Dean's (deankdx) 1981 Holden Gemini wagon on a budget (Melbourne Australia) 2litre G200z upgraded

[deankdx]

21 July 2017

had an arvo session on the gemini wagon today, fitting the brake line under the car in the dark isn't fun, but probably helped because it would have been a prick of an idea at the best of the time.

got the diff hose and lines sorted finally, even if the replacement nut is longer than the other one(looks a bit odd)

started on the front hose, but was over it by the time i got one out, couldn't see well enough once it got darker outside. thats another day job.

took some stuff back for homework.. should be some more updates if i can get anything done over the next few days

awesome petrol cap now fitted.. i'll take a pic of the bodgy hinge i made soon

brake lines at rear done.. darkness, not ideal for good photos

 

[deankdx]

29 July 2017
 

had an arvo/evening session on the gemini today(Friday) 

what size are the wheel nuts.. next few pics will tell the story

 

email i just sent Stanley tools below
Hi Stanley tools, 
do you sell the breaker bar and socket separate from the set. (got no reply) as i accidentally sent it to scrap metal.(scrapper said he didn't see it on the wreck so some kid could have picked it up walking to school even?) 

pic of the wreck with the breaker bar resting on the gaurd lip

what i did do is finish off fitting the new brake hoses to the front. and then set about swapping the steering rack (supposed reco) and the sway bar links from the wreck(black nolathane stuff, better than perished rubber)

set up for the next session, bleed brakes after fitting reco calipers and new pads hopefully..

 

here's a pic of My home made hinge out of strong wire.. too strong to bend neatly..

 

 

one of those, expectation Vs reality moments..

[deankdx]

30 July 2017

another day of progress today.. nothing tangible though

i bled the brakes without jacking the car up just to get it moving again.. tested the cluster, clock working, all globes worked.. plugged it in, all gauges and lights come on.. went to see how it looked all lit up NO ILLUMINATION LIGHTS WTF! .. need to investigate further.

took some more stuff back for homework. next episode i will be looking to put the lights, grille, bumper etc back on. getting sick of seeing it looking like a POS.

 

 

 

Devil is in the Detailing.. 

worth the effort, stone tray was purple, i bought for $20 already pretty straight., light rub with 400 paper, grey undercoat.. no sanding because lazy.. general red paint base coat because colour match is expensive. one coat of colour match marenello red.. done.

grille was shithouse black and silver.. scrubbed it with a scotch brite sponge, sanded a few edges, masked it up and painted black.. the grille badge i bodged on as its from the earlier TE grille and this is a TF grille.

needed painting, so sprayed the paint in the cap, and brushed with a cotton bud and wiped off the top with thinners rag.. grille done..

 

 

reminder pic below of the grille from the rusty pano donor car..(had to change that shit grille badge)

 

 

 

 

 

[deankdx]

31 July 2017

 

continuing on with the "homework" (car is at Dave's) 

My daily diesel gemini has a volt gauge and oil pressure gauge mounted in a fascia in the console by someone. home made alloy plate and i do get some peace of mind knowing what the voltage is doing, it's been a good diagnosis of battery issues or alt issues in the past(reading higher can mean battery lead off or regulator issue, lower  can be belt off or alt wire broken etc..)

so, what gauges do you choose? 

tacho, because a big clock in the main cluster is useful for timing how long you've been stuck in traffic.. so the tacho is less important.

Volt gauge, reasons above..

and oil pressure, just to see how rattly the engine from the rusty panel van is on a measurable device

i still have to put the chinese gear boot on, its a tight fit, but should look standard when done and in. 

i tried silver or black fascia, and silver seemed to work better surprisingly.

the black console i am trying to sell, its growing on me though

 

..

