GJM85

Crankshaft journal diameters are the same throughout.

5k block decked 7mm. 3k crank. 5k rods and shallow pistons. 4k head. I would estimate displacement at 1.4 litres.

Picked up the gearbox today. Full rebuild with new synchros, bearings and seals. The cluster shaft was apparently shagged so it had to be machined down and fitted with a hardened sleeve. So it should be like a brand new one. Total cost was $1150 In other news it looks like Yatala Headworx is going to let the team down. After 6 weeks they still haven't managed to recondition and port out the 5k head. I spoke to them today and was told they've got to many big jobs on now to get to it this year. Apparently the flywheel is done though. I guess with summernats coming up the small guy gets shelved. I'm going in there tomorrow. Who knows what will come of it.

The road has just been resurfaced.

Stoned on the way to work this morning. Original glass. I spent 3 hours on the side of the road trying to get a tow truck. In the end I bit the bullet. I pushed the glass and drove it home. What choice was left? I spent the rest of the day stripping the dash and front interior to clean all the glass. New windscreen to be fitted on Tuesday.

So can you say jackass? Radiator is awesome. No questions about that. When I was fitting the gt40 coil after having troubles with the mec723 I noticed I'd fitted the gas switch wire to the positive coil terminal. Wrong.... Fitted the mec723 last night and redid all the wiring and she's a goer. Big differences are being seen now with the electronic distributor, radiator, front and rear suspension. The gearbox is nearly ready, as is the head and flywheel.... Bring on the Christmas break.

You want a coil that does not require a ballast resistor.

Coil? Well I believe you want something for an electronic ignition. But good luck. Good information is thin and far between. I'll recommend something with a primary resistance between 1.4 & 3.0 ohms and secondary resistance between 7 & 11.0 kohms just to be safe. I'm currently using a Bosch GT40 but the secondary resistance is high at 17 kohms. Whilst this coil will never place to much current demand on the igniter, it is limited in it's voltage output. But in saying that, despite a manufacturers advertised voltage output, a coil will only discharge enough voltage to jump the plug gap. Whether is requires 8000 volts or 30000 volts is dependant on cylinder pressure, engine load, fuel mixture and so on.

The wiring runs through the igniter and into the pick up. Could it be as simple as removing the igniter? Perhaps more research is in order.

The dizzy is the internal igniter type. I'm guessing that's why it doesn't work with the cdi.

So I did some reading last night and I believe the coil is the wrong one for the k series electronic distributor and is a prime example of the differences in transistor coils. Primary resistance is 1.1ohms and secondary is 8.4kohms. This low resistance means the coil needs very little dwell time and a very high current draw. The down side is output drops away very quickly as rpm increases. The LPG switch senses the rapid drop in voltage and cuts the fuel pump. So I went back to the Bosch GT40 with a primary resistance of 3ohms and a secondary of 17 kohms. This has fixed fuel pump issue. The question is, does the k series electronic distributor (internal or external igniter) come with a resistor type coil as standard?

I decided to fit the electronic distributor and see if it would work with the Streetfire cdi. It didn't. I think I need some kind of msd adapter. So I removed cdi and went back to just the Bosch MEC723 coil and electronic distributor. It runs great, but there's now another problem. The fuel pumps runs off the gas switch which is activated by the positive coil terminal. The voltage drop on the Bosch coil is so bad it shuts off fuel pump above 4000rpm and she runs outta sniff. Ain't that a kick in the pants.

Radiator is in. I also used some black supercheap grill mesh crap in front of the radiator to protect the core from bugs and rocks. I haven't had the chance to take it on a good run yet, but I'm hoping it stays cool.

Little more stuff. ADRAD ke30-70 radiator, 13psi cap, top radiator hose and a Gates fan belt. I've fitted the high flow thermostat so hopefully should cool things down. Radiator will require adapter plates. The core is 30mm taller and 20mm wider. Bolt pattern is 475 x 180mm. Original is 460 x 200mm.

