Banjo

Thanks Ben, I'll have a look this afternoon. I'm a regular at Bunnings, but haven't come across them before, but then I wasn't looking for them before ! Cheers Banjo

Whilst doing some programming for the pulse trigger decoder, for my distributorless 5K, & not working directly on the engine, I decided to fit an O2 sensor mounting point on the standard exhaust pipe. I then added some fibreglass wrap on the pipe. It was more for protection, rather than good looks, as I'm working around the engine in shorts, I don't want to burn my legs accidentally (which has happened previously). The fibreglass wrapping kits are very cheap on-line, & for about $20.00, I got 15m of tape + 10 x S.S. ties, free postage, with plenty of tape left over. Now I've never done this before, nor had the need, so watched a couple of on-line videos, of how to go about it, by pre wrapping it loosely, & then dampening the tape with water, to soften, & give the tape a bit more flexibility as you wrap. That all worked out fine, but when I came to fitting the S.S. ties, I ran into trouble. They just wouldn't pull up tight, like I expected. I watched the videos again, & they made it look so simple, by just pulling it up tight, bending the end over, cutting the excess off, & pushing it back 180 deg into the clasp. I actually managed to get just one to do that, but it was a pain. Then I realised it wasn't really tight. I looked at the clamping arrangement, & it has a tiny "rough" ball inside, That grips the S.S. ties & "jams" it. I wasn't happy, & didn't know whether it was my technique, or that I had just scored some "cheapy" ties, in my cheap on-line purchase. I finished up, just buying some ordinary S.S. hose clips at SCA, which worked perfectly, as depicted below. To stop the wrap from losing tension, as I wound the tape tightly around the pipe, I used oridinary plastic zip ties to temporarily hold the wrap in place, until I got to the end, & fitted the metal hose clamps. I then thought, this is so easy, why doesn't some one make a hi temperature plastic zip tie for this application. I looked on line, & did find some rated up to 240 deg C, but that is probably not high enough. Has anyone come across some Hi Temp zip ties, in their travels ?? Anyway, I finished up spraying the installed fibreglass wrap with high temp paint (colour aluminium), for exhaust systems. I saturated the porous tape, & put it in the sun for a day. I then refitted the exhaust pipe to the engine, & ran it, until the pipe reached operating temperature. It had the effect of "baking" the wrap on, & gave what appears to be a very good reliable finish. It was only an experiment, & time will tell. If anyone, has some personal experience with wrapping exhausts, or has some tips, please add here. Cheers Banjo

Hi Graeme, I'll put my hand up. I had to Google "Corey Hart" to see who he is, & what the reference referred to. Brilliant Dave !

Second happy ending to this story ! Top marks for Altezzaclub & The Spirit Man for getting this one right. Cheers Banjo

The secret is out ! Kyogle area. The making of the SCA latest oil ad. If you are are ever in the area, please explore this valley & area. It is just beautiful ! https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/blog/all/kyogle-council.html?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MF_SCA01_2019_WK18_CAT & another . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-eMH3klU2w Cheers Banjo

That's brilliant ! Probably a little bit too bright. I got a roll of those LEDs. They are great. Use them for various lighting requirements. You can build a simple dimmer for LEDs, using a variable Pulse Width control. Plenty of circuits on the net. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n48GemL7tsc Cheers Banjo

Here's a link to one I remember recently. https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/73225-smarten-up-your-dash/?tab=comments#comment-708509 Here is another . . . https://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/51690-rosie-the-ke55-rolla/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-540580 Just Search Rollaclub above field for LED or T10, & a few will come up. Cheers Banjo

Welcome aboard ! Wow ! You have a lovely Rolla there, & are a very lucky man, going by it's very good condition. How long have you had it ? Do you know it's previous history ? (Little olde lady etc. ?) Looks like you've got another future Rolla enthusiast there in the making ? Keep the pics coming, & fire any questions you have our way, as there a lot of people on here, prepared to offer good advice. I've got a KE30 2 door, a little bit older, in the same "baby pooh" colour, as my wife calls it. I'm on my third Rolla now. I've had a KE35 2 door coupe; KE55 2 door coupe; & now the less seen KE30 2 door sedan. They are so reliable, & anything that does go wrong, can easily be fixed, as I'm sure you've found. Easy to work on. Only nasty is rust, when they get to be 40 years olde, particularly if you are by the sea, as I think you are. As long as you can keep it out of the structural areas, underneath, it should be alright. Cheers Banjo

