Project VK is well underway
Project VK is rolling along nicely. The latest is we’re getting the rear section of the two-piece driveshaft made up, now we have the correct measurements. As you may recall, we have a 304 block in the snout, done up as a 355 stroker, now tied to a TH700 four-speed auto. The rear of the transmission sits back a little, so we’ve had to customise the drive shaft, via the good services of Warren Duggan and Duggan Balancing.
He’ll give it back to us with a new centre bearing and universals. It’ll be brand new and custom-made for the job. It’ll never wear out in our lifetime.
We ran into some clearance problems with the starter motor. Things are a little tight between the headers, steering rack and starter, and it’s just one of those things you take on the chin. We’ve come up with a different starter and will use the other in another project. It’s all part of building a custom car.
Next on the list is doing the plumbing for the power steering and transmission, then we’re up to the radiator and fuel system. For the latter, we’ll be running an inline self-regulating electric pump – keeping it simple. And then we’ll be up to the wiring stage.
I think the hardest issue will be how to plumb in the air-conditioning.
Even if you’re working on a project like this at home, when you’re seeing the end in sight it’s useful to build up a finishing list. That helps to realise what’s needed. Sometimes it gets longer as you work, but it’s a great aid to getting the job done.
Another project in the workshop is putting a 396 big-block in a 1967 Impala. It’s a stunning vehicle. It went in relatively easily, once we sorted an alternative set of engine mounts from the folk at All American Auto Parts, and we needed about another quarter-inch clearance on the sump for the drag link – other than that it was pretty straightforward.
Now we’ll start making all the hoses for the power steering. It comes as a kit, so you follow the proverbial bouncing ball.
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Almost ready for Summer
Our little Beetle is also coming along, and I reckon we’ll have it ready for Summer. We did a triangulation measurement on it after we installed new shockers, and now we’re going to alter the left-rear torsion bar to lower the left rear corner to make the right front come up. If I’ve done my homework correctly, that should square it up.
This car came as an interesting mix of bits and the numbers didn’t work with the existing rego databases, so we had to sort that out. It’s not that anyone did anything wrong, it was just that you really need to do your homework when buying, particularly when it’s a one-off like this.
Here’s my tip
Prep for Take Off
It seems a lot of people are preferring to drive rather than fly these days. Plus we’re getting to that time of year when we’re moving around more and dragging cars out of sheds, now that Summer and holidays are coming up. We had a customer come in recently, wanting to drive from Melbourne to Alice Springs and had exactly the right approach, Which was to go over the whole car, be it fluids, charging up batteries, checkout out and pumping up tyres and making sure all the lights work. It sounds basic, but a good service and a decent roadside assist membership will get you just about anywhere.
LETTERS:
Stainless Bling
I’ve been following Jon Faine’s E-type rebuild and was interested in all the work he was doing to get the chrome work up to standard.
A few years ago, I purchased a set of stainless steel wire wheels and bumper set for my DB6 together with another Aston owner buying the same, from Thailand. They were delivered quickly and although some of the bumpers needed some fiddling to fit (they are, after all, largely handmade cars) they were excellent.
They were highly polished and looked exactly like chrome-finished steel. They were also much cheaper than those from the UK or other countries, and being stainless steel, will not be subject to the same deterioration as chrome. A viable alternative for Jon and his E-type.
David Calver
Thanks, David. For those catching up, Jon is rebuilding the Jaguar after a relatively minor fire. The issue was not the fire damage, but rather the highly corrosive nature of the fire extinguisher powder. I don’t understand why nitrogen is not widely available – it’s inert, would starve the fire of oxygen and won’t leave a corrosive residue.
The problem with powder is you have to strip the car and restore it.
Your suggestion regarding stainless instead of chrome makes sense. When you look at a lot of the older English cars, you’ll find a lot of the trim is stainless rather than chrome.
It’s labour-intensive to keep it shiny, as it can dull, but its longevity is excellent. It doesn’t like being mistreated and getting dents in it can be an issue. Like a lot of things in life, there are pros and cons.
