Got it onto my mate's hoist on the weekend and fitted new tie rod ends, pitman arm and idler arm, as well as tweaked a couple of exhaust hangers to clear the body.

Mmmmuch easier on a hoist than laying on the floor! And it steers great.

Tomorrow I'll take it for the second inspection.. which should just be a formality but I'm still anxious. 

I still have a droplet of coolant appearing at the water pump relief hole. Literally just a droplet. He mentioned it last time, but hopefully doesn't knock it back for that because I still haven't ordered a 2TG water pump just yet. All other leaks seem to have subsided.

Is he charging you for each inspection? 

Cause i do know "a guy" who is rather lenient.

Second one is free! (i.e. less than 14 days later)

But I won't go back there for a third if he's picky haha

haha good! Although admittedly steering components should probably fail the RWC :P

I totally agree! I had the option of going across town for a "lenient" inspection, but was happy for the "safety" aspect to be strictly adhered to. 

I'm on. 

 

Season's greetings Rollaclub!

Thanks to the admins and financial contributors who keep our projects, anecdotes, images and knowledge base online. 

 

Cafe racer burger run. 

One thing that was causing me some consternation was my inability to get a decent buff on the duco, despite numerous attempts. 

At my first Cars and Coffee outing it was clear that mine was the only car with swirl marks. And at night, it looked like nothing special at all.

As with anything, you will all know it comes down to the right tools/product/procedure for the job - which isn't always obvious to the layman (i.e. me).

In the end I got there though!

I washed it with 1200 wet and dry, then I washed it again with 2500. That took care of the orange peel.

SCA branded polishes just didn't work. At all. Turns out the product I needed is called "One step ready" which I picked up from DIY Colourfast at Lawnton. It apparently starts as an abrasive and rubs down to a cream in <one step>.

I applied the One step ready with a foam pad from the same store, on an electric buffer and the swirls disappeared before my eyes. Only one burn through to touch up! Bah..

Swapping pads, I then hit it with Bowden's carnauba wax to seal in the glossy goodness, and buffed it off with a microfibre cloth.

I'm very happy with the results now. Previously I was like, "It's ok for a 40 year old car" while secretly being envious of 2 pac painted cars. Now I know that acrylic can be just as good - it just takes some rubbing - with the right gear!

I also applied some pinstripes.They're chrome, so it's a bit hard to make out in photos. But they've straightened my painted lines and add a nice *bling* highlight when they catch the light.

Yeww! (That's what young fellas yell out to me)

 

 

Edited February 6, 20188 yr by Mechanical Sympathy

Brendan all I can say is Yew!  Looks amazing.

Cheers Mat! I won't feel (as) ashamed to put it beside yours now.

We'll get them out one weekend soon as the cooler cruising season approaches? Between parental duties.

I reckon the new Bunnings carpark will make a great drift circuit! 

Of course, I'm joking.  I can't drift #leafspringlife

Edited February 6, 20188 yr by Mechanical Sympathy

Appears to be a big difference in paint when comparing pics at the top of the page to the latest. Awesome job. Ive been following this build for a while now, its always good to see a rolla built right threw to registered. Gives me motivation to pull my finger out and get cracking.

Hey I think I spotted you on Smaford road a couple days back!  Looks sweet!

Haha! That's where I test and tune! 

It actually spat the (water heated) intake manifold gasket along there last month. Wasn't happy. 

I prefer dry gaskets but I had been persuaded by an aircraft mechanic pal to use goop on the first gasket. No good. So the new gasket went on dry and I'll nip up the nuts in a few weeks  

While I had the carbies off I realised the pump rod was jammed on one of them, making it impossible to tune. All sorted now and it's going heaps better. Still not 100% on a 1500rpm clutch dump but certainly driveable. I might swap around some pump bleed jets to narrow it down. 

I think the old 15" tyres are a bit hard and maybe even flat spotted from sitting as I've got a bit of a vibration over 100. So I haven't taken it very far. Still ironing out the niggles to be confident taking it on a road trip but it's done around 1100km now. 

Fitted a Cusco strut tower brace which probably doesn't do much, but I always wanted one. $200 delivered from Japan in 3 business days which was fairly reasonable I thought!

Next project is in progress. I've dug up the entire backyard for a driveway. That should keep the mud out of the shed and off the car.

It's great driving weather! 

I tested out some new driving moccasins and a merino skivvy on a hot fudge sundae run.