teza40

Back at work now,which slows progress on ke38 down,too old for physical hard slogg these days it seems... Whilst the success of sorting out this tailgate delema alludes me still (hinges are really past it me thinks) and I'm certian i will need longer gas lift struts than what i have (just seem to be butcherin my good work :(). I have still been plugging away with small successe`s, hole welded up in replacement rear exhaust pipe/muffler - wiper blades n arms fitted- found the little plastic support for the airiel on the pillar n fitted :),along with the front door cards now made and ready to cover in black panne velvet.... Still a host of little annoying things to redo and do....... Enjoy the pic Teza40

Well good thing it wasnt a nice day in brisvegas today!!!!!!!!!11 Just pretty much wasted the day in trying to sort out the use of gas struts on the tailgate,i had a pair (one is now buggered,leaked it`s insides) of short reach gas struts from a diahatsu appluase we wrecked out years ago. The first attempt was a fail due to the fact they don't have the required reach to take the tailgate high enough.the second way/attempt is not a total fail but isnt with it`s problems either,i made a 3mm thick (approx) bracket from steel plate. has a 90 degree bend whic attached with holes drilled to the rubber bump stop for tailgate (on inside near the hinge),to this i attached the end of strut with plate/bracket with two holes (originally bolted to the rain drain channel of the appluase).The ball/pivot end was attached to the inside of tailgate panel,the screw thread bolted into a threaded plate which i made and ground a slot in the side of tailgate frame to insert it. That in itself is fairly solid set up and works to a point..the bracket bolted to the rubber bump stop seems to need to move (pivot) as the tailgate is closing.It falls short of closing fully without an extra push that shouldnt be required...possibly a longe gas strut is required and possibly a different attached position........ So pretty much at times a frustrating waste of time along with using the grey matter to try n nut this out...lol... ahhh well......the fun of doing something that the system was never meant for...

Sleepcorty.... What length are your gas struts in both extended and closed position? What particular vehicle have they come from? and does that set up work without problems ? Any assistance appreciated.....in the process of this conversion now! Cheers Teza40

Thankyou guys :) I did this conversion to the grille to make it similar to the late 60`s camaro (1967). Although i really like it and think it is such a cool custom trick,i had always worried about Qld law (police) taking a DISLIKE to it and causing greif!!!!!!!!!! As they could argue it affects the headlights full function of shinning light onto the road effectively,which isnt the case! We all know how the police are towards P platers wether red or green,they are unfortunately targeted more frequently for random Liecence and breatho test`s etc... So with that in mind,the only reason`s the headlight grilles are coming off.... 1, go through safety certificate for registration 2, lessen the likely hood of Emma being pinged for them.. don't worry they are easy to remove and refit at anytime....two screws on one side and zip ties the other :) :) I made use of a stuffed ke38 update grill...didnt hack a good one...... Cheers Terry

Well was pretty much a no go working on ke38 on friday...and Australia day was a lazy one spent some quality time with my other half (Karen)... Did manage to get the back seat cover (cut n shut/sew it to fit nice) all done and seat fitted friday,wheel hump will be covered i hope with carpet - Messed about more with pesky rego light lamps,after much stuffing about! Turns out it was a bad globe from what i can figure... :hmm: Saturday morning seen me take a drive in the rain to corollandy`s place for the muffler/pipe and some other bits. Saturday evening seen me not able to stay away from under the house,found and fitted the bonnet and fender chrome on the front.Grill cleaned up and temporarily fitted for the pics..still going to take the headlight grilles off that i made many moons ago.. just so Emma don't have attention drawn to herself.. Ahhh the bonnet..yes number one botched attempt at something a bit fancy...to be continued.. Enjoy pics

Sounds good :).....................Tho wait for this bad weather to bugger off, aint no good for painting metallics out of a booth.. that is for sure!!!!!! Lookin forward to some progress pics..