[deankdx]

31 July 2017

i came across a similar wagon to how mine should look on google at some point, its what made me think of changing the grille to the TF type for a different look.

it even has a bent up bumper etc.. wheels are filthy though. i could live with that ride height also

[deankdx]

1st August 2017
 

today i had the opportunity to head over and have another go at the gemini. 

about 90mins before it got dark, just enough time to fit a bumper, straighten it .. fit a stone tray, straighten it also, fit headlights(left one sits a bit cockeyed.. might redrill mounting holes or try another bucket) and fit the grille(zipties) 

how do you straighten a gemini bumper? brute force.. wrapped a rag on the bottom edge and braced My foot against the front wheel and pulled with the might of 2 tractors idling..  bent back easy.. i had to remove the bumperette pad before it fell off due to rust.. will probably bolt it on with coach bolts, and the other for ocd people(and added security)

parkers not working, i did test the lights work at home.. that's no doubt why the instrument lights didn't work in the cluster.. pays not to go ripping stuff apart before checking further.

i had to swap one indicator housing over on the bumper due to the globe holder being full of rust. .. all went to plan otherwise.(used another ford mud guard bolt for the stone tray because longer.. ) 

next visit i'll be fitting the rear bumper, same process.. bend it into shape etc 
i want the tail lights fitted also, but i suspect i may need to remove the petrol tank to access the wiring.

 

 

[deankdx]

2 August 2017

had another arvo session today, got the parkers working.. just a fuse luckily.

fitted the tail lights, loom was just tucked under the floor so it was an easy process to feed it through the access panels and wire to the lights.

checked the demister even and even half of it still works..amazing.

also removed the shithouse window winders, got the door trim off and removed the door lock to be repaired/re keyed spare one etc.. had been bypassed with a central locking motor due to a broken lever part  but the wires were cut off in the door hinge area due to a poor path chosen to run them through.

next visit i'll sand some bog on the rear quarter, fit the rear bumper and swap the radiator so i can fit a normal fan.

still have to swap the front brakes over, and find out why the handbrake light doesn't work. and swap in the rear shocks also.

running out of urgent things to fix 

 

[deankdx]

4 August 2017

squeezed in another arvo session today..

fitted the stock radiator and fan, gives me some homework to make a thermo fan fit the alloy radiator.

fitted the rear bumper and gave it the kick and twist to make it sit right. plugged in the number plate light and it worked first go.

unclipped the left door lock rod from the central locking motor and hooked it to the door lock.. works like new. 

also let the magic smoke out of some wire under the dash.. pretty sure its due to the dodgy twist n tape stereo install.. haven't got that far yet.

looks like a car again.. and getting close to being able to get a permit and go for a drive. .can't wait.

[deankdx]

12 August 2017

chipping away at the little things..
had another session on the gemini today..
fitted a new radiator cap, a washer jet from the rusty wreck and new wiper blades. all working fine. 

still need to do the front brakes other than the floor rust. test drive after that.

carpet is still wet/ or wet again on front floor.. will need to do some more investigating there. 

had to fit 2 tailshaft bolts and adjust the handbrake cable, so while under the car, was ideal to fit the rear pedders shocks to replace the 1981 GM versions that are no doubt original.

also glued on the bumpette with silastic, will probably run a bolt or self tapper through it just in case .

 

 

all locks working now, removed the sculls head door lock knobs it had to fit originals from the rusty wreck

 

 

fitted the correct window winders, i think they are small more for the proximity to the dash than anything else.. 

few issues with the door trim vinyl, grinder cuts? haven't considered how to fix that.. maybe a glue on patch. suspect previous bodger used a grinder to cut off door handles as they didn't know how the jesus clip held the handle on(jesus where did that go)

 

[deankdx]

14 August 2017

bit of homework before heading over to Dave's this arvo.. 
new wheel bearings in the rotors i bought a while back. 

hoping to get new pads and reco calipers fitted today.. should be easy... lol.. famous last words.

brakes are done, one of the antisqueel strips came off the back of one pad.. have the paint on stuff if it does rattle/squeel. 

test drive time midweek i think.. daylight time.. so i can see anything that might need looking at.. 

 

[deankdx]

17 August 2017

FIRST DRIVE STORY
wish i had a phone mount for the first drive video... no pics taken today but i got an unreg permit and went round the block to bed the brakes in/shake down test literally over the speedhumps(pedders shocks are very good)

the "reco" calipers i fitted were obviously not as good as you'd expect, the left one stuck on.. i suspected this might happen as the pads were a prick to get in due to the pistons not going back as far(easily) as the other side.. with new pads and rotor as thick as new i gave it the benefit of the doubt.. 

first lap of the block i could smell the brakes, and next it was pulling to the right due to the left being hot.(brake fade).. stuff that.. back home, swapped the old caliper on.. ..fitted easily.. well, as easily as changing a caliper on gravel driveway and the rain coming while bleeding the brakes again.

