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SS LX hatch build up


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#26 _galaxyhatch_

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Posted 07 November 2009 - 07:57 PM

Hey Guy's,

Thanks for all the great feedback.

On a more serious note though, I am having an issue with which way to go with gearbox and diff. There's the idea of a top loader and Nine inch, but many have said to go Turbo 350 auto with manualised body and nine inch?

I am putting the question out to all those that have been before me, I have the standard at the moment, 308, aussie 4 and banjo 2:78 open wheeler. (to get her going as per Plates)

But I am unsure of what drive train to put in her after, to handle around 400-450 horses out of the 308?

Any suggestions on what combo will work the best with the least fuss and to enable me to retain the centre console.

Cheers Dave

And to add, by the way it will be great to see the turn out tomorrow at the all torana day in adelaide, 107 confirmed Torries are going to be there with around 30 rocking up on the day. should be an awesome turn out. (just wish mine was there, oh well next year)

Cheers Dave

#27 76lxhatch

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Posted 07 November 2009 - 09:44 PM

Manual or auto is a personal preference thing unless you have a specific application in mind. There's always an option, a few examples of T10s on this site and I'm sure there are a few getting around with Top Loaders as well.

#28 _torriechick_

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Posted 08 November 2009 - 08:42 AM

Looks sweet, I love it!! And Im definately a fan of the flames, look sweeet! Great work, well done!! :spoton:

#29 _galaxyhatch_

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Posted 17 November 2009 - 05:31 PM

Thankyou all again for your kind remarks, though up against some of these forum members cars and projects, it doesn't hold a candle.

On a more serious note, My question was serious about the running gear dilema. As 76LXHATCH said, 'Manual or auto is a personal preference thing unless you have a specific application in mind." I do prefer manual trans but I have not stopped hearing how great manualised turbo 350's are?public/style_emoticons/default/Headbang2.gifpublic/style_emoticons/default/dohdoh.gif

Please, from the extensive resourses on this forum (that is you, the people) some suggestions on what works well, keeping in mind she will be a cruiser (so it has to be traffic friendly as well) and what is the least fuss to put in. (a 9 inch is probably a gimmie, so Trans?)

Your help would be appreciated.

Also, for those that are in SA, check out the latest Sprints Calender, I managed to get the May spot, even though she is not finished yet, would have prefered a shot a bit further around to show off the paint but it was an achivement none the less.

Cheers Dave

#30 GML-31

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Posted 17 November 2009 - 06:56 PM

if you are going to drive it on the street and do the odd drag meeting I would go manualised auto, if you want to do a bit of circuit work then go manual

#31 _greenmachine215_

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Posted 17 November 2009 - 07:34 PM

Ive gone TH350 With manual valve body, sort of the best of both worlds.

Reason i chose this over manual being that i do want to drag mine, The Cost involved.
-building a auto to handle 600hp will cost around 2k that not going sick on 'race' specific parts

on the other hand to have a manual box that will hold up to 600hp without breaking under a hard time will cost double or even triple that,

I was going to convert mine to a T5 Manual until i found out how much the conversion would cost for a STOCK Box i t was way more value for money to go the toughened up auto.

and a well setup auto will shit on any manual down the quater mile.

p.s you wont burn out clutches and crack flywheels :burnout:

Cheers

#32 _lxss5l_

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Posted 13 February 2010 - 01:12 PM

This car is just ausome dave i love the way the flames are done and all the attention to detail you've put in hi class i like the boot lid set up to.If you don't mind me asking what was the air con originally out of like evaporator , compressor , ect? and if you could please it would be great to see some under dash pics of your set up of the evaporator to the air box thanks



#33 _The Baron_

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Posted 15 February 2010 - 08:55 PM

Hi Dave,

I chatted with you at the SMASA show about your car. (grey hair white shirt with the mate with no hair white shirt). :)
It's even better than the photos give credit. The AC installation is an impressive bit of work, I will show you the setup I have when the opportunity arises.