Hi ya, Thankyou and yes,tailight made it to me in PERFECT condition, love new old stock parts :)...is wayyyyyy to good to leave on the car with emma driving it i feel.So she was told it goes on for the safety certificate..then comes off as a spare...the old one goes back on.. Got me looking for a n.o.s left one now lol... Cheers Terry

Well the rain is here...ke38 is a bit of a leaker....in many places as i found out today when left it in the rain doing stuff on it!!! Not able to seal the plennum chamber up properly for one....and leaking at the rear-tailgate area,fix for that so far some white seal in the rain trap area and will need to seal up the tailgate rubber/glass....also some work required with sealing side window rubbers.... Nothing like heavy Qld rain to show you where the leaks are lol... Jelly bean mags n good tires back on (riding higher than a 70`s porno star - front brake hoses replaced and brakes bled-rear inner wheels arches cleaned and sprayed black by emma today. Front seats with seat covers fitted back in (girls car now) along with the rear lower seat fitted with modifies matching style seat cover........and the rear rego plate lights working,tho one side is dodgy (bad earth)... Enjoy pics

Yes it sure does......Thankyou Dougy...getting there mate :)

Give it a go...........112cm wide material is just wide enough to use and tuck in under pinchwelt....the seams for the support rods are folded and stitched in the one length of material as per factory. Not seperate pieces stitched together, need around a 5cm fold approx....then make sleeves for the rods..4cm cut and doubled over then stitched to the seams... Be sure to measure from seam to seam fairly spot on.......i purchased 3.5 mtr length of material...it was more than enough in length... Good luck...i sure suprised myself on this lil job :) Terry

Ok for thos eagerly awaiting the result of the roof head linning.......TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !! My first ever in my time of playing with cars,roof linning sewn and fitted.Without too many problems which is a nice change ..... lol.. As you may have seen...no i didnt remove the front screen,the material is tucked into between the rubber and metal for now and lets face it is held by the rear view mirror and sun visors.... Unfortunately i don't think it will make it to roadie status by the end of this week..lose a day on it wednesday and so many little things still left to do.Emma just told me she finally got her red P`s..3rd time lucky i guess....lol..and has a vp commodore on loan to use to get too traineeship next week. So i think why rush it at the end........one more week before rego and handover wont matter that much... Also a huge thankyou to all the viewers and compliments on this build by you the rollaclub members :) Cheers Terry

Thankyou....enjoy the next instalment of pics :)

As mentioned....roof head linning in progress this afternoon/evening....yes i can use a sewing machine too......lol.. Trail fit to see for sure if wide enough left to right to sit in lip-pinchwelt...so far so good,seems to have enough give for the roof bows.. will find out tomorow when i fit it :) enjoy pics Terry

Ok start of week two off of work and working on this ke38, time for some interior happenings. Long time ago i did the cargo rear seat panels and some other stuff to this van,well a tip to those in the future of redoing their door cards etc....MDF is not so good after a few years.. So this time the panel cards are made from 3mm ply....cut and shape fitted better than last effort and now being covered in black panne velvet..havent put any foam on the panels at the rear,tho i may do for the door panels.. Also on the go is a new roof headlinning in dark grey cotton,when i get behind the sewing machine that is and stitch it up to the original ones places for the hood bows etc.... Enjoy the pics... Foot note....another 2 litres of wild violet to be sprayed on the car after it is roadie passed and rego`d....i see light patches n passes in the panels...not happy with that at all.....lol

Hey Riley, Well young fella (?)....it`s a pleasure to read that you have had help from your Dad and have learnt so much along the way,only way to learn is to dive right in there with guidence along the way and DO IT! Sure not everything goes to plan or turns out right (i have had some shocker times over the years of playing with cars),i learnt by getting under-over and around the car (S) being worked on by my dad in the 70`s as a young boy...... auto trans fluid in the hair and greasey hands by the age of 10 lol, on old valiants :) This ke38 has now been saved from the end at a wreckers twice by myself....it is worth every moment of it and to be able too hand it down to Emma is something i had wanted to do for a long time....she don't know much about cars either - tho i hope she learns along the way... Keep at it mate..we never stop learning.....having fun...and making our ride our own style :) Terry

Hey Chris, WOW man.........never even thought about the ke38 van possibly being up for nomination! Thanks for the praise on the long time coming outcome of this project ha ha ha....is sometimes a hard road to stick with it and see it through to the end,has been body work wise (challenging) a big job to get it close to right and then to change the driveline upon request (thanks for having an auto at the time and all the bits). I sure hope your`e coupe comes along and turns out real neat mate.....will be looking forward to seeing the progress and outcome Cheers Terry

Thankyou very muchly ...... clapped out.....yes one more week of time off work,have too stitch up a new roof head linning and make new door panel and cargo panel cards n cover in black velvet..do all the little fix up jobs..find a new muffler and some front brake hoses etc...

