Rare and Exotic EK ute build.

[ben]

Nice ute and nicely detailed thread ....keep the pics coming

[wot179]

Chucked in some new rear shocks yesterday.

Not real exciting, but they are in.

I reckon they are a nice looking shock, too, for what that's worth.





It got front ones too, but just some good 2nd hand Monroe gas shocks that I had laying around.

[wot179]

Some pics of the floor.











Restorers should avert their eyes now.

I was planning to use a HR tunnel that I had laying about, but after messing about trimming it up for an hour or so, it all got too hard so I gave up and decided to go with the Waddington unit that Mick supplied with the car.



The first cut is the deepest....BABY YOU KNOW the first cut is the deepest....



Just a rough cut at the moment.

I had to tap the floor around a bit at the rear to allow the new tunnel to sit right down, but otherwise it looks like its gunna fit real nice.






The drivers side is folded a little too far, so it needs knocking down a bit.



And I have an old welsh plug access hole to fill as well.



The stiffener across the floor was packed solid with dirt. It created quite a duststorm when the 5 inch went through it.

.

I might get a pot and grow something in the dirt.

That's as far as I got today.

[Devilrod]

With the waddington tunnel if you prune a bit off the back it will fit a lot better. We cut 5mm off the front and maybe 15mm off the back. Can't quite remember exactly as we did do mine 9 years ago, but they are a good fit with some careful pruning.

[wot179]

I thought I would finish trimming the floor up today, and gave it the once over with a wire wheel as well.


Cleco'd the tunnel in position, and marked around it.


Took the tunnel back out, and marked another line freehand about 15mm inside the original mark.


Zip-zip and its done.


You can see the floor has been brushed up in the last shot.


Before I started cutting, I thought I would take the doortrims off as well to stop them getting damaged any more with all the grinding and welding.




They are a bit wobbly...



Ive cleaned them and given them a good spray with water, sat them on a glass top table face down and loaded them up with weight( magazines and milkcrates full of vinyl albums)

to try and flatten them out a bit.

Im trying to avoid replacing them if I can.

Time will tell if I get away with it or not.

The passengers side door has had a broken window in its past, and all the broken glass was still inside it, including the runner,
so I took the opportunity to vacume and then hose all the accumulated muck out of it.I did both doors.

Heres the runner...must have made a racket banging around in there.


I yanked off the front sheetmetal while I was at it so I could give it all a wirewheel and a coat of KBS.


Engine bay.




Windscreen corners and top of subframe are really clean.




I also have this rust repair to do.



I have a repair section to do it, and I got halfway through trimming it up when the old Makita shit a gearbox.

That's 2 dead grinders on the ute now...Better buy a decent one next time. A Bosche Im thinking.

The Ryobi let all the smoke out.

I reckon its the wire cups that beat them up the most.

They have both copped a hiding over a few years so I cant complain.

Stay tuned, swingers.

[parisian62]

Should be ready for Cowra at the rate?

Go the Bosch...mine is still going strong after the 7 year rebuild.

Stewart

[Mick]

ozito 30 odd bucks 12 month replacement waranty i give mine a hiding last one lasted 2 years

[Devilrod]

ozito 30 odd bucks 12 month replacement waranty i give mine a hiding last one lasted 2 years

Mines still going, albeit a little on the noisy side. I bought hoping it would last for the rebuild of the EK. Ten years and still going ain't too shabby.

[wot179]

Just lashed out on a 1400watt Bosch....its in the post.

[Mick Jagger]

looks like a nice rust free yoot,those tunnels are great ,what did u do with the ends of the thing full of dirt?
I welded caps on mine but if youre gonna grow stuff in there best be leaving them open and a water once a week.
with the door trims ,cant you just make a copy of the original board on some Masonite peel off the old covers and glue them on to the freshies?
$40 tops glue and board

[wot179]

Im planning to roll up a channel to weld up under the tunnel as a stiffener and it will continue down to cap off the ends.

I hosed the dirt out when I hosed out the doors.

I'll figure out the doortrims later...I may end up going with your suggestion.

[Mick Jagger]

are you gonna put hr tail lights in the rear to make it look modern

[STATION SEDAN]

Re grinders, have been doing this kind of work for years. get yourself two or three cheaper grinders, put a cut off wheel on one,
a grinding wheel or what ever you want on the another. having more than one saves time, IE not having to change discs etc all the time,
and when you change from one grinder to the other they get a chance to cool down which improves there life. you are also not always looking for the spanner to change discs!
Just my two cents worth.

keep up the good work.

[wot179]

I haven't used a spanner on a grinder for 20 years.

Do em up by hand and zipzipzip!

They come off just as easy.

But yes, I usually have 2 grinders set up. Its bloody handy.

[Sputzwagon]

But yes, I usually have 2 grinders set up. Its bloody handy.

I too use two grinders.. it takes away all the changing of cutting discs & grinding discs every time you need to swap.
Great job by the way Craig.

Scotty..