Leroy the EK Ute

[thebrotherj]

Not long now Joe.

What a great job you have done.

Ric.

Thanks Ric.
I am drawing it out a little, but I’d rather get all the fiddly stuff done before rego rather than after. My organised mind just prefers it that way... I’m paying off a substantial debt at the moment also, so there’s that hold up too I guess!


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[thebrotherj]

pop riveted a piece of right angle steel I found (complete with reinforcement pressings) in to the lower tailgate panel, to act as the spare wheel door striker



Had to file the tip of the lock latch a little to make it clear when fully retracted



Adjusted it for depth with a file, so the door is now flush



Stoked.



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[Patrick_R]

I’d be stoked with that as well Joe.
Perfect bracket you dug up for the job.

That will see that part super strong for the rest of the cars life.
The adjustment looks better than factory.

The wife and I are driving the FB to Katoomba for lunch today, the long time home of Leroy, we will give a wave as we go past.

Ric.

[thebrotherj]

So my Sunday got a little more involved than anticipated but I’m pleased with the outcome. Amazing what an early night on a Saturday can yield, frankly.

First up I patched up the spare wheel door with ‘glass then a dab of body filler here and there... then prepped it for paint.



Considering I had already painted the RHF fender and driver’s door, I have been less than happy looking at the wobbly RH rear quarter which, although a similar hue, has been of a slightly different lustre to the panels in front of it.

With the old iPhone still regaling a time very much in the ante meridiem, I decided to attack the whole rear quarter and tailgate with three grades of sand paper, some sanding blocks and whole bunch of future tennis elbow in mind... then as the sun was going down, masked the whole thing up and managed to dust on a few coats of Deep Aqua acrylic.

Some photos of the before, during and after:













Now just to be clear: things are by no means razor sharp and straight-edge-smooth back there... but I have ironed out a bunch of very shoddy body filler wobbles and the paint went on pretty evenly, so it now matches the front panels at least.

The real litmus test will be in the daylight tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna look tidy, if you just stand back a few feet! Haha

I call it workhorse chic


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[thebrotherj]

Just another shot, down low, cos I’m real pleased with how this turned out and I’ve had enough to drink now to not care hehe



Cheers


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[Blacky]

looking good mate workhorse chic is the way to go ....... mine is a similar hue called neglectina

[FireKraka]

Looking good J
Neil

[thebrotherj]

looking good mate workhorse chic is the way to go ....... mine is a similar hue called neglectina

hahah I like that!
I knew this weird old Swede who drove a Saab 96 with original paint. He said to me "you can have your high-gloss, I prefer my high-use paint job!" Lol

[Errol62]

Kicking goals there Joe


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[thebrotherj]

The long weekend is here.



Tonight, I primed and ran the Grey up to temp, then went for a cruise, primarily to spin the car around in my narrow garage so I could get to work on the LH side body work needs.

I have a slide hammer now so this will get some attention:



While jacking the rear up, I got a glimpse of my future desired ride height, once I reset the rear springs. And the future looks awesome if you ask me:



You’ll also see there’s a sneaky, all metal repair welded in ahead of the rear wheel arch that I didn’t document. Did this at the same time that I welded in the new rear spring/chassis extension underneath. It’s not terribly photogenic... but inspecting my handiwork again just now, it’s thorough and vastly superior to the half-inch thick mess of body filler that was there before. I also quenched the welds as I went so the panel didn’t warp at all.

That will be hidden with a slightly more acceptable volume of filler in the coming days. I will actually be attacking the whole LH side of the car with the long-board sanding block and then painting it up, same as I did on the RH side last weekend.

Hopefully my flatmate (he’s the crime writer for the SMH!) brings home a hard-copy of the newspaper tomorrow morning...

Methinks I’ll be needing that!


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[thebrotherj]

One thing I felt when I went for my little drive tonight was a clunk from the rear on take off, and when doing a three point turn... and the brake pedal wasn’t quite the same as before.

Found the culprit - LHR linings drenched in brake fluid:



Much as I’m tempted to have both rear wheel cylinders stainless-sleeved and kitted, I note the battles others on this forum have experienced with this task of late (hi Clay!) and I’m thinking I might just buy new ones, as I did with the fronts.

Thoughts?



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[ardiesse]

Joe,

Stainless-steel sleeved cylinders last much longer, and particularly when the car isn't driven that much. And when they finally do start to leak, a quick polish with fine wet'n'dry and new seals is all you need to do.

Rob

[thebrotherj]

Joe,

Stainless-steel sleeved cylinders last much longer, and particularly when the car isn't driven that much. And when they finally do start to leak, a quick polish with fine wet'n'dry and new seals is all you need to do.

Rob

thanks Rob.
Who’s your go-to in Sydney? I’d be surprised if Bruce at Chatswood B&C would take that task on these days..

Cheers, Joe


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[EK283]

Hi Joe,

Burt bros in Fairfield do all sleeving on virtually anything you could imagine.
It was funny because I took some studebaker rear shoes in once and the guy goes to me ahhhhhh rear stude yep got them here on the shelf !!!!!!
Now that would normally never happen at most places Iv'e been to, most would say Stude what !!!!

Regards Greg

[Harv]

Burt Brothers have done a few master and slave sleeving jobs for me. Good blokes to work with.

Cheers,
Harv