Old fella

Never seen this done on a Rolla, but you could always be first. Used to look pretty cool in the old days. You could still be able to find Valiant Charger or Ford Capri filler necks in the old country. (unzud for the dunderclumfens) Cheers.

I had a ke20 years ago that had passed its use by date, so in a drrunken stupor, a couple of mates and I decided to do the same. Drained water, started,brick on the accelerator and let her rip. More beers while the old girl revved its guts out, but it just wouldn`t die. More beers and a mate pulled a 303 rifle out of his boot and put a well aimed shot through the front mudguard about level with the middle of the engine. The revving ceased straight away, but when we lifted the bonnet the only damage was to the distributor cap. I didn`t try but I reckon that if the cap was replaced it would have started again. Just goes to prove that K motors are actually bullet proof. Cheers.

Used to be a speed shop in Brisbane called GP Cars. They ran a corolla engined road race open wheeler very competitively in the late 60`s and early 70`s. They made no secret of the fact that they used to use a copper shim head gasket and araldite on the engine because the compression was so high. Never blew a head gasket again. The thing used to go like snot too. Cheers.

Mate, I`m not sure that I would go to the trouble and expense of an electric pump just yet. I ran a mild 4k with a gigantic cam and a 32/36 dgv and only used the stock pump. I had no drama pulling 8000rpm out of it and never a fuel shortage. I suggest doing a quick fuel pump check by removing the fuel line from the carb and using a container to measure how much fuel is pumped in one minute while the engine is cranked over with the starter motor. (PLEASE DISCONNECT COIL LEAD) It might take you and a mate to do this safely. The problem really sounds like a fuel pump because the motor will rev clean until it empties the float bowl and when you back off it gives the fuel pump time to catch up. I`m not suggesting that you try, but theoretically, the same cycle would occur if you held your foot flat again without changing gears. I hope that this is a help. You should have no drama sourcing a used fuel pump on this site. They`re like assholes. Everyone has at least one. My wife has two. One of them is sitting here typing. Cheers.

Thanks for the tip mate, but as I said, its only gotta run and somebody out there will buy it from me and reckon its the best car they ever owned. If it doesn`t run well enough for that, I`ll part it out and make my money that way. I was thinking that a thin skim of araldite between the block and gasket and head and gasket should sort out the warpage issue and I`ll just take a punt that the cam will sit ok. Cheers.

Sorry mate, I should have taken pics but I didn`t. I`ve already pulled the head apart, taken it to a mates mechanical business and pressed the seats back in. The car is just something to make a quick buck out of, so I`m going to give the valves a quick lap, chuck a head gasket in and see if its got enough compression to start. If it does, its outa my life real quick before it really blows up. Old falcons never die, they just go faster. Cheers.

Sorry Mods, but I didn`t know where else to put this. I know that a lot of you are in the motor industry and am just interested to know if any of you have ever seen the following:- I recently bought an EL Falcon as a project car, knowing that it had at least a blown head gasket. I didn`t pay much for it so, no biggy changing a gasket or two. The woman that I bought it from did tell me that it got very hot on a recent trip back from Goondoowindi and when she switched it off at Yelarbon to check what the red lights on the dash were all about, it wouldn`t start again. Long story short, she bought a new car and I got this one for a song. I`ve just got around to pulling the head off today after finding water in all 6 cylinders. Low and behold, not only did she cook it, but it has been so hot that two of the exhaust valve seats have actually fallen out. Yup, I`ve never seen anything like it before. Just thought that I would share that one with you and would love to hear any other stories like it. Cheers. P.S. the plastic thingy on the tappett cover that holds the plug leads is also melted. AND NOW THE WHOLE STORY..... The car has only done a bit over 150k and is in overrated condition other than the roasted motor. Its true about the valve seats etc but I would never even consider putting the engine back together without a major overhaul. Yes, I am going to flog it off but I will replace the engine with a second hand unit before I do. I live in a small town and one just doesn`t shonk people and get away with it here. Thanks all for the bit of fun. Cheers, Old Fella.

G`day mate, a simple test for a burnt valve is to grab a flat peice of paper about 200x100 and hold it with your finger tips so it droops over the end of your exhaust pipe when the car is idling. On the firing strokes of the cylinders that the valves are seating ok, the paper will be pushed away from the exhaust. If one cylinder has a burnt valve the pistion stroke will try to pull gas back into the cylinder via the exhaust and so will pull the paper over the pipe. That saves having to come up with a compression gauge to do much the same test. Cheers.

G`day mate, interesting concept. I`ve never had an Alfa, but a friend of mine did a long time ago and from my memory it ran a transzaxle type setup. Meaning that the crankshaft connected to the tailshaft, then to the clutch and then to gearbox/diff. You would need to inspect the motor to see if it is indeed possible to connect a gearbox via the conventional methods. Bear in mind tho, that a full conversion to the Alfa independant rear end setup would be a fun project if it can be fitted. My mate used to belt the b`jesus out of his car and never seemed to break it too badly. Good luck and please keep us informed. Cheers.

Yeh, I wouldn`t mind coming out. Haven`t got a Rolla anymore but still have the Landcruiser and thats a Toyota at least. Cheers.