Oh dear ! If water creeps in behind that floor sound deadening stuff, that Toyota painted on 40+ years ago, you often can't see any rust, until you scrape it off. Hope that's all the rust you find ! I've been looking for a black console I was sure I had. Couldn't find it, which you would understand, if you saw the back of my shed, where I keep all this stuff. After looking again today, I suddenly remembered, I sold it to a fellow Rollaclub member here in Australia, about a year ago, as part of a whole kit of bits & pieces he bought off me, for his resto of his Rolla. So sorry, I haven't got a console for you. Put it up on the forum under "Wanted to Buy" & see if you get any response. If I do come across one in my travels, I'll let you know. Looks like it might be a little while, before you arrive at the fit-out part of the resto. Good luck ! Cheers Banjo

Been raining here, but sun out today, so will go have a look in the shed, & see what I have in the way of black consoles, & let you know. Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, The thing I like about mechanical systems, of any description; is that they more than often give you a warning, in advance, that something is amiss, or on the way out. Unfortunately, electrical & electronic systems are often not as providing, & just go bang, or bust, or splat ! If you suspect something, whilst driving, I always turn the radio off, close the window, to remove wind noise, & listen carefully to the engine, under different load conditions. Congrats ! Elon Musk is current selling tickets to space. However, not 4K powered, which I know will disappoint you ! https://www.afr.com/leadership/innovation/when-where-and-how-elon-musks-spacex-plans-to-colonize-mars-20181016-h16qay Cheers Banjo

Hi Jeremy, I read your post an hour ago, but have just stopped laughing long enough to respond, after reading the reference to the "4K Powered Mars Rover". Been there done that ! Not Mars, but in outback NSW (dirt roads), with a very sick engine, on the second day of a 10 day excursion. Low oil pressure; Summer; But worse than that, was the tick, tick, tick, tick, of a big end on the way out. Filled it up with the thickest oil I could get hold of, & finished the trip (3000 klms), & got the car back to Sydney. I remember contemplating what you are presently, & asking myself the same questions. What worked for me, was to drive which ever, which way, to put the lowest load on the engine. That meant lower speeds & light on the pedal on flat long straight roads, & revs & lower gears to lighten the load, when there was a hill. Lightly loaded engines don't run as hot. Never used one of those oil additive products, that increase the viscosity. Sounds good. Assembled an engine wet once, with a oil made up of 50% engine oil, & 50% molybdenum disulfide. Rubbed it into the bores, and all bearing surfaces. Worked a treat ! The MDS is very dark in colour, & 10 years later I dissembled the engine, & was washing the bearing shells & bore with a mixture of kero & petrol, & the cleaning fluid was going very dark, very quickly, until I realised the MDS was being flushed out of the grains of the metal. Cheers Banjo

Nice work place ! Wish I had that much room around my Rolla, under cover, to work on it. You've even got a lounge there in the background to sit on, when you need a break ? Cleaning back the underside for painting, can be a happy, or unhappy time, depending on what you find, when you strip away, back to bare metal, after 40+ years. Good luck ! Banjo

Is your KE35 a manual or auto gearbox ? The consoles are a bit different. Heaps of them here in Aussie. Off memory, there are only two basic colours. Black or Beige. They are bulky but quite light, so maybe posting one over to you in Portugal could be a better option, & give you more time to get on with other things. Have you had the engine running as yet ? Cheers Banjo

Rear of front mudguard, splash shield. Nice car ! Great starting point to have a basically rust free shell. Good luck ! where are you located ? Cheers Banjo

I've followed these guys from the start, & "the ride/s" has been quite amazing. Don't know whether you have ever watched this video, but there is another side to these guys. This one involves a Corolla, so check it out ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7-ZTTqMW6M Brings a tear to my eyes, every time I watch it. Cheers Banjo

Not quite motor sport, but some could argue ? You've got to watch this video, from SCA, & our two friends Marty & Moog, from Mighty Car Mods. Watched it, & recognised the setting, as it's a road I use it quite often, as a short cut/scenic drive from Beaudesert to Grafton, via the Lyons/Lions Road just north of Kyogle in NSW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JPm23WpjqY&utm_source=edm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MF_SCA01_2019_WK15_SW Cheers Banjo

Hi Rob, I first laid eyes on this particular little Morrie Minor tow truck, at the All British Car show in Sydney, back in September 2016, which is amazing. Nearly 2000 cars ! As I was looking at it again, in Queanbeyan, a Japanese man came up, & was looking at it. He asked me what it was for. I said for towing a broken down car. He was quite bewildered as to how it lifted a car with a hook. He thought all cars were put on tilt trays, or had clamps that went around the front wheels. I pointed out, that this is how it used to be done. He looked carefully at the capstan, & asked where is the motor. It had none, as it is hand wound, with a crank handle from the outside, which pokes through the hole "indicated" in the pic. below. I mimed how it was done, & he walked away laughing & shaking his head. Cheers Banjo

