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Today Neil and i went on an adventure that we have been planing for some time,on the menu,one GTR XU1 with a colourful history in the early to mid 70,s ,and has been parked since 1982.

 

Its a second owner car and a true barn find,anyways i,ve got a lot of cropping, and pictures to sort out,so its identity is not let out.

 

Car is filthy,but no rust could be seen anywhere.

 

Now if your interested in seeing more of the car and its story,click the like button,and ill see if there is any interest .Plus i,ve got no likes,lol.

 

first shot is of the mountains the XU1 sleeps beside.

 

 

Nice one Lenny. I didn't realise you actually used the Falcon pedal box. That seems like a good solution.

 

Andrew, I did watch that latest episode of Project Binky - one of very few forms of mental relief at the moment hahaha. I must admit I have not yet studied what Nik did there, it gave me a huge laugh but I had my own mechanical problems sucking up my attention so I didn't spend more time on it. I cannot quite understand if you have the same pedal movement and need the same hydraulic effort (displacement + pressure) how you can radically lighten the pedal input, unless you're playing with the curve so it has better leverage where the pressure plate needs the most force applied. I need to study it more or have someone explain that to me.

 

 

Anyway, a lot has happened on this project... Generally the last 6... well probably more like 18 months during all these lockdowns have been pretty consuming and I've been pretty single-minded about the car.

The last few months are just a blur of work on this car with my focus on very little else. Sacrificing the rest of life for the car basically 100%. Working to a deadline has helped the car's progress but some days it has come with a pretty high cost. The hours are huge and the hurdles it has thrown at me have been really hard to take. You put your heart and soul into things over time expecting good results and they just totally go wrong and weigh on your conscience heavily until you resolve them. And no, I certainly have not resolved all of them. Not even close.

 

But skipping all the details, I drove it to dinner last night. And that was really special for me.

 

 

I wanted you guys to be able to have a quick geez before its debut event, which is Summernats.

 

Tomorrow, it will become a trailer queen for the trip to Canberra, of course I would prefer to drive it, but it just isn't quite ready for that. 

 

If you see me there, come and chat. Don't expect anything near perfection on the car. It isn't finished yet, and the paint & panel isn't quite showcar level, haha. It's alright but I need some more time to get it a bit better.

 

I look forward to seeing some people enjoying it, though. 

Rexy, sorry mate I actually am not sure, I don't have that part of the graph.

 

Interesting replies, I have read and am absorbing them.

 

But my attention is mostly on the fact that on Saturday I got the bastard running in the car on BBQ fuel (the voltage settings for the injectors were not right, they were on 1-3 Ohms setting but the peak voltage time wasn't quite right and they weren't being opened). 

 

And then on Sunday, I got it driving. 7 years after I started this thing.

 

 

I've got shitloads of issues. Heaps to work through. But it is so, so cool. I am so stoked to be at this stage.

 

]Hi all

 

Finally 34 Yrs later it's on the road

 Just having a play near a place called Bathurst with a mate in the torana,s on the weekend , i need some more speed as he is quicker than me .

 

Really appreciate the enthusiasm from you fellas.
 
Here's the little online Street Machine Magazine article that Jack Houlihan wrote, and Chris Thorogood shot. Both really cool guys.

Street Machine "80's Inspired Torana at Summernats 34"
https://www.whichcar...bXATIAVFXRGMQkI

Looking great Marty. Loving the resto work too.

Thanks Phil.

Duuuuude! The mould of the dash grain.

 

Mate. Get outta here hahahhaaha. That is awesome.

Heath, I take this as high praise coming from you. I think I have a 'man crush' on you. I love your work ethic and ability to sort out challenges that come your way. You're a genius!

Thanks, Marty

 

Final pics of the dash resto

 

Cutting up and applying the decals.

 

 

Then sprayed them with a clear varnish to protect the decals

 

Found another brand of chrome pen I'm happy with, 3mm seems the go.

 

A before and after shot. I've kept them in the same order so top one was snapped in two. This also has a grain repair which isn't as good as the rest. Still experimenting with the process. I also made this a GTR version which has no choke wording and I made some blanking plates for the hole. The bottom dash was not painted and is still original font.

