Dragway Wheels - wheel arch lip roller needed.

[rosco]

Hi folk,
after 8 years of procrastinating about fitting the specially made Dragway wheels - and not using them.. the day has arrived.

The wheels were made by Ray Dunn of Dragway in local Kinglake.. He made them up for me with the absolute amount of inset he could.
We opted for the "revised" alloy hub - as it has narrower spokes.. the Classic ones would put the rim much further out..
I have 14 x 7's with the edge of the rim 3 1/2" from the wheel hub mount face of the brake drum.. that's as far as Ray would machine down the hub and fit the spokes to the edge of the rim centre. We gained a 1/4" on the hub and another 1/8" on the spoke mounts.
The stock standard revised hub would have left me with a rim 3 7/8" out from the drum/wheel face.
Ray stated that these wheels have been fitted to FE and FC's without issue.. but I did my calculations very carefully and continue to believe there may be issues when taking a big hit in a dip...

I know there was someone on this forum who had a mobile wheel arch roller fellow do theirs and I'd like to make contact with him..
I really need to consider having it done before I bite the bullet and try myself... more likely either damaging the pressed arch curve or making it impossible to have a professional do the job later on..

So - anyone know of one of these people they can personally recommend... price would be nice too... just to forewarn me...

frats,
Rosco

[Blacky]

I was you Rosco I would find me a Torana diff - much easier to replace a diff than unroll mudguards .........

[BIGREVNEV]

yep wh at blacky said

[rosco]

Thanks fella's - don't know anything about them.. how much shorter between the bearing mount faces are they than the EK or EH one?
I will need the axles to go with it.. as they are also shorter, I believe..

For this trip, I'll probably just wind up those over-rider bolts ... I need to get the old bus on the road and actually find out if they are going to rub first...

These are pix of the car up on stands - with the weight on the springs.. has 1/2 tank of fuel in it and a lot of gear in the boot.. I've got a good inch of clearance maybe 1 1/2... before they will rub.. and, I'll have those over-riders to limit the amount of further spring travel.

So, what do you think from my pix?... I'll let you know by the end of the week on how it runs without fitting the wind-down U bolts..

pix..

These two are from where I left it back in 2008.





This one also from 2008 - with quite a bit of weight in the boot to see how it was going to travel loaded.
These were also taken with no winding up of the over-riders.. I can get another inch if I need it.. but it will be far too stiff to be comfortable.



These are two as it currently sits.





So what would you expect a reasonable price for just an LC/J Torana housing and axles? don't want the centre and will fit the current backing plates and drums etc. etc...

frats,
Rosco

[Mick]

why not put the wheels on load the car up with some bags of concrete etc and take it for a spin atleast it will confirm if it will rub or not

[rosco]

Yep, Mick - that's the plan - I can wind the over-riders up if need be until we get back from Hervey Bay... just be a bit stiff on the back and neck, that's all....

I don't believe there is going to be as much issue as I'm fearing... Ray Dunn from Dragway told me that these wheels were fine on FE/FC's.. and they didn't have the extra bit of inset that I have...

Will post up later this week when I get it back on the road...

Not keen on the Torana housing ... don't know anything about how it will end up with these wheels... working with what I have before I go for what I would like...

thanks Mick,

frats,
Rosco

[FATBOY]

torana diff 25mm per side shorter

[Devilrod]

torana diff 25mm per side shorter

That will solve any issues Rosco. I'd avoid rolling the lip if possible.

[Blacky]

They don't look as close as the wheels I had on the V6 EK and they didn't rub .................. give them a go mate, you might be pleasantly surprised !!!

[rosco]

thanks again, fella's...
yes, I really have never wanted to touch the great body and panels on this dear old thing... I have decided I'm not going to have them rolled or even worse - cut...

I will know by the end of the week and will post - if I have to find a Torana diff housing, can someone tell me if they are plentiful - or should I jump on one now if one pops up...

I will use my own reconditioned coarse spline 3:08 - but will need the housing and axles.

I was told that I might be able to use the Torana axles - they are a bit shorter from the wheel bearings out to the wheel flange mount.. but the backing plates will have to be set back behind the housing face - and maybe a set of short spacers to get the drums to clear the shoes..
I have issue with this - I can't see how shorter axles can fit into the standard EH housing... if the Torana housing is 1" shorter each side - then surely, that 1" shorter axle is "missing" from inside the diff centre... I have to touch base with the chap who suggested it a few years back..

Again, thanks everyone - I'm very keen to find out one way or the other now.. but I've got so many bits in pieces under the hood at present I won't have it going until the end of the week...I'm "mapping" out my run up to HB already - that three week "free" window I had has half-melted...

frats,
Rosco

[Craig Allardyce]

Rosco did you get the diff done at Jack MacNamara's? Top bloke, real old school. I don't know how he manages to find anything in that place for all the shit he has stacked up and packed in shelves. Love it!

[rosco]

Hi Craig - yes, Jeff did the diff.... definitely old school... strange way to run a business - but, I don't expect anyone ever complains or has issue with his work.
Had to replace the innards of that diff - they were shot - but the crown and pinion were fine - just as you believed.
It's all in and ready for HB.

Jeff's workshop - you're not wrong.. by golly, I'd like to take the caravan in there and live in that place for a month - I reckon there's stuff in there that would make any car enthusiast drool - I've got no idea how he finds anything.. but he does, just like the replacement gears he found for my diff - told me I won't have a problem.. it'll run for another 20 years... and 20, in the workload I'm likely to put it to will most likely be 50....

Burnouts are what kills them.. the spinning of the centre on plain bearings.. plus the shock load when the tyres finally get a grip... won't catch me ever doing them.. not that my old bus probably could...

Thanks for the diff, Craig - and thanks for putting me onto Jeff... I'll let you know by PM on how much difference the diff has made to the running of the car...

I'm in a mess with these wheels at present - they'll probably be ok -but, until I get them on the road... I'm spinning out a bit..

frats,
Rosco

[Craig Allardyce]

You must be in a spin Rosco, where did Jeff come from? His name is Jack. lol

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Hang in there mate, it'll all come together. Just like me your probably over thinking or engineering it. Oh the joys of it!

[rosco]

Hi Craig - I called him Jeff, because that's the name he sent me back in a response to my email enquiry...

Here's his post..

[*]Ross phone 95552213 to talk about your diff.

regards
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: Ross Burgess
To: mcnamara@mira.net
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2014 8:50 AM
Subject: 3:08 diff
[/i]

Now I'm really confused - I see the sign in your pic... but had to chase up this email to prove my sanity to myself....
Oh - and on both occasions I went there - I had to "creep" in through the little manhole door.. even the sign outside didn't give much away... he has a button on the wall... you press it - and a great blasted (pun intended) car horn sounds off inside... got me thinking...

frats,
Rosco

[Craig Allardyce]

Ha, yep I forgot about the horn and the little door. lol
I think Jeff is his son.............he talks highly of him...not.
Jeff does the internet techo stuff as Jack is way too busy for that shit (his words). That probably explains the email......maybe..