Leroy the EK Ute

[Errol62]

Go on mick. HR hubcaps make great dog bowls.


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[Mick]

Go on mick. HR hubcaps make great dog bowls.


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poor quality hubcaps went long ago, they don't hold enough water for my dog, he has a bowl that holds about 5 litres that it seems we are filling every second day

[thebrotherj]

you got paid for that stuff? that sort of crap usually goes in my neighbour's bin

I did very nicely yeah!! I had no other option to get rid of this (very-much-in-the-way) junk, SIMS is a 15 min drive from mine.

Cha-ching

[Mick]

scrap metal must be up again i know years ago if i had a clean up i'd get paid then it wasn't worth anything for ages

[thebrotherj]

scrap metal must be up again i know years ago if i had a clean up i'd get paid then it wasn't worth anything for ages

I did have a couple of very heavy, very bent old Morris radiators (don’t ask how I wound up with them…) in there on this run and they alone were worth half the haul. But yeah I think even though ore prices have dipped, scrap steel is still ok.

I’ve also read that some scrappers don’t pay so well, SIMs had the best reviews for price when I did the whip around my locals online.


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[Brett027]

Hi Joe. Just spent a few hours reading through Leroy's journey, as I saw the recent posts and realised I had not followed this build through. What a great story it was. You have a gift with words that made it a real pleasure to read. Lot's of great engine and technical info in there too, and of course, the usual rust experiences. And importantly, a band of clever forum dudes helping out on the way. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Brett

[thebrotherj]

Hi Joe. Just spent a few hours reading through Leroy's journey, as I saw the recent posts and realised I had not followed this build through. What a great story it was. You have a gift with words that made it a real pleasure to read. Lot's of great engine and technical info in there too, and of course, the usual rust experiences. And importantly, a band of clever forum dudes helping out on the way. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Brett

Thanks Brett! Nice of you to say.
Yeah, I've referred back to both the build thread and the forum in general many times since... it's very useful when issues come up or it's time to tackle some fixes along the way. As for my ute, I'm just loving putting Leroy to work this last month. 3 trips to the metal scrapper so far, total of 550kg of steel transported! Probably another 300kg left in the structure I'm knocking down. Always earns a smile and a chat form someone at the weighbridge.

Having a reliable ute on hand is just the best.
Joe

[thebrotherj]

I need to make a few trips over the next couple of days in the Ute and the forecast is pretty toasty here in Sydney… so I figured it might be time to install the venetian that Blacky sent me the other month.

I had planned to hit it with rust blaster and repaint, but having just spent two hours on the test fit… I’ve decided the patina look will do just fine thanks! God knows I am not going through that ordeal again ‍

Looking forward to having less sun on my neck now.





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[Errol62]

Yes, a necessity for the ute during summer cruising months. You can always renovate later or even in situ if you get the urge.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

[thebrotherj]

Yes, a necessity for the ute during summer cruising months. You can always renovate later or even in situ if you get the urge.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Day one of driving round in full summer sunshine and yeah, wow. I should’ve done this years ago!

Necessity is definitely the word.


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[thebrotherj]

Greetings all

So the centre of my 7psi non-recovery radiator cap rusted out, which I discovered on a thrash up to Newcastle the other weekend for some 327 Chev parts... which is another story…

I’ve never ever installed a recovery setup on any early Holden I’ve owned, decided to try it out on Leroy. My only concern is that the cap appears to be 15psi (stamped with 15/100) and I’m curious to know if anyone has thoughts on this.

The 138 is stock, running the upgraded head gasket and drilled head/block that I got from Rob arsdiesse back in 2017. Never had an issue overheating and no sign of any trouble so far.

Will this increased pressure bother a Grey?

Cheers Joe




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[ardiesse]

Joe,

The radiator tanks aren't designed for that much pressure, so there's a risk of them failing with repeated 15 psi pressure cycles.
Because Leroy keeps his cool, you'll most likely be OK. I'd still recommend you find another 7 psi cap though.

Rob

[Blacky]

I was having an issue with losing water coming back from the Nationals one year - we stopped in Esperance at a radiator place and the bloke sold me a new cap as the original 7lb cap was knackered - told me the only real issue with running a higher poundage was the original radiator tanks were not really up to the task but the stuff nowadays is not a problem. I fitted a 15lb cap and a recovery tank and haven't used a drop of water since.

[thebrotherj]

Joe,

The radiator tanks aren't designed for that much pressure, so there's a risk of them failing with repeated 15 psi pressure cycles.
Because Leroy keeps his cool, you'll most likely be OK. I'd still recommend you find another 7 psi cap though.

Rob

Great, thank you.

Yeah it’s an older re-core by the looks of things so I think I’ll chase down a 7psi cap when I go buy coolant later on. The 15psi cap might be of use on my V8 project.

Curious to hear what coolant folks use for their grey motors also: I’ve just used some green glycol stuff & tap water till now, though I spy Penrite offer vintage car rust inhibitor to be used with de-mineralised water. Dad has sworn by Alfloc 2000 for 50 years in his Kingswood, but it never leaves Sydney.

Leroy will visit sub-zero locales this winter (Braidwood, we saw -9° there last June!) so I’d wanna keep anti-freeze in him…

Joe


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[thebrotherj]

I was having an issue with losing water coming back from the Nationals one year - we stopped in Esperance at a radiator place and the bloke sold me a new cap as the original 7lb cap was knackered - told me the only real issue with running a higher poundage was the original radiator tanks were not really up to the task but the stuff nowadays is not a problem. I fitted a 15lb cap and a recovery tank and haven't used a drop of water since.

Nice. Yeah I get a spurt on the ground on a really hot day, after stopping.

Will be good to keep those spurts contained from now on!


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