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Another Ozzie Build

Discussion in 'HA/GR' started by BS!, Mar 13, 2019.

  1. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    G'day All,

    Instead of hijacking spanners threads with progress shots I figured I may as well start my own build thread.

    Another reason for doing this is for some accountability and to keep me motivated to get this bloody thing done now that life has somewhat settled into a bit of a rhythm after a hectic few years of marriage, starting a family, house renovations, house sales, house purchases, more house renovations, career changes and all the other things that tend to get priority of time and money over racecars.

    Finally, I also figured it would be good to have the build documented somewhere.

    Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
     
  2. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    Ok, enough of the excuses and let's get into it.

    I've always been a fan of drag racing and motorsport in general but the nostalgia and 6 banger drag events that are held fairly local to me are something that I've always been really keen on.

    After attending a meet in late 2016 to watch a mate race his gasser I sort of had the urge to try and get something together myself. The funds to build a gasser were out of the question and I've always owned local 50s and 60s cars fitted with the first of Holdens inline 6 cylinder "grey motors". As a result I had a bit of a spares stash for engines and old performance bits that were the norm on these engines so I decided if I am going to do something the HA/GR class would probably best suit my budget and interests.

    This lead me to the rabbit hole of info out there on the web and as luck would have it I stumbled across a chassis for sale down in Sydney which is 1000km south of where I live. After speaking to the seller I grabbed it sight unseen and this is where the fun begins.


    [​IMG]

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  3. bobw
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 2,376

    bobw
    Member

    Great start. And that's no BS!
     
  4. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    As it turns out the guy I bought the chassis off was a very handy bloke to meet. He builds hot rod chassis and had a hand in building a lot of the cars when the class first kicked off down here. He also has a pretty quick car himself and after seeing it in action I knew I was in safe hands. On top of this he is a top bloke and now a mate who I regularly have a few beers and a bonfire with whenever work takes me down to Sydney.


    Big Ron in action:
    [​IMG]

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  5. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    Lots of research and internet surfing on how I was going to set this up lead me to getting my basic plan together. The basic plan was

    Holden 138ci grey motor
    Toyota W40 steelcase 4 speed Gearbox
    Toyota Hilux diff

    And the search began for the bits and pieces I needed


    [​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
    Crosley likes this.
  6. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    The little holden "grey motor" has a bit of a cult following in these parts and I took a lot of inspiration from early grey powered cars that were used in the early days of the sport in this country.



    [​IMG][​IMG]

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  7. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    The little grey motor is known to have a bit of a weak bottom end. More research and talking to people with experience on keeping these things together lead me to meeting a bloke called Lindsay Wilson who is now also a good friend and a wealth of knowledge. Lindsay was a local drag racer back in the day and eventually got into dry lake racing in a grey motor powered FX Holden ute. Sadly the salt took it's toll on the old ute and it's no longer around but the driveline and a lot of his spares still existed. Once Lindsay found out what I was doing he took a bit of an interest and sold me his engine from the ute albeit in need of a freshen up after the abuse of the salt and years of sitting around. That being said it was a tried and tested combo and had a few good bits included. I'll cover more on the rebuild later.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  8. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    After lots of conversation with Ron about how to get the car setup and rolling I made the decision to take my chassis, diff, dummy engine and gearbox back down to his place knowing he would do it properly and most importantly make the car as safe as possible for me. For me, being someone who had never setup a chassis before this ended up being a pretty good move in my opinion as Ron went above and beyond what I was expecting him to do. It also allowed me to focus on rebuilding the gearbox and making a start on the engine rebuild and other bits and pieces.

    Here is some what Ron did. I can't give the guy enough credit for his part of this build.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  9. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    And more of Ron's work:
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  10. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    And a few months after dropping it off, while down in Sydney for work I called into Ron's place and he had pretty much knocked it over and was ready for me to shoot back down and pick it up. In the end the car has been setup using an aftermarket front end, Suzuki Sierra steering box, Holden grey motor, Toyota w40 gearbox and a solid mounted Toyota Hilux diff.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  11. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    As mentioned, while Ron was busy with the car down south I focused on getting the driveline rebuild started which is something more in my comfort zone. Even this took longer than it should have though with the mad rush to finish the house rennos before son number 2 was born taking a bit of wind out of my sails from both a time and money perspective. Such is life.

