orangeLJ

Just be aware that VE wheels will have a smaller hub centre, so if planning on fitting them to anything, you MAY have to have the centre enlarged. As for the rotors, 4000 series only come in slotted, or slotted and dimpled. I too often question the value of slotted rotors, the 4000 series have ALOT more to them than just wiper slots though, the ventilation (kangaroo paw) and material is excellent. the DBA guy basically told me if I could warp them on the street he would give me my money back AND another set for free. Ive given them a hammering and had no issues whatsoever. Standard style rotors were getting vibration reasonably quickly previous to that (just couldnt cope with the heat, these things are heavy bastards, so any "spirited" braking tends to take its toll)

Nitrous kits are cheap, (starting at 400 odd dollars for a simple fogger system) but to properly set up a nitrous kit takes a fair bit of effort (managing the extra fuel needed when the nitrous activates, for most its a simple solenoid setup to activate on what, but then there is extra fuel etc) IMO M90 is way too big for anything under around 3litres. It would work with a very very cranky 2.5odd litre engine, but on somethign like a 5K, there would be very minimal gains (if any) If you want a more efficient but smaller SC, try the M45 (found on mercedes Kompressor models) I picked one up on ebay off a car wth only 20k kms on the engine for $300 odd a few years back. The Merc ones come with a cast extension to fit a by-pass valve to as well (bonus!) Will be a heap more efficient than SC12 or SC14. Also, to compare them up, look for CFM ratings and some plots of CFM:RPM

I'm extremely impressed with the amount of R&D you are putting into the whole process, its not something common these days and I believe you will be a pioneer of this conversion, followed by a heap of other in the years to come. I'm looking at 4cylinder engine options to fit to an early 4 cylinder torana (TA) and was considering a 4AGTE, however with the added torgue and ability to remain N/A and still make power at sensible speeds, I'm seriously liking this conversion more and more. Id be interested in pictures of your starter/bellhousing setup if you ever get a chance (and don't mind sharing) Keep up the good work. Chris.

function>form! Looks great as is! bonnet might make leaving it/ travelling in the rain a pain in the arse though (on a trailer our in the rain etc)

Got a bit more done over the last week Rebuilt my calipers- outer seals in- pistons and top seals in Caliper done- + rotor Front end is all loose assembled I'll put the springs and shocks in next week, but everything (all control arms etc)is always left loose until its under tension (weight of the car) then tightened up. Everything shiny shiny

Rear springs are a piece of piss to change, if you decide to do it yourself, let me know and I will step by step it for you (WAAAAAAY EASY) Mine is on SSL and Ive never had an issue with CV shafts, although a friend with a VE SS that is ridiculously low (stupid stupid low, guy is a dick) keeps popping drive shafts. It seems to be a larger issue with VY onwards. I havent bothered with a camber kit, I put over 1000kms a week on my VT, it just means I put cheap tyres on the rear, decent tyres on the front, and flip the rears on the rims every couple months. Stock brakes will be more than sufficient, no point spending money on anything bigger unless you are planning on a big power increase. Put some Bendix ultimates or heavy duty pads in with 4000 series (or 5000 series if you want to go fancier) DBA rotors in it and you will be fine. If you are already running extractors and a cat back, then upgrading/replacing the cat is a decent idea. The old one would be reaching the end of its life anyway. Hi-flow is no good to you if the rest of the system is a restriction point. don't let anyone talk you into deleting the rear muffler either, thats the #1 way to make it a droney POS. Do both struts at once in the front, (put in your lowered springs while you are at it) and replace the rubber strut tops with Superpro polyurethane ones. Also don't forget to replace the flat bearing at the same time. hmmmmmm, it seems I have played with my daily a little bit too much.... apart from the torana its the longest Ive ever owned a car! (and at 23, ive owned more cars than years I have lived)

Get the injectors serviced, replace the 02 sensors, give it an oil change and do the plugs and leads. (the basics) :)

If you are going to pull the plenum apart, maay as well grab a set of inlet/valley gaskets and do the lot, it doesnt take too long and is pretty worthwhile considering like 80% of all ecotecs will leak water through degraded inlet gaskets (gives the impression of a water leak or BHG in some cars due to water loss) As for going under a quater of a tank, as trev mentioned, its meant to ensure the pumps longevity through cooling, BUT I'm guilty of regularly running mine down to "0kms to go" on the distance calculator. :blinks: Its not ideal, but at 300k kms, its still kicking (touch wood)

