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Heath's Hatch


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#726 Heath

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Posted 06 July 2016 - 10:45 PM

I had always been just a little bit annoyed by the wide area along the tunnel where the handbrake was situated:
izzl5a8.jpg

Admittedly not a hugely significant thing as it'll be under carpet, mostly obscured by the console and I'll fall over if anyone ever notices, but I'm continuing to do the best I can here so off we go:
gODlwy1.jpg

Started to bend up a replacement:
a4uEcmn.jpg

Took a little cut out of the side and tried to pull it in a bit straighter:
iuAmoNF.jpg

Came up okay with a quick tweak:
S82vayd.jpg

#727 76lxhatch

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Posted 06 July 2016 - 11:44 PM

Shouldn't you be making it wider so you can tuck the exhaust up as well? :-P



#728 _LS1 Taxi_

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Posted 06 July 2016 - 11:47 PM

Shouldn't you be making it wider so you can tuck the exhaust up as well? :-P


Killer idea. One of the downers of lowered Toranas is ground clearance for big pipes.

#729 Heath

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Posted 07 July 2016 - 08:07 AM

lol where I'm making the change is not related to where the pipes go - just making the shape of the floor look nicer from inside the car.

Is it that bad? I'm used to cars that are like 60mm off the ground and knock and scrape their way along rough roads, and I've got an aired out Torana in the workshop with a big twin exhaust on a 355 and it's nearly legal height lol.

Edited by Heath, 07 July 2016 - 08:08 AM.


#730 76lxhatch

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Posted 07 July 2016 - 12:31 PM

If you can tuck it up nice and tight, and the car isn't excessively low or the roads excessively bad, you won't have any issues. The worst part will be under the gearbox cross member, particularly at the collectors if they have big flanges.

 

Just having a dig, carry on ;-)



#731 _LS1 Hatch_

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Posted 07 July 2016 - 12:45 PM

Could always use oval pipe to save some room as well if things were that tight. 



#732 myss427

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Posted 07 July 2016 - 03:07 PM

I actually widened that area to tuck the pipes in where they turn out to the mufflers, and I run 3.5 inch pipes. Might be a very aggressive bend to the muffler?



#733 Heath

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 12:33 PM

Thankfully I don't need 3.5" pipes. My exhaust will have a moderate radius curve into an X-type join after the cross brace, then angle out into two mufflers. Nothing ground-breaking, but the join will be further back because of the other hardware under the car.

 

It seems like flared cars also tend to sit a bit higher than non-flared cars generally? I can't really figure out what the change in eyebrow height is. But I'm used to cars that are properly low i.e.

2juIHwg.jpg

 

...and I'm not yet sure that this car will need to be all that low to look 'low enough'. I'm not overly worried about ground clearance at this stage but maybe I'm naive?

 

The floor modification will neither increase or decrease room for pipes. It's just an aesthetic thing.

h0TE6NX.jpg

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VUxWV7g.jpg?2



#734 Bigfella237

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 12:48 PM

Sorry if this has been asked and answered before but what are you doing for a handbrake then?

 

(Surely you're not willingly converting back to the damn LH/LX pedal?)



#735 _Lightyear_

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 01:16 PM

My car has been converted to LX. You can't run a nice console with the handbrake on the UC.

#736 Heath

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 01:46 PM

(Surely you're not willingly converting back to the damn LH/LX pedal?)

 

Haha I never understood what's wrong with the foot brake? As above, I am a fan of the LX look console. The car will have a ratcheting foot brake for parking as per standard LX, and a hydraulic handbrake for extending powerslides and assisting with left-to-right transitions of the oversteering variety.



#737 _LS1 Hatch_

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 02:03 PM

I used a modified Valiant floor mount park brake...just between the console and seat.  I just thought that looking down and seeing 4 pedals looked too busy to me, lol



#738 76lxhatch

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Posted 08 July 2016 - 02:03 PM

Yeah I like the foot operated park brake too, needs a peg for grasskhana but the instant off is great for hill starts.

 

I was only having you on about the exhaust, you've done so much other metal work it wasn't out of the question that you'd rebuild the whole tunnel!

 

You won't get the Torana that low with decent tyres under it, and if you want to it to handle it shouldn't be anyway.



