823 replies to this topic

[MRLXSS]

10k? Wow. It would want to be a great gearbox. I assume it includes crossmember, tailshaft, etc etc?

Yeah Laurie, that is for everything bar the tail shaft, it did include the slip yoke though.

 

Gearbox, crossmember, starter motor, clutch, flywheel, underdash clutch kit etc etc. It all adds up pretty quickly! I'm hoping to re-coup a fair chunk of the costs when I sell off all the auto gear (box, stall, shifter, cooler, crossmember etc etc)

[Heath]

10k? Wow. It would want to be a great gearbox.

 
It's a great gearbox.

[SmacT]

Love this car, such a great re-take of an epic Torana look.

 

I have been thinking TKX for mine, but sticking to cable clutch rather than hydraulic. Be keen to see how this goes in! 

[Heath]

Matt must be having so much driving his manual V8 Torana that he hasn't even parked it up and jumped in-front of a computer yet!

 

The car actually drives already. I gather the conversion came together really nicely given how few phone calls I had after my visit to clock up the bellhousing.

[SmacT]

Ha ha, thanks Heath. I have always just bolted a gearbox in and driven - what is this "clocking up" you refer to? 😬

[Bigfella237]

What it boils down to is lining up the centreline of the crankshaft with the centreline of the gearbox.

 

As there's usually no room for adjustment between the gearbox and bellhousing (some are even one piece) you would normally move the bellhousing around on the back of the block, usually with offset dowel pins, until the centrelines match.

 

If they're out-of-line you can have all sorts of problems, like the clutch binding/not disengaging, or breaking the centre out of the clutch plate, or chewing-out spigot and/or input shaft bearings/bushes, etc.etc.

[SmacT]

Ah great, thanks for that Bigfella! Makes sense.

[claysummers]

Jumping out of gear is another symptom


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LXCHEV]

Nice feature photo here mate!

 

https://www.whichcar...ars-coffee-2022

[MRLXSS]

Matt must be having so much driving his manual V8 Torana that he hasn't even parked it up and jumped in-front of a computer yet!

 

The car actually drives already. I gather the conversion came together really nicely given how few phone calls I had after my visit to clock up the bellhousing.

Yep - Heath's correct! I've been way too busy driving the car and enjoying it!

Update on it all.

The gearbox is F-ing mint! The car is so much more enjoyable to drive, it sounds better, feels way more powerful and just feels like a tighter car to drive now - I'm so happy with it! The car isn't actually as bad as I thought it was to drive anymore, its actually pretty direct and tight (it didn't feel it with the auto for some reason). I'm super keen to just gradually improve it now to make it even better and maybe even do a couple of driving events with it in the next 12months.

 

I hit up a couple of car shows over the weekend, including that one that Brett linked up that Heath was also at and then also our car Club Eastside Cruisers had their annual car show on Sunday which was mint!

 

 Screenshot 2022-11-16 105735.jpg   119.07K   6 downloads

 

 20221113_094842.jpg   286.11K   6 downloads

 

 20221112_-_unique_cars_and_coffee_40_1.jpg   199.77K   6 downloads

 

I also let a mate do a video review on the car over the weekend, so subscribe to XYYNOT Drifting on YouTube (https://www.youtube....r/Oplese/videos) and that video should go live soon - I'll link it back in here when its up. It was actually fun being in the passenger seat - the car feels faster from the passenger seat! haha

 

 20221112_113632.jpg   263.62K   7 downloads

 

 

[Heath]

Such great stuff mate!!!

[LXCHEV]

Haha very entertaining!

 

Edited by LXCHEV, 24 November 2022 - 08:45 AM.

[MRLXSS]

That's for posting Brett!

That was a bit of fun with Mackie!

 

I've got the Hatch booked in for a Dyno tune next Friday with Eric and Goody's Performance. Really looking forward to ironing out a few things and really get it humming!

 

I'll be sure to post up before and afters here along with any videos that I might take!

[MRLXSS]

Soooo.... last year didn't exactly turn out to be the year for my Torana as planned, but hopefully 2024 can be... MRLXSS V2 (or would it be 3.. or 4?) will be back!

Anyway, earlier this year, my A9-XHDT themed Torana was involved in a pretty serious accident. Luckily, I walked away unharmed, but sadly the car didn't fare as well. That's why you haven't seen much of it lately & it won't be making it to Summernats next week (although I'll still be there).

Initially, the car went in to be repaired, but upon further inspection, after it was stripped down, it was declared a total loss

Those familiar with my history with the car or who have read this thread, will know that I'll do everything in my powers to resurrect it - it's not just a car, it's my first car & a significant part of who I am today. While the cheaper option would've been to just buy another shell, my sentimental attachment to this one won't allow for that.

Luckily, the car was insured with full salvage rights & the damage is repairable. It just requires a substantial amount of time and work to repair.

My friend Dale at Ward Paint and Fabrication will be using his Houdini magic to refabricate & reshape as many of the panels as possible, but I do need help to source a few parts or cuts to replace the unrepairable panels.

