Rosco's EK 225 manual

[rosco]

Clay, during the first year of having my license, my office colleague suggested I fit "Koni" adjustable shocks to both the front and rear.. which I did.
they were expensive then, but they were an investment... I spent ages setting them up for my particular driving style.
I am very proud to state - they are still in the vehicle - an amazing shock... I have them "tweaked" as you call to my liking. Further, I have "road hug" over-riders on the rear as well.... I fitted them when I started towing.. they are firm - but very well balanced. Together with the Koni's - the rear is probably as good as I'll get it without going to the effort of fitting a rear sway bar... and now, with the larger Dragways - that extra bit of spring tension has all but removed any guard scrape - even in the deepest undulations... the front is stock HD ball joint.. but, I am looking for a pair of HR lower control arms... they are 1/4" longer than the HD.. I was not aware of this, but Roger H of "holdenrestoman" advised me such when he came to "twig" my newly reconditioned steering box....

frats,
Rosco

[In the Shed]

Great read Rosco,

I love the rego certificate, no doubt you selected option A stating you only used the car for social or domestic or pleasure!

Regards
Stephen

[rosco]

Hi Stephen,
hope it's not over the top... I type fast, sometimes don't know how much I've amassed.
Yes, it's always been rego "A".. I have done quite a few weddings with the dear old thing.. but never asked for a fee..... highly illegal, you understand?

frats,
Rosco

[rosco]

Ok folk,
just a short one for tonight... as mentioned, I have precious few pix of the dear old bus between age 18 and 21...
The one below was taken in 1976 at Bacchus Marsh Safari Park... you don't get to see this often over the dash of your car - well, not in Oz anyway...

lion park mail.jpg (223.79 KiB) Viewed 397 times

Then we leap into 1977..... the car clocked over its first 100,000 miles between the Vic/SA border and Renmark on January 13th, 1977... I stopped at 99,999.9 and fired off a pic, then just as the new 00,000.0 started to roll up - we were towing a small, heavy masonite van at the time on tour from Echuca to Renmark, the Barossa and down to Adelaide and home via Mt. Gambier and Geelong...

These are the pix of the Odo...

99,999.9 odo mail.jpg (218 KiB) Viewed 397 times

00,000.0 odo mail.jpg (248.57 KiB) Viewed 397 times

And our caravan on site at the West Beach CP in Adelaide.

West Beach Jan 77 mail.jpg (196.94 KiB) Viewed 397 times

West Beach 2 mail.jpg (276.44 KiB) Viewed 396 times

Ok, that was much better - almost more pix than words...


until next..

frats,
Rosco

[greenwagon62]

Great story

[rosco]

Ok - I lied.... flicking through the folders and albums... I found two more.
Just preceding the above post...
These two were taken in 1975 - I'm now fully entrenched into shift work and the dear old car is suffering. It is getting heavily caked in brake dust iron and it is almost impossible to keep diesel oil off it... I wash it regularly, but rarely have the time to polish it - which may have been a good thing, I'd have ended up rubbing it all away much sooner than I did....

Here we are, at my home in Donvale.. by the look of the sun and shadow - this is summer of 1975.
You can see that I have now fitted a "megaphone" exhaust tip and that was still running with the aftermarket sports style wheel trims.. these were replaced shortly after with 13" Torana trims - which came from my cousin's LJ 202.. when he fitted alloys. Sadly, the vented wheels would not fit the EK.

Also note, I have not removed the original wiper arms yet.. they are still fitted here with the "pressure wings" on them (waste of time) - but looked "cool"...

Ok - pix... 1975, 2 years earlier than the pix above in the previous post...

75.3 mail.jpg (347.83 KiB) Viewed 393 times

75.2 mail.jpg (275.35 KiB) Viewed 393 times

frats,
Rosco

[rosco]

Ok, first one for today..... there is just so much to add to this thread that I may never finish it.
I'm currently scanning printed pix and slides - trying to find the photographic history of the vehicle... I know I have many, but finding them in the 1,000's of slides is a daunting challenge...

