396 replies to this topic

[hawk]

I'm going to tackle as much as I can, I want to straighten them as much as possible.

I'll cut holes in the floor pan above the rails to access the inside and know them back out. When doing these repairs is it worth strengthening the rails, especially where the crack is by welding a plate in to box it up? With a relief to allow water to escape of course.

Started on the crossmember upper Mount today, the easiest bit. Not perfect but its come a long way.

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[S pack]

Damn fine work Steve. That looks as good as new.

[toryman76]

Looks good steve!! Lick of paint and it's good as new again.

I would be hesitant to cut the floor. Why do you think you need access to the top of it? I think as heath suggested drilling the ends, weld it from the outside only getting full penetration should be sufficient to last many years to come.

[hawk]

Thanks, the main reason for access inside the rails is for the gearbox crossmember area it looks like the spot welds have torn where the crossmember threads are and I'll need access inside the rail to repair it properly.

and the passengers side outrigger area is a lot worse than the photos show. I'm not sure how to straighten it otherwise. My main priority is to get the K frame mounts as close as possible to the correct position.

[toryman76]

The gearbox cross member bolts has a threaded plate that is spot welded to the chassis. If you suspect the spot welds are broken you could try pulling the plate back flush to the chassis rail with bolts then drill a few 8mm holes in the rail and plug weld nice and hot with a mig.

For the out rigger section. Yes I hear what you're saying. Could you try tack welding some bar or small all thread on the dented area and use a slide hammer to pull it back out? I still think cutting access holes should be last resort.

[hawk]

Thanks, the issue with trying to pull it out is i dont have anything to anchor to at the moment.

Access holes would be no different to replacing a section of rusty floor pan above the rails with no cut into the rail its self except of course where the crack is.

[Toranamat69]

Hack in mate, no use being precious about these things.

Access holes make repair way easier in many instances.

Matt

[hawk]

I'll be hacking in sometime in the next few weeks.

Today I spent the say mucking around with the motor. Timing chain is stretched and needs replacing, water pump needs to be done.

the timing cover has a chunk out of the seal area is it still good to use?

Harmonic balancer was hit with an angle grinder somehow and needs replacing.

Here's my list so far for the motor:
All prices from eagle auto parts.

rollmaster cs6000 timing chain set $175

powerbond harmonic balancer $275

Arp intake manifold bolts $110

arp timing and water pump bolts $85

arp sump bolts $85

arp head studs or bolts? $275

extractor bolts $40

water pump what type? $100 ish

Gasket kit up to $200? which rear main seal?

will probably need other bits too. I think I'll leave the intake manifold for now to save on coin and same with the electronic dizzy. Would love to get a tunnel ram eventually.

I'll pull the heads off and get a friend to lap the valves, and might get them chemically cleaned while apart.

Hopefully I can get some paint on the sides of the block tomorrow.

How does the cam look in the pics from what you can see? Lifters look relatively new.

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[Zook]

Mate, you could have my shell but it's had the dash cut out of it so it's still going to be trouble. You've got my number so send photos of exactly what you need of the rails and I'll cut them out for you. Might be $100 for my time cos it sounds like a pita.

[hawk]

Thanks heaps, will do tomorrow. I'd grab the whole shell but who knows when the borders will open up again.

[rodomo]

Timing cover should be OK. Someone has drilled the old seal and inserted a self tapper to extract the old seal with a prybar or claw hammer. The seal seals to the timing case around the outside of the seal with a bit of goop.

[Ice]

Unless you’re punching out 500 HP ARP bolts are overkill and you could use that money else where 

standard bolts are fine just sayin 

[S pack]

Looking at the wear pattern/oil staining on the camshaft lobes you better get new lifters and you might also need a new or reground camshaft. The bottom of those lifters are badly worn.

Edited by S pack, 09 January 2021 - 10:55 PM.

[hawk]

Looking at the wear pattern/oil staining on the camshaft lobes you better get new lifters and you might also need a new or reground camshaft. The bottom of those lifters are badly worn.

Thats a shame, I was hoping not to touch that side of things. Is it deffinitly wear or could it be because the motor was sitting a long time?

[Ice]

New cam and lifters by the looks of things 

[rexy]

Stop looking for problems!

 

Get it back together and whack it in the car and see how it runs. No point spending lots of money on it.

Reuse the head bolts. Get all the others from the local bolt shop.

How bad is the mark on the harmonic balancer?

 

All dollars saved now can be put forward to a nice new engine down the track.

[hawk]

I understand where you're coming from. I'm not looking for problems, moreso looking to do things right the first time.

On my last UC I always did things as cheaply as possible to keep it going, it meant there was constant issues that popped up. If I'd done it properly the first time the issues wouldnt have arisen.

Trying to learn from my previous mistakes.

I need to focus my efforts on one part of the build so the motor is shelved until I've finished the front suspension and rail repairs.

I need to keep focussed on one step at a time.

The harmonic balancer was pretty bad had 3 deep grooves in different spots. Looks like someone was trying to remove a pulley with a grinder and dug way too deep.

I started removing the interior on the weekend. Floors are really solid.

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[Ice]

If you need any parts ask here first im sure forum members will help if they can 

[Zook]

I've got running 202 and trimatic that I would trust to sell to you for $300. I think it's got some chrome on it too. Rad. Took it out of an LX that I took to Toranafest one year with that engine. Solid.

[yel327]

I may still have the odd UC bit around you can have too. Will have a look next time I’m up on the mezzanine. I think there may be a console there, I used a UC shifter in the Overlander and the console may have survived as all the consoles are way up in the roof peak. I think I turfed all the Torana suspension bits but will check. Might be a UC steering rack. Will let you know. Might be some other goodies I have long forgotten about.

[hawk]

Thanks for the offers guys, I'm pretty well sorted for the main stuff. Going to stick with the 253 and trimatic. The front end is off at the blasters now.

I have all rebuild gear for the front end and I think I have all the steering rack rebuild stuff already too.

Parts wise all I really need is my brake callipers rebuilt, a few bolts, and whatever parts need replacing on the motor and box.

As before the only thing that is really holding me up is the work on the rails and possibly my pay rise next month as I may be going to monthly pay.

[hawk]

Finished pulling the rear seat and rear section of carpet tonight. Found another suprise.

Maybe the previous owner was severely overweight? haha or what could cause this?



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Then marked out one section of floor to cut out. Really versus about making the cut as I don't want to accidentally cut the rails at all.

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[yel327]

Same crash caused the seat anchor to crack the floor? I’d be careful with that repair.

Edited by yel327, 13 January 2021 - 06:46 PM.

[hawk]

In what way should I be careful?

My plan for it is to remove the seat anchor from the floorpan then add a patch section to replace the cracked area.

[rodomo]

Finished pulling the rear seat and rear section of carpet tonight. Found another surprise.

Maybe the previous owner was severely overweight? haha or what could cause this?



 

VB  Commodores (maybe more? VC VH?) were renowned for cracking the floor pan under the drivers seat. If my memory is correct? UC went into the VB build era. Was that about the time the sheet metal became a tad thinner? The dealerships just migged the floor pan on the Commodores. Dunno how many I've had on the hoist and saw the repairs.