No words from me....... Enjoy the pics peoples :) :) :) Cheers Terry

Clean looking van,nice work you`re doing on it and yes having parts at disposal is a good thing.. i once had a chrysler parts thing going (trade prices for my parts :) ). Good to see another van being saved! long live the ke36-38 vans...

Yeah baby........after much..very much tedious pain in the ass effort. The side windows are back in with new rubber seals...NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!..tho it did save probably $300 doing it myself with assistance from Emma. The old rope method just wasnt going too work,and the exisiting window openings had to be made larger to accomodate the new rubber seal with a thicker centre between metal/glass. Emma has got stuck in to it and found all the little bits n pieces and given them a clean up and a painting tailshaft-wipper arms-plastic interior bits,she fitted the washer squirters and plennum inspection plates along with the interior window protection strips on left side.Good effort for a young lass who never worked on cars before :). Might try and fix tailgate hinges if i have time,tho corolla Andy has a set on hold for me i hope,just tight on the budget dollars at moment now.. IF and undeline IF...all goes well this thing should head for safety certificate on 25-1-2013 Enjoy the pics

The tailgate hinges may be rooted.......But the ARSE is looking COOL :) Couldnt help myself,such a shit start to the day and a few other irratating problems along the way.So with crapped out hinges i let loose the tension bars and sat the tailgate in for the pics. Looking better than i had thought it would with the chrome bar and tail lights fitted, front apron is fitted - new brake pedal pad ( yeah ok its got toyoglide on it) for roadworthy and the go pedal repainted gloss black. Clark rubber for new side window seals, bought what i thought was close enough tho i see issue`s happening with it.Have tight corners and with it being length off roll and not shape formed like factory...its going to pucker ( might try warm up with hair dryer to make more pliable).. waiting on my daughter to be here before i try again to fit glass/rubber in... Need another pair of hands that`s for sure... Enjoy the pics Teza40

ARRRRGGGHHHHH! :) The fun n problems begin....bolted tailgate up this morning...to find my thought n fear of hinges being rooted was true,yep bent and along with another issue at the tension bar wont close..just buckle under force... So a call is out in the wanted section for a pair of hinges ke36-38 wagon/van oh well off to do other stuff.. Cheers Terry

Success!!! Yes siree..thanks to the help that i could eventually get in my head and understand,neutral safety switch wired in and working correctly - one less roadworthy thing to worry about :). Also wired in reverse lights and used the original radio light from top of dash to splice into for gear selector illumination......as they pics or it didnt happen....pics below.. maybe this will help other rolla club members in the future....me I'm just auto electrics dyslexic....lol Regards Teza40

Ok 2 days into time off from work,well it starts monday 14th jan....lol. The pace still good n steady....Today see`s right rear 1/4 and sill panel painted - neutral safety switch wired in and working correctly (thankyou altezzaclub and medicine_man) along with reverse lights and light for gear selector wired up. Bonnet turns out to be not so good,highs n lows in many places,will make do for now and most bad shit should be hidden in the custom painted stripe/flame desgin I'm going to do,got very humid in Brisvegas it seems this arvo. Was painting the bonnet and it moisture bloomed as can see in pic, oh well sort that out later... Enjoy the pics Teza40

Cheers Dougy, Tho sadly learnt the hard way.... i can tell you first hand,how much force is in one of those hinges when they spring up and get ya in the side of the jaw mate.....face blew out like a golf ball in seconds, no fracture or break..just real farkin OUCH!!!!!!!! After talking with clapped out the other day and what he mentioned, i was like yep...those straps on the shelf in shed gonna save me from getting hurt again.... All jap day,well now might just have to con the daughter into attending....give her something different to do....lol...she can drop into strathpine from springwood and pick me up......maybe... :)