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Posted 08 July 2016 - 02:41 PM

.....and a hydraulic handbrake for extending powerslides and assisting with left-to-right transitions of the oversteering variety.

 

I spat my drink out just now. Damn that's funny!!   :spoton:



#740 GMH-01X

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Posted 10 July 2016 - 12:29 AM

Wow....your going to town on this build Heath, awesome job mate & I always look forward to the updates on Project Badass.

Cheers Az

#741 Heath

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Posted 12 July 2016 - 09:35 PM

iODeuFC.jpg

Tacked it in nicely and ground the welds down flat for a run with the TIG:
YkL1LhM.jpg

gV7gK6g.jpg

Picked up LITRE8's old half-console up last year, bit of genuine performance pedigree to get the hatch up to scratch.
x0wLzzG.jpg

Hope the pedigree wasn't disturbed when I ripped off UFO304's idea and cut the bottom of it out to bring it closer to the trans tunnel.
V5p6Ps3.jpg
Figure I have to make the mounts from scratch anyway so may as well make it suit the seats that'll certainly be lower. Got about 30mm out of the height in the end, and kept the negative draft shape at the underside which I think it quite iconic to the old Holden consoles.

#742 _LS1 Hatch_

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Posted 13 July 2016 - 12:26 AM

So does that make it a Liter 7 3/4 console now?  :D



#743 Heath

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Posted 13 July 2016 - 01:45 PM

Better keep cutting until I get it down to the equivalent of Litre 5.8 then.



#744 SHEEL

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Posted 11 August 2016 - 05:05 PM

I'm having withdrawels :)



#745 76lxhatch

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 06:50 AM

You got my hopes up!



#746 Bigfella237

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 07:50 AM

A silly question that I've been pondering with all the work having changed the shape of the tunnel so much, where / how do you get custom moulded carpet to fit now?



#747 Heath

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 07:56 AM

Sorry blokes I'm dropping the ball a little over here. I'm working on the under-dash clutch master ATM.
11F8KvY.jpg

I'm actually hoping LX carpet will still fit but I'm not sure. The mods aren't THAT drastic, I don't know how close it has to be to look good.

Edited by Heath, 12 August 2016 - 07:59 AM.


#748 76lxhatch

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 10:30 AM

A silly question that I've been pondering with all the work having changed the shape of the tunnel so much, where / how do you get custom moulded carpet to fit now?

A bit easier with a console, you just cut it down the middle and the gap is hidden



#749 myss427

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 10:44 AM

You'd be surprised on what the Torana carpet will fit, I have a VL front tunnel in mine which joins in above the chassis rails and ends at the firewall. A little heat and water for stretching and shrinking, then glued to the under felt and you can't tell, no bubbles or lumpy bits.



#750 Heath

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Posted 14 August 2016 - 10:50 PM

So I've been wanting to work on actual parts of the car as a break from sheetmetal jobs...

My UC had a rat trap 6cyl clutch setup previously. As it has the limit stop arm, I decided it was a good pedal to start with.
M3867iK.jpg
T76JtIe.jpg

Cut the rat trap arm off and spent some time finishing the clutch pedal nicely... like everything these parts are so rough to begin with.
be8OhPs.jpg
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g9qVkfM.jpg

Used some genuine Torana metal (captive door nut plate from what's left of that LX front cut lol for the
CUNWjTM.jpg
0fNTNJi.jpg
etKNSzK.jpg

My TKO used gearbox came with a Wilwood 3/4" Universal Master Cylinder which I decided to use, but the pushrod had to be cut down and I cut the thread further down as well to fit it all in the restrictive area above the column.
KIB4DBh.jpg
I presume this master is a match for the supplied concentric slave throw-out, but easily replaced with a different bore if it turns out to not be quite right for how I've set it up.

Threaded tubes welded in under the dash so that the master bolts in nice and easily with one hand.
BBvTy3Y.jpg
0t69iHL.jpg

And yes, the column clears it, as does the foot-operated parking brake.

Brake pedal was a bit jealous too so I gave it some attention, but haven't decided what to connect it to yet.
CCGUVnA.jpg
EXq7nAi.jpg
M6YgqHc.jpg
CnYIWPW.jpg

Edited by Heath, 14 August 2016 - 10:52 PM.





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