    The gearbox was out of a mint old low mileage 70s Toyota Corona that had the driveline stripped out of it for a 2jz conversion. Upon stripping the box down it was like new but to be safe I threw a bearing and seal kit through it after having the case, extension housing and bell housing vapour blasted. The bellhousing is an early castlemain rodshop bell housing for a holden red motor (same bolt pattern as the grey but does not have the side engine mount provisions) that Lindsay had supplied me. I also fitted a slave cylinder adaptor and slave cylinder to suit the grey motor conversion

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  12. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    Next was the carbs/intake.

    Triple grey motor BXOV-1 Stromberg carbs were used on a Specco manifold. There are bigger and better carbs out there for these engines but I've had these for years and wanted to use what I had already to keep the costs down.

    Once again everything was pulled down, acid dipped or vapour blasted before being ceramic coated or plated and put back together. Once together linkages and fuel lines were then made to suit.[​IMG]

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  13. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    This thing sounds serious. I might have to lift my game. We got washed out in Sydney at the Day of the Drags last weekend but hopefully racing at Gunnedah this weekend.
    For some reason the photos aren't showing on my IPad so I'll crank up the 'puter later to check them out.
    Keep up the good work and I'll look forward to a match up at the Nostalgias?
     
  14. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    If mine goes half as good as yours does I will be stoked with that. It was actually day of the drags 2 years ago that I bought the chassis back down to Ron's for him to work his magic so I certainly have been dragging this thing out..

    I uploaded everything through the tapatalk app so maybe that is why? All the photos work on the phone and Ive done this post on the PC throgh the HAMB site page and the photos are all working but some of them are a bit arse about/upside down but hopefully everyone gets the gist?
     
  15. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    By this stage I had the car back home in QLD.

    The head Lindsay had supplied was off being hot tanked and crack tested to assess if it would be useable or not. I also took the supplied cam to Tighe Cams to have it put on their "Cam Doctor" machine to asses the profile and while they were at it surface a matching set of lifters. Thankfully both the head and camshaft came back sweet and should be useable for what I want to achieve.

    Billet pushrods, a steel timing gear, sfi rated balancer, billet sfi rated flywheel, clutch kit and new ancillaries were also ordered so I have everything ready to go once it's time to get the bottom end machined and bolted back together.

    The hunt was also on to decide and locate a set of compiling wheels and tyres for the category as the wheels and tyres on it were an old set I had lying around to keep the thing mobile while we moved house to the other side of the city.


    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  16. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    In the end, I decided on a set of early Ford wire wheels. My choice is definitely not the best from an unsprung weight and performance point of view but I think aesthetically the wheels suit this build. Sometimes form rules over function.

    Surprisingly these wheels are pretty easy to track down in oz and after attending a few of the local swaps I picked up a relatively solid pair of 34 Ford wires for the rear and a pair of 35 Ford wires for the front.

    The 34s were cut down to 15" fitted with 5x4.5 centers and widened to 6". The 35s were left stock but I will be changing these to 5x4.5 centers in the not too distant future to suit the Ford Falcon trailer hubs I am running on the front. This means spare wheel bearings, seals etc will be easy to locate at the local parts stores should I ever come to grief instead of having to order in early ford specific parts.


    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  17. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    Antique Tyres supplied some Excelsior 500/525-16s and tubes for the front as well as a pair of Coker L78-15s for the rear. Once again not the best choice from the unsprung weight and performance view but again I chose form over function..

    It was at this stage a bit of a spanner was thrown in the works.[​IMG][​IMG]

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  18. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    I don't remember being thrown in. But, then again, I do forget stuff these days.
     
  19. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    For whatever reason the local tech inspectors from my home tracks governing body had supposedly taken exception to the roll cage compliance on some of these cars. I don't know the full story and don't like being involved in drama so to cover my arse I decided to get one of the tech inspectors around to check over the work on my car that had been done to date.

    In summary he wanted the cage changed from a 4pt cage to a 6pt cage and a few other bits and pieces of 3/4" cro mo tubing put on some gaps around the cage.

    Thankfully Steve and Jeff Danglmaier who race in the class live 10 mins down the road from where I live and kindly volunteered the use of their notcher and a Sunday of their time to cut the old bar work out and convert the cage to a complying 6pt cage.



    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  20. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    After borrowing Jeffs notcher again and getting a few more of the gaps closed up hopefully the cage will get through tech once it has been fully tigged up.

