Popular Post sr2 Posted July 23, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 23, 2022 I wanted to use the standard Holden rubber g/box mount and decided the Toyota to Holden adaptor I’d made some 30 years ago was a little too manky. Cut out some plate… Cut out a backing plate… Drilled a few holes to tack through….. Flipped over and welded it all up. Did some shaping and painting…… Old vs new. Splashed some black paint on the box…… And it all fits. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted July 31, 2022 Author Share Posted July 31, 2022 A new Master Cylinder arrived today…. And a clutch master as well… A bit more paint…… All mounted up….. Needed a 1 inch clutch slave and found a Triumph 2000 one at a great price. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 7, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 7, 2022 Brake line bending 101 Hi guys; more semi-incoherent, sanctimonious musings from the Universally Renowned sr2 man-cave University of Beer, Bullshit and Bad Manners. As always feel free to comment, disagree or just sling random insults. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49843-sr2%E2%80%99s-1947-vauxhall-%E2%80%9Crigamortice%E2%80%9D-discussion-thread/ Just finished a brake & booster upgrade on a friends MBG GT and thought I’d share my brake pipe fabrication technique. For what it’s worth this is how I do it. In the late 70’s and early 80’s copper tube was commonly used and we produced some very pretty hand bent installs. In its defence despite copper being soft and susceptible to work hardening we had no failures due to the material used. These days with higher pressure/less displacement systems copper is frowned upon and after a brief flirtation with steel Bundy tubing (bloody awful stuff) most of the industry has settled on copper nickel tubing. It’s malleable, looks the part and is a joy to work with. Traditionally I’d make a pattern using 2.5 mm welding wire and then attempted to replicate it with my trusty bender. Problem was replicating handmade wire bends with a set radius bender at best produced an average result. After a rare Wild Turkey inspired flash of inspiration (i.e. a rush of shit to the brains) I tried using a piece of scrap pipe of the correct diameter (i.e. 48mm as per my tube bender) to bend the wire pattern. Things got a lot easier but it was still challenging to get the length of tube between the bends consistent with the pattern. I had a little play and discovered that with copper nickel I could ditch the bender and just wrap the tubing around my pipe former and better than that I could even manage a smaller 34 mm radius bend without distorting or collapsing the tube. Next step was to knock up a 34/48 mm bending former out of scrap. I use the bending former to bend the wire pattern… And then line the tube up to make the same bend in the same position. Easy as… Bottom line is if you use the same bending former for both the wire pattern and the brake tube you save yourself a lot of grief. 17 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 14, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 14, 2022 Time to sort out the front sway-bar and shocks. Disassembled the sway-bar and started cleaning and painting. A lot of painted parts hanging out to dry… Had some D bushes arrive from Rare Spares in Oz and some doughnuts arrive from Basis in NZ. The standard HR Holden sway-bar is mounted to the chassis rails with D bushes and dropper rods to the lower suspension A arms. Because Rigamortices chassis rails were closer together and the radiator shroud was in the way I’d mounted the sway-bar to the bottom A arms and dropped the D bushes to be below the chassis. Dug out the new shocks I’d had in storage for a few years…. Just love assembling new and refurbished parts, always feels like Xmas…. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 22, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 22, 2022 Time to run the brake lines, starting with the rear as it’s the longest. Welding wire pattern……. Following the wire pattern (I find it easier to tape them together as you go). Happy with the result… And it even fits! Starboard front was a lot easier. Bit more drama with the Port front… A rather convoluted shape… Lots of bending in all directions… Once again happy with the result. And once again it bloody fits! 21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted August 28, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 28, 2022 Started looking for suitable brake line saddles, all I could find were the same old clips we were using 40 years ago and some newer B/S plastic variants. Just a reminder that the plan is for this rebuild to last another 75 years – When the time rolls around for the next rebuild Rigamortice should be going strong while we’ll all be dead & buried! Maybe we need something a little more old school with a little steampunk thrown in for good measure? Started by buying length of 10mm ali square from SD Aluminium in Albany (great company). Marked things out with the odd-leg…. Started cutting, milling, drilling, countersinking and tapping…… Cleaned them up on the linisher….. Knocked up a holey bracket or two…… And bolted it all in place. 30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 A bit of a slow week stuck at home isolating with the bloody ‘rona and lacking motivation. Managed to finish off mounting the brake plumbing. I’ve been taking second glances at the front sway-bar setup, the top mount of the dropper arm is shared by the front bumper mounts and it’s not ideal as there is some movement there when the suspension is working. In its defense the setup has covered literally hundreds of thousands of km and it’s easy to forget I made this stuff in the early 80’s with only rudimentary hand tools. Long term plan once Rigamortice is back on the road is to put some of my race car suspension tuning experience toward seeing how well I can get the old girl to go around corners – could be a bit of a laugh on a good bit of open road! I’ll probably need the sway bar to be adjustable so the big question is do I do it now? Mounted the front grill surround to check how much room I’ll have to play with having lowered the front end – still no clearance issues I can see. The radiator is in pretty bad shape and I haven’t a clue what car it originally came from. Anyone with any ideas of where I can find a 400mm x 600mm radiator please let me know, I’d prefer something old-school as plan B (fabricated aluminum) could look out of place. