Hi All,
Recently rejoined the forum as I finally got around to buying my first EK Holden. Always wanted a wagon and have been looking for a project to pop up.
I've got a history in automotive painting and electric work and have rebuilt a fair few motorcycles in my time. Not much in the way of panel beating and rust repair so this is going to be a steep learning curve for me but one I will enjoy.
Anyway here is my new pride and joy:
As it arrived it was rusty as hell, full of water and redback spiders and didn't run.
So I have recently found out while stripping the car that it was restored in the late 80's / early 90's. Has a red 186, celica 5 speed, hq disk front end and a shortened vl diff with rear disk brakes. With a bit of a freshen up it starts and drives, only have one brake out of four working though so will need to give that some attention. It looks like a good recipe for a daily driver which is ultimately what I'm after.
The goal is to do a basic restoration to daily driver level adding creature comforts but keeping it as stock looking as possible.
Where I'm at now:
The main concern areas for rust are around the petrol tank, rear windows, drivers side A pillar and under the drivers side rear passenger:
All the doors are rusted through so will need to repair or replace them. Got lost of goodies on their way from gumtree. Wheels, orginal steering wheel, trim etc.
Under the passenger seat:
Will attack this first.
Welcome to the forum Simba. Looks like a great project mate. I love wagons. Either the paint colour or interior looks to have been changed at some stage. Can you tell us the body plate details, lower passenger side firewall?
Those rear quarters look challenging. Possibly the passenger A-pillar, sills and floor have been repaired previously, so would be worth having a careful look at these areas. How is the front subframe and area where it bolts to the firewall? These are typical rust areas that may have been repaired previously.
The front suspension may be HR ball joint with HQ uprights and/or brakes fitted. I think HQ and VL hub PCD is different by about 1mm which can cause issues with wheels.
I like the sound of your plan to have a stock looking daily driver and look forward o following your progress.
Cheers
Clay
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
getting my FB ute on the road
EK van on rotisserie
Welcome to the forum mate that will keep you out of the pub for a while !!!
Plenty of advice and a good place to start looking for parts here on this forum , don't be scared to ask
When you're faced with an unpleasant task that you really don't want to do, sometimes you just have to dig deep down inside and somehow find the patience to wait for someone else to do it for you.
Foundation member #61 of FB/EK Holden club of W.A.
Looks to be Paint Number 585-0245 (Strata Blue) and Top Number 585-0246 (Snowcrest White).
Think a bit about the driveline though. If it has a HR front end and is registered, most states will grandfather them. Once they are out of rego, then most states will want an engineers certificate... with all the horrors of collapsible column, demister, retractable seatbelts, 2-speed wipers etc. Sadly, there is little additional work to putting a V8 into one.
Cheers,
Harv
327 Chev EK wagon, original EK ute for Number 1 Daughter, an FB sedan meth monster project and a BB/MD grey motored FED.
Thanks everyone. This forum looks like a great place to post my progress and get advice etc. I'll get a pic of the body tag today and post it up. In regards to the wheels yes I do indeed have different stud patterns on the front and back so I'll have to somehow marry up a set of hq era wheels with some commodore wheels and make them look like Ek wheels
Passenger side front subframe is shot too so add that to the list.
I am a bit worried about the engineering side of things. It hasn't been registered since 2001 and I found a modification plate from 1991 in QLD. My guess is that plate holds no validity in NSW, but I could be wrong. I suppose I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it.
I'm hoping to have this ready for the Nationals next year!
Hi Simba
I wouldn't worry to much about engeneers as I have found the one I am useing hasn't asked me to do anything that I found anresnable after all it's your safety they are protecting . Where in N.S.W. are you
BILLY
BILLY BLACKARROW
MY Father always said do the hard part first --because when you are OVER IT you only have the easy part left to do THINGS I HAVE TRIED TO LIVE BY
That's true. If I have to jump through the engineering hoops then that's OK given it's all a benefit to my safety. I had a minor crash in a 63 falcon that had no seat belts a few years ago and that was quite a wake up call. I'm in Newcastle, Any reasonable Engineers around this area? Good thing is I already have spots for seat belts, a demister and 2 speed wipers so it's on it's way (Kind of). Here's the ID tag
Stud pattern is an easy fix - take the axles to a machine shop along with a set of oversize wheel studs which are available from Coventrys or the like , they are still 7/16" thread but with a larger spline . Offset drill the existing stud holes to 4 1/2 " PCD and press the new studs in , job done. You may need to slightly elongate the holes in the rotors but as they are centred on the axle flange this wont be a problem.
When you're faced with an unpleasant task that you really don't want to do, sometimes you just have to dig deep down inside and somehow find the patience to wait for someone else to do it for you.
Foundation member #61 of FB/EK Holden club of W.A.
that will keep you out of the pub for a while !!! 
