Project 2.

[Errol62]

That confirms it as a 149 head, from a HD by the date. High octane fuel. If you want to run coolant to the manifold you can run from top thermostat housing where the idiot light or temp gauge sender currently is, or back of the head, passenger side, to the water pump inlet. Just need to drill out spur on pump. Sorry if teaching grandma to suck eggs.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Brett027]

Thanks Clay. Grandpa please!

[Brett027]

Preparation purchases for new ute. M20 aus four speed and bell housing and dust cover, LJ collapsible column complete with rubber flex joint and chrome wooden steering wheel (best $200 I've spent this year).
Now I've got to bite the bullet and get a ball joint disc front end. I know I said I'd never do it Blacky, but #$$% happens.

Any tips/ tricks about hr front ends going onto EKs that I need to know?

Will park the three utes together and post a photo as soon as it stops raining. I've got the caption worked out.

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[ardiesse]

An HR front suspension into an EK is a fairly easy swap.

Remove the crossmember outrigger from a sacrificial king pin front crossmember (grind rivets, drill spot welds).
Remove outrigger from HR front crossmember, but don't punch out the rivets on the top of the crossmember after you've ground the heads off. They're useful as alignment pins.
Line the EK outrigger up on the HR crossmember. Plug-weld where you drilled the spot welds, weld the top rivets to the outrigger, and use two bolts and nuts in the lower position.

Grind or cut through the welds for the engine mount brackets. The brackets will need to have material removed from the bottom corners in order to be repositioned. The best way to line them up is with the new crossmember in place, and a dummy block-gearbox combo with engine mount brackets attached.

I used all HR crossmember bolts, spacers, washers and rubbers in the EK. And I used the EK steering linkages with HR steering arms. I found that the HR linkages bound near full lock, and came perilously close to the (EH) sump at straight-ahead.

Rob

[Errol62]

As above excepting used HR drag link and inner tie rod ends. Yes, clearence to sump can be an issue. Resolved by correct engine mount set up. The ute is running HD drag link with red motor and no issues. Plenty of clearance on lock.

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[Harv]

Think through how the collapsible column is going to work before fitting the balljoint front end.

The column could be mounted to the original recirculating ball steering box, which in turn will connect nicely to the HR front end using the parts mentioned above. The steering box often needs a uni joint between column and box (as per Alien Retro columns). This needs steering box input shaft machining, but does not affect the front end.

If the certifying engineer is not happy with the box/uni/LJ column, they may force you into a rack setup (front or rear mount). This needs a lot more front end surgery to be done before the front end goes in.

Cheers,
Harv

[FireKraka]

Agree with all the above but with my 2 cents.
You can buy new HR crossmember engine mounts from eBay or contact Pete Mallaby on the FE FC forum, I flattened one out years ago and sent him the drawings to make some for me and he now makes and sells them.
With regards to racks I've banged on about my preference before, I've done 2 rear mount racks and the are a pretty easy fit up, with your skills you would not have a problem however I haven't seen one with a red motor setup you would probably have to modify a sump.
Neil

[Brett027]

Many thanks for the info Rob, Clay, Harv and Neil. Got plenty of time to resolve this, but it's useful to know what's ahead so I can grab any bargains in the meantime. I have found 2 local engineers, one of whom has a reputation for being helpful so will have a chat with him to get his thoughts before going further. I wasn't sure about rack and pinion option, guess it depends on engineer response. I imagine it will be hard to get a torrie R&P now for little money. Is there anything I need to know about hubs and disc brake types?

For now I'm back to work on Wilma; door fitment underway and once the rain and humidity stops, final body and paint work.

[gpi]

http://hoppers.com.au/hopstop/2019/12/1 ... ur-holden/

[Errol62]

Yeah that is a great reference. I’ve always found the HR discs more than adequate but getting dear and hard to get. So many options now days.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Brett027]

Thanks Patrick. That's an interesting read.

[FireKraka]

Brett I've used both HZ/WB girlock aluminium calipers and stub axles, you get a one inch drop also used VP/VR commodore and then gone to drop spindles on both my cars.
Neil

[Blacky]

You are pretty limited if you want to retain 13" wheels, the best setup is 4 cylinder VB-VC Commodore rotors and calipers but finding them these days is getting bloody difficult.

[Errol62]

Hoppers do say in the article they have a solution for vented discs with 4.24” PCD 13” rims, either on HR or HK-WB stubs, using HQ calipers.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[Blacky]

http://hoppers.com.au/hopstop/2019/12/1 ... ur-holden/

Cheers Patrick , I reckon I will make this a sticky in the Brakes section