Electronic rust protection is BS, not worth money of the effort. Fibreglass is fine for rust repairs on something you arent hoping to keep for a long time, its a temporary solution but definitely gets you by. Realistically, for a car thats probably only worth 1500 maximum, you need to weigh up cost-benefits if you were to pay someone to weld some fresh steel in there. The only thing I can suggest next time you do some glass work is cut out the rust first, sand surrounding areas back to bare metal, apply rust converter let that dry, etch prime and then fibreglass. You've made a decent start though, bit of filler and no one will ever know :wink:

Paint it something other than 80s poo brown dude! haha How exactly does a truck run over your car.. :blinks: Did he just back into it?

at $1300 it was cheap anyway, so spending a little bit to make it safer, look a bit better and replacing wear items (like shocks, brakes etc)shouldnt be a big deal (nor is it rocket science)

What colour? I dare say power steer fluid if its towards the centre of the car (and obviously red) Is it oil or water? (stick a finger in and see if its oily) Overflow bottle is on passengers side, The only other fluid resovior on the drivers side is the windscreen washers (although they are known to crack and leak sometimes) Apart from that, you only have brake lines and if they were leaking... well, you should probably check them out just in case, but you would feel a spongey pedal if it was leaking or ballooning (not to mention complete loss of brakes if it was split)

While all this was going on I also stripped the front end down, had all the control arms and main crossmember sand blasted and etch primed. I had to weld up a crack in one of the outrigger arms that showed up after blasting (common place for cracking) I veed it out, and filled with weld to ensure decent penetration, then ground it semi flat (don't want to take too much out of the weld) (in etch primer) Then I proceeded to blast the hell out of everything with hi-fill primer :) Then gloss black- Next on the list are the brakes- New rotors versus original sized rotors (The ones I was running are a little bit thicker as they were UC torana, but the rusty ones shown here are original fitment to LJ torana) Trial fitting rotors- Turning down diametre New caliper Vs old calipers (these are the actual calipers from the car, UC torana, single piston, decent sized pad though, but nothing flash) Split the calipers, stripped them, acid bathed, wire wheeled and painted- Have kits here to go in them when I'm done trial fitting everything. I had to mill the centre faces of the calipers out to accept a larger thickness brake rotor, but apart from that they are a bolt up fit. And thats pretty close to where I'm up to at the moment. The front end has been trial assembled, all bushes fitted etc etc. and is now sitting in one piece waiting for everything else to be finished. Ive got to add some material to the hubs to ensure a tight fit with the rotors (to ensure zero runout and full balance) and have them machined, but thats only a preference thing, I could get away without it, but Id rather not. So once thats done I'll bolt the crossmember up and measure brake lines etc to get them made. Drop it out again and hopefully by then I should be ready to re-fit the engine and box. I had some header flanges laser cut during the week, so I'll start on the new extractors in the next week or so. Next sunday I'll be stripping the gearbox down to replace the bearings. Hopefully I don't find anymore surprises, but I have 3 spare boxes, so it wont be a big drama. Next after this round is adjustable control arms for the diff so I can lower it more in the bum lol then a commodore BW 28 spline LSD conversion :)

And me being me, I couldnt leave it together for too long.... So I pulled the engine, box and front crossmember out for a rebuild. Plans as follows- BIG solid camshaft New head- massive valves, throated, heavily decked, pinned studs etc(should see 11.3:1 static compression) Head studs Gearbox rebuild- all new bearings New Exedy uprated clutch kit New front brakes- Hilux four piston calipers and BMW rotors, WRX four piston caliper pads Braided brake lines Front end re-bushed (didnt need it really, BUT while its out I thought I'd do it) with nolathane gear all round again. Front end sandblasted, hi-filled and painted gloss black New ball joints, tie rods etc etc. New inlet manifolds (warnerford long runners :) ) New extractors (custom made, similar to HM9c's but with bigger primaries and better port angle) HPC coat new extractors 2.5" exhaust (currently 2.25") centre resonator and single rear chamberless muffler, flanged at the extractors and at rear muffler as per old exhaust. More Dyno time :) Hoping for 220-250hp this time around, should hit 220 easy. Some piccys! Stripping it down- empty- new head vs old (right-left) Notice just how much material has been removed from the head (casting prints etc) New lifters :) supplies- New camshaft and lifters in (new timing gears too :) ) Head studs- sump gasket on (few little tricks with sealant to ensure no leaks) sump rubbed and back on- Painted- modified my thermostat housing- I brazed up the heater holes and then smoothed the whole lot. Should look a bit trick and different from what most people do (loop a bt of hose)

Had a shoot for extreme holdens mag (for both my race car and my street car) Secret mens business- going lappin' family business :) The torry was featured in Xtreme Holdens a month or two ago, and also had a "young guns" write up done for Street Machine a month or two prior to that :) just some sample photos from the shoots- SM- XH-

:blush: I <3 my LJ

VT-VX commodore V6 wagon :) Cheap and reliable, easy to work on, cheap, space for your stuff (out of the weather) and cheap. did I mention cheap? haha. Id say VU ute, but they are still out of your budget. Anything euro is going to cost you in initial purchase price and more again with parts (plus being out of your price range at the moment) The other option would be something like an AE112R rolla, not overly powerful, cheap to run and reliable/modern enough though. The commodore will be the nicest to do long drives in though, cheaper to insure that a soarer too I would imagine.