 

 

Marty

Finished product. Forgot to take some pics along the way, but used some alloy steel bar which I bent up and polished for the bumpers, trailer reflectors for the taillights, GTR hat badges for the side badges. The shell already had a hole in the bonnet so figured a catch can filter sticking out would be appropriate. 

Hi all :-)  Thought I'd better stop by and give everyone an update and a bit of a laugh !  Lastest Shenanigans ....

 

I got a call back in Septemeber from the property owner of Lowelifes Pratt court workshop .. He owed over $40 000 in rent and was served several eviction notices over a period of a few months. The Female property owner told me that he had already moved to a new workshop in Belmont but was refusing to remove all of the cars and gear from pratt workshop until "he was ready" despite being served eviction notices. He then threatened to trash her place if she attempted to lock him out. He does like to threaten chicks ...

anyhoo... He basically abandoned clients cars etc and bolted to a new premises. He only took with him the vehicles that he was still squeezing $$ out of owners who were yet to realise what he was.

 

She agreed to put my brother in the workshop as the new tenant for the purpose of securing and cleaning up the premises and reuniting all the cars and parts with other clients chasing Lowelife...

 

Lowelife was not real happy to lose control of the situation !

Over a period of several weeks, we managed to track down all the other car owners and reunite them with their vehicles without them having to fight baseless workers liens and his ar$ehole lawyers who liked to threaten clients not savvy in legals.

We had access to office paperwork and all clients details left behind so our little group expanded pretty quick. Every single ripped off person helped in the end of what we called "the takeover" haha was awesome ! Top bunch of people, none of them deserved to be ripped off like I was and their vehicles destroyed also.

 

Lowelife tried to pursue charges of theft and alleged he had $3-$400,000 in gear knocked off from the workshop ... lies ... apparently he also had a Monaro there and Cadillac parts of his but none of us recall seeing those items :-)

His police complaint actually initiated an investigation into himself for fraud haha Fraud squad/major crime now have around 12 clients cases they are looking into to have him charged.

 

In the meantime, I managed to also get hold of the property owner for the Belmont workshop who (as luck would have it!) - he was also owed rent and couldn't find Lowelife.

I was told by a client who still had a car at Belmont with lowelife that he had received an email telling him to remove his car as he was declaring bankrupt by the following Friday.

It was literally about an hour before he was going to bolt from Belmont that I got hold of that workshop owner and he went straight down to the workshop. Lowelifes offsider was caught in the act loading up stuff that didn't belong to them befotre they were going to bolt.

 

The property owner escorted him out, changed the locks and that's how we took over his Belmont rort haha.

 

By this time, everyones cars were returned to them with exception of one.

I gave that owner Lowelifes home address and sure enough ... his car was in Lowelifes backyard !

 

So... now he has no tools, no cars, no workshops, no fkn nothing hahah

 

Now we have around 15 consumer protection complaints and around 15 cases in the courts and that's not to mention the possibility of multiple charges of fraud and theft etc currently sitting with major crime.

Because we had access to his paperwork from both workshops, we worked out his rorts are totalling over $2 million dollars and climbing.

 

and it aint over yet ... still a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Lesson learned for the Lowelife = Never EVER fk with a chicks VG coupe !!!

 

Right O.
Quick update.
Arrived 1/2 hour early and 2 police officers were there to great me with a licence check, drug and alcohol test. They assigned a park space for the car where 3 inspectors walked around it commented on how well it is presented, asked me to pop the bonnet, photos of the number plate, checked the compliance plates. While that was happening the investigator in charge of the operation had a quick chat about the club, how I found it, why I chose that particular club. Also commented on its presentation and thanked me for attending.
One of the inspectors said he was happy with the car and the investigator said I was right to go.
Less than 10 minutes in total
More time was spent asking me about the triple’s and rebuilding / tuning them, then checking the car

Another thing I've wanted for ages is the fishnet headrests. I've just been too busy fighting fires with this car to focus on stuff that isn't actually broken. But, I wanted this to be a priority for Summernats.
 
I bought a pair of rough headrests in factory black cloth years ago. The cloth is all rooted, and the plastic bar at the bottom that the netting fastens to when you stretch it over the headrest frame was broken on one of them. Hmmm...

