Bump... I'm back, thanks to considerable help from gpi to get Windows working again.. take a bow.
Ok, hoping we can pick this thread up and get going again....
24th October, '82.. my logbook shows was the date the engine/gearbox assembly was finally fitted into the engine bay.
It was a very difficult fit.. we used a block and tackle from a beam in the garage and with it swinging in the breeze, the angle just could not be made for the assembly to go in... we used blocks of wood on the cross-member to support it and shifted the lift point chain links to gain a better approach angle (sounds like glide slope, doesn't it).
It finally went in and the next issue arose... the motor mount plates simply wouldn't line up properly with the engine mounting rubbers.
At this point in time, I did not know that the two plates were different and that they mounted forward of the mounting blocks on one side, and behind on the other...
It was getting late and we'd all had enough - I fitted the four bolts and left the gearbox supported by a trolley jack for the night... it was "in" - but not right.
Next day, after a jolly good read - I found the plate issue mentioned and lifted the engine again - re-fitting it with the procedure.. it was much better, but still very tight to get the gearbox to centre where it belonged.
At that time, Rares were selling a large rear transmission mount.. it simply bolted through the floor using four large bolts.
It was a welded assembly and made the floor area very robust - it is still in the vehicle today - along with some further strengthening I did much more recently when I revisited the floor hump.
The connections started to take shape.. each little bit of the puzzle coming together - it seemed similar to a plastic kit model... all the previously purchased and prepared parts were added to the basic skeleton and more and more, the boxes of them began to be outnumbered by those in the assembly..
A couple of pix to break this up... scan quality of these two is shocking - but it clearly shows the "red" in and mounted in its own right.
I'm probably jumping ahead a bit by placing these pix here... this was exactly as the re-build had proceeded when the vehicle was road tested for the first time..... there weren't any front seats in it.... we "piled" up blankets to sit on top of the "mound" of the floor.... it certainly was a weird experience... and the noise!... for anyone who has yet to drive one of these old buses without the transmission floor cover in place - you simply won't believe your ears!

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In these pix, we can see that the Davies-Craig thermatic fan has been fitted. We are still running the original type radiator and we are running with a generator and regulator.... all this gets changed later as problem after problem begin to sour the mission.
Before being able to start the motor - the rear axle had to be swapped out and an EH housing fitted, with a 3:55 coarse spline diff centre.
I had issues with finding a tailshaft and eventually came up with the shortest Holden one available - from an LJ Torana auto - eye centres 50 3/16".
Brake lines, cables and modified speedo cable were added. The speedo cable was made to my measured length of 60" - but I now know this to be too short... it would be better at 65"... removing the instrument cluster far enough to unscrew the holding ring on the speedo has been an issue ever since..
On 3rd November, '82 - all connections were completed and the first attempt to start the motor was made...
Oil was added and the motor cranked over a number of times with the plugs removed to prime up the oil galleries - the oil light went out fairly quickly during this cranking.. and then the plugs were re-fitted.
The battery was almost new, the starter motor was in good condition - yet on attempting to start, the motor would "just" turn over... sometimes, the solenoid would drop out and the starter motor would over-run... I could not think of anything I had not done or had not tightened up properly for this to happen.. it was all virtually "new" equipment...
I shuddered to think that coolant had got into the chambers - and pulled the plugs again.. relieved to find that they were dry.
More attempts to start the motor resulted in much the same... it would fire randomly, but not start.
There was fuel in the carby and the timing was set.. I could think of nothing which was causing this.
I decided to pull off the carby and check it.
This carby was obtained quite a few weeks earlier. A "change-over" reconditioned one from Muller and Jacka of Ringwood... I handed them one from a wreckers which was in diabolical state... the "one" they gave back to me was "new looking"... I did not check anything inside it.
When I handed it in, they told me they didn't have any in stock - but would have one brought out from their Preston shop... the following day.
When I started to strip down the carby - I found out why the motor would not start.. they had done "nothing" inside the gunked up and crudded internals of the carby I probably handed them. They had put a new link and arm on the pump.. but I'm almost convinced that they did nothing to clean out the ports or passages within... it was still gunked up.
I took it back to them and they denied not having stripped it.. told me a whole pack of lies about it being in good condition and that my issues would be found elsewhere.. I told them they had not heard the last of this, and on that - was almost accosted to leave the carby with them again... my remarks were that they had their chance once, they were not going to get a second one to prevent liability...
I ended up going to Preston Motors in Nunawading where I had a contact in the spare parts section.. Tracy - she was very sympathetic and offered me a "factory" change-over for the rubbish I took with me to her..... I walked out with a very nicely priced 179 carby...
Fitted it up, primed it with fuel - and turned the key with baited breath... broooom!.. it started.
Ran a bit rough for a little while, but I eventually got the mixture set just on the rich side and put the timing light and dwell meter on the ignition.
All this brought the motor to run quite sweetly - I decided to keep the idle up a bit until the car could be road tested...
It was now "full on" to get the basic gear on so that I could take it out for a drive...
One thing which was puzzling me, was that when I turned off the ignition - the motor would run on for between 10 and 20 seconds... I knew the key was killing the coil.. but the motor ran on until it shuddered itself to a stop... you'll read a little later on what was causing this - and shriek at the cause...
Over the next couple of days, the motor was started a number of times - brought up to operating temperature and stopped.. the thermo fan was cutting in and out and the radiator "seemed" to be coping with the larger engine... it really needed to get out onto the road for some running...
I was still in the process of painting that blasted body deadener onto everything.. and got impatient in the wait.
On 5th November, I grabbed my apprentice and we fitted some blankets onto the floor.... got ourselves comfortable and decided to go out onto the road to the top of the hill and back.
The floor still had its huge hole over the gearbox and it was only the subframe in the above pix which were the front of the car...
By golly, the steering was "light"... all that body work and bumpers missing...
First gear, change to second and for the first time - I was alarmed at the power this motor had... third gear and it still pulled away on light throttle... probably as good as the grey did in second with a fair bit of boot in it.... fourth and it simply "purred"..
Now, to try the brakes... first application - and they almost locked up.. but, there was something "wrong".. the pedal was just off the rest at the top and it was as hard as all heck... a few times, they appeared to "stick" on... I knew I had removed the check valve from the master cylinder - but the way they grabbed and stuck before releasing was of concern...
The booster was that which was "thrown in" with the front end... it was a Girling one.. a long bodied thing with a plate at the rear - I was not happy with the way it was functioning..
It seemed to be getting better with use, but I had marked it for replacement - even at this early stage.
So, we made it safely back home - I was happy, to some extent... there were many in my family who took one look at what I was doing and believed the dear old bus would never see the road again... wrong.
More and more of the parts started to go back on. I had concerns about the thermo fan driving anything into the radiator - so fitted some aluminium flyscreen behind the grille...
In this last pic, as we bring this chapter to a close - we can see one of the many 5 litre drums of 3M body deadener... it would take me decades to get rid of that stuff from everywhere I had plastered it on...

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We will continue next with full re-assembly of the vehicle - and all of the progressive issues which started to arise.
It seemed like a wooden floor of nails that would not stay down.. I'd find some with their heads up and bang them down - only to find more come up in different places - this went on for over 10 years until I was confident that I'd either fixed or replaced what was seemingly an endless mission...
frats,
Rosco