Leroy the EK Ute

[FbSTDwagon]

Bloody good read J!

Hey how have the Hastings rings held up on the 40thou pistons?

It may be a good option for me in the near future.

[thebrotherj]

Hello Drew!

Well this is pretty funny. I actually just logged in to ask the brains trust for some advice (I haven't been on here for a while!) and there's my thread at the top of the index. Thanks for reading.

Can confirm that I've put some 5000 miles on this motor without so much as a hiccup. It's not using any oil at all between oil changes, starts and idles fantastic in all weather, the plugs are all a lovely colour and it has perfect compression. The engine is only just bed-in, to be honest, and it absolutely sings.

Just last weekend, Leroy chased two good mates on their 1954 & 1965 Triumphs out to the Vintage Motorcross Expo at Dargle in 30+ degree heat. Happy as a clam

[thebrotherj]

Evidence of life - an update pic for anyone wondering what me and the Ute have been up to lately


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[Errol62]

Good to see it being used Joe. Colour is a standout in that photo mate.
Cheers
Clay

FB ute driver, EK van project

[FbSTDwagon]

Can confirm that I've put some 5000 miles on this motor without so much as a hiccup. It's not using any oil at all between oil changes, starts and idles fantastic in all weather, the plugs are all a lovely colour and it has perfect compression. The engine is only just bed-in, to be honest, and it absolutely sings.

Awsome mate.

I have 2 donks that are 40 though over with no lips on the bores, I think they will be ok for a ring job.
Both motors have Repco piston (I think) and I have been told by the guys at JP that I just cant fit any brand of rings to any brand of piston and that they need to match.

You obviously have had no issues and I guess you also had Repco pistons in yours as well?
Did you do any measurements to confirm the piston to bore clearance? Can you remember what size the bore was after the hone?

I’m about to strip and do some measuring on mine to see exactly what’s inside.

[In the Shed]

G'day Joe,
Good to see you have the ute out and about. These Utes come in handy for hauling bikes!

Are the two Trumpys built up specials or originals (54 pre unit) and the later one unit construction? Got any pics? What is the bike in the back of your ute, looks like a Yamaha 250 tank?

Hope your arm gets back to full swing soon.

Regards
Stephen

[thebrotherj]

Good to see it being used Joe. Colour is a standout in that photo mate.
Cheers
Clay

thanks mate. Yep, that XB Falcon GT blue really does jump out on an overcast day. And there's a few of them lined up here in Sydney this week let me tell ya!

[thebrotherj]

Can confirm that I've put some 5000 miles on this motor without so much as a hiccup. It's not using any oil at all between oil changes, starts and idles fantastic in all weather, the plugs are all a lovely colour and it has perfect compression. The engine is only just bed-in, to be honest, and it absolutely sings.

I have 2 donks that are 40 though over with no lips on the bores, I think they will be ok for a ring job.
Both motors have Repco piston (I think) and I have been told by the guys at JP that I just cant fit any brand of rings to any brand of piston and that they need to match.

You obviously have had no issues and I guess you also had Repco pistons in yours as well?
Did you do any measurements to confirm the piston to bore clearance? Can you remember what size the bore was after the hone?

I’m about to strip and do some measuring on mine to see exactly what’s inside.

From memory, yes they were Repco pistons and other than a tiny bit of scuffing on the hot cylinders (the ones that don't get the best water circulation with the unmodified head and head gasket it ran previously), the pistons looked and measured up fine as 40 thou over. I cleaned ring lands with the sharp leading edge of a snapped-off old piston ring and the Hastings rings sat in perfectly, closed up happily. I checked every single top and middle ring gap and all were in the middle of the spec range, or thereabouts. Installation of the pistons went smoothly even with my shitty old ring compressor tool.

I think I measured the bores, I don't recall, but I didn't overthink it once the ring gaps (taken at a few places down the bore) came back within spec in every cylinder. It went together well and compression tests since are almost identical to the good numbers this motor returned before it got torn down. Blow by out the walking stick seems pretty good, it gets a wipe at each oil change but no signs of excessive oil there.

Just make sure you ain't got any signs of pinholes in the blocks you have, core shift at the time of casting and old age is making some blocks a lil thin in the walls these days!

Post up your build when you get it underway. Always interesting to see these things go together

[thebrotherj]

G'day Joe,
Good to see you have the ute out and about. These Utes come in handy for hauling bikes!

Are the two Trumpys built up specials or originals (54 pre unit) and the later one unit construction? Got any pics? What is the bike in the back of your ute, looks like a Yamaha 250 tank?

Hope your arm gets back to full swing soon.

Regards
Stephen

Oh awesome, you too eh?!
Yeah I do wish the EK tray was a bit longer... Police take a very dim view of the tailgate being down here in Sydney. It’s all about speed cameras not seeing the number plate (read: revenue raising)

That bike is just an old DT250 that I’m learning speedway on, owes me next to nothing. Hollowed out pipe & carb/jetting swap is all I’ve done performance wise, but that’s providing plenty of poke for this novice!

The 65 Triumph pictured is a Trackmaster. 650 turned into 760 with Morgo barrels and 10:1 comp I think. Very fun bike and gets ridden hard!

The other is a very superbly customised pre-unit 54 model, first with the swing arm. Set up for flat tracking, desert sled style bike also. I don’t have a pic but it belongs to the famous (in Trumpy land) Von Daz.

Vintage bikes require a level of fettling and repairs-on-the-run that I’ve not experienced before! Especially the British. I’m sticking to Japanese makes for now haha




Cheers
Joe


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[In the Shed]

Nice Joe,

Love that Trumpy, would sound nice being stretched out with bigger barrels! Your 250 will still provide plenty of fun & smiles on a low budget. The early jap bikes are also quite collectable now so your DT could well be sought after!

I love the British stuff c1930 - c1950’s.

Regards
Stephen

[thebrotherj]

Well, the Taxman has caught up with me somewhat this year, which means Leroy (on Historic rego) is gonna get a bit more use over the coming month or three, while I scrape together the beans to register my daily driver. I’m not a bit mad about that to be honest

The LH window stopped working as per the separation that has occurred in the picture attached here.

Rather than a piece of wood jammed in there to keep the window shut, I’m gonna try re-attach the lower regulator channel to the bottom of the window. Previously spot welded by the looks but it’s all rusty on those mating surfaces now.

Anyone have any nifty tips for how I might go about this? Dodgy suggestions welcomed - I’m not planning on removing the glass if I can help it!



Cheers, Joe D


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[Errol62]

Maybe grind clean surfaces on the back and use panel adhesive to glue on a 1.2mm sheet rectangle. You might even get away with lightly tacking the sides of the sheet with mig.

But if it were me I would separate and repair properly, or pull one off a common old sedan window, or just fold up a new one.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Blacky]

Pull the glass out and weld the bastard on , keep the glass covered so you don't end up with welding spatter on it , cover it with a wet rag to keep the heat down

[EK283]

Or you could find another window ?

That chev motor up for sale yet Joe ???

Greg

[ardiesse]

Joe,

What Blacky said.

Cover the glass in a wet towel, and I'd say put a couple of G-clamps in place near the weld site to act as heatsinks. Get another wet rag. Tack, quench immediately. Repeat as often as needed.

Rob