 
Well I know how to work with metal. So I cut out some big alluminium scrap plate I had lying around and started slicing it up with the angle grinder, because I don't have anything better.

I dropped some fat TIG welds down on the ends to "thicken" up the plate where it wraps around the round bar of the headrest frame.

Marked out a hell of a lot of holes so that I could turn this thing into a perfect curved lower bar, that would result in the mesh pattern being evenly stretched the whole way across the headrest opening. The mesh material I had sourced was also a lot finer than the original mesh, so I I needed little lugs that were much smaller and closer together than the original black plastic one.

Who needs CNC when you have basic power tools?

Kept drilling and cutting and then sand-blasted to soften all the sharp edges between the features, as I didn't want the mesh material to be cut by anything sharp:


Mum helped me stretch some of the orange mesh over the fixed up headrest structure:


Sent them off to Brad at Dr Stitch and they came back less than a fortnight later with this beautiful tight long grain vinyl around them:


 
Oh yeah, and in other kind of huge news, which was the whole point of busting my arse to do all of this stuff in an awful hurry, I drove the car to Summernats and got judged in the Elite class, and got the car into the Top 60 hall.
 
Big wash in a mate's driveway once I arrived in Canberra... about 20 hours of cleaning inside, outside, and underneath with the wheels off, between mick74lh and myself.

 
Shining like a diamond baby.

I love the enthusiasm from you guys. Thank you sincerely.
 
Brett, I look forward to doing the rounds and dropping in on friends, suppliers who sold me good shit for the car, etc. and taking them for a lap.
I'll probably wear out a pair of tyres in a couple of days when I'm able to start doing that.

I'm not sure what the comedy skills on offer are, but the YouTube video thing would be nice. This forum is a very niche audience so if you consider how many people actually look at this thread, I've probably spent several hours posting content for each one of you! Hahahaha. Doing it in video form is a better way to get a lot of information across and potentially share it a lot better, but after trying once, the editing isn't a 5min procedure... it would take take a fair bit longer than posting in a forum even with the level of detail I try to convey here.
 
One of the things that I found was the 'Compact' (black) Wilwood 3/4" master cylinder I used for the clutch was actually no good! Shown here:

It has a very short stroke, and didn't displace enough fluid for the Mal Wood concentric slave to move quite far enough. I never noticed, and even if I did, I wouldn't have know it would be an issue.
 
So I bought another 3/4" 'Combination' one that's a bit uglier, and started modifying the plumbing to suit it (different inlet position and diameter, different outlet position and thread fitting type), what a pain to modify on a fully assembled car.

 
It was designed to be "flange mount" or "side mount" but I just saw that flange as ugly and excess weight so I turned it off on the lathe, lol


 
I also pulled my ICE 9mm ignition lead kit out and finally got to work on that:

Used some stainless with a little fold in it to make up some small brackets which would fit around the rocker cover bolts:

Fitted some longer bolts, ground the bakerlite separator things into various sizes that suited the route I was going to use, and screwed them together:

 
Made up an ally adaptor to fit a flow metre onto my throttles and balanced all of the linkages/air bleeds, I know the cam isn't crazy but it actually idles amazingly well, I got it down under 700 and it was still pretty smooth.

 
I folded up a proper base for my airbox on my mate's sheetmetal folder, and started trimming it to a rough size.

 
A bit of round rollcage tube wrapped in tape and a rubber mallet allowed me to create some curves in the corners. I also used cardboard aided design to help make some end pieces.

 
A bit of imperfect ally welding and it started to represent its final form:



 
Bolted loosely into place with the bonnet loosely closed:

 
Then a lot of painstaking test-fitting, measuring, marking, grinding/trimming, re-fitting, etc. to get the gap right for the seal:


 
Then I cut my trumpets down in a bit of a 'staircase' to give them breathing room under the scoop, but still have them all poke a touch through the bonnet so it looks good with the scoop removed. But they are spun ally and they aren't millimetre perfect... as I cut them down, the diameter shrunk about a millimetre. Spewing.
 
So I had to get the 3mm cutting disc out and "close and bore" the clamps on the lathe to keep them holding evenly around the circumference.


