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Fixing my brothers UC hatch

Started by _dirtbag_ , Dec 30 2009 01:19 PM

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#26 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 05:29 AM

I thought with round headlights round indicators might look cool. I wanted to mount them as flush as I could, but still be able to take the lenses off without having to remove the spoiler. Again, I feel these are a love or hate item, but it's hard to do something that hasn't been done these days, so I went with it anyway. I actually really like them.

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It's hard to believe this is a UC front stone tray.

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With the LX nosecone being only the top half, a lot of pressure was being put on the two main mounting holes, so I braced them with some 1.6mm steel to stop the lip pulling out.

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With a bit of etch primer you can see how the front will look. It's different, but no one but torana people will really notice. Just the way I like it : )

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Edited by dirtbag, 31 December 2009 - 05:30 AM.

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#27 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 05:37 AM

Now it's time to get into the main problem on a UC - the tail lights. I got an LH sedan bum from a friend. The lower panel on the LH cut was rusted, but the taillight area is good. Yay.

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Chopping the lower skin off revealed the usual chassis rust. Nothing out of the ordinary though.

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Plus, luckily for me, there was a fair bit of rust around the hatch seal too : )

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It's looking better already : )

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Well there's the back end finished : ) Time for paint. hahaha.

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#28 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 05:49 AM

I began the rear end fix by making a new lower skin. Again, it's just 1mm zincaneal. I added a 25mm lip that wraps around the lower edge to not only allow for a good seal but to give the panel strength.

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I guess before I weld the new skin on I should fix those pesky rusty chassis rails : )

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In case you're wondering, the reason why the bare metal in a lot of my pics looks kind of greyish is because I smother everything in rust converter before etch priming. Can't be too careful.

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With the whole rear panel out of the way, now seemed like a good time to drop the tank, as there is nothing blocking the filler neck. The easiest tank removal ever!!!!

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Here's the lovely new tank my brother bought to replace the original. Nice bit of gear this.

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After lifting the tank into place and having a look, I noticed the spare wheel hump was only a couple of mm from touching the tank, so I thought I'd better get rid of it. It's useless anyway.

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After plug welding the new piece into place, I sikaflexed the seam top and bottom just to be sure it was air tight.

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#29 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 05:55 AM

Now the moment I've been waiting for - putting the bum back on : )

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After cutting the bit I needed out of the LH rear cut, I did a trial fit. I had to cut a little of the inner bracing out at the back to allow the tail light recesses to fit into place. Apart from that, it was straight forward.

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Ta-da!!!! In my opinion, this was the best spent day on the whole car so far. I don't hate UC's, but this is better : )

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#30 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:00 AM

Now it's time to fix the rust around the hatch seal. Goodie!!!!!

Don't you love it when people feel the need to fill everything with brass : (

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That's the base sections done. Now I have to remake the rubber channel to go on top.

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#31 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:06 AM

I folded up some pieces for the rubber channel. The long pieces I've folded into U sections, and the others are just 90 degree bends. These pieces will be the corners. I can't curve U section, but I can curve 90 degree bends. You'll see what I mean. I'm not a good explainer. : )

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With the new channel plug welded into place, I then ran some sikaflex around the edges to stop gunk getting under the channel. This part is done. Yay!!!

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#32 76lxhatch

That was easy!

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:07 AM

Great pics and a neat project, thanks for sharing!

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#33 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:11 AM

No worries 76lx. It's good to share : ) I'll keep posting the build until people don't want to see it : )

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#34 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:21 AM

OK, now it's time for the real crusties. The C pillars and the hatch hinge area. Can't wait for this one : )

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It'll buff out.

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I folded up a test piece just to make sure I could get all theses folds in the right place.

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If you notice the white line that my awesomely drawn arrow is pointing to, well that's daylight. It's only the rest of the gutter that's holding that part of the gutter on. Beauty!

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Finally, now there's no rust on this side : )

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More C pillar work.

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Looks a tad better. I added the seam back in, seeing as it wasn't there before. Having a new rain gutter that's actually attached is nice too : )

Here's the other side.