Cheers

#34 ls2lxhatch

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Posted 15 February 2010 - 09:44 PM

Posted Image

I like where you have mounted the A/C compressor. Unfortunately the SD508 ( assuming that is what you have ) can not be mounted upside down.

Posted Image


There is a rear exit port head available for the SD508.

Posted Image

You can also can get hard lines (passenger or driver side) to suit.

Posted Image

#35 TerrA LX

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Posted 15 February 2010 - 11:44 PM

Love your build, the flames, the A/C, the boot area, wheels... very nice.

Edited by TerrA LX, 15 February 2010 - 11:46 PM.


#36 _LH8VD69_

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Posted 16 February 2010 - 05:03 AM

Very very nice !!!! God i love Toranas.... Hey i think those 265/50 are a hinderance to you and cluttering your shed. just so happens i can store them on my car.. Ya see the lengths ill go to ta help out a fellow Torrie owner... Lol

#37 _galaxyhatch_

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Posted 05 April 2010 - 08:28 PM

Attached File  P1040153.JPG   783.18K   63 downloadsAttached File  P1030928.JPG   895.82K   47 downloadsHi Guy's,

Its been sooo... loong......since I have had the time to get back on this forum let alone back on the net.
So I have decided to put some time away and bring you all up on the progress and what's happening.

But firstly a conundrum.............LS2LXHATCH, when you say that the compressor can't run upside down, is this just a oil fill plug problem, or don't they run upside down for another reason and will it let go because of it. I ask as I got this compressor off a mate and when we set it up for the Torry, the knob cut off the wrong mounting lugs, so where it is, is where it is. Also, I ask as it seems to run fine and gets ice cold to the point where I need to turn it down? Look forward to your reply.


Back to the progress,

I finally got the trim sorted, after many a deliberation with Brian on what we were going to do and then actually sticking with it before one of us had another though.
We went with Black carpet (Gimmie), Chevy Cloth insert (from a distance looks almost like hounds tooth) and black HQ vinayl. The seats were done similar to HQ setup with the addition of the single bench fold down seat in the back (for one, to get rid of that ugly centre bracket and two, to accomedate my 2 year old son's car seat.)

I will let the pics speak for themselves.

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Once the trim was done, and Brian was happy with it, it was a mad rush to try and get her registered before her first Show n Shine at Regency oval, SMASA Annual show and shine 2010.

Long story short I got her registered in the nick of time and was able to drive her down to the Show. Pics follow.

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I was overwhelmed by the responce.................it appears alot of people..........not just holden or Torana nuts like what I have done.

I wasn't going to have it judged, but Brian convinced me to do it.

And what I recieved blew me away..................

I ended up with Top Coupe (48-78), Top Murals/ graphics, top engine bay, and sponsors choice. I was really very humbled by the responce and it just goes to show that what I like, alot of other people like to.
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Needless to say there is more to this story of the build, but I will have to fill you all in later, as I have expelled my time limit and will have to sign off.

(but before I do, I just have to say.............I thank all the people that have helped me out with this build over the years........and years..........and years.......and to all those on this forum, I also thankyou for your kind comments, critisims and suggestions, this is trully a great place to discuss anything Torana and an extensive wealth of knowledge.

Cheers Dave

#38 _cruiza_

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Posted 05 April 2010 - 08:55 PM

Concratulation and job well done for sticking with it and daring to be different

#39 ls2lxhatch

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Posted 06 April 2010 - 01:52 AM

Congratulations on finishing the car and the car show results.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. It is my understanding that compressor must be mounted within 45 degrees of upright so it will hold oil. Oil does circulate throughout the system with the refrigerant however the compressor should always be holding the bulk of the oil to lubricate the compressor. When the compressor is mounted upside down oil will drain out of the compressor and you can expect it to eventually overheat and fail.

I am surprised that the person that gassed the system did not notice. I would take it to another airconditioning workshop for a second opinion.