 
I also put 3 little tack welds on the underside of each once I had the lengths looking good, because I'm not totally convinced the clamps are quite enough for the long, high inertia, vibrating, re-sized trumpets even after the attention I gave them.


 
Welded a little intake air temperature sensor bung into the base of the turkey pan, brushed the whole thing with scotch-brite to give it the desired surface finish, and fitted a little seal profile from Clark Rubber:



 
For any photographic memory readers, yes there was an earlier version of this that ended up in the scrap metal bin. It's not a very easy fabrication job in terms of measuring/positioning/registration between the motor position and the bonnet skin/hole in the bonnet. I realised my error in the first iteration pretty early and used it as a prototype, but even with the prototype, there were still some challenges, haha.

Cheers! Hahaha she's a good sport. She's pretty used to me taking the piss out of her... gotta keep these (mostly) retired boomers from slacking off too much.

 

Bit of whip cracking resulted in a pretty sweet outcome.

Steering wheel stitching added, and mum sewing up the wheel tub trims.

 

The only way we found to practically make this material sit half decently over the wheel tub shape is to have a bit of a compressable backing to soften the inaccuracies between the shapes:

Bit of spray adhesive on the back after chamfering all of the edges of the foam to let them 'blend' more gently as the thickness changes:

Had to build it up a bit more along the seam to keep the vinyl sitting tight.

The vinyl is basically clamped in and glued down around the edges... it's floating/stretched across most of its shape which gives it a nice soft feel.

 

Spent hours pulling the headlining tight with every clamp I own, trimming little bits of edge back, marking holes to be punched, etc.

In the end it looked like this:

 

Then clamped it up and glued it in, section by section:

 

Then followed with the B-Pillar trims (with rear window sill sections, these were bought from Dash Original and them mum sewed a returned edge at the top of them where they overlap the headliner), C-Pillar trims, etc. 

 

So thrilled with this.

So glad mine is a lowly S

Yes, when I sell any of my GTR's I'll say 

"Buy with confidence" There're no numbers or tags to check.

That sort of stress free purchase has got to be worth an extra $20,000

 

If ever I was buying a "genuine" car I'd love to have these respected forum members check the pictures and numbers first. You guys are an invaluable resource to the Torana community and I thank-you for that.

 

Marty

Decided to clean up the distributer I got with my re-conditioned engine. On the receipt it said this was reconditioned but that only means new points and condenser to these guys.

Pull the guts out and found it very mucky.

Cleaned and lubed it up and put it all together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ps. Thanks for the 'Likes" guys. Gives me motivation to post more updates.

 

Cheers

Marty

I'd just like to thank everyone that contributed to this post, helping me complete my research and find out some more information on this particular Sydney "GTR".

A massive thanks go out to one person in particular (i won't name names in case it comes back) for helping out a stranger (me) and going out of their way to delve into old archives, historical reports, VIN numbers, Sales sheets and scanning every photo i had of the car with a fine tooth comb, to assist in making my decision and ultimately uncovering what this "GTR" really is.

In the end, the buyer was really putting the hard word on, to sell this and it has now been found out why... Let's just say I have dodged a massive bullet (more like a f#$%in grenade) with this one and the car IS NOT what it appears.

It just shows, it pays to do your homework and not rush in to buying anything that seems too good to be true!

When you have people that are willing to help you out, like on this forum (with so much shared knowledge), you really have no excuse

Thanks again!

Now now, are you trying to say an interest in cars is not always related to intelligence quota' or

Toranas attract  those purchasers who are cognitively challenged?  

 

My experience and perception from years of observations and participation in the ownership of 30+ year old cars is that you often need your head read,

when it comes to the price you pay for parts and the hours you spend in the garage - not to mention frustration levels attained.

 

Just think of the head start these f#$& wits have when it comes to ownership of 30+ year old cars.

If you start off as a dipstick you already have attained the pinnacle of where you will end up.

 

I often refer to the following when it comes to anything related to motoring enthusiasm:- 

 

MURPHY'S AUTOMOTIVE LAWS (restorers edition)

 

1. If it can fall there will generally be an eye underneath to catch it.

2. The amount of stuff leftover after a re-install is directly proportional to the amount of trouble you are in.

3. The spanner you have just spent 10 minutes getting into position to undo a bolt is the wrong size.

4. Stainless steel washers that you bought cheap cannot be picked up by a magnetic probe.

5. No matter how many extensions and knuckles you have its not enough.

6. If the dropped nut or washer cannot be found on the floor of the garage add 1/2 hr to the job.

7. 80% of all dropped items do not fall through, the 20% of items that fall through roll away to a hidden location.

