Time to dust off my EK!

[wot179]

The 2 on the bottom are EH caps.

[Marty K Bird]

Well that explains it! Cheers I kinda liked them but will source 4 ridgy didge ones now~

[WayneXG95]

I sold 4 door trims the same to someone in Iswich Qld last July.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EK-Holden-Do ... 27c91647e2

[Doc Bob]

Tried realigning the boot but its a gap that wont close up.
Not going to attack it yet but im intrigued as to what would be the best way to tackle the problem ....im handy with a wire brush and welder!

Marty.......you will find several different sections in the bodywork that are "bogged" from the factory.
FB/EK's have some very complicated pressed panels and as such most joints are tidied up from the factory with sections of filler to smooth out the joins and profiles.
From the look of the pics you have posted............there is nothing there that will take alot of time or money to fix.

Keep the pics coming, doing a great job

[Marty K Bird]

Wayne, that must been a slow ebay week?
SunnyTim i'll pm you later.


Hi Doc, i think with all the threads ive been reading i see lotsa welding and grinding and not alot of filler being applied and i thought using filler might have been a no no like using wd-40 as a polish lol

And thanks for the encouragement to post pics and stuff ....
I sometimes think how different my thread is from some of the other awesome build threads i read of the restos, v8 conversions and custom bodywork.

Mine is very different in that it's a fix up on a budget and the work rate is slow.
Some guys acheive some major work in just a couple of posts .... for me its lotsa small steps.....like today.

Installed the brake stop switch ...cleaned the dash down and cleaned a few windows up. Also cleaned my generator terminals and now the little red light has gone off!!!
All my lights and blinkers are still working which is a real bonus!! Sooooo love headlight dimmer footswitches... I want one in my VN!! Only problem with lights was the dashlights didnt work!! Not sure if i might have bumped something when i had the fascia out to do the brake light switch.

Love hitting the key and having it start so easy anytime i wish to hear the old grey rumble lol. So happy im doing this!

[muza]

Thats what this forums all about mate, big or small we love em all!
I'm currently doing the same as you with the one i've got, just fixing it up to get it on the road, so i love your little updates
Keep it up mate

[Harv]

Marty,

Nothing wrong with a slow, budget conscious "learn as you guy" rebuild... I've got a V8 conversion like that .

Your dashlight failure may well be the dimmer switch, which is part of the headlight knob. It has a spring-type rheostat behind it, which is notoriously fussy... most FB/EKs will not dim, and work in only one "sweet spot". Turn the headlights on, the rotate the headlight knob clockwise/anticlockwise until you find the sweet spot. Easiest to do in the dark.

Cheers,
Harv

[wot179]

Marty,

Nothing wrong with a slow, budget conscious "learn as you guy" rebuild... I've got a V8 conversion like that .

Your dashlight failure may well be the dimmer switch, which is part of the headlight knob. It has a spring-type rheostat behind it, which is notoriously fussy... most FB/EKs will not dim, and work in only one "sweet spot". Turn the headlights on, the rotate the headlight knob clockwise/anticlockwise until you find the sweet spot. Easiest to do in the dark.

Cheers,
Harv

Or just close your eyes

[bootlegger]

Dont worry about the grinding and welding with no filler. Most guys on the forum probably skip thos pics fromtheir blog. Not mine. Bog everywhere. They all end up with a bit in them. That gap in the rear quarter could be built up with some metal. You will have to get one of those little sandblasters from supercheap auto and clean all that surface rust before you rebog it. You could try and lead wipe it but you have probably never done that before.

[Marty K Bird]

Cheers Muza!! Shall keep the updates coming!

Harv It's funny what you say about the tempremental dimmer function ...your description gave me a flashback as I do remember it being like that ..... went and gave my knob a twirl ...(and also rotated the dimmer switch lol) and i did get it flash on for a lil bit.....but then nothing! I do wonder if they are serviceable to make them work better ..... I have a retired electronics guru mate that i fly RC planes with who is great with that kinda stuff ....

Bootlegger ~ I looked at those little sand blasters they look fairly cheap which is good. Never used one before but i can see it coming in handy.
Had thought about lead wipping but no .... never tried that before... and although i reckon i could give it a crack as I love doing new things im not sure id have the refined technique needed.
Bog i reckon i could do .....
Thanks for the info!

As i said not looking at it just yet as I do hope to have it all rolling before i start on the body ...
I have a VN that i put a new front end on after hitting a cow and i did a nice fix up on that and bogged and painted a few bits on it that came up nicely.

Since i last had the EK registered I have built up a lot of skills and i think my 5 years of washing and detailing will come in handy when it comes to getting the bumps smoothed.

[BILLY BLACKARROW]

Harv It's funny what you say about the tempremental dimmer function ...your description gave me a flashback as I do remember it being like that ..... went and gave my knob a twirl ...(and also rotated the dimmer switch lol) and i did get it flash on for a lil bit.....but then nothing! I do wonder if they are serviceable to make them work better ..... I have a retired electronics guru mate that i fly RC planes with who is great with that kinda stuff ....

Plenty of pictures and know how instructions will be handy for the rest of us I am sure there are some more that need servicing
BILLY

[Harv]

G'day Marty,

I do wonder if they are serviceable to make them work better ..... I have a retired electronics guru mate that i fly RC planes with who is great with that kinda stuff ....

The whole headlight switch comes out, though you need to be a bit careful as all the power supplies under the dash are bare metal - easiest to disconnect the battery to save the spitzen sparken. Once you let the smoke out of the wires, its hard to get back in again . The rheostat is pretty agricultural - literally a small spring of nichrome wire. Easy to clean the spring up once the switch is out, though tough to replace the spring as the rheostat assembly is staked/riveted in place. If the spring is not "cleanable" its probably easiest just to bypass the rheostat and have "full brightness" dashlights.

Cheers,
Harv

[Marty K Bird]

Sorry guys had a major dumb moment with the dash light switch ....i was thinking about it today and wondered if it wasnt working because the instrument cluster was still hanging loose and therefore not getting earthed to the body ....
So I just went and screwed it back in and what-do-ya-know......it all works!

Kinda happy I dont have any electrical issues to contend with! Another tick off the list!

Cleaned the old chard material off the parcel shelf carboard to find the cardboard stuff still looks fairly straight! Looks like it had a rear window installed at somestage as the rubber still looks new. It says its armourplate safety glass.

Now a couple of questions....

SunnyTim where did you get those holden footplate things from ..... Mine need a revamp.

For anyone with one of those small supercheap auto sand blasters which one do I get as they list a couple of different ones.

Cheers

[Harv]

Marty,

I used the type of SuperCheap blaster that has a dip tube that you stick in a bucket of abrasive, a rubber connecting hose and a gun that looks like a paint gun. Does the job, but a pain in the arse to keep suction up to (constantly fiddlying with the dip tube). I wonder if the handheld "plastic container above the gun" (positive suction) ones are better. While you are there, buy a bag of garnet or other abrasive - avoid using sand, as the dust from sand blasting can give you silicosis of the lungs (which is why it is illegal to use it in NSW for industrial blasting).

Blasters are hungry for air, so the compressor gets a workout - probably OK if you have a compressor for painting, but the little SuperCheap ones would be pretty asthmatic.

Definitely an outside job... the grit gets everywhere (kinda like confetti or broken windscreen glass).

Cheers,
Harv.

[Marty K Bird]

Organising a trip to check out a rusted old ek ute thats on gumtree thats not far from home...i dont really need it but I think I have an addiction .... Part of my head says steer clear and put the money into mine first ....the other half says get stuff whilst I can ....and getting old motors going is fun.....i think common sense will win