#40 _nial8r_

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Posted 06 April 2010 - 08:36 AM

congratulations mate Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image well done

#41 Heath

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Posted 06 April 2010 - 09:49 AM

Congratulations on the result, and it really looks awesome out there.

I only just noticed that you have the rubber strip fitted to the rear spoiler as well, never seen that done before, quite neat :)

Can you get white on black plates in S.A.?

#42 LXCHEV

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Posted 06 April 2010 - 12:23 PM

Very nice hatch you have built there Dave. Love the colour mate, what a top choice ;)

Have you decided on driveline yet?

Auto vs Manual is a tough choice to make. It really does come down to your personal preference, and what you wish to use the car for.

There was some good advice above... if you're building the car for BIG HORSEPOWER, a well built auto will be "set and forget". Build a tough TH350 or TH400, fit a high quality trans cooler, and you should never have to touch it again. Strong, reliable, easy, and fun. Awesome for cruising, perfect for drag racing. Depending on stall size, it will use more fuel though when compared to a manual.

As for manual boxes.... for a mild combo - a good manual would be nice and reliable, great fun, and better on fuel (you'd be mad not to fit a 5 speed and take advantage of the overdrive). However, if you start pushing serious power through it, and do any performance events like drag racing, or motorkhana's etc, you may very quickly start having maintenance issues - clutch plates etc... so many of my mates with manuals are constantly repairing them. To be bulletproof, you need to spend huge bucks on a top quality box, even then, if you drive really hard and abuse it, you may still find yourself replacing bits more frequently. All depends what sort of driver you are, and what you are going to be doing with the car. Will the car get driven regularly in stop/start city traffic? A manual behind a hottie big power V8 could get frustrating very quickly in that situation....

If you're more about cruising, shows, and the odd bit of spirited driving, I'd personally suggest setting up a good manual box. As for me - I have one of each! A 'built' TH350 behind my 383 Chev, which I love.... and a Supra 5 speed behind my boring 253 in the other car, which I also love!

Anyway, once again, great work with the car.

Cheers.

#43 _cruiza_

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Posted 06 April 2010 - 06:02 PM

I had nearly 400hp in my Hatch, enough to lift the front wheels off the ground and carry them for a fair distance and I ran both Auto and manual in the car running 2.75 nine inch rear end
I did nearly 100,000 km of trouble free motoring with the auto, I wasnt't into drag racing but did love to jim karna the car and competed offen, plus I did do a fair bit of hard driving
I did about 20,000 km with a alloy case M21 american box close ratio manual, in the same car with the same spec engine, car was a pig in traffic as even at just off idle was 30km hr and clutch even after a lot of expensive effort was still heavy. On the open road the thing was amazing so much more positive then the auto and controling power slides and drifting was excellent also could lift front wheel off the ground and keep them up from 1st thru 2nd and even into 3rd. Far and away the best thing was the acceleration thru the gears when passing and throttle steering the car thru corners. however all the fun and goodness came to a terminal end and the broken manual was removed and the trouble free turbo hydro 350 went back in.

The auto had a stage one B & M shift kit so farily smooth but was orignally built to be super tuff and go behind a supercharged 327 in a T bucket but owner changed his mind and ran a power glide so lucky me
the manual cost a small fortune as was menat to be tuff competition box and had all the good gear in it and was setup by a race mechanic friend of mine hurst shifter etc as well. driven quietly it was like a japenese box light and easy to use, you could change gear using one finger, even if the competition clutch wasnt. to give you idea on how tuff the box was it ended up being rebuilt to same spec and went in a V8 powered ford escort race car for circut racing.

I think the best way to sum it is this anybody could drive the car with the auto, even my wife wasn't too scared of it, but with the manual very few could handle properly, and if I was to be doing alot of city driving then auto is a must

All the best

#44 fatslr

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Posted 07 April 2010 - 09:36 AM

Just read this whole thread hadn't noticed it before :dontknow:

Mate love your car Trophies straight up how stoked are ya :rockon:

I love the flames similar to my Harley, colour is also similar "NICE"

Auto or manual ???