Ive been getting around on a daily basis for the last 4 years in a VT acclaim :) just about to tick over 300,000kms on the clock, uses a tiny bit of oil. I bought it as a RRO vehicle (flood damaged) can't beat a commodore for cheap and reliable transport. You can tow with it, commute in it, go on holidays with it packed full of shit etc etc. And still a piece of piss to work on! don't ruin it with shitty aftermarket headlights or tailights, go the OEM path and put some series 2 tailights in (clear indicators like you mentioned) and get a headlight restoration kit for the front. I'm running an early SS front bar on my VT, full SS interior (comfy :) ) and just some 17x8s (I find anything bigger a waste, tyres get too expensive for a daily! lol) Make sure you flip your rear tyres over every couple thousand kms too, the camber wear kills them pretty quickly once lowered. Throw some decent shocks and springs at it as well and it wont be a boat. I can quite confidently say my VT handles reasonably well. and one last thing, spend some $$ and buy a set of DBA 4000 series rotors and decent pads for the front. Standard style rotors will warp VERY easily under any spirited braking applications, VT/VXs are heavy mothers, so pulling them up puts a heap of heat into the fronts. I'm running the 4000 series rotors and some bendix ultimates (my price was like $300 for the rotors and pads, so the average punted would be about $500ish)

alright parts and prices so far- TD04L- $100+30 postage- $130 TD04L- $100 + $20 of fuel to go pick it up $120 650 Holley from running car, roughly 4 or 5 years old- $70 spreadbore 4 barrel holden manifold with holley adapter plate- $30 Exhaust manifolds- $30 Things I still need to buy- Nitrophyl floats for the 650- $13 each x2 so $26 all up Silicon joiners Flange plates for exhaust up and down pipes (might just make my own) Have a bloke in WA making my plenum/carby hat Then just need to braze a bung onto the sump and buy a couple fittings and oil line. :)

no times in this?

Building a twin turbo setup for the 253 at the moment, standard exhaust manifolds flipped side to side to bring the outlets forwards, twin td04L (WRX turbos), 650 holley (nitrophyl floats) and about 6-8psi. Once the 253 pops it's LS1 conversion time. Will throw some piccys up when I get a chance.

Well not much has gone on with the ute, wwound the timing out to 30° initial, whacked some bigger jets in a rebuilt carby and threw it on. Needs a new clutch and a wheel alignment at the moment, but flatshifting means you don't need to worry about the clutch ha ha

Well its been a while since Ive been on RC, Lost my job at the end of last year (two weeks before christmas... real nice of them) so things have been a bit tight round home (mortgage comes first) and the net wasnt a priority, so had to cut back on forums! haha. I'm still only working part time, trying to find some full time work in my field (marketing) but havent had much luck. But Ive bought a few things here and there for the LJ and I'll be pulling the motor out in the next few weeks/months to do a quick upgrade. Bigger cam Heavily ported head, biggest valves possible, higher compression (currently 9.5:1, going to be around 10- 10.2) Custom set of extractors (old man did it for a living for 30 years, so they are his domain!) and finally a retune. The clutch has started to slip under big loads and the front bearing in the box (guessing) sounds a bit noisy, so it will come out at the same time for inspection and maybe replacement. I'm working at Bursons at the moment though, so parts are alot cheaper than they used to be! With all that done, it should see be even more potent than it currently is :) as it sits- In other news, took my racecar down to wakefield for a test run, had heaps of teething issues, but it was the first time its ever been driven more than up and down the street (built from scratch)

Well lets see if people can guess whats going on here? We had a couple cars of ours there..... our "guest" drove this- Totally the better looking brother.... Secret mens business- going lappin' family business :) (minus the redhead, he had to go to work) And lastly, the big redhead doucherag is selling his car, so took some photos, I'll only whack one up because its just a big polished turd! haha. jks.

I'm sure there is a lesson in there somewhere..... :) WGMG, rain. f@$king rain. Everytime I want to do something it f@$king rains!