I'm keen.

Just got my electronic dizzy back from performance ignition services. Overhauled and recurved for the 154 cam. Obviously some cams are worn more than others and this affects the outcome of the finish profile. My 154 is as follows. Intake. Exaust Lobe Sep. 111.5 Centre Line. 110atdc 113btdc Cam Lift. 0.261 0.262 V. Lift. 0.380 0.380 Duration. 276 276 [email protected]. 218 227

So much awesome.

I drove to work this morning and I noticed the car was awesomely quiet and smooth to drive since changing the suspension. The joy was short lived as the suspected bent axle made short work of the new wheel bearing and it collapsed about 30km from home. I limped it home at about 70km/h stopping lots to let traffic pass. What a noisy, stress loaded journey. I pulled it out and put one of my old axles in till I can readdress this issue.

Repacked the rear springs yesterday using the second set I picked up. Added two extra leaves. So it's now a six pack. The back end came up about 20mm but she's nice and firm. Turns out the drivers side axle is bent so I'll need to get another bearing and swapped that out. I redid the fuel lines under the hood. Holley reg, Aeroflow gauge fitting and Speco pressure gauge. I went to the Beaudesert swap this morning and picked up a ke20 drivers door mirror for 25$. Completely random box of mirrors and what do you know!

So the radiator has continued to pressurise to the point of overflowing during high speed without a thermostat. It's either combustion pressure leaking into the cooling system or the radiator has had it. It may be time to commit and find another radiator.

Thanks for the tips guys. The issue appears to be the thermostat, I hope. It barely opens in boiling water. I did today without a thermostat at all. 100km round trip. She took a while to warm up for obvious reasons and then got a bit hotter than usual. I hope that was due to the unregulated flow. I picked up a high flow thermostat at ubercheap this arvo then got caught in this arvo's storm. Hail and all. There doesn't appear to be any dents. Possibly due to the 3mm of highfill under the duco. I also scored Camerondownunder's sealed & stud-less timing cover.

New brake master cylinder fitted today. The old one functioned fine but appeared to leak fluid into the fire wall. It's an eBay item and the quality is better than I expected. Reservoir is a fair bit smaller though and makes for a pain in the arse when bleeding. The only issue I had was the brass cap bolt. This bit was different so I had to buy a 27mm socket so I could swap it over. Brakes aren't much different. A little less play in the pedal is about all. The photo is of the old master with the new brass bit. I've been losing a fair bit of coolant out of the overflow hose. Temps have been getting way up lately. I'm using a recovery type 10psi cap so I've hooked up a 600ml mount franklin overflow bottle to collect and return coolant. That's 3psi higher than the standard ke20 cap so I'm concerned about blowing the radiator if I go any higher. I'm looking at replacing the radiator but I don't like the Chinese alloy units on eBay. I went to the local radiator guy and he quoted me 550 coins to re-core the standard item, so that's out of the question. Then there's the 280$ generic ADRAD units. Maybe I'll look at a high flow thermostat and refitting the thermo fan. Any ideas?

The monroe gas. The only thing in the country available at short notice. They seem fine. Peddlers recommended I get what I can because nobody is making them in Australia anymore. I've been looking at those leaf springs I got. They're not reset. Just a flipped main leaf with an added full length leaf. Now the challenge is to use the 2 packs to get a firm 40mm drop.

Front end is all done. Back up about 40mm for now. Should drop down another 10mm or so once it settles. The cars geometry is back where it should be. No more brake shudder. Just more stable all round. Cost me 850$ to lower it the way it was and it cost almost as much to bring it back up. Also picked up a set of reset springs for the rear. Reversed eyes and an extra flipped leaf. I'm not sure how low from standard they will be. Any ideas? The other struts will be up for sale if you know anyone interested. Shortened strut leg, resleaved, Boge VW Golf mk1 short stroke inserts, bump stops and dust covers. I have receipts. Will lower a ke20 front end about 60mm