Here we are in Jan 1977... coming down and heading towards Mt. Gambier.
We parked the car and van near this tree and took our fishing rods out onto the pier... caught two fish and brought them back for lunch - the rear of the little van opened up to reveal a small kitchen with a two burner portable cooktop.... fish was delightful - so fresh... it was swimming just minutes before we ate it...

For my SA readers - this pic might bring some glee to you.

Pic is of the pier at Kingston, S E in South Oz...

Kingston SE 1977 mail.jpg (291.41 KiB) Viewed 378 times

frats,
Rosco

[Errol62]

Keep it coming rosco. You caught two fish off the Kingston jetty!? Should have bought a lottery ticket that day mate.

Sent from my SM-A705YN using Tapatalk

[rosco]

From memory, they were butterfish...
Can't ask the person I was with - no longer around... first fish she had caught in her life.

frats,
Rosco

[Errol62]

I know you don't mind a bit if digression so I'll tell you that the fish and chip shop in Kingston is renowned and has won numerous awards. The best they sell though is their Coorong Mullet. My opinion.
Cheers
Clay

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[EK283]

Hi Rosco,

Funny thing my EK is the only car I've owned that I have seen the odometer clock over. I reckon I did more traveling in the old girl than all my cars put together !!

Just can't let it go.

Greg

[rosco]

Not at all, Clay - digress all you like... I do far too much of it on other peoples' threads...

Hot of the press.. "wunna me spize" sent me a pic of the Kingston jetty and car park taken only minutes ago ... that tree has grown... I'd post the pic here, but I'm too stupid to know how to connect my phone to this laptop... tried bluetooth, hard cable... they simply don't talk to each other, well - they do, because I used to be able to do it.... "oltimer's" creeping in like a flood tide, I'm afraid...

Greg, I've seen the numbers go over twice in this speedo now.. hoping to see it go the third time before I can no longer drive...
Other classic car (77 Corona - and no, before anyone jumps on and asks me to put a mask on - it has never been to China) has just hit 400,000... might not see that one reach it.

frats,
Rosco

[igor]

Stayed under that tree last Thursday ($10/48 hrs "free camp") on the way to Victor Harbor (swap meet) .
Have returned today on the way home but staying at the other end of the camp.
A favourite stop over of ours
R&L

[rosco]

Thanks R&L - nice to know it's still there... didn't carve our initials in it, but might have left some fish bones laying around - did you see them?

frats,
Rosco

[rosco]

Ok another couple of pix to keep this rolling.
You are all relatively safe until I hit 1983..... pix will start flowing in close succession after that... and, when we hit digital - look out, I intend to post up just about every project that I have done since I began digital..

Ok for this one, we kick back to 1975.... I have precious few pix from both '75 and '76.
I wanted to get a pic of the old bus in front of a locomotive.. and found S 313 on the turntable idling away. I created this "lookalike" collision without any fear of it actually occurring.. it was early evening in October of '75 and I stole the opportunity.
The curves of the locomotive "bulldog" nose extenuate those of the bonnet on the EK..
Sadly, poor old 313 no longer exists... 4 years the EK's senior, she was hacked up with the "gas axe" and sold for scrap many years back. Pity, because I really liked driving these old dinosaurs... I'm happy to state - the EK will never suffer the same fate...
I used this pic as my avatar on this forum for many years...

Pic..

S 313 EK 1975mail.jpg (202.14 KiB) Viewed 329 times

We are now going to jump forward again to Adelaide's West Beach in Jan of 1977.
This is a close up of the original front wheel with a Torana trim and nuts, plus an aftermarket "chrome dome" - the Torrie dome would not fit over the longer hub with cap of the EK.
I used a "cross-screen" filter on my Canon SLR for this.. evidenced in the rear pic previously of the van and car at the same location.
Today, we can use digital filters to create this effect.... but back then, in the days of "end of film" and manual F stops... we had to do our "work" with the camera....

1977 West Beach 3 mail.jpg (202.89 KiB) Viewed 329 times

Ok, that's it for today.... next installment tomorrow..

frats,
Rosco