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And just like magic -

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#35 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:35 AM

Next bit is the hatch hinge area. This will be a lot of fun : )

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There's some quality repairs in there. I found them after removing about 2 kg of bog : )

The inner panel in the roof was a bit suspect. I treated it with rust converter to see how it would go, but I ended up replacing it anyway.

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It almost looks new again. This stuff takes a while, but it has to be done.

A bit of etch primer and it looks like a car again. Sort of.

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I hope this is the last bit of rust I need to fix back here!!!

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I think that's the rear section all done. Finally : )

The brake ducts in the front spoiler meant I had to make a fair mess out of the lower part of the radiator support. I think I'd better do something about getting some strength back into the area.

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I think the easiest way to fix this is to remove the whole lower section and make a new support.

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I used 30mm thick wall RHS to make the new support. I spliced it into the old support and joined it onto the front of the radiator support. This will be plenty strong enough, and give good clearance for the brake ducts.

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Fits like a glove : )

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#36 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:44 AM

Unfortunately, it's time for a bit of bodywork. As much as I try to get my metal work spot on, I still need to finish off with a bit of filler. Al least there wont be as much as there used to be, even with all the body mods.

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Both doors were filled with brass, so I made new lower skins.

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With a new driveline on the way, the old bonnet with the hole cut in it was no longer required, so I bought another one. It was pretty good except for a bit of rust down one side.

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For a little car they sure do take up a lot of room once you strip them down.

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You've got to love dry sanding primer filler. No? Oh, OK : )

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The only other body mods are the removal of the door locks. Oh, and now my brother wants flares, so some more chopping and welding will be required : )

Edited by dirtbag, 31 December 2009 - 06:51 AM.

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#37 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:50 AM

The new motor and box arrived, so I went and picked it up in my little hilux. I know, it's not a torana, but at least it has a 253 and 5 speed : )

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An LS1 and 6 speed should get this hatch moving along nicely.

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That means the old holden running gear has to go. It can be put aside for another project later.

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Pretty : ) While we're at it, let's rip the UC dash out too, it wont be staying.

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Now I need to cut the dash out of an LX and weld it into here. I can't wait for that. Actually, yes I can : )

Next job is to smooth out the engine bay. Awesome. This is a good bit : )

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#38 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 06:58 AM

I really like the look of a smooth torrie engine bay. The first thing I had to do after stripping it out is fix the rotten repair someone did to the battery tray. Nice work indeed : )

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The black line is where I'll be trimming the chassis rails to.

I don't like the indent at the back of the chassis, so this will be getting welded up too.

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Here's the chassis trimmed and the inner guard smoothed out where the brake lines normally pass through.

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Typical torana rust behind the bonnet hinges.

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Fixed.

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#39 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 07:10 AM

I'm not sure if they're there for strength, but the indents at the back of the inner guards look dumb, so I'm welding them up. I'll also get rid of the extra hole where they ran the left front brake line. Weirdos : )

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I knocked the lip at the base of the firewall down and welded it to the firewall. I could have cut it off, but this is easier, and I am lazy : )

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Now it's time to reskin the chassis rails. I made a cardboard template so I could get the shapes right. I made it so it fills the corner, removing the need to have to weld or bog right in the nooks and crannies. It also means the sides of the engine bay are at the same level all the way to the firewall, instead of widening out at the firewall like it used to.

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With the rear piece made and tacked in, I made a template for the front section. These templates make life a lot easier, especially for the other side.
Note how with the new rear piece folded in the corners, there is no need to have to weld or bog in there. Should save some time.

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All tacked into place.

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After a bit of a weldathon, I had this.

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It looks just a bit different to when the engine bay was black : )

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Keen eyes will have noticed I cut the top of the radiator support out to make engine swaps and engine bay access easier. Well I've now converted it to a bolt in piece.

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#40 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 07:18 AM

Time to get the sump sorted on the LS1. My brother bought an LS3 truck sump and oil pick up, as they have the pan at the rear. Less than half the price of a CRS sump too.

With the old sump and oil pick up removed, I had to make a small adjustment to the new oil pick up to fit on the windage tray.

