My ever-after Ute

[Tasek]

Found the FX-FJ-FE-FC-FB-EK-EJ-EH-HD-HR HK-HG HT Parts Catalogue today and worked out that I have an HK Calipers.
This was confirmed to some extent as I also bought a set of HR spindle nuts washers and split pins from Rare Spares and those are the wrong size,

So I guess the whole thing is HK (or maybe HG HT ?) - now I will have to buy a whole new workshop manual just for the brakes -

[Tasek]

Ok now I am struggling here, these bloody calipers wont allow either the 13" jellybeans or the standard rims to fit over them.

Lesson don't trust what sellers tell you. HR front end my arse.

I took the spare tire from my trailer (14 inch later stud pattern), but near enough to tell me these calipers were meant to go with 14" rims. Is this a big deal, I mean which way do I go?

New rims or new calipers?

God I am sick of the front end already.

Opinions welcome.

[thropzed]

Go the 14" HT rims not HK(Wrong offset) Your modified already!
Cheers Theo Z............

[Errol62]

Maybe find some 14" jelly beans or magnums. Depending on what hubs you are running I would be careful about running 14" steelers on 13" disc hubs as I have experienced cracking between the stud holes on the rim centres. At least be careful to match the nuts to the rims.

[Tasek]

Ok it has been a while between postings but I have been plodding on.- Wrangling with my Tina has proven as time consuming and frustrating as wrestling a real Taniwha

I have spent the last few weekends on the front-end s - I have decided to put off the whole rim question until I find a set of 14 inch rims that fits my budget so have re-assembled everything and left the calipers off. Old rims back on and ready to shunt assembly under body again and bolt it up.

Had a problem getting the munroe shockies to fit in through the bottom wishbone but some gentle grinding widened it a smidgen and Bob's your uncle.

I have had new brake pipes made from the patterns off the donor ute set. They have fitted with surprisingly little bother. (Plenty of swearing because there are some tight spots to get big hands into)

Biggest issue was the steering box. Based on experience of the statements made by the previous owner I didn't trust his "I have completely done up the steering box" so embarked on a steering box overhaul. Just as well the ball bearings were oval and there was little to no grease. So over two weekends with Mrs Tasek on a girls weekend and a wedding I wasn't invited to, well maybe I just got out of because the family would have to be the most boring on the planet; I dis-assembled, replaced worn out bits and installed the steering box into its place. (Would supply photos but got too caught up in the progress I was making to document it for people who probably know more about it than I do)

So now I am ready to put the front end under which is where I thought I would be 6 months ago. Oh Well

[Tasek]

Go the 14" HT rims not HK(Wrong offset) Your modified already!
Cheers Theo Z............

Thanks for the information, trouble is most people on Ebay or Gumtree advertise as HK HG HT 14 inch rims which tends to confuse me.
There is a local wrecker (I say local but he is at Wynyard which is on the North west coast some way from me) who has a stock of old rims, mags and otherwise, that he will let me swap and change to get the right ones. Since that will entail fitting tires the budget is a little tight right now, but I will definitely ask for Ht mags

[Tasek]

Maybe find some 14" jelly beans or magnums. Depending on what hubs you are running I would be careful about running 14" steelers on 13" disc hubs as I have experienced cracking between the stud holes on the rim centres. At least be careful to match the nuts to the rims.

Thanks for the reply I will be looking for some jellybeans, I am beginning to wish I had bought the Tasmans the previous owner offered me. He said they came off Tina but going on his track record of whats what not sure this would be the case.

[In the Shed]

Geeez Tasek,
Sorry to hear that you were not invited to the wedding. Must of been a shit weekend confined to the shed! Anyway don't stew over it, there will be other opportunities for you to get out more.

Regards
Stephen

[Tasek]

If you have wadded through all this diatribe so far, by now you will have an idea that this project has been slow going. Painfully slowly. What with work and farmlet and health issues, coming to grips with Tina in a solid straight run is proving impossible. To be honest and confess I have spent so much time learning whats what I have been my own enemy as well. Don't know what it is but reading manuals seems to be a skill I have abandoned for "working it out myself". I blame Mr Google.

Latest steps. Well baby steps and as usual the old restoration foxtrot - you know one step forward , one step sideways and a shuffle backwards- got the steering assemble in place but the pitman arm didn't slide as far as it should up the shaft, so removed it again to clean off a few burrs I am blaming on the old owner and not me dragging the steering box spindle on the concrete when I wrestled it into place. Not having any files small enough I consoled myself with the fact there was plenty of other things I could get on with during the small window of opportunity I grabbed over Easter.
"I know I will install the Stabliser bar, that shouldn't be too difficult and I have all new bushings, etc" - Tina smiled at me from the corner .
So collected all the plastic bagged components and contemplated how to get the "Insulator" rubber thingy over the eyelets on the shaft in one piece for a few minutes - then consulted the Holden "FB" series manual which seemed to think this detail too obvious to describe - Scientific Publications Workshop Manual Series No 67 , Holden 1948-FJ FE FC FB EK EJ EH HD HR was equally mocking of my ignorance with its brevity and Max Ellery's Factory Workshop Manual rubs salt into the wound by being so damned poorly reproduced with small writing and fuzzy pictures that even if they do tell me I can't read it cos my reading specs are in the house and if I go in there I will have to explain what I am doing working on my retirement project and not the list of garden jobs. - Yes I have all three and Scientic Publications workshop manual series No 86 covering HK HT HG I picked up at a swapmeet for next to nothing and just for the disc brakes.