    This brings us pretty much to the present day. I'll keep the updates up while I focus on the cooling, fuel and electrical systems.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  21. Old6rodder
    Joined: Jun 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,546

    Old6rodder
    Member
    from SoCal
    1. HA/GR owners group

    Looks like you have enough cage there for a pulling tractor meet now. :cool:
     
  22. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    Yeah the cage is pretty full on. At least it will be safe I guess? I had to ask the question confirming the inspector knew this is a hambster and not a fuel car.... anyway they are the ones signing the thing off and its all in the name of safety so i just did what I was told... for once..

    Anyway, the cooling system is done bar the fan and water pump wiring.

    The after market radiator had 38mm outlets and all the grey motor stuff is 32mm. Luckily they had plenty of meat in them and after a quick machine i got them down to match while still leaving about 8mm material thickness.



    The alternator conversion is done bar the wiring.

    Hopefully ill have the fuel system done next week once i get some more bundy tube after the first attempt ended up in the scrap metal bin.

    [​IMG][​IMG]

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    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2019
  23. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    Very nice bit of work there. Be careful with whatever coolant you use as some don't like to play nice with alloy radiators. I use the Nulon non-glycol coolant but that's with a normal radiator.
    I'm trying to organise a HAMBster bracket for the Six Bangers in September but haven't heard back from them yet. Will you be there?
     
  24. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    For sure! Ill be spectating at the nostalgias in April but shouldn be too far away from having the car completed after that

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  25. BS!
    Joined: Mar 17, 2010
    Posts: 193

    BS!
    Member

    The fuel system is now done. I dare say once the car is going and all the bugs are sorted this is potentially the first area I will be targeting for upgrades. However, for now its done with what I already had available without having to spend too much money.

    With this in mind ive layed everything out so down the track it will be easy to convert to an electric pump and bigger fuel lines keeping everything in the same location and not having to reinvent the wheel.

    Anyway, the first lot of lines I bent up I was not happy with, the second set i nailed but made the mistake of leaving the last fitting off the flare trying to do the job in a rush.... Third time lucky it was..

    The copper coated bundy tube on the carbs and zinc coated bundy on the rest of the system is already messing with my ocd but for now it will suffice and like I said when the time comes to upgrade ill bend up a complete new set of lines making sure ive got enough material to do the lot.





    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

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  26. Old6rodder
    Joined: Jun 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,546

    Old6rodder
    Member
    from SoCal
    1. HA/GR owners group

    Your really nice work doth continue. :cool:

    Your techs're OK with plastic fuel filters? Ours'd have a cow, we have to run tin ones.

    And is that a glass bowl on the pump? Hell, that'd make our techs rupture a nut. Be fun to watch'em, but we wouldn't get to race that day.

    Also, ours'd more'n likely want at least a catch can on a road draft tube, though they'd prefer we piped it into the headers.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2019
  27. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    I'd hate to say it, but Dick is right. The glass bowl on the fuel will have to go. I used a pump to suit the blue/black six. I've also tried 2 types of electric pump but when I went to the mechanical pump, I picked up half a second over the 1/4.
    The plastic filter is a no-no as well. Ironically, I've had a glass filter on mine for the entire time I've been racing and have never been hassled. Mine has a piece of thick wall plastic tubing over the glass, like a shield.
    The draft tube you might get away with but have a yarn to Steve or Jeff about it. I piped mine into the headers. It looks shitty on start up with the puff of smoke but if it lets me keep racing and not arguing with the officials, I'm happy.
    You do know that you're making mine look like a shitbox. You have more patience and finesse than I'll ever have. Keep up the good work.
     
  28. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    Here's a video from last weekend at Gunnedah. You'll notice the puff of smoke when I give it a bit of stick in the water box. Some is tyre and some is oil fume. Don't panic, after 3 race meetings I haven't had to top up the oil so it's not drawing much. It's only what would normally be in the draft tube.
     
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  29. Old6rodder
    Joined: Jun 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,546

    Old6rodder
    Member
    from SoCal
    1. HA/GR owners group

    "I'd hate to say it, but Dick is right." :eek:
    And you're not even my wife.

    Sorry, just couldn't resist. :rolleyes:
     
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  30. spanners
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 2,074

    spanners
    Member

    Get a poster done and pin it up on the shed wall. Tell your wife I said to.:D
     
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