I have restored an EK ute as standard and wish to stay with this at present as I have rebushed front end, new brakes and machined drums etc..
I am looking for info on where to buy grey motor piston and rings +60.
American auto out of stock on all sizes. JP pistons will custom make at $680.00 a set!!
Otherwise maybe someone has an grey engine that is in good condition in NSW.
I am also looking for glass for the front door as someone had fitted a square glass where the rounded one should be.
Windscreen surround and rear upper shock absorber mounts. The one that is welded to the floor.
Thanks
Wayne
$680 per set is actually cheaper than I thought a set of custom pistons would be.There's not much out there now that ACL pistons have gone bum up.There is, or was, a set on Evilbay at around $500 but I think they are standard size and if you already have a well used, or oversize engine then you would have to re-sleeve back to standard ( at extra cost ) to fit STD pistons in again.
there's a thread in the engine section titled rings bearings pistons etc etc there's some info there and i'm sure i read somewhere strogger off here got some not sure what oversize from some shonky spares place like supercheap or something
I have checked out those threads and unfortunately has lead nowhere.
At 60thou over there is apparently a risk of hitting rust when boring the engine out. I put it in to have the engine honed with existing 40thou but the bore is not as good as hoped. Some other options were to resleeve at cost of $800.00 plus pistons.
I can only hope to find a set on ebay or another engine that is already done up. there have been a couple recently which ranged fro $1000.00 to $1800.00. The problem to date is that I have already had the head recoed, $380.00 and new water pump etc. Wish I had gone red from the start. Have rebuilt the original front end with all new bushings, machined drums, new shoes, new wheel cylinders etc. It is a bit of a pain if I have to sell off those items so I can swap to a red motor.
Wayne if your engine is already at 40 thou have you thought of getting another grey with a stock bore and taking to the next oversize?
I know the genuine GMH pistons only go to 40 thou but in the day a 60 thou engine was pretty commonly done.
There are still some stock bore greys around.
Most greys will take a 60 thou overbore unless there has been a core shift when the block was cast, you'd be unlucky if your block was core shifted.You can have the bores sonic tested to see how thick they are and whether they'll take 60 thou.
If you want a red and don't mind it being a small one you can fit a 138 red and 149 red in NSW ( if that's where you are ) without an engineer and any other modifications other than welding new engine mounts to the existing kingpin crossmember and a few other small and easy to do mods.Once done it only has to be "blueslip" inspected.
Your grey, in standard form is 75 hp.A 138 red is 90 hp and a 149 is 100 hp so a grey to red is the cheapest performance upgrade you can get
FB MAD wrote:
Your grey, in standard form is 75 hp.A 138 red is 90 hp and a 149 is 100 hp so a grey to red is the cheapest performance upgrade you can get
Yep, the 138 and 149 red are harder to find now but do come up here and there.They are a good little motor in place of the grey with the benefit of a HP increase and parts are cheaper and more easily obtained.
I have looked into the 138 and 149 reds. Being able to fit 15% above your normal capacity. But guess what I spoke to the guy who issues the blue slips and he says that if moving the engine mounts I will have to get an engineers certificate. I now what your going to say, I am looking for another guy to inspect it.
Therefore if getting an engineers certificate I might as well go larger red and just swap front ends. There are many thing to consider. Even down to the fact that if I go red I can buy chrome sparkly parts and complete electronic ignition cheaper.
At the moment I have one guy out west with a grey for sale but of course he cant tell me the bore size, hence the lottery in buying another grey. I may just go with the custom made pistons yet. But no rush. The upholstery is being done and that could take another month or so. The guys around here just take there time doing that sort of work.
Have a set of rear shock absorber mounts that I have just pulled out of my ute , but am in Tassie , if you cant find any closer ,could look at sending them over to you , just send me a message if you have no luck
If you give me a price on the mounts and estimate on post I will see how we go. There are some available locally but I have to go there to remove them so if you have already done so I may be interested. I could transfer money directly to your account before hand of course.
you can email me at wayne@greenjunction.com.au
Your blue slip inspector is talking rubbish.The 15% capacity increase is catered for under the owner approved modifications and this means that a blue slip inspector can approve this.
I'd be finding another blue slip inspector that knows what he's talking about.
National Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Construction and Modification
Section LA Engines 2.3
"The installation of replacement engine mounting brackets does not require approval under LH approval codes provided that sub frames,chassis mounts or body members are not altered"
New engine mounts for a red are simply welded on to the existing suspension crossmember therefore the structural integrity of this member remains intact and is not altered or diminished in strength by this modification.
If we were to take this blue slip inspectors line of thinking we'd have to have an engineering certificate for every bloody weld ever done on a car.You'd need one to weld up a new exhaust system!!
He's a mechanic, if he's any good he'd be able to tell a good weld from a chookshit one!!
Have one removed the other is still attached to a section of the floor that I have cut out, will take the one and get a price on postage this week and send you an email with cost.
I have restored an EK ute as standard and wish to stay with this at present as I have rebushed front end, new brakes and machined drums etc..