Chrome has become viciously expensive, though if you were restoring to show the car you might not have a lot of choice.
Kombi Kapers
Kombi variations cater to wide audience
Many years ago I had a Kombi (about a ’74 model) with a 1700cc twin-carb motor. That damn thing never ran right and I fiddled endlessly with it. Eventually, I caved in and took it to a VW specialist but his diagnosis was that the engine was too far gone and needed an overhaul.
Anyway, during one of my many fiddling sessions, I was watching the engine idle but it was as if it wasn’t firing on all cylinders. For anyone who is unaware, those VW motors were essentially flat but were equipped with a short intake manifold above each cylinder head.
I noticed that the left-hand manifold was warm and seemed to be doing its thing but the right-hand one had condensation on it. I touched it and it was icy cold. It’s been bugging me for years. How can one manifold, sitting on a warmed-up motor be icy cold? Any ideas?
Pete
I love the dak-daks with the twin Solex. They’re great things to work on. Finding parts for the Solex carbs can be an issue and the cost is steep.
You need to know how to get them working together. You set the linkages up and synchronise the two throttle plates, and remember the electric chokes. Then you look at the high and low-speed adjustment on the left-hand carburettor – that’s the one you adjust once you synchronise them.
There are traps for young players, but I love them.
Your cold manifold simply means, as we say in the business, we have no bang! Suck, squeeze, bang, blow…we’re missing one. The reason is what you need to determine. Have we got tight valves or a vacuum leak? Have we got a distributor problem or no fuel getting in there?
I’ll give you an example of that very vehicle, from many years ago. Someone’s called and I’ve gone over to check out the problem. I’ve done the old touch test and one side is not working.
So I work through it. Do we have spark? Yes. Did it have compression? I wasn’t worried at that stage about how much, but yes it did. Do we have fuel? With a mirror and a light we could see the accelerator pump squirting fuel.
Have we got a vacuum leak? Here in the workshop I use LPG, but elsewhere almost any aerosol will do. We’ve eliminated all the potential problems, so let’s start taking it down.
When we pulled off the right-hand carburettor, we discovered a rag had been left in the hole! Simple, and easy to do. So the moral to that story is don’t be stressed when one side isn’t working. Just start at the beginning and work your way through the process. Eventually, you’ll sort it.
MGB Hunter
The MGB is great but check the body carefully first
Mick, I’m looking at buying a 1960s or 1970s MGB. They look great and I’ve recently driven one, which was great fun.
It seems every car I look at has had some restoration work – is that normal?
What should I be looking for?
Jane Houston
Decisions, a four or V8, soft top or coupe?
By now almost every MGB on the planet will have had some restoration work done. They’re getting to be old cars and things wear out. I’d be more concerned if someone claimed it had never been touched.
The big issue? Rust. English, thin metal, often exposed to salted roads, they’re all contributing factors. So pay plenty of attention to the bodywork and I’d get it up on a hoist for a proper look at the body and chassis. It’s as simple as that.
They have great little engines – fantastic. They’re good to work on. Some had CD Stromberg carburettors and other SU. Personally, I prefer the former, but others like the SUs.
Traditionally there are two six-volt batteries in the back to make up 12 volts. There’s a fuel pump that lives there as well and would normally be upgraded.
The good news is there is a whole industry out there to support them. People like the Healey Factory are worth talking to, as that’s their wheelhouse.
They’re a brilliant car to drive and I actually prefer the traditional fours over the V8 versions. Just better balanced.
Good luck with the hunt.
Trivial Pursuit
You CAD!
CAD, or computer-aided design, first hit the news in the car industry when IBM completed its DAC-1 program in 1964 for General Motors. Renault however takes credit for the first use of 3D CAD by 1968. The first car to claim to be fully designed on CAD was the BMW 850i V12, launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1989.
Got a problem?
Want some advice on a build or a potential car purchase? Heck we’ll even tackle long distance diagnosis. Drop MIck a line at uniquecars@primecreative.com.au
From Unique Cars #472, Nov/Dec 2022