KE-JG

Thanks for the input. Good news is that the replacement engine turned out to be an extra good one. Goes up the big hills just like a 5K, so worth the effort. JG

Some one mentioned on here recently that having the wrong oil filter caused the engine to rattle on start-up until the oil pressure came up. Is this for real?? Is there a non-return valve in some of them?? Reason that I'm concerned is that I just spent a lot of effort and skinned knuckles changing out an engine because it rattled like that on start-up. It ran quiet and well the rest of the time, but I'm wanting to sell the vehicle, so it would be hard to convince a buyer with a rattle like that. If all this hassle and effort was just due to an oil filter I'll be P**** off..... The filter that was on there was a Purolator L20064. JG

I looked into adding backseats in a panel van in Qld. and it's very difficult to do legally. Problems with front seats needing to be immediatey releasable to allow exit in an emergency. Better check it out with a machinery inspector beforehand...... JG

Some time ago there was mention of Ford seats that fit KE70 rails. Anyone remember which model Ford?? I've hunted the search, but can't find that connection. JG

Anyone know the weights of a ke70 wagon '83, and a ke36 p/van '75??

Anyone know what the compression ratio is for a standard 5K? I measured it by filling the combustion chamber with oil, etc. to be about 8.5, but that seems a bit low..... I'm now running on LPG, so could handle 10.5. Anyone know how much to take off the head to get 10.5???

For a good daily driver at low cost I sure like my set up in a KE70. Just a 5K with a 20-60 cam, same old carb, same exhaust. Still has good pulling power at the low end for traffic, and good economy - 12km/litre. But when you need to get up and go, it really winds from 60 to 100km in third - great for hills and getting onto the freeway! Cost $120 for the cam (Tighe), no changes needed to the lifters or rocker gear, and a really good improvement on the stock 5K.

A floating earth somewhere can give those sort of illogical symptoms.

Finally some detailed observations based on real life experience - just what I've been waiting to hear. Sobering.............. Looks like it would take way to long to pay off in a 4cyl. I've just been pondering to put gas in my KE70 wagon with 5K+mild cam. Goes really great with this combo. Probably has enough power to spare for steady driving with gas, but then I live in the hills and need all of it every time I want to outrun one of those UAV's (Urban Assault Vehicles) up the Landsborough/Maleny hill! Like the man said, "treat yourself to all the power you can get." Guess I'd better stick with what I've got........

Good useful post. Well done!

Whining diff no real problem, just turn up the music and drive faster. Growling diff - find another one now.

I once did an oil change while my mate was gapping the plugs. When finished, the engine wouldn't turn over. Oil had run down a plug hole and filled a cylinder - hydraulic lock.

To release a torsion bar, go to the end that is anchored to the body. Bend aside the little tab that holds it in the notch. Slip a piece of 12x12 rhs or pipe of the right daimeter over the end of the torsion bar and lever it out of the notch.

Anyone have experience with spraying metallic paint and clear coat??? I have plenty of experience with ordinary colour acrylics and get good results, but a bit wary of these metallics - could be a disappointing mess I think if not done right. Any different technique in laying on base coats? Same viscosity? Any tips on how to handle overspray on roof and bonnet when you can't sand back? What viscosity for clear coat? How many coats? I searched Google but couldn't find anything really useful - anyone know of any good links?

How can you possibly get by without a bench grinder with wire wheel?????? I use mine so often that it should have a step-on switch for convenience. I keep a pair of visegrips right next to the grinder for holding the heads of small bolts, and other parts that need cleaning up - sure saves on skin.

Thanks for the tips - I'll try even harder to find someone to fit secondhand. Sounds like it's well worth getting a sound old tank tested and certified. The rest of the stuff is straight forward. That young trike rider sure has the feel of driftin! I was raised on the prairies of Canada, with bad gravel roads in summer and ice in winter, so we all did lots of driftin, even when we were trying to go straight! Wheat stubble fields after the crop was harvested were the best - the old Dodge pickup and even a '31 Chevy coupe could drift out there.