I have just bought a hatch with a 355 getrag 5 speed and 9" with 3.7 gears and i love it's gearing but as for longevity it is too early to tell.

It all comes down to what you want i love changeing gears with a clutch .

Again well done

Garth

#45 _youngy_11_

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Posted 07 April 2010 - 12:25 PM

Dave top build congrats on the trophies you definately deserve them. One of the best original looking done up flared hatches I have seen in a while.

Love all the modern touches too, they always take the longest and give the most headaches.

#46 _AD_75_

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Posted 07 April 2010 - 05:15 PM

Congrats on the awards Dave your car certainly is a standout, one thing i wanted to ask is, have you ever thought about trying a different set of wheels on it? the US racer/jellybean style rims you have on it do seem to give it that 70's classic look but a set of dished Convo's would look so tuff on that car! i think a more modern themed set of wheels would finish the car off nicely. Just a minor criticism! but once again well done at the show. :spoton:

Edited by AD_75, 07 April 2010 - 05:16 PM.


#47 _shep3305_

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Posted 07 April 2010 - 05:18 PM

Wow dave just read whole thread again and it still blows me away. You should be very proud because there's rebuilds and then there's a few that achieve that extra level.. Congrats :clap:

#48 _galaxyhatch_

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Posted 07 April 2010 - 08:24 PM

Thanks once again for all the kind comments,

Some replies:

LxChev and Cruiza,

I still haven't yet decided on a drive line, I just can't bring myself to go auto as I am too much of a fan of clutching and changing gears.
For now I am stuck with the m21 and 3.36 banjo open wheeler for the run in process (it makes me be nice to the engine during the run in process, otherwise bang goes the banjo.)
I am looking along the ways of either a Borg warner 4 pinion LSD 3.36 diff or salisbury 4 pinion lsd 3.08 for the rear end and either a beefed up m21 or a celica 5 spd as I don't want to stuff around with moving shifter positions.
Any other suggestions out there in Torry land that have a manual setup?

Ad-75,

I chose to keep the jelly look as I was sick and tired of seeing convo pro's on every Torana at the car shows, It was like people were saying to themselves "how do I make my car look tuff.....I know...i'll stick a set of american whells on it....that will work". After seeing them done to death I chose to stay with the jellys, and not just any jellys, these are original sampson engineering magnums 14x8's and Bathurst 15x10's, very hard to come by.
But in saying that, I do like the Convo pro's, I managed to pinch 2 of them off Gary Myres burnout Mustang to trial fit and see what they looked like.....and yes they were sexy....but I couldn't go them due to the above reasons.
Not saying that in the future she may score a set......I will have to wait and see.

Heath,

Check out EZYPLTES SA as I don't no if they do it or not.

young 11,

Cheers for the comments and congrats on the Mag review, awesome car and that v6 looks right at home.

Fatslr,

I was stoked by the awards, it was nice to know that what I had done was liked by most prople, I was maily stoked that a car I built maiunly for myself and family was recieved so well by all.

I thankyou all again and look forward to hearing from all those manual drivers and drivelines they are running.

Cheers Dave

#49 _galaxyhatch_

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Posted 21 August 2010 - 07:29 PM

Attached File  wendy 2.JPG   120.8K   5 downloadsAttached File  wendy 2.JPG   120.8K   5 downloads

Thanks once again for all the kind comments,

Some replies:

LxChev and Cruiza,

I still haven't yet decided on a drive line, I just can't bring myself to go auto as I am too much of a fan of clutching and changing gears.
For now I am stuck with the m21 and 3.36 banjo open wheeler for the run in process (it makes me be nice to the engine during the run in process, otherwise bang goes the banjo.)
I am looking along the ways of either a Borg warner 4 pinion LSD 3.36 diff or salisbury 4 pinion lsd 3.08 for the rear end and either a beefed up m21 or a celica 5 spd as I don't want to stuff around with moving shifter positions.
Any other suggestions out there in Torry land that have a manual setup?