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49843-sr2%E2%80%99s-1947-vauxhall-%E2%80%9Crigamortice%E2%80%9D-discussion-thread/ 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted September 15, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 15, 2022 As I’d mentioned earlier I made the call to use HQ brake hoses as I figure they will always be available, (HQ’s are a religion in Aussie!). The problem with using the original rear brake hose mount was the large bend in the hose. One night Rigamortice and I got bored and decided we needed to sample the latest brew and devised a cunning plan…….. What could possibly go wrong? Found an old 5/16 AF ring and open end spanner and applied some heat. Hit the ring end with the linisher to make it a little thinner. A perfect fit for the HQ brake hose. Welded a bolt into the open end… And cleaned it up with the grinder. Started thinking it was all looking a little too shiny…… If you’ve followed this thread you’ll be aware that I’m a big fan of using electrolysis for rust removal, why not use it for rust plating? Found a piece of rusty scrap and made it the cathode, made the spanner up the anode, added some washing soda & water and hooked up a power supply. The following morning we had rust soup and a slightly fuzzy head. And a gloriously rusted spanner. Sealed it with some clear lacquer and bolted it in place. A nice little hidden surprise for the WOF man. 14 1 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted September 30, 2022 Author Share Posted September 30, 2022 Rigamortice has asked me to remind you all that “insipid green” was actually an OEM Vauxhall color …. I’ve also been asked to point out that they were and still are considered by discerning motorists to be a “chick magnet”. Whatever the *** that means! ............. facepalm. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share Posted October 4, 2022 Pulled the grill out of the nose cone to figure out how to get a big enough radiator in there. There’s a reasonable amount of extra height available if I start cutting out sheet metal but at only 400mm wide it’s going to hard to find something to fit. Thought I’d change the lower grill brace mount to keep it out of the way. Bent up a piece of flat…… And welded it in place. Made the call that because I’ll be building up a 2nd bigger and more highly tuned motor I really need to make sure I have adequate cooling capacity. After failing abysmally to find anything that would fit I’ve made the call to have something custom made. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted October 7, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 7, 2022 Thought it was time Rigamortice had a motor and box sitting between those sexy black chassis rails, (yes I know I probably need to get a life!). Pulled out my classic Castlemaine Rod Shop Holden/Toyota bell-housing, the recently purchased 1” Triumph slave cyl, and started mocking things up. Trimmed things up and tacked on some mounting tabs, so much easier to do this stuff on the bench, not on the car. Stitched it up, cleaned it up & threw on some paint. Looks good on the bench, I’ll make up an adjustable push rod once I have everything assembled. Just had to put in a pix of the clutch lever pivot, it cleaned up well with no wear on the ball. It came from a 1966 HD Holden. You can only wonder how may clutch movements it’s had over the last 56 years. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted October 14, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 14, 2022 The only clutch cover I had that fitted was one hell of a mess - to say the least! Fired up the angle grinder and ended up with some panel beating needed. Started cutting out patches……… Great to be able to bolt it to the bellhousing on the bench to keep things straight while welding. The obligatory coat of rust converter…. Some black paint and one more job ticked off the list. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted October 20, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 20, 2022 Time to take on a job I’ve been putting off for ages; the CRUDDY, F’ING GAS TANK. (My grandfather always said “never put off for tomorrow what you can put off for the day after…….!”). As I mentioned previously “The smell of the gas left in the tank is akin to the aromas emitted from a rope sandal worn by an Arab swineherd who had been previously roaming the desert for the last year or two”. On closer inspection I’d like to revise the afore mentioned quote by substituting ‘rope sandal’ with ‘leather jockstrap’ (apologies to the Arab swineherd). You would not believe how bad that old gas smells; horses panic, birds fall out of the sky, children run screaming, brave men shudder, women swoon… etc. ! Only one bolt sheared off removing the sender. The float wasn’t pretty… Any advice on where I can find another piece of cork (approx. 80mm x 32mm diameter) or even a modern style sender float please let me know. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/49843-sr2%E2%80%99s-1947-vauxhall-%E2%80%9Crigamortice%E2%80%9D-discussion-thread/ And there was no one home but I can fix that bit…. I didn’t have the heart to send it to the old boy at Kiwistrip in that condition…… So I started scraping…. And scraping………. And more bloody scraping …… Until finally ready to be dropped it off at Kiwistrip for a dip in the stripper bath and a soak in phosphoric acid. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted October 29, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 29, 2022 Very yummy goodies arrived by courier today. (Feels like I’m 5 years old and it’s Xmas). Seat belts… 2 ¼” exhaust flanges and gasket. Big thanks to “Sticky Flanges” in Taupo. Great company, great name, great service and quick delivery. Toyota Dyna clutch plate (same spline as the W50 Toyota gearstack)… Holden HD pressure plate…. And a new thrust bearing. The good guys at Exeedy machined the flywheel for me I’d forgotten how much I’d machined off the back of it! Standard 10.6 Kg flywheel………. Rigamortice’s flywheel 6.4 Kg……. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted November 5, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 5, 2022 Pulled the inlet manifold off the engine in the test bed…… F*** it; shock, horror, dismay!...... Discovered one of the head bolts had been leaking water into the inlet. Luckily the damage was localized and an easy cleanup/buff-up with no damage done. I pulled the offending bolt and reapplied some thread seal. Leaking head bolts is a relatively common problem with Holden red 6’s as some of the head bolts go into the water jacket. Time to get the motor on the hoist and fit the politically correct “Gender Neutral Tranny”. Because this motor had an auto behind it, (I’m rebuilding Rigamortice’s original motor with a lot more cubes and a lot more power- watch this space) my next challenge was to get the flex plate bush out of the crank. It looked as if someone had already had a crack at it and failed miserably!). With the judicious application of various blunt instruments, strong language and old age & treachery I managed to extract it. I then used the old trick of tickling the outside race of a metric bearing on the grinder so it fitted the imperial crank. (Note the gougers weren’t mine!). Threw some paint on the sandwich plate…… Torqued up the flywheel, turned up an alignment tool,….. Torqued up the pressure plate,….. And fitted the CRS Bellhousing to the W50 Toyota box with the clutch bearing and fork installed. Bit of a mission with swearing and cursing to get the box onto the engine. Rigamortice commented that it would have gone in a lot easier if it had hair around it. I chose to rise above such “lavatory humor” (as my dead Granny used to call it – when she wasn’t dead) and refrained from commenting further, (or even going there!). 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted November 12, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2022 My OCD kicked in and I decided the clutch slave alignment could be improved on so I attacked a finished and painted bracket with and angle grinder and my ever-faithful Mig. Turned up an adjustable push rod and applied some paint. Looking good, all this combo needs is a pair of chassis rails to slide between. (Gawd- I may need to get a life!). 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted November 19, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 19, 2022 Time to stick the little 186 where it belongs…. Had a big issue with lining up engine mounts…. Discovered the oil filter was in the way of the steering…… And the steering rack U/J was hitting the sump ....????? After a Wild Turkey or two and some head & bollocks scratching I remembered that the left and right engine mounts were different sizes……duh….! Swapped them over and everything fitted like a glove. Even the clutch slave has room to breathe…. Looking good. Our 4 year old racing driver/grandson hit the g/box with his plastic hammer and it fits…….. Finally after 5 years, motor back in place……… 26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted November 30, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 30, 2022 Dug out an old set of HR? headers I had laying around, they looked like a good fit. Cut the old exhaust pipe….. Started fabricating a collector to go from the two into one join into a 2 ¼ inch exhaust. Found some scrap that fitted the “Sticky Flanges” flange…… Pictures are often better than words……… Sits alongside the gearbox in the right place……… Decided sand blasting and ceramic coating was to bigger expense as I plan to build a custom set when I build the stroked motor. Spent some time sanding and rust killing…….. All painted with high temp VHT and ready to fit….. Happy with the result. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted December 10, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 10, 2022 While groveling around underneath the old girl trying to figure out how to get a bloody 2 ¼ inch exhaust to fit where a 1 1/8” had no issues I fell seriously out of love with my handbrake quadrant and decided it could be improved on.. Remaining true to the tradition of this build I removed a “finished” component to butcher it up and change it. First a little CAD (cardboard aided design) work. Hacked up some scrap steel……. Turned up some scrap steel…… Welded up some scrap steel…… And ended up with this lot……… That needed some paint……… It’s a little hard to see under the car but the result is a lot more tidy and satisfies Rigamortice’s obsessive-compulsive personality disorder! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sr2 Posted January 6, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2023 A Bunch of cool exhaust stuff arrived from STA parts at a great price. After considerable deliberation and Wild Turkey Rigamortice I had made the decision to settle on a 2 ¼ inch exhaust. The old Holden 6’s don’t get much past 6 grand in street trim and going bigger risks sacrificing mid-range for that little extra top end. Plan is for the old girl to become my daily driver once again (I have a passion for totally impractical solutions for problems that never existed in the first place) and I need a drivable engine in a state of tune I can live with. Although wait until I build the stroked 208! Ordered some straight tube and found a muffler on Trademe… And it’s back into using CAD (cardboard aided design). Have to say some of these cheap Chinese “mandrel bends” are a little out of round. But the price is right. Beer is always important when working late in the “universally renowned” sr2 man-cave. Happy with the front pipe - time to weld it up. And check one more time it all fits. 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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