I reckon I'll go ahead and put the LPG in my KE36. This will be instead of a KE70 for my daughter. I know she wants something 'cuter' than a KE70 anyhow.... She dreams of one of those little 'jellybean' cars, so she'll have to sort that out for herself. Yeh, I know it'll cost more than twice the investment that I now have in the KE36, but I intend to drive this machine forever, I love it so much, so it'll pay back big time over the years when petrol gets r-e-a-l-l-y dear. Right now I've got a 5k block in being bored out, and the cam being reground. The cam grinder reckons that the mild high-lift grind will go well with the gas. Word seems to be that the valve seats in the K series can handle it. Compression ratio now is 9.4, and gas supplier reckons not worth upping it. Just advance spark a bit and I'll probably do a new advance curve, after I try it first. I'll go duel-fuel, because gas isn't so easily found in the country - I've been caught several times in the Ford when I needed the duel backup. What would you do if you're running on straight gas and you arrive in Glen Innes, NSW, counting on filling up, only to find that the only pump in town is u/s and it's too far to get to another town with gas supply?? It's not as if you can just take a jerry can and go get some.... I guess you'd have to wait there until they got the pump fixed or load it on a tow truck...... Luckily I had duel-fuel that time..... Some say duel-fuel doesn't go as well, but the Ford sure doesn't show it - excellent throttle response, pulls really well at any revs - and I drive it h-a-r-d. It'd be good to use second hand stuff, but would still have to find a qualified fitter willing to install and sign off the system - the rules he has to work by are pretty strict, for real good reasons. I saw some used tanks at Kelly's Wreckers, but all are out-of-date and they reckoned they very seldom get one that's current. I'm forever running on patched-up second-hand stuff that needs fixing, so it'd be kind of good have new for a change....... Anyhow, I reckon I will do it, and I'll let you know how it works out.....

I just got a quote from Torque Gas, Caloundra for $1870 to do a KE70, all new stuff. And just did some calculations - should have done it before I guess...... Running on juice @ 10 litres/100k = 10k/litre = 0.1 litres/k @ $1.30/litre = $0.13/k. Running on gas (20% less) @ 8k/litre = 0.125 litres/k @ $0.50/litre = $0.0625/k. So the saving is $0.0675/k. So, to pay off $1870 would take only about 28,000k - not as bad as I thought.... ps - Don't know my way around these forums yet, so only just discovered that there are two more pages of comment that I hadn't seen yet.....

Sounds like it costs $2000 for installation these days! It'd take an awful lot of driving, like courier or taxi, to pay that off. So guess I answered my own question on that one......

Yeh, calorific value is down, so k's per litre is about 20 percent less. And yeh, we upped the compression ratio on the Ford and redid the advance mechanism to optimize for gas, and it goes really well. Starts instantly on cold days, pulls really well at any revs, and has run 250,000 k without the head off. The tanks are always round, which makes them awkward to fit, but yeh, pull the old tank out and the round one will be only half in the boot. It'd be good to get it as far from the rear bumper as possible for safety, but then should be pretty safe at that point. If you get hit hard enough to burst a heavy steel tank that, so far inside the car, then you've already got lots of other serious problems that don't bear thinking about..... Installation does cost a heap tho, so have to do a lot of driving to make up the cost. That paid off sooner in a big guzzler like the Ford - don't know how far you'd have to go to in a 4K to make the payoff. That may be the catch in it all......

What a great response to my first post! Yeh, I know about gas, I've been running a Ford Transit van with a 4.1 crossflow, on gas for about 12 years - it's terrific in a big engine like that - wouldn't ever go back to juice. And these days with juice at $1.30 and gas at 44 cents, I can run that enormous Ford for less than my 4K Corolla! Looking at building a KE70 on the gas for my daughter for economical commuting. It'll lose a bit of power but v-e-r-y economical I think. I want lots more go than that for myself, so there's a 5K getting ready to be modified to go into my '75 KE36 panel van - more questions about that another day. Yes, the gas work needs to be done by a qualified professional, and I sure would like to find one that's reasonable. I'm at Maleny, Queensland.

Has anyone run a 4K on LPG? Not looking for sporting power, just plain economical commuting.