harvs ek 327 wagon

[FireKraka]

Hey Harv;
Why the crap turning circle are you running a front mounted rack??
Neil

[Harv]

Front mounted UC Torana rack on a CRS-modified HR front end. 600000 turns lock-to-lock, and really bad turning circle. Some of the small suburban roundabouts (the ones with no curbing, just an asphalt hump) I cannot u-turn on without making a 3-point turn .

Cheers,
Harv

[Brett027]

Hey Harv, on the positive, 600,000 turns will be doing your upper-body strength no end of good.

[Harv]

Hey Harv, on the positive, 600,000 turns will be doing your upper-body strength no end of good.

Armstrong power steering

Cheers,
Harv

[EK283]

Yes,

After much deliberation I went with the UC Torana crossmember, but that's a lot of work. My madness for choosing this is because,

The CSR modified HR fronts with front mount racks were known to have the turning circle issue.

The rear mount racks were better but the clearance of a chev sump was an issue I wanted to avoid.

The new type of fabricated fronts were coming out at the time with no sway bar mounts but plenty of room for exhaust etc. I was also concerned about the availability of parts should things wear out or are damaged. Also very expensive upfront. (saying that the word expensive comes with a car resto anyway !)

There are also 3 or 4 manufactures of these types of front ends all with different styling and options, head space killer !!!!

It seems like the custom fronts are now a bit more popular so those issues may have been sorted.

My dream front end would be Torana based power steer with the deletion of the rear facing outriggers to make room for the exhaust etc. MMMM Maybe a retirement plan ???

Greg

[BILLY BLACKARROW]

Hi Harv
I see you are running twin fans do they run at the same time or do they cut in at different temps I am not sure how to wire mine up have you had any heating problems now that your on the road

[Harv]

G'day Billy,

They are a pair of Davies Craig DCSL 10 units (part number 0045), driven by one of their thermal switches and relays. I went for this size because there is no room on the engine side, and these require only moderate butchery of the bonnet catch. I had the Davies Craig thermal sensor that squeezes under the top radiator hose, but it had a real tendency to leak. Swapped it out for a screw-in type, and used a fitting that goes in the radiator hose (like a hose joiner). They both come on at the same time, with the sensor having an adjustment knob.

So far so good on the heating. Will have to see what it is like in summer though - aiming to tow all the camping gear up to Harrington with it this Christmas.

Cheers,
Harv

[BILLY BLACKARROW]

Harv
I have 2 x 12" a bit more modification to bonnet catch but I am happy with that part. Would it be possible to get a photo of the set up I googled the sensor but haven't fond anything as yet, I intend to run my fans to come on together at this stage but the internet is confusing as some say to run them at different temp setting and others don't, My best bet is to ask someone with simpler setup .
When you are going or coming from Harrington you are welcome to call in just 20 minutes off the express way I can make you a coffee or a beer and you can have a look at my creation I will PM you my address if interested
Thanks for your help

[Harv]

No need for a two-step controller.... too difficult. A simple thermoswitch with both on, or both off, is all you need.

Photo below shows the two fans in place, and the bonnet catch mildly butchered:

Twin Davies Craig DCSL10 fans.jpg (142.92 KiB) Viewed 729 times

The next photo shows the controller arrangement. There is a simple 12V relay over near the fan that the controller drives.

Davies Craig 0404 controller.jpg (145.33 KiB) Viewed 729 times

The controller is a Davies Craig 0404: https://daviescraig.com.au/product/mech ... v-24v-0404
It comes with a temperature probe, and a little rubber sleeve that lets you sneak it under the radiator hose clamp:

rubber sleeve.jpg (6.99 KiB) Viewed 729 times

That rubber sleeve taught me many new swear words. No matter what I did, I could not get the damn thing to seal. In the end, I stumbled across the 0409 adaptor kit that prevents the need for the sleeve: https://daviescraig.com.au/product/temp ... r-kit-0409

Wiring is pretty simple, and there is a half decent wiring diagram that comes with the controller. If you are a moron like me, you wire them up backwards so they suck air from the engine bay through the radiator. When you go for a drive, the fans fight the incoming natural draft, and the engine boils over. Swap the wires over so they blow instead of suck and the problem goes away. Don't ask me how I know .

Thanks for the invite, will give you a yell closer to Christmas.

Cheers,
Harv

[BILLY BLACKARROW]

Thanks Harv as always you come through photo's are very helpful

[Mick]

Front mounted UC Torana rack on a CRS-modified HR front end. 600000 turns lock-to-lock, and really bad turning circle. Some of the small suburban roundabouts (the ones with no curbing, just an asphalt hump) I cannot u-turn on without making a 3-point turn .

Cheers,
Harv

it's funny lots of people complain about the hadfield fronts i had an FC with one it wasn't great but wasn't something (no issues with going round roundabouts) i'de complain about (not saying you are complaining) also had a HR van with one and it was great, i currently have a rear mounted commodore rack and i'de take a hadfield front mount rack over it any day BUT far far better than having a steering box

[FireKraka]

Hey Harv don't want to steal your thread but Mick where did you get the rear rack from I have used 2 of them one in my FC Sedan and one in the EK Ute and both are great turning circle etc.
Neil

[Mick]

Hey Harv don't want to steal your thread but Mick where did you get the rear rack from I have used 2 of them one in my FC Sedan and one in the EK Ute and both are great turning circle etc.
Neil

dunno bought a partially wrecked out FB and it was in it, i can only just do a U turn in the culdesack at the end of my street the steering ratio is out of whack say to turn a corner that would normally take a quarter turn this needs a half turn or more (curves are ok) the one good thing about it is unlike most rear racks this clears the sump (red 6) and the oil pump with a large filter

[Harv]

the steering ratio is out of whack say to turn a corner that would normally take a quarter turn this needs a half turn or more (curves are ok)

The CRS front-mount racks (like my wagon) do this too. The first couple of drives are unnerving... you get half way around a corner before you realise that you need to turn a bit more. You get used to it after a while.

Could be worse, I managed to take a wrong turn yesterday picking up the motor from Joe in the inner city. Narrow streets, dark, the poor turning circle on the wagon and a trailer didn't stack up well. Had to make a 300-point u-turn without hitting anything (came close to the UberEats rider, though a loud, wedged-in wagon made him pause for thought ).

Cheers,
Harv

[sgo]

I would have thought that shorter steering arms would reduce your turns lock to lock and the responsiveness?
Perhaps experiment with them, early torana are short?