound of a work-blackened man with huge arms wearing a leather apron dragging strips of dull red hot steel from a forced induction coke powered forge and forming them into leaf and coil springs with a massive flywheel press, rollers, hammer and anvil stays with me still. It was a chance to have a glimpse through the gates of Hell where steel was formed, worked and hardened with heat, sweat, muscle and experience. Problem was I was stuck with a dilapidated pair of these……. …..and Snell’s were long gone.With a little care, an old strong vice and some big G clamps I managed the disassembly with fingers still intact. Next step was a week of the ‘electrolysis pickle bath” running 24/7! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 11, 2016 There was some wear there but fortunately I had a number of spare, similarly sized spring leafs so I cut some down to replace the worst worn. Some etch primer and they were ready for assembly. Out with the vice and G clamps again…….. A bit of heat in the right place…….. And another job is ticked off the list….. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 As stated earlier I’d ditched the original rear lever action shocks and replaced them with a somewhat over engineered set of angle iron brackets to convert to telescopic shocks. (All the better for performing Rigamortice’s legendry “one wheeler peelers”!)…. On closer inspection when removed, the brackets were very rusty; steadfastly resisting the temptation to fabricate a new set I gave them a few days in the phosphoric acid bath (this is supposed to be a restoration project after all). With all the rust removed they looked not only serviceable but had a cool interesting grainy texture to them, a bit of rust proofing and they’ll live again….. The only challenge now is to identify the shocks.Fitted during the 70’s I’m simply at a loss to remember where they came from, (both Rigamortice and I are living proof that if you can remember the 70’s you weren’t there!). We now offer up a free, slightly sat on chocolate fish to anyone who can identify them or suggest a suitable replacement. //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49843-sr2%E2%80%99s-1947-vauxhall-%E2%80%9Crigamortice%E2%80%9D-discussion-thread/ 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 Finally the fun part, time to breathe a little life into Rigamortice’ s much used and abused 186 X2 Holden 6….. A little TLC with the rattle gun and Motor came to bits easily…….. As expected the tired old girl will need a full rebuild but sadly some of the exhaust valves on Rigamortice’s Classic Vintage Yella Terra head had corroded stems from where they had been left open in one position for too long. My fault entirely, I should have been turning the motor over on a more regular basis. (Shame I can’t buy another one for $85!). I contacted Yella Terra and they haven’t made these valves for decades, to further complicate things the valve stems are already 5 thou oversize. Any help on tracking down replacement valves would be appreciated. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted March 30, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 30, 2016 I have to confess to making the fatal mistake of sharing a few reminiscent Wild Turkeys with Rigamortice in the man cave whilst surfing Trademe.Look what we bought……. It’s a standard 3.3 (far too flash and “modern” to be called 202) 12 port Blue motor out of an early VH Commodore. Rigamortice will love the solid state HD ignition and I won’t have to adjust the **** points every few months! Even better when I dropped its knickers and flipped it over I discovered this. With some girls you sometimes just get lucky ……. A virgin spec 3 ¼ inch counterbalance crank complete with the legendary Starfire con rods. (The legend was that when Holden chopped 2 cylinders of the Red 6 to make the Starfire 4 it was so out of balance they had to fit it with stronger Starfire rods to stop it throwing a leg out of bed when given the proverbial ‘jandal’). I’ll need to grind the mains down to accept the smaller 186 journals and some machining will be required to convert the rear seal from rope to neoprene. I’ll have to possibly relieve the block & sump for clearance and I’ll obviously need to fit the lower deck height 202 pistons but Rigamortice will love the extra stroke, cubes and counterweights. Compared to the steel 186 X2 crank (top) the difference is obvious. We also bought something else (all Rigamortice’ s fault) but I’m not letting on in case the lovely Mrs sr2 has discovered this thread.. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 20, 2016 Not a lot of progress to report (still waiting on the new exhaust valves) but as hinted at previously I managed to score these for $455 on Trademe... Yes I know I've got the Webers but at that price we just couldn't resist! 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 13, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2016 Sometimes you just get lucky; I managed to score an old set of unused shaft mounted Yella Terra roller rockers for only $300. There was some confusion from the seller as to what head they would fit and I got away with the lowball offer from hell....... Although being the right ratio I was after (5:1) they were the later pedestal type mount as opposed to the earlier stud mount (i.e. my YT head). I’ve always felt that stud mounting roller rockers was a half-arsed compromise; I was always uncomfortable with how they twist so much you have to run pushrod guide plates. The solution was to get a local machine shop pull out the press fit rocker studs and machine 32 thou off the pedestals. Problem was I was then left with 3/8” holes to screw the 5/16” rocker mount cap screws into. The solution was to use Recoil Keyserts…….. I drilled and tapped the holes out to 5/16 UNC, turned up a DIY insertion tool (everyone needs a lathe)…… A quick dummy assembly and I’m a happy man…….. