136 replies to this topic

[gtrboyy]

Common to feel that way dude....know lots of blokes who sold off their torries & regretted it down the track...they say it everytime open the garage haha

 

I was lucky that had somewhere to store my cars untill could work on them again.

 

Never expected it would take so long but glad I kept the dust collectors.

[ben23]

Ben imho if your heart is not in it put the car away for a few years save some cash buy a house ,this is coming from a guy that prob spent a couple of hundred thousands of $$$ over a long period of time on cars"
It does get you down when you dont see progress for a few years its bloody hard to swallow after a while
all the best on what you decide
cheers G.

 

It definitely does get you down mate. You just see it sitting there wondering how it could ever be a functioning car again. But I did get to drive this one before stripping her down so that's what keeps me going, driving it once again.

 

Once its painted I'll be all hands on deck about it, the rest is all small stuff compared to the body and all stuff that I am more than capable of. Worst part is I have a short attention span, maybe that's a fault of my generation, instant gratification and all but yeah I have been doing other small instantly satisfying projects (audio and electronic restorations) to maintain my sanity.

 

Otherwise id just work and sleep, saving my cash. But that would quickly drive me insane as I'm not money motivated. I'm not-being-at-work motivated or I'd be doing shitloads of OT to get shit done. I'm all too aware of my faults and how to remedy them, wanting to do it is another thing.

[ben23]

Common to feel that way dude....know lots of blokes who sold off their torries & regretted it down the track...they say it everytime open the garage haha

 

I was lucky that had somewhere to store my cars untill could work on them again.

 

Never expected it would take so long but glad I kept the dust collectors.

 

Yeah after wanting a Torana for so long I don't think I could ever sell it. As much as selling it would provide a nice start to saving for a house deposit, I think I'd rather just keep it and save that little bit longer. Even if it meant not touching it for a few years.

 

Well, good news, I have Deni from Spray Fever in Campbelltown coming to have a look at the car tomorrow so we can get the ball rolling on a quote. Handy as where I have the car stored is only a few doors down from his workshop. He also comes highly recommended. So this is good news for the new year!

[Heath]

Good stuff Ben.

[ben23]

Late last year the car went off into the capable hands of Harry at Flowstyle Restorations at Prestons (NSW) and he is chipping away at it as we speak. Next week the car and diff are going to Diff Technics at Kogarah to get the R31 Borg Warner fitted up to suit a nice set of Simmons V5s. So it's all happening. With a bit of luck the body will be done this year and I can get stuck into putting her back together.

[Neils LX]

Hi Ben
Pretty sure it was you I sold a towbar to about 6 months ago. Don't worry I have had my car since 2003 and it's nowhere near finished 😂. Looking great and won't be long til you will have it all sorted by the looks.
I have 304/T5 and Borg Warner diff if you need any reference photos. Keep at it

[ben23]

Been a hot minute since I posted......well, amongst all the tragedy and disruptment of Covid, yep, you guessed it, frOck all got done. The car went off to the shop at the end of 2019, I pulled it out in early 2021 having been blasted and primed, a few other bits and that's about it. Also started a new job 2 months ago so that's been a bit of an adjustment as well. The R31 diff got modified and fitted by Diff Technics at Kogarah mid 2020, I had a set of V5s cleaned up and painted however I'm not sold on the colour I picked (gunmetal grey).

Also in September of 2020 my mates and I handed back the keys to our shared workshop after 5 years and while they went off to buy houses and get married, I simply moved all my shit back to my parents single garage and carport, not being able to afford the place on my own.

My uncle who is a gun painter of nearly 50 years offered to help me, however, first the lockdowns of 2021 prevented that, and then without a workshop to stay dry, the rain of 2022 set that back even further.

Then being out of a job for ~2 months and having to do repairs on the daily driver now I didn't have a company vehicle ate into my spare cash, not to mention landing a Mrs who is great but is yet another thing occupying my already limited time. Add into that a deteriorating mental state and here we are, 8 years on, no closer to actually enjoying any fruits of my labour. There's a lesson to be taken from this. Dont build cars unless you have unlimited time, skills, patience and funds. Or at least unlimited funds, the rest can be outsourced (usually)

[rexy]

The best bit about owning a project car is that it doesn’t judge you for neglecting it and will be ready for your attention again wether its an hour, day, week, month, year or decade later.

 

Dont let perfection get in the way either. Slap it together and get out there! 

[Heath]

The worst thing about owning a project car is that even when you work your arse off on it with every ounce of your mind & body invested, it once again does not judge or care, so it'll seemingly spit in your face and take everything you've done for granted. Very fun.

 

Everyone has the same amount of hours in the day. We just choose to spend them in a certain way.

If the shared workshop wasn't making the car progress, I wouldn't be blaming the lack of workshop for the progress. 

 

Hop to it!

 

What's on the list?

[ben23]

Seeing as the car is a shell with wheels in epoxy, literally everything. Ideally, I'd like to get the engine bay sorted so I can keep moving with the driveline and drop that in once it's painted, then get it wired and plumbed and braked so it's a moving shell, then get onto the rest of the body

[ben23]

Well, nearly a year after the last bit of body progress was made, no thanks to covid and the rain, we got the doors, guards and nose into epoxy a couple of days ago. big thanks to my Uncle Bob who is helping me out (by which i mean doing) the body for me.

Nice hot day for it too!

 

 

[ben23]

Well, over 2 years since my last post, and I'd like to say the project has come along in leaps and bounds. But it hasn't. A relationship has come and gone in that time, dealing with a few health and sleep issues to a greater or lesser extent and dealing with the horrible FOMO as all my mates are now married with/without kids and aside from one couple, all own their own houses. But, I'll save the rest for my psychologist and spare the rest of you the reality of living single, in Sydney, at home at nearly 35 on the verge of diabetes, stuck to dieting and exercise, while your peers surpass you by just about every metric in life. But I digress.

 

The body hasn't even been touched really, still waiting on my uncle to finish the one-tonner that jumped the queue and is taking a lot longer than him or I would like, so, lets see if we can get it happening this year, 4 years after pulling it out of a shop where nothing was happening.

 

However. I've managed to make some small strides. End of 2023 I sent the engine to APM at Smeaton Grange who did a fantastic job and built my ex VR Caprice 304 into a nice fresh little street motor. Standard 304 rebuilt with flat tops, Crow 4761 cam, still running flat hydraulic tappet and standard rocker gear for now. Running Edelbrock RPM Air Gap 4bbl manifold, drilled for injectors, and Holley 1000cfm throttlebody. Will be running the Delco ECU so Ace Performance Tuning at Silverdale NSW will be dialling all that in once its in the car and running.

 

Painted it Race Hemi Orange of all colours, I think it will go well with most of the body colours I have in mind.

 

It's now packed away and waiting for the day where it finally goes in. Next I need to get the 4L60E off to my gearbox guy to rebuild and beef up, as well as organise a converter.

 

Bought pieces for the car here and there, mounts, electrical bits, various misc parts all packed away waiting.

 

Finally dug out the box of harnesses from both the car and the engine so its time to attack that and get it sorted, so it can simply be laid in once its time to assemble.

 

Other than that, its just work and save.

 

Stay tuned for the next update in a year or two.