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Well, change of plans. Going to do the186 and M20 conversion on Fred and not the black ute as planned. HR front with discs, LJ Torana collapsible steering and Commodore bucket seats. Castl. Rod Shop chassis strengthening kit with tunnel. Dual circuit brakes with Gemini boosted master cylinder if my stock is any good. The original plan for Project 2 was to put back original reco grey motor and 3 speed and sell this one off but have had a rethink and decided that the amount of work going into Fred might as well be my benefit and not someone else's. Got to find a good local engine reconditioner now for my 186 - 192 might be nice?
Still aiming to be at next SA Nationals with this one.....

Good one Brett.

I don't like 192 having had one. They tend to run hot. The extra cubes don't compensate for that. With the dual circuit brakes you could run a 202 if you want more grunt. 2spd wipers and a demister are required in SA at least although may not be relevant to you. The less over boring the better imho. If you can get a 179 block they have more meat and go safely out 0.0625 to take a stock 186 piston. Anyw a y being a red 6 fiend myself I like your direction.

FB ute driver, EK van project

For the same NSW drama of putting a red in it, he could also slot in a V8....

Cheers,
Harv

With respect you fellas !
I've told you what I'm doing, it's not a debate

All good.

Maybe we can convince you to put a blower on the 186.

Someone connect me through to Gove... I need Blacky's help with the persuasion

Cheers,
Harv

No pressure from the hoons Brett……… Stick to your plan and ignore the subtle messages…..

V8 V8 V8………..

There ain’t no substitute for cubes!

186 yes
192 no

FB ute driver, EK van project

Hey Brett;
You might be able to tell I'm a 6 cylinder fan having run V6's in my two cars and before that in line ones.
When I got my FC Sedan back in 1996 a guy offered me a 186 had twin carbs at a good price so I took it, thought I had better check it out so pulled the head to find it had .030" stamped into the pistons, long story short did a bore and stroke on it and found out it was a 208 apparently one of the engine exchange companies used to stroke them, I did some research at the time but now don't remember who the company was and I think they used to use a &*#@ crank
That little engine was bullet proof I drove it across the Nullabor at the end of 97 with my foot flat to the floor and it eat everything I could give it.

Go the way you want Brett that is why we call it customizing
Neil

Interesting story, thanks Neil. My 186 is booked in for a tidy up and whatever is required to make it reliable. So, no amount of advice, hoon-like cajoling, or even the offer of a lifetime supply of chocolate digestives will change my course. However if the 186 is pulled apart and is found to be un-salvageble, I will be looking for a red 202.
I will not under any circumstances be using a V6, V8 or any other option. Just doesn't interest me.
Now, let's talk about my latest lead wiping adventure....

A bit of progress. Lots to finish here including welds that will be easier when back on rotisserie. Also holding off on rear floor pans to keep access for that tricky bottom quarter panel seam. Next job is to do the same on the other side.

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FireKraka wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:32 pm Hey Brett;
You might be able to tell I'm a 6 cylinder fan having run V6's in my two cars and before that in line ones.
When I got my FC Sedan back in 1996 a guy offered me a 186 had twin carbs at a good price so I took it, thought I had better check it out so pulled the head to find it had .030" stamped into the pistons, long story short did a bore and stroke on it and found out it was a 208 apparently one of the engine exchange companies used to stroke them, I did some research at the time but now don't remember who the company was and I think they used to use a &*#@ crank
That little engine was bullet proof I drove it across the Nullabor at the end of 97 with my foot flat to the floor and it eat everything I could give it.

Go the way you want Brett that is why we call it customizing
Neil

company that did it was pro-stroke in melbs-used a 221 &*#@ crank and put the Holden end on the crank for the flywheel, they would even do a 235 cube Holden 6

Amazing stuff. Thanks for posting.

Nothing new done today but a bit of thinking while lying on the ground staring at my handywork and more importantly, the work that is still to be done.
A question for red motor with an Aussie M20 gearbox users: does the underfloor member between the inner kframe supports have to be modified to fit this gearbox?
Also, do the kframe strengtheners go on the top of the arms or underneath? - I'm guessing on top.
Has anyone installed a chassis strengthening kit on an EK- is there a project with one on the forum?

Another random thought has come my way: I repainted my LJ GTR a metallic silver blue colour ( can't remember what it was called, but think it was one of the standard holden colours at the time- might be Electra Blue metalic) and they had black sills and around the tail lights. I think I will go for this colour scheme for Fred, and give the black sills and plenum grill a try to see how it looks. Might look nice with my chromies and black interior.
All howls welcomed.

You can tell it's been a thinking day: Are headers better than extractors and if so why???

I did the M20 in a manual body sedan many years ago Brett. Ute is the same. The hump in no 1 body member between the inner subframe mounts you speak of fouled badly on shifter linkages and extension housing from memory. Anyway we cut it out altogether, capped off the ends, and extended the inner subframe legs rearward and up to the box section formed at the front to rear floor pan seam under the seat. When I say extended the inner legs what we did was weld rhs to the rear of no 1 body member, directly behind the inner leg mounts. Similar in effect to how the auto floor pan is set up.
Voila! (Pardon my French)

We also had to widen the tunnel forward of the member to accomodate the wider box, as well as I believe raise the rear part slightly to accomodate the shift linkages.

These inner leg extensions served as the mounting point for a rear box mount crossmember. We didn’t bother to replace the missing bit of no 1 body member. The car was never engineered or inspected.

I don’t think much of the crs chassis strengthening kits personally, seeing them as both agricultural, ineffective and an unnecessary weight penalty. If necessary, I would custom fabricate something, but if you box the inner sills and tie it well fore and aft it should pass any torsional rigidity test. I’m not a transport engineer, so best you consult one I suppose.

Sound like a larrikin paint scheme you are planning. Good on you!

You asked for opinions on cast headers versus tubular. I’m not a fan of tubular headers for three reasons, based on previous experience with the sedan and infamous 192. I have to say that combo, together with M20, propelled me around the countryside at an astonishing rate for 100,000 miles plus back in the day.

The EH spec Genie extractors I had fitted had to be modified to clear the firewall in the EK215 sedan, however these days it seems that Pacemaker produce a set that works. Extractors have a lot of surface area and they released a lot of exhaust heat in the engine bay which may have contributed to premature failure of the starter motor. In any case when it came time to replace failed starter motor getting it out with the extractors in place was possible only I eventually discovered, by first removing the starter solenoid.

Apart from the heat and clearance issues I never enjoyed the silly tink tink tinking noise they release in the engine bay, which was quite audible in the cabin. Hence I prefer a good breathing set of cast headers. Others may prefer the extractors for pure performance reasons due to the cylinder pulse scavenging property if properly tuned.

Well, you dared to ask…


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Many thanks Clay. Comprehensive, considered response and much appreciated.

Looks like a bit of fabrication work ahead on crossmember 1 then.

Hadn't thought about heat from extractors but makes sense with such a large surface area in the engine bay. Are any of the modern headers that are currently sold suitable ? Does anyone make the double engine pipes that fit them? Thinking a 2 inch exhaust will be fitted.