took it out again a bit later, gave it a bit of a thrash seeing the brakes were more confidence inspiring, brakes seem fine now. (under the speed limit) but some revs in first and second.. its loud, doubt its legal.. i remember the ad saying HOT DOG EXHAUST, NICE AND LOUD.. it has a muffler and hot dog and extractors, it's louder than i expected.

on the way back i saw an older lady out of her car taking a video of behind me... (so as to not have me run into her if i was a terrorist? ) which she then aimed at me as i drove past and video'd the rear also. no number plates, but i have a permit on the windscreen so other than being loud i can't see what she'd do with the video other than send it to ACA for hooning footage.. 
This hoon was seen driving with no rego in my street with loud exhaust and terrorising the neighbourhood? 

i made it backfire with some revs on board.. so before i drive it home 35km i'll take a look at the leads, cap and rotor and points and need to fix a bad rocker cover leak and also will wash the engine and surrounding area so when i swap the engine soon i won't need as much hand cleaner ... well, that's the plan anyway..

congratulations if you read all that... for you're reward i'll link you a video of a fast gemini..(aka not mine)

 

[deankdx]

24 August 2017

bit more homework done during the week

haven't gone for the second drive yet, considered it today but busy sorting out junk and looking for parts..

i finally found the 4th hub cap, seller had 6 sle wheels and 2 caps(one cracked) so i bought 1 wheel and both caps for $30 and that chapter is closed..

i painted the caps with silver paint and cotton bud, they are a bit too silver but i expect them to fade. 

finally found the horn ring for the boss kit also, not sold on this wheel yet, but i also have a full lighter coloured wood one i could fit with chrome spokes

same for the console.. i will be fitting black carpet(because its near new and free. came in the rusty wreck)
last time i was at Dave's i pulled the rocker cover off that was leaking like a sieve and thought it wasn't clamping down enough.. so went to bash the sides down(appeared bent from overtightening) rocker cover is strong.. not likely bent.. 
so i put washers under the mounting nuts as they seemed to be bottoming out, and layed a bead of liquid weld(silastic) over the cork gasket and nipped it up.. engine wash and check is planned for Saturday. (i have a new rubber gasket, but keeping it for the 2 litre engine. )

 

 

[deankdx]

27 August 2017

1600 didn't break traction in the rain... on the first drive..

 

 

 

drop a skid bro.. it could now.. i tuned it..(no parts purchased.. yep, a redneck dyno tune)

first off took it to the car wash with Dave and i reckon the diesel would give it a good run, that's how slow it was. washed the engine and underside, dried the dissy cap and leads and drove back.. 

so, where we left off last time.. backfired when revved...

checked the points, looked new.. gap looked "fine" so i didn't bother looking for feeler gauges

set the timing to the she'll be right zone.. turned out Dave actually has a working timing light and when checked, it was near enough to spot on(was retarded...= much gutless)still backfired on big revs. carby next

i bought a "reco" carby a while back, well by reco... it had a kit through it.. "ran rich" this is the one the secondaries couldn't have opened due to the lever being all wrong.. fixed that part, stuck it on today after cutting up one of my good spanners to make it happening.. idles like it has a cam in it, black smoke.. ran rich lots . not sure why... didn't like it but it revved better = get the old one and take a look

i was pressing the secondary throttle open and felt the air leak out of the diaphragm AH HA!! fix that by swapping the other one over.. refitted the original carby.. it idled a bit worse than before and even with mixture adjustment wasn't as smooth.. meh, the all important big rev confirmed it was fixed otherwise..

second test drive.. WOOO!!! thing hammers in first and second, no idea what revs it pulls but sounds like 6000 ish at least.. 3rd is a bit gutless, but it would chop the diesel gemini easily now(cammed 2 litre should be even more impressive)

i'm going to try get a video of it in car soon.. sounds good, definitely is fun now..

 

 

[deankdx]

28 August 2017

drove home 35km without issue Woo! 

resisted the urge to do anything that would incur a fine or worse.. cruised along the highway at 100 happily.. beat a mitsubitshit lancer in an exhaust note competition... well, it wasn't a competition, but it was the only other car with any sort of exhaust note on the road i saw today.

next stop.. pedders check and alignment soon (if it passes), seats and carpet out for rust patch.. need to get some dry ice for the body deadener on the floor.
stereo install also soon.  6x9s,  4" speakers and a MP3 deck. 

still torn between registering fully or just club rego.. 