That's brilliant, but also daunting, when you consider how much time is involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=QBXT1sHP92w However, a simple engine swap, is not as big a job, as our two friends at Binky project undertook, with a "complete" electrics swap. An engine swap project can go very sour, if the electrics are wired in roughly, besides not looking professional. Unreliability is the result, & your NRMA or RACQ roadside man is not going to be a great help, if your car won't go, on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere. Having done several wiring harnesses, where I have made them up from scratch, the secret is to do one bit at a time, & don't rush it. One of the big advantages of making up your own harness is, that you can increase the size of the wiring used, which reduces voltage drops in the system. Cheers Banjo

I can't believe a reputable company like Permatex would allow a video like that to get through. That is terrible ! Looks like they gave the instructions to a video marketing company, who didn't have a clue. The oil pump reassemble is incredible. I've never heard of putting a gasket on an oil pump. I've never ever done so, on any K series oil pump, I've reassembled. Here's a better video, although, I still believe he is a bit heavy handed, with the silicone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXN4FqQH-xM Thanks for your thoughts. I'll go get something generic this afternoon, & let you know how I go. Cheers Banjo

Had my 5K sump off at the weekend, so I could refit the timing chain cover, after fitting a dual timing chain. The sump gasket seal had no leaks at all. When I removed the sump & gasket, I noticed that the previous mechanic, who had replaced the sump & gasket, had used three little parallel narrow beads, of what looked like a "bright orange silicone sealant" on both sided of the one piece gasket. I was impressed how well the seal had worked ! I've never been a great fan of silicone sealants, as I've heard & read so many bad/sad stories of users, over doing the application of the silicone. When the two (2) surfaces are brought together, the sealant "squishes" out on both sides of the gasket. Any excess on the outside, can be easily wiped off, but the excess on the inside, can bead & drop off, over time, into the sump, & block off oil pump pickups, or worst still, get caught in oil ways, & starve the bearings. This is more common with "make a gasket" RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanising) sealants, where the sealant, is the gasket, so users become over generous with the sealant. Now most of the automotive silicone sealants are marked as, Make A Gasket. In my case I'm using a new sump gasket out a Permaseal gasket kit. It looks & feels like a rubber one, but I suspect it is made of a composite material, as it stretches a bit more than a pure rubber one. So what is the best silicone sealant I can use, to replicate three narrow beads of sealant on both sides of the gasket ? Can the "Make A Gasket" sealants also be used as a seal to the gasket, or do they have a different composition, because they are used as the gasket? I've always been an aviation gasket adhesive user, for a long time, & have never suffered an engine oil or water leak, but I will admit, it's a real pain cleaning off the old aviation goo sealant, before putting something back together, so I'm prepared to give my sump gasket the silicon seal treatment, so would like to hear other forum users thoughts & experience. Cheers Banjo

Love you work ! Always attention to detail. Never apologise about the use of zip ties. I never go anywhere without a resealable plastic bag, with a selection of different lengths therein. In the glove-box, in my briefcase, in my tool box. One of the most useful everyday inventions ever made. I recently was given a packet of special wide heavy duty ones for water hoses on automotive engines. I've used them on one engine. One size fits all size hoses ! Just zip it up & cut off the excess. I believe they are using them on the latest model Volvo cars as standard. Cheers Banjo

Thanks ! Is this the one ? They are under $ 100 on ebay, so if I need one permanently, & it is quieeeet, it might be the go,. Cheers Banjo

Drove a Toyota Echo from Brisbane down to Canberra at the end of the week, for my son, & spent the weekend in Canberra. The Victorian Morris Minor Car Club, had a rally, up & back from Melbourne, with the weekend in Canberra. Came across this beautiful collection, on show last Saturday, in a Queanbeyan park. https://1drv.ms/f/s!AhTw-QJW1b_6j0-3qwSBFTBR2OZ9 Enjoy ! Cheers Banjo

Tah All ! It's only for an experiment, so $ 16.00 incl. free postage, won't break the bank. Not too worried about the noise, but have noted the suggestion of an "isolated" mounting. How do they work ? Are they some sort of rotary type ? Looks like an electrical transformer ! My only experiences with electric fuel pumps, are with those early SU tick, tick, tick, ones, with a diaphram, that slowed down to a very slow tick, when you were idling. Cheers Banjo