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Because the oil filter is in a different position, I also had to cut a small section out of the windage tray to let the sump sit flat against the block. Once in position, I noticed the new sump had a bolt hole that wasn't in the block.

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I drilled an pilot hole while the sump was still in place, hen removed the sump, wrapped the motor in clean rags and drilled out the hole and tapped the new thread.

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Not only can you see my sexy hand in this pic, but you can see the modified oil pick up mount where it bolts over the windage tray, and you can see the small bit I had to cut out of the windage tray to fit the sump. That was all I had to do and the job was done.

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#41 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 07:26 AM

The underside of the bonnet came in for a bit of a clean up too. I originally thought about flat sheeting the underside, but without knowing how much clearance the LS1 needed I decided to just clean up what was already there. First up was some rust issues.

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After cutting the sections with the holes out, the rust inside was fixed, then new pieces of 1.6mm were welded in to smooth over where the holes were.

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The two big holes at the rear of the bonnet were also welded up. The drivers side plate is dished to allow room for the wiper motor.

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Then the underside was cleaned up and rust converted.

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After etch priming I realised the gaps between the frame and skin looked terrible, so they were sikaflexed up and reprimed.

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It looks a lot neater in my opinion.

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#42 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 07:43 AM

The next lot of pics are just showing how bad the panel gaps were and how they look now after adding and removing metal to get them better.

This is a vast improvement already. Originally, the hatch stuck 10mm out the back.

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Now to fix it properly.

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The passengers side door gap was all over the place. Too close, too far. Awesome : )

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Here's my mate helping with the sanding. Lucky us : )

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Well the whole car is pretty much now in primer. This thread is now up to date, so pics will be a bit slower from now on. I still need to fine tune the front spoiler and nosecone, bog the engine bay, fit the motor and box, fit the flares ..............

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#43 Heath

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 08:36 AM

I still need to fine tune the front spoiler and nosecone, bog the engine bay, fit the motor and box, fit the flares ..............

Joking!?

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#44 fenz

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 08:40 AM

Keep up the good work looks like its comming together nicely.

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#45 _cruiza_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 09:20 AM

It is enjoyable reading and looking at the photos and workmanship of someone who so clearly knows what he is doing. I like what you have done the mods everything. I have one question the LX has a pointy front end while the UC is flat, compare front bumpers to see what I mean, have you made below the front bumper pointy to match above the front bumper

Great work thanks for posting

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#46 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 09:50 AM

Hi Heath, no not joking. My brother decided 8s and 10s with flares is the go, so more work for me : ) Plus, it'll look awesome.

Hi cruiza. I see what you're talking about, but the UC is just as pointy as the LX, only different. I know, that makes sense : ) The LX is flat where the lights are, then it peaks out from there, whereas the UC peaks right from the side to the middle, with no flat spots. Does that make sense? Basically, yes it is a bit different, but not enough for me to want to change it. Plus I'm too lazy to change it : )

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#47 _Big T_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 11:02 AM

WOW !! What a great thread. The conversion looks fantastic and there are some great ideas and innovative thinking that we could all benefit from. Thanks for taking the time to post up the progress so far.

How long has the build taken to date?

Cheers,

Tony

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#48 Obey 1

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 12:04 PM

Inspirational Build So far !!
Bet everyone wishes they had you for a brother !!
One question though , How do you unbolt the front K frame with the holes welded up on the chassis rails ??
Keep the pics coming

Obey 1

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#49 _dirtbag_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 01:47 PM

Thanks Big T. So far if I put all the time together it'd be about 5 or 6 months I guess, but it's been stop start over about a year.

Hi Obey1. To have the rails smooth and still remove the K frame you just need to cut holes or slots into the side of the chassis in the wheel well, that way they're out of sight. A cover panel over the top doesn't hurt, but isn't necessary.

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#50 _panthervs_

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Posted 31 December 2009 - 02:45 PM

Mate this is a credit to your workmanship. Good work for going about it a different way to the norm. And id have to say when I saw the ls1 sitting on the back of the ute I got a little excited. Cant wait to see the final product