Ad-75,

I chose to keep the jelly look as I was sick and tired of seeing convo pro's on every Torana at the car shows, It was like people were saying to themselves "how do I make my car look tuff.....I know...i'll stick a set of american whells on it....that will work". After seeing them done to death I chose to stay with the jellys, and not just any jellys, these are original sampson engineering magnums 14x8's and Bathurst 15x10's, very hard to come by.
But in saying that, I do like the Convo pro's, I managed to pinch 2 of them off Gary Myres burnout Mustang to trial fit and see what they looked like.....and yes they were sexy....but I couldn't go them due to the above reasons.
Not saying that in the future she may score a set......I will have to wait and see.

Heath,

Check out EZYPLTES SA as I don't no if they do it or not.

young 11,

Cheers for the comments and congrats on the Mag review, awesome car and that v6 looks right at home.

Fatslr,

I was stoked by the awards, it was nice to know that what I had done was liked by most prople, I was maily stoked that a car I built maiunly for myself and family was recieved so well by all.

I thankyou all again and look forward to hearing from all those manual drivers and drivelines they are running.

Cheers Dave


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Guy's n Girl's,

It again has been some time since last post and I thought I would fill you all in on the latest.

Since the last post I entered it in the All GM day at Tanunda and took away best LH/LX/UC for the Day. Pretty stoked about that too.
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I ended up braking one of my axles also in the Bango (it didn't take much and wasn't even done in a spectacular fashion, I wasn't even spinning the wheels, not even off the primary butterflies)
Fixed this problem the very next day with an axle change.

For all those that offered their advice on drivetrains, I thankyou and I have opted to go for a Muncie 4spd box with a Borgwarner Vr 28spline 4 pinion diff with 3:45 gears.
This should sort out my drivrline issues I believe.

Besides driving her as much as I can, and entering some up comming events and shows there is not to much to add.................. but......................

I have recently bought another Beastie........................can't help myself.





I purchaced a LX 4 door SLR Clone for the Missus. Long story short (and a new thread to be started at a later date) we sold our VT SII 5.7lt Calais for this car and intend on using it, once finished as her daily/ family car.


It is only an S series by plates but it does have the following:

Full SLR bodykit
308 Mild engine, original engine out of a V8 HT (pre polution).
Trimatic gearbox
3.08 banjo diff.
Full SLR dash
14x7 and 14x8 rare torana stud patern hotwires
It is on Gas with a gas hat system.
It is a bit rough around the edges but a good starting point for my wife.

What it will be is:

Full SLR clone.
paint will be Red tinta with blackout on the bonnet and around door tops.
New full flare kit (fitted properly)
keeping the hotwires.
engine built to suit gas.
fitting underdash aircon
redoing the trim SLR
In the end it will be a nice streeter that can be the back up car for mine at shows, car to cruise in whatever the weather, and good enough to park next to mine at shows.

Should end up being a nice daily I think.

Cheers again for all of the people that have helped me with my car and voiced their opinions, it is much appreciated and I am sure I will call on all your wisdom again soon.

Cheers Dave

(ps. some pics of Wendy's when we got her)

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( pps. Also I thought I would post some pics of what I have owned with my wife and currently own + wht her dad use to race)

Here is my first Torana with a model I made of it just before I sold her.
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Her is her first car.
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My second is my current hatchback. Pics above.

the next we bought was this original SL LH sedan
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Then came our next driver which was another SL LH sedan
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Then Wendy's Current one the SLR clone.

Next is a model I made of Wendy's dad's old Sedan race car.
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That's all folks, I will start Wendy's build thread hopefully in the next few weeks.

Cheers Dave

#50 _SS Hatchback_

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Posted 27 August 2010 - 06:34 PM

congrats on the show awards for a top looking hatch , well done on the build :spoton:




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