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2016 Dropped the head off at a local engine reconditioners to have the valves and seats machined. An engine shop with an EIP Vauxhall parked out front, a Model A chassis poking through the roller door and a Mk 1 Zephyr on the hoist has to be oldschool all the way. It’s not hard to spot they’ve been building engines here for 33 years (and it shows!). 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 7, 2016 On closer inspection the decision was made that the pitted exhaust valve stem was not going to be an issue, (Holden 6’s are not known for loosing valve heads) and that for the time being we’d run with the existing original Yella Terra valves. A light skim……. Valves & seats faced and lapped……… The Y/T Double valve springs were within spec so it was reassemble with new frost plugs and valve seals. I even shouted the old girl a new set of stainless manifold studs and brass nuts, the obligatory yellow paint will come later. And one more job is ticked off the list…... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted June 13, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 13, 2018 Hi guys. Suddenly it’s well over a year since my last post; please rest assured the reincarnation of Rigamortice has anything but vanished into the ether. When browsing the many and varied projects on this esteemed website it becomes rapidly apparent that an affliction shared by many Oldschoolers (apart from an inclination towards inebriation and a well-developed appreciation of totally impractical automotive projects) is a tendency to suffer from periodic bouts of what can only be described as the ‘dreaded and infamous home-handyman-itis’. Whereas the rest of the world engages the services of builders, plumbers, sparkies, painters, etc. some of us are burdened with an irrational compulsion to do it the hard way. I’ll have to come clean and admit as a fellow sufferer I have been on a bender and have sunk to a new ‘home-handyman-itis’ fuelled low, (someone please book me into rehab!) . While Rigamortice has been languishing in the luxurious comfort of the storage area of a mates panel shop I have demolished every internal wall in our house, designed a new modern floorplan, replaced 90% of all wiring and plumbing, installed a new kitchen, a new bathroom, heat pumps, insulated everything, installed state of the art data, audio visual, CCTV, alarm/access, …..etc. (Have to say the Brownie points with the ever lovely Mrs sr2 are looking good!). The icing on the cake will be the yet to be built machine room off the main garage that will free up space for Rigamortice’s impending surgery. Do not lose the faith my friends, project updates coming soon! 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted September 28, 2018 Author Share Posted September 28, 2018 Just a big thanks to the guys at Auckland Panel and Paint who have been storing Rigamortice for the duration of the house renovations. Great to see a very modern high-tech panel shop that still has a corner for classic cars, their level of workmanship is up there with the best. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted September 28, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 28, 2018 A 50 plus year old cast iron block accumulates a lot of and corrosion (and crap) to say the least. Time to trust the old 186 X2 block to the caring hands of Kiwi-Strip in Avondale. What can I say; the place is a piece of history, these old boys simply rock. Picture a dilapidated old concrete building down an unsealed, pot-holed driveway at the far end of Patiki Rd.; only meters from the mangroves, guarded by two ferocious miniature poodles and overseen by an old girl straight out of the ‘Blue rinse set’ (it’s almost Monty Python!). Once inside your senses are overwhelmed with the chemical smell of paint strippers, rust and acid while men with gnarled hands and protective rubber aprons use overhead gantries and fork hoists to lower everything from old joinery to car bodies into huge steaming baths of caustic chemicals, acidic solvents and preservative solutions. The place would make a fantastic set for a horror movie, (and they never found the body………etc.!). As always they did a great job at a good price, considering the block will be stroked and bored out another 500 cc having the water ways clean should help with the cooling. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 I’m always chasing after new “old stock” parts and never cease to be amazed by what’s still out there. I picked up these brass frost-plugs on Trademe, I’m guessing they’re early 80’s? What I really love is the cars listed on the back of the packet, after surviving all these years it’s almost a shame that I’ll be breaking the seal and using them. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 One of the pleasures of chasing down Oldschool car parts has to be the people you meet. I scored these timing gears off an old guy who was building a replica of the Torana he used to circuit race many years ago. Talk about a wealth of knowledge on modifying Holden 6’s, he was more than happy let me pick his brains for an hour or so when I collected them. (Thanks Grant, you've not only earned my respect - you rock!). 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 Just found a genuine J.P. high volume oil pump still in its original sealed wrapping, snapped that one up quick! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted October 11, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 11, 2018 Some six months or so ago, after considerable research, (drunken chewing of the fat with our mates) and in depth self-analysis, (a Bottle of 101 Wild Turkey) both Rigamortice and myself came to the inevitable conclusion that the ideal carburation solution for the new 208ci “186 X2” had to be the period correct set of 3x 1¾ HS6 SU carbs on the vintage Speco manifold. We will however run the motor in and get the dodgy legals done with the tried and proven Weber DCD setup. (Anyone after a triple set of 40 DEOCE’s and a 9 port manifold – just ask). I did a quick dummy assembly with a spare motor for a bit of man-cave decoration. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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