8. When that spring or circlip lets go, start looking for it on the  furtherest away side of the garage first and work your way back its faster to find it.

9. Insignificant noise will become attention grabbing after any unrelated mechanical work is completed.

10. M21 gear selectors are equivalent to a rubics cube for auto mechanics.

11. That 2 person 2 minute job will take multiple attempts and 1/2 hr on your own.

12. That 2 minute 2 person job will take 45 minutes to explain if the assistant is female.

13. The capacity of that  oil tray is 1 litre less than the capacity of the sump you are draining.

14. Engine oil sump capacity is infinite without a sump plug.

15. The oil tray never seems to be in the right spot when you first undo the sump plug.

16. Skin cells do not regenerate if exposed to temperatures above 96 degrees C.

17. If there are sharp bits in there where you will put your hand, you will find them.

18. Beer ( Bourbon) is an essential item in any garage first aid cabinet.
* relieves hyper tension
* can be used to flush eyes
* can be used to flush blood to expose abrasions.
* can be used for pain management
* can be used for anger management
pre- medication is often advisable. A bit like immunisation against the inevitable.

19. Profanity is tension relieving.

20. When you finally get that bit out, throwing it to the $***house is also tension relieving. (Note:- recommend not throwing it too far)

21. Going to retrieve the bit you still need off the bit you threw to the $***house is therapeutic.

22. Finding the bit you need damaged on the bit you threw to the $***house re-establishes tension.

23. The ability to quickly focus (male members only) on and commence auto mechanical necessities often outweighs the need to change out of good clothes.

24. The transition from formal or smart casual attire to garage apparel is often accompanied by female angst.

25. Always cost twice as much as you thought! And then you have the wrong part

26. When you finally realise you need to purchase that part to finish the job off, it's 5:01 pm Saturday (shops closed)

27. The bit that you need is not where you last left it .

28. As you tighten that nut the last little bit, you think "Hope I don't strip the thread" just as you strip the thread!

29. The more expensive or rare a part is, the more chance of it breaking or being damaged.

 

30. Hi-tension lead leakage can generally be found using exposed skin.

 

31. Spare part delivery drivers use a different time zone than everyone else, because they are always "5 minutes away" and it always takes them at least an hour.

 

32. Customers "mates' know exactly what is wrong and how much a job should cost, but don't seem to have the time to do it for them.

 

 33. It doesn’t matter that a car can have fuel pressure and no spark. If the NRMA man say's it's the fuel pump, than it must be that.

 

34. When chasing a part you can never find it but when you are no longer looking, there are  millions of them.

 

36. Bolt on parts never do.

 

37. You have a 50/50 chance of putting it on the right way the first time, But 90% of the time you get it wrong!

 

38. when restoring a car, it will always take twice as long and cost 3 times more than you first intended!!!

 

39. When you buy items(such as grommets)they come in packs of 5,when you need 6!

 

40. When you need 1, they come in packs of 20.

 

41. No part ordered that doesn’t fit is incorrect, it just superseded the old part number.

 

42. (corollary to no. 20) If you throw the tool in frustration instead of the bit, you will immediately need that same tool for the next bolt/screw.

43. The week after you sell that part you bought 15 years ago and never used, you will need it - and it will be NLA.

 

44. Sure mate,  that will fit,  they are all the same across that model range.

 

45. Replica parts, they replicate twice the price and / or  less than 1/4 the quality of an original part.

 

46. Mate I’m after some (wiper Blade Arms) for a VH 1982 Commodore   

            What model is it?

    

      It’s a VH 1982 Commodore sedan which is code VH8VK 39L

 

           Ok, VL,  I got VL parts , what part number did you say it was, VH8VK 39L

           Wagon or sedan? L6 or V8?

