62 replies to this topic

[Steve-UC]

Got my first Torana.

1979 UC hatch in palais white with light blue vinyl and cloth trim.

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•  IMG_9764.jpg   322.07K   26 downloads
•  Resized_20220110_162748.JPEG   277.36K   23 downloads

Edited by Steve-UC, 03 February 2022 - 10:13 PM.

[RIM-010]

Nice clean hatch mate! What's the plans?

[Bigfella237]

Very nice! That's just about the definition of a great stance for an un-flared Torana too.

 

As Tim said above, I'd be interested to hear what's in her future?

[GMHAz]

Very neat UC Hatchback.... Anymore pics

[Steve-UC]

At the moment plans are:

to find and repair any rust - there's a couple of spots in the rear left pillar and some small sections in the hatch area.

repair the dent in the left rear quarter

new hinges and struts n the hatch - one has a bit of play in it

paint the taillight surround in satin black

new rubbers all through including windows and doors

SS mirrors

dynamat, underlay and new carpet kit in light blue

SL/E sports dash and remove the aftermarket tacho

strip, check and re-coat the underbody with new black sound deadener

paint the fuel tank satin black

and then renew all the tired old bushes, paint the suspension components & replace the old shocks.

 

While I'm doing all that ill have a think about what the driveline might be in the future.

No rush the 202 is pretty cool for now.

 

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•  rear.jpg   385.5K   16 downloads
•  seats.jpg   258.95K   15 downloads

[Steve-UC]

the SL/E sports dash with dials painted red.

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•  Sportsdash.jpg   123.78K   15 downloads

[Steve-UC]

rear quarter dent - mostly removed and a dust with rust converter before finishing the panel.

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•  REAR QUARTER.jpg   160.55K   14 downloads
•  REPAIR.jpg   138.41K   14 downloads

[hawk]

Looking good, always good to see more UC's being built.

Resto country in Melbourne is a good source for the suspension bits. I went with a mix of rubber and nolathane bushes. Be careful which k frame upper Mount bushes you get, mine are already splitting after less than 12 months.

Don't buy the replacement UC rack ends, they don't fit (tie rod ends fit fine) .Get your factory ones serviced.

As for shocks and springs depending on what you want from the car. I find the Monroe GT shocks a bit soft.

Anyway, all the best and look forward to seeing the progress.

[Steve-UC]

Stripped out the interior today.
The floors are so clean with no rust at all - such a relief

Started installing the dynamat and acoustic liner.





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[RIM-010]

Clean!

[Heath]

Very tidy car mate, that is awesome. You have found an extremely nice example.

 

Love the height. Love the Dragways too.

 

Blacking out around the tail lights will work wonders.

 

Super cool to see a Torana with a good original set of seats and stuff. I don't know if you could easily replace that trim package, so take care of it.

[Steve-UC]

I've cut out the rust in the passenger side c pillar and welded all new steel in, repaired the dent in the rear quarter. I found some rust in the hatch area and welded in more new steel.

I've put down sound deadening on about 70% of the floors, roof, doors and internal panels and then put acoustic liner over the top to cut down road noise and heat.

I also spent a few days on the seats and interior with leather cleaner and vinyl reviver and it came up really good.

All new rubbers in the doors, windows and hatch. And over the weekend I fitted new carpets and the SL/E sports dash.

A few pics below.

[Steve-UC]

Inner door card






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[Ando]

Looking good Steve. Worth the time & effort. The interior has survived very well. 

[Heath]

You are smashing this out!
Really nice work.

This car honestly is in such good condition it makes it feel like you're working on something that's 15-20 years younger.

Were you actually able to leave that foam insulation on the inside of the door trim and still have it fit up against the door frame nicely? I would have thought it would put up a fight and not sit nice and flat afterwards.

Also, are you aware the tail lights have gone back on the wrong way? Haha

[Steve-UC]

There’s been a few long days and you get sick of cleaning parts, but it was well worth it in the end. Still a lot to do.

The car builders foam is only 6mm thick so it doesn’t put up a fight at all. It compresses nicely as it’s dual density too. I tested it before I stuck it down to make sure the door card wouldn’t just pop back out.

The door components went on without any hassle too. It’s designed for vertical surfaces - along with the dynamat on the door skin it gives the doors a really solid feel when you close them. No more hollow tin can.

Ha ha, yeah I turned the lights over to put the blinkers on the outside to see how it would look. Makes it look a cross eyed though.

I have new ones coming, and they will go on the correct way. The lights aren’t attractive no matter what you do.

[Bigfella237]

~ Ha ha, yeah I turned the lights over to put the blinkers on the outside to see how it would look. Makes it look a cross eyed though. ~

Go on, be different, put one each way!

[Bruiser]

Beautiful mate, bet you're having a ball
I've always loved giving a new car a bit of love
just to make it mine, but you've gone miles past anything I ever did.
Well done she'll turn out even beautifuller than the first pics showed
I can even smell that interior in my minds eye (nose?)

Try those tail lights vertically, indicators on top

[RIM-010]

Man this thing is clean! Nice work.

[GMHAz]

Hey Steve
It’s turning out really neat, going the extra mile makes a huge difference

Who did you get your carpet from ?

Cheers Aaron

[Steve-UC]

Hey Steve
It’s turning out really neat, going the extra mile makes a huge difference

Who did you get your carpet from ?

Cheers Aaron

 

Knox Carpets. I rang and had a chat with them.

 

Everything fits really well, except the rear wheel arch carpets.

The LX's must have a slightly different shape to the UC's.

[Bigfella237]

Yeah, the tonneau floor changed height in the UC, and later on they deleted those triangle braces up on top of the wheel arch altogether.

 

That's why rear seat hinges aren't interchangeable between LX and UC hatches.

[Heath]

Yes, as above, the false floor/tonneau floor is higher on the UC. Still, the wheel tub carpet should have plenty of extra material to trim off at the bottom.

 

And this does appear to be a UC that (like mine) did not have the triangular gussets/braces ontop of the wheel arches. I don't imagine they would have any carpet to suit that shape of car.

I never though the carpeted area there was such a good thing anyway, and I trimmed mine with vinyl which does allow you to get a nicer fit... particularly when your car is different to what the carpet supplier has moulds of. But it's not a 2min job.

Note: I added my own triangular braces (a bit squarer than the factory ones) and moved the floor down to LX height before that picture was taken, but mine was identical to yours originally.

I notice your car doesn't have any trim below the windows... I thought any hatch (being an 'SL' luxury spec) would have come with that?

 

Also, did anyone else notice the switch that has been added to the dome light in the first post!? I have never seen that before.

Can't blame someone for not knowing that rotating the headlight switch should accomplish the same thing. There's no marking anywhere on the car that it would do that. Haha.

[Steve-UC]

Thanks Heath.

That looks so good.

The vinyl idea might be worthwhile looking at - if I can match the factory colour.

[Steve-UC]

I bought some HK GTS stripes for the hatch.


Sneak peek.


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