G`day Steve, nice to see the old girl again. Sorry I didn`t wash it for you before you picked it up, but we have water restrictions up here on the mountain. When you get around to lowering it, don`t forget that the front strut inserts and the rear shocks are less than 5000k old. Someone out there will buy them for sure. Really glad to see you looking after the old girl, cheers. Trev.

Just thought that I would come back at you and ask for your expert opinion, as a 26 year old who would have probably little idea what a Ford Customline or a Stromberg 97 actually is, what was the (wrong) information that I supplied. Mate, I am over 60 years of age and have played with cars since I was 16, so you better come back well armed with info. C`mon brains, your serve. Cheers. p.s. And who really gives a rats arse how old the thread is. I know the guy who posted it in the first place and to me, he was asking for info.

Well.....F@#$%^G Scuuuuuuz me.

G`day mate, I`m all but certain that they are Stromberg 97 dual throats. They came standard (One only)on Ford Customline 272 Cubic Inch V8`s from 1951 to 1958. Edlebrock made manifolds to suit twin, triple, quad, six and eight. They were a very popular choice back in the days of ford Zephyrs, early falcons etc for a quick power upgrade. They are as scarce as the proverbial these days, but they still turn up on old school hotrods. Cheers. p.s. If you`re keen on home made injection, have a look at the old holden/valiant strombergs. Up to inch and seven eight, single throat and simples as to work on.

It would be a toss up between my XT GT falcon, my 67 KE10 and my compact speedcar. The GT had the top end over the ke10 but the corolla was faster to 90 mph. The Compact won an Australian Title at Liverpool speedway in 1983, top speed about 80 mph. Cheers.

G`day mate, any reputable engineering shop should be able to braize your manifold for you. It happens to Mercedes Sprinter vans all the time. Cheers.

Mate, I just couldn`t help myself. When you`ve got the powaaaa ya just gotta use it. Actually it was a 61 notch back anglia that I slotted a 1500 cortina into. Had head, cam extractors and quad honda 750 carbs and used to go really well. Stopping and body roll was just a bonus. Cheers.

Check the little wire inside the dizzy from the points to the nut where the coil wire attaches. Had one break in a Ford Anglia under the same circumstances. Cheers.

Diesel for sure mate. A lot of the outback fuel stops are not allowed to carry or sell unleaded because of the indigenous petrol sniffing problem. (no crap) Definately not gas, you won`t be able to buy the stuff except in major towns etc. Toyota before Nissan for parts reasons only and avoid Itchymickies like the plague. They are not an off road vehicle in any sense of the words. I drive Landcruiser but have owned Nissan and my choice is Landcruiser by far for reliability and availability of after market parts. Enjoy your trip mate. Cheers.

Could be for the ejector seat or the behind headlight machine guns or maybe a number plate swapper switch.

G`day mate, try squirting a bit of wd40 down the dizzy drive shaft on the inside. My 4k did a similar thing and the "possum piss" fixed it.

G`day mate, there`s nothing too hard about fitting a weber to a 4k. The stock cable will do the job no worries but you will have to make an adaptor for it. I suggest from the top of the tappett cover where there is already a cable clip of sorts. A flat peice of steel with a slot cut in the end closest to the carb to hold the cable in the same way that it is held now. Jetting etc....http://www.rollaclub.com/faq/index.php?title=Tech:Engine/K_Series/Carburettor Its all there if you look for it. You`ll need a carb manifold adaptor too. Available from most Speed Shops and cost about $50. Good luck and take your time. p.s. If you do get both butterflies to open togethe, you will almost certainly wind up with a massive flat spot as soon as you put your foot down. Best to leave it the way it was designed.

G`day mate, nice to see someone using their brain. It should work just fine. When I built my system I discovered that old trampoline frames are the friend of the exhaust builder. They`ve got good circumfrence and lots of nice bends. Good luck with the build.

Spotted in Toowoomba this arvo, red ke20 track car. Looked pretty schmicko with the traditional green/white racing stripes over the top. It was on a trailer so I didn`t catch a driver name but it was bearing number 55 on the doors.

G`day all, that cam is the one that i asked about a long time ago and I never did find out diddly squat about it. It originated from a friend of mine who used to race a ke20 with a 4k in it many, many years ago. He can`t remember what grind etc it is but suggests that it could be one of his "sponsored" cams and one of those was Leo Muller. I doubt very much that it would be as lumpy as 298 degree because it was used in short curcuit sprints on the old Echo Valley track in Toowoomba and anyone that knows the track will remember that it was up and down hills to the point that you would not be able to run a "mongrel " cam and still have the lowdown grunt for the hills. He was also restricted to using a Manufacturers carby and the only mod allowed to that was altering the linkage setup to run mechanical secondaries in favour of vacuum. I have that carb and have tried it on the road and found that its no good for street because it is either full on or full off and not much in between. I reckon you should work late on your car friday night, stick it in, bolt up the weber and give it a try. Then if it doen`t work you`ve got the rest of the weekend to stick the stock bump stick back in. Cheers mate and good luck.