 

47. Not everything that went on a vehicle on the production line made it into the spare parts books.

 

48. Ezy - outs are never easy on that sheared bolt.

 

49. The bigger and more convoluted the explanation the more you are going to be conned.

 

50. The customer always pays.

 

51. Automotive design engineers are sadists. You have to dismantle half the engine to change a spark plug.

 

52. Clearance what!!!! Clearance.

 

53. When the owners manual says they recommend that a service technician change the head light globe, you are reassured that you own a late model car.

 

54: work done is inversely proportional to mess made / damage caused.

 

55: O'Toole's comment on Murphy’s law: Murphy was an optimist.

 

56a: the part you threw out / gave away / sold cheap last week after sitting idle for 5 years is required a month after your garage tidy up.

 

56b: the market price of the part you now require but threw out / sold / gave away is now 5x more expensive than at the time of disposal.

 

57.  A dropped tool will always fall where it causes the most damage.  This is also called the 'Law of Selective Gravity'.

 

58. Cleverly dropping another socket in the same position you just lost one to track it trajectory carefully this time and find the other socket results in two lost sockets.

Perhaps if I drop another one??? and another one???

 

59.  After careful research I have taken the drastic step of banning beer in the garage. Research has uncovered the presence of oestrogen (female hormone) in alarming quantities in common beer. Not being one to take things on face value ALLTRQ and I had a session recently and after 16 beers each we were both talking $hit and could not drive, conclusive proof of the presence of female hormone. We now only allow Bourbon in the garage during project work on the VH.

 

60. Do not discuss your research into rule no 59 with females. Ouch, damn that woman hits hard, that’s going to leave a mark.

 

61. The problem you have with the car is never there when you take your car to the mechanic to fix, But returns on the way home.

 

62.  When you finally get the ratchet in position (on you back under the car), one finger on the socket and 2 fingers on the handle and start to turn, the ratchet is set the wrong way.

 

63. The next day delivery (for a part to arrive) really means next month!

 

64. Do not position your face under the rear end of a VL auto transmission when removing the tail shaft.  Note to Self:- If anyone asks can you see through ATF "yes but everything is RED. And it tastes like $hit.

 

65. If you drop a nut or bolt on the grass it will sink into oblivion and never be seen again. Until the next time you have to mow the lawn.

 

66.Washing the car is the rain dance and it will rain the next day.

 

67. If you park near a tree for shade, you always get a big bird **** on it.

 

68. the part you need is NLA

 

69. saying profanities repeatedly doesn't stop the blood flow

 

70. searching  persistence is directly proportional to the replacement value of lost part.

 

71. the part that you threw out thinking "yeah i'll just buy another one" is NLA and the second-hand one you get will be worse condition than the one you threw out

 

72. By the time you jack the back of the car up, put it on stands an crawl out and go  the front of the car, it is too low to get the jack under!!!!

 

73. That no. 8 cylinder extractor bolt, the one under the brake booster, behind the clutch cable and master cylinder brake lines.  Yep that’s the one that will come loose and need tightening.

 

74. That ebay part you swooped on with the buy it now button, the one that was way under priced and rare arrives and is perfect.  As you take it out to the garage very pleased with yourself to put in your spare parts storage system,  as you open the draw you find 2 NOS items already there with invoices that were cheaper.

 

75.  That stubby 1/2” spanner you bought for a particularly difficult access job when used requires the strength of hulk Hogan to shift.

 

76. The length of automotive bolts is inversely proportional to their access and the available throw of the spanned (e.g. that 1 ½” long bolt that you can only get a 2 teeth swing on with a 72 teeth ratchet spanner)

Getting the K-Frame bits ready for black paint. I knew these looked a bit out of shape so checked the measurements and used my new tool (thanks Ian) to expand them back into shape.

 

 

Wound them out to 215mm and they sprung back to the 204mm

 

 

 

Checking the bush will fill the gap.

 

 

This is one at correct measurement and the other not.

 

 

Marty

Weather turned it on for my last real paint day, had 25 degrees last Saturday so perfect for getting the stripes done.

 

 

 

 

One of the reasons I did them in semi-gloss was to create a difference between the black and Amethyst. With certain angles of light the black stripes look silver. If I'd of glossed them they would have been harder to see.

 

 

Just had to get the badge and handle on for a look. The orange goes really well with Amethyst.

 

 

 

Marty