Anyway I worked it out and with the car up on blocks already wriggled under the front to install the bar and supposing the best plan being to fit the bar to the frame then install the stud spacers by moving things around I was away.
Surprise!!!!!! shouted Tina - there were no holes in the frame for the bracket to fit. No slot for the braket locator end to slip into. The frame rail was as smooth as a babies bottom , ok with nappy rash because of underseal which was now hiding the fact that the previous owner had decided stabliers are for wimps and thrown them away grinding the old bolts Level with the frame. Then he has filled the bolt hole and the locating slot with bog and smoothed it off -
Perhaps he has broken a bolt in the hole, who knows so now I am in for yet another job I had not planned for.

Sorry if this is boring - I find venting gets me through very therapeutic in fact.

[Tasek]

Geeez Tasek,
Sorry to hear that you were not invited to the wedding. Must of been a shit weekend confined to the shed! Anyway don't stew over it, there will be other opportunities for you to get out more.

Regards
Stephen

Trouble is I get out too much and I am itching to be doing that in an EK Ute.

[Errol62]

Hopefully you find the holes you're looking for and not rust holes as well.


Tried driving my sedan back from the paint shop once without the front stabiliser bar. Very scary indeed!

[Tasek]

Hopefully you find the holes you're looking for and not rust holes as well.
Tried driving my sedan back from the paint shop once without the front stabiliser bar. Very scary indeed!

Thanks Errol62 I am thinking that there is some rust issue and definitely a bolt to get out



A broken bolt on the passenger side


and I am thinking a rusted out slot that he has tried patching and decided it was all too hard.

So am up for some drilling and easy-outing

[Errol62]

Like Craig says it's all down to the two front outrigger bracket access holes in front of the radiator filling up with debri, getting wet and making a nice poultice inside the dumb irons and subframe legs. If the bolts have seized it's a sure sign there's rust in there. Have a tap in the usual spots with a hammer and punch. Ray Taylor does the lower dumb iron and front tie sections if you can communicate with him. I had a lot of trouble emailing him but eventually got what I needed.

[Tasek]

Like Craig says it's all down to the two front outrigger bracket access holes in front of the radiator filling up with debri, getting wet and making a nice poultice inside the dumb irons and subframe legs. If the bolts have seized it's a sure sign there's rust in there. Have a tap in the usual spots with a hammer and punch. Ray Taylor does the lower dumb iron and front tie sections if you can communicate with him. I had a lot of trouble emailing him but eventually got what I needed.

Thanks Errol
Frame is solid - well no bits fell off when I hit it with a hammer - however there are a couple of random nuts and bolts rattling around in side the box frame. I could see these through the drain holes and the damned cut aways for the bolts that hold the outrigger in place.
I will be buying an extension magnet grab to drag them out cos I don't want to be chasing an annoying rattle in the engine, which turns out to b in the frame

[Tasek]

Time for an update.- Baby steps again.

Got some quality time with Tina this weekend and decided to finish the outrigger and the stabliser if it killed me.

First job was to bolt the outrigger to the frame. Nice new rubber thingy. (Insulator according to the parts catalog) The bracket and insulator did sit /4 inch away from the frame.


I didn't realise how fiddly this would turn out. (Yes I am a whinger)
Aligning the hole with a bolt that is inside a frame seems easy but fiddly is the only word that I have for it. In the end I used a couple of punches to get the holes aligned and the jack to lower the body onto a stand which compressed the rubber and now the bracket was against the frame . The new magnetic retrieval tool proved handy as I could locate the bolt from below the bracket. Done and dusted

I turned to the Stabliser brackets. Drilled the broken off bolt so I could attack it with an easy-out. It would not budge so decided to just drill and tap it. New extra hardened drill worked a treat and I had a 3/8 tap in the kit so re-tapped the hole. If only that was the end but the tap jammed and the bolt decided it had put up enough resistance and started turning and came out. 2 hours wasted.
So since I had the tap in my hand I cleaned out threads on both sides.
Next drilled and filed until it felt like my arms would fall off to make a slot for the locator tab to fit into.

Used the jack and stand again to locate the bracket, tad tricky as the tab on the front needs to slide into place and the rubber of the "insulator" hold the whole unit proud. Once the tab fits into the slot the rest moves easy.
I am not sure the threads will hold so will borrow the neighbors welder and tact the bracket in place just to be sure.

Next step is to connect the stud with all the rubber bits and washers - Tina has been surprisingly compliant, time for her to stir - wait for it - well I read the book about how they are suppose to fit "Eyes toward the inside of the vehicle" but when I mount the studs they are at about 30degrees outward. - Thought I may have a different bar than standard but he spare off the parts ute was the same. Then realised as the car was jacked off the ground the suspension had drooped. Panic over.

New panic I have lost a couple of the rubber bits - Tina wins again.