2118 replies to this topic

[Heath]

[76lxhatch]

So what will you be doing for a heater, or is that not yet decided?

[Heath]

The Torana that inspired me to do this has an aftermarket 'Universal' heater box which is what you'd put in a hot rod etc. typically I guess. It's cheap, air-con-ready and contains everything except for a heater tap I think.

[Toranamat69]

Looking good mate, smooth bay is similar to what I have done. My firewall is different though.

[Heath]

Well... pretty piss poor effort on my behalf considering it has been two months since I last posted in here. Tidying up a few unfinished jobs like the adjusted false floor by adding a dimpled hole in-case I need it for the wiring to pass through to the rear:

 

Managed to track down some LX hatch rear seat hinges after a fair bit of hunting, installed them and was able to calculate roughly where the centre bracket pivot point needed to be.

 

Welded up the old hole:

 

Drilled a new hole and some extras obviously:

 

Wanted to add the little braces that most of the hatchback Toranas have, couldn't find any original sheetmetal so figured a bit of box section with a fastening point would probably do a better job. Took ages to profile cut these to suit

 

Was about time I did something a bit more significant so I decided to remove the fuel tank and inspect the floor

 

Oh yep. A few little rust holes, but overall floor looks pretty good.

 

Would be a shame if someone cut it up.

 

I know how much everyone loves petrol and original sheet metal lol. Ooops

[red6]

Loving the build Heath. Can't wait to see how it finishes up - the suspense is killing me.

[SHEEL]

BBQ355???

 

[Heath]

haha yeah. Well I'm guessing any subscribers have unsubscribed from this thread after seeing the last update lol.

 

Ordered myself a big sucker today to fill that hole. While the stainless tank looks great and is lightweight - it's nowhere near big enough and has a valve arrangement that isn't really workable. Nobody makes stainless tanks any more so thicker steel was just how it had to be.

 

The new tank will be 375mm diameter and almost 1100 long, 90L of gas, twin outlets to support high power etc.

 

Also just started making a rotisserie for the car tonight.

[Heath]

To fit a tank of this length in the floor, I had to commit to cutting the floor out the whole way up to the chassis rails, and the neatest way to do this was the same as in the engine bay - just cut up to them, grind them flat and weld a box section out of them.

 

 

 

A friend of mine lent some rotisserie supports, I also bought some UC axle tubes (just for the brackets for another diff swap), picked up some 3" tube for the rotisserie and went hunting through my LH/LX parts for some bumper brackets. The old wagon is a pretty mint parts hauler!

 

LH/LX Bumper Bar Brackets

 

Cut off what I don't need

 

Pretty easy so far

[Heath]

BBQ cars are totally hot right now mate.

[Ice]

Gas BBQ 355 maybe
oops

[Heath]

Like everything I'm doing, I'll learn a lot haha. Never done this stuff before. 

 

I've found a wrecker R31 diff (3.9 ratio) that I might grab this weekend.

[Heath]

Pretty productive day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Struggling to get it the whole way up on its side on my own with the diff in there. I wanted to check clearance of some things before I pulled it out, but I think I'll need to remove it tomorrow.

[bullitA9X]

Good work mate your doing a awesome job love your rotisserie wish i had one doing my sons hatch ☺

[rodomo]

Drive plate, starter pinion gear and a crank handle

[SHEEL]

Whilst others might be hovering over the unsubscribe button I am frothing at the mouth...

 

I'm loving this build mate. so good.

 

what LPG gear are you thinking of using?

 

I'm assuming you are aware APA sell new tanks with twin outlets upon request?  

[76lxhatch]

^ That could be a bit too exciting...!

 

Grinder makes a good quick disassembly tool. I used a pinion gear too but just welded mine to a bolt and use a ratchet on it rather than a crank handle.