I'm on the lookout for:

- Left Hand (Passenger) Side Rear Quarter Panel – as complete as possible, inc. the C-Pillar if attached!

- LX Hatch rear inner sections (inner floor panels, etc.)

- Hatch Lid (Just scored one of these – thanks Chris @OrangeLJ for picking it up for me) - I still need some glass though.

I'll need more parts once I finalise my plans, which I'll share soon. But for now, these are the essentials to get the project rolling!

If you have parts or just want to get involved with the rebuild in some other way - please just reach out.

The plan is to bring it back to life, better than before with lots of upgrades that will include an all-new suspension & diff set up, bigger brakes, new wheels, new interior & a whole new look entirely!

Cheers,
Matt

Attached Files

•  Torana Accident Post - Small.jpg   226.97K   17 downloads

[rexy]

What happened?

[hawk]

So sorry to hear about the accident. This car was one I idolised in the early days of the forum.

While I don't have any parts that would be of use, if you need an extra set of hands one weekend I'd been keen to help.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the car in it next iteration.

[MRLXSS]

So sorry to hear about the accident. This car was one I idolised in the early days of the forum.

While I don't have any parts that would be of use, if you need an extra set of hands one weekend I'd been keen to help.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the car in it next iteration.

Thanks mate really appreciate it - you were one of the last people to see it before the accident. It happened just a couple of days after we caught up at the Monbulk Car show. The pics I took that day were the last ones 'pre-accident' that I have of it.

 

 

What happened?

I had a track day planned with my car club the following day, so I'd just serviced the car and given it a really good going over before I was about to load it onto the trailer. I took it for a bit of a test drive around the block to make sure everything was in order. I live in Upwey, so I started by driving around my local area, but then decided to take it up the mountain (Ferny Creek / Mount Dandenong) for a bit of a longer drive. As soon as I got up the hill, it was raining and very slippery. So I decided to play it safe, turn around and head home.

Taking it easy, coming back down the road and coming into a corner the rear wheels stepped out under brakes or when I shifted down gear and sent me into a bit of a fish tail unexpectedly. I tried to recover it, but the incline of the road meant I couldn't wipe off any speed (I was probably going around 40-50km/h) and then there was a bigger corner that I had to attempt to negotiate. This made the car completely lose control and sent me across the road, into a tree and down an embankment. Not fun at all. To make matters worse, after I climbed out of the car (remarkably without a scratch!) I had no phone reception at all to call for help. So, whilst in total shock - I had to walk up and down the road searching for a signal to call my wife to get help. 

 

It needed 2 tow trucks to pull the car out from the embankment with the police shutting down the road in the now pouring rain. Everyone who helped out were great - the towies did a great job and recovering the car without causing further damage and the police were also great at helping me see the positives of how lucky I was to walk away the way I did. They said that attend these sort of accidents all the time and usually the person is taken away in a helicopter... and those cars weren't 45 year old Toranas! They said that my lack of speed played a huge part in the seriousness of the accident, if I was going any faster (the speed limit I think is 60 or 70km/h through there) - I don't think 1, the car would be repairable and 2... I might not be here to tell the tale.

When I went back up to the accident site the next day to collect the parts that had fallen off the car, I found parts from another car that had crashed in the exact same location at another time!

Anyway - good news is that it looks like I've found all the parts that I need for the rebuild to get started! I can't wait to begin the process and leave all this behind me!

[Shiney005]

It can happen to the best of us Matt. I nearly got cleaned up as I slid through a red light years ago. It was raining and a fuel truck that was ahead of me was leaking diesel onto the road. I could see the rainbow colours on the road, but every time I touched the brakes the wheels would lock up. It was like being on ice and I just couldn't stop.

[SmacT]

Wow mate, that sucks. I have been following this on other channels - glad to hear it's coming together and you end up with an even bigger weapon of a Torana after all that.

[barny_lx]

Any updates on this ? I hope it is going ok , a very cool car from the early
days on the forum!!

Any updates on this ? I hope it is going ok , a very cool car from the early
days on the forum!!

[MRLXSS]

Yeah mate, its at my mates workshop where the bodywork its about to get started. 

 

We managed to source a complete inner rear floor, wheel tubs etc to hopefully help with the repair, but it took about 2 months for it to get dropped off. Anyway, he got it last week, so now my guy can work out his plan of attack and get the wheels in motion. Step one will be to pull the car perfectly straight and remove all the crinkled bits. Then from there we can go full steam ahead at it!

 

I've been pre-occupied with my other project of a late... a 1981 DMC-12 DeLorean!

 

I had it at MotorEx a few months back which was pretty cool - https://www.streetma...at-motorex-2024

 

[yel327]

You've got yourself a DNA link to the original US Muscle Car there, and by extension with Australia's Muscle Car (HK GTS327). John Delorean played a large part in the development of the 1964 Pontiac GTO, the car credited with kicking off the 1960's Muscle Car trend. 

[MRLXSS]

I sure do! I love the John DeLorean story, he definitely had the vision to think ahead of the curve... he just wasn't great at running business and its finance!

[barny_lx]

Love the DeLorean and the clothes!!!