 

[deankdx]

31 August 2017

continued on with some progress.. was looking a bit shit for even my rules..

Mythbusters proved you can polish a turd, so i thought anything they can do.. i can do nearly as good

 

 

[deankdx]

1 September 2017

still crossing things off the list.. (don't actually have a list yet.. would need a page or 2...)

fitted the rear window locking strip.. prick of a job.. but doable.

also modified a commodore spare wheel bolt by welding on a correct threaded bolt on the end  and reinforced the bodgy home made battery clamp.. (also used a falcon mud guard bolt.. love those things)

 

 

 

[deankdx]

1st September 2017

continued chipping away(literally with the body deadener)

stripped the carpet out, and had a go at chipping off the deadener without dry ice.. fairly successful.. 

will be heading over to supagas tomorrow for dry ice to attack the stubborn (aftermarket) deadener.. hopefully it lasts a fair while, as i still need to remove the fuel tank to check the boot floor(it has rust.. but to what extent i am not sure yet.. not as bad as My sedan at least)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deankdx]

2nd September 2017

well, i bought some dry ice this morning.. 2kg for $11 definitely helped in digging out stubborn seal sealer in a hard to access spot.

 the boot floor had been repaired before, by a panel beater i am guessing, well, at least not by bodgy people. it has had a panel repair in the drivers rear quarter and the same sealer and paint is throughout the boot under the fuel tank. 

its very solid inside, but a rust hole under the chassis rail(stupid dry ice doesn't work through chassis rails.. well.. it does, but it falls out the rust hole underside..)

so plan of attack for the boot floor is make a patch and weld from the outside, upside down ... yep, My favourite. this is a small area compared to the back floor area and will help me decide if i will be doing that the same way or not(the lazy in me wants to weld it in from the inside.. but not bodgy birdshit welds like what someones patch under the pedals has been)

pics from today.. crappy pics, but .. i can't be bothered trying to take better ones yet..

 

 

finally got around to fitting the SLE wheels.. i think it needs lowering. Even with the jack removed it's still a similar height.

sill got a bit of bog/painting to do, but otherwise this is about how it's going to look. 

depending on the weather, energy levels and whatever else is going on, i should be welding the floor rust over the weekend or soon after. 

[deankdx]

9 September 2017

on todays episode of regret buying rusty shitboxes.. (all rust removed HA!) 

 

i booked the car in for a pedders check Tuesday before the permit runs out next Wednesday.
wheel alignment due to the steering rack change and got them to order in some LOWs springs ($200 fitted was the deal...if they don't pick the shit out of all the bushes, but i'll accept replacing the lower control arm bushes seeing the arms need to come out practically to fit springs.

so, what do you do on a nice Saturday, not a bike ride, or a BBQ  ..... or even put the car back together so you can drive it to pedders.. Nooooo, 

cut some rust out.. well, LOOK FOR THE LEAKS FIRST, couldn't work out where the water was coming from, floor still had water on it after the rain..
Decided to look under the heater cover.. like fords, they gather spiders, dirt and stuff(not leaves, as it has a mesh from factory... smart buggers)

was dirty but cleaned up spotless, no rust or leaks in there... where the water goes, running down the firewall it went straight under the bodgy floor rust repair some bodger did..

crisis averted, once i removed the patch and tested with water it didn't leak a drop inside.. cool.. cut some holes.

 

 

 

[deankdx]

10 September 2017
 

what rust..

had 4 doors for sale on ebay for $40.. no takers.. whatever.. rust free metal for free.. took the handle panel with the grinder also, easier than finding the 10mm 

metal patch fits better than the cardboard template..

even just resting the panel on the floor was an improvement in strength

one patch done.. what a prick of a job.. most of this patch couldn't have been welded from the outside anyway, has a chassis rail type thing in the way(nearly cut it with the grinder, missed it by fluke)

i was trying to decide if i have enough time to smash out the rear floor patch. but then the rain came.. decided it's lunch time and put the car back together for tomorrow's pedders check/alignment/lowered maybe?

started shaping patches for the rear floor, words cannot explain how much i hate welding over head.. might do that one on Dave's hoist.