Sleepas new VR work ute

[sleepa]

Today was a day of searching for parts but not being able to find many.

I really need a gear surround, don't reckon it'd pass roadworthy with a big hole in the floor around the gearstick. But it's very hard to find, hell, even a manual surround for a sedan is hard to find. I did find one but they wanted $200 for it, plus postage.

Reckon it will be cheaper to build something or convert to a standard console.

I did replace the wipers and rubber pedal covers as I am not sure if they had ever been replaced. The pedal covers were shiny and flat, and cracked all the way through. Can't have had a rwc done for at least more then a few years.

And just for something interesting, when I was pulling the dash apart some areas of it still had that new car smell, Not too bad for a 21 Year old car.

 

[sleepa]

Bought some parts.





Statesman Centre console and brackets, window switches.

Picked it all up for $60, should look a lot better once it is in the ute, once I have modified it of course.
The rear half is stuffed so I have no hassle cutting it off to make it fit with the middle seat still in.

It might look good or crap, who knows till its done.



Also Oil pressure gauge and adapter so I can check the oil.

And a stock cat back exhaust so it can pass roadworthy.

Will be fitted this weekend hopefully.

Also have my eye on a statesman dash and door trims, power windows, power mirrors, cluster, etc.
But that will have to come after its regoed.

 

[sleepa]

Oh, and not sure if anyone realises, but that dome light cover above is off a falcon. Apparently the housing is suitable for both commodore and falcon.

It's also a nicer looking cover in my opinion.

Also I removed my lower dash section and test fitted the statesman one. One thing I noticed is the drivers side fuse cover door is now too short on the left hand side, so will most likely have to pick that up too. And the bracket just hangs in air, does't seem to attach to the bottom brackets for some reason. I might be missing a bracket but maybe I'll just make one.

And as a pleasant surprise the new lower section is the exact same colour as the original dash so it looks like it was meant to be there.

Bit more work to do today, then I can spent a little bit more time on the ute.

I am so tempted to get the whole dash and door trims, but then I'll need the electric window mechs and wiring, and I'm a little short on time as it is already.

 

[sleepa]

Dropped by the wreckers and picked up the statesman under steering wheel panel/fuse cover thing. It fits, which is good

Then I cut the centre console in half. And test fitted it.
Looks alright I reckon.







It was surprisingly easy to do, Jigsaw makes quick work and pretty clean cut too.

The right hand side was getting caught on the middle seat so I tried heating it with my heat gun but didn't work out.
Ended up just trimming it down a bit so I can now easily install and remove it.

Quick jigsaw cut out of the auto surround so the manual can fit. Not too bad, all gears work, it just hits the lower edge slightly.
Reckon I'll make a little adapter to bend the gearstick back in towards the middle a bit, easier to shift and make it look better too.

May cut out the remaining auto surround and put in a nice aluminium panel with a leather boot for the gear stick.

The console is all just sitting there at the moment, wedged in nice and tight though.

You can see how it tucks in under the middle seat so it doesn't have any rough edges and looks a bit nicer.

And in these photos you can see how the seats came up compared to how they were when I bought it.
Check out the difference with the drivers seat.

 

[sleepa]

Have some plans for the oil pressure gauge.
Since I am missing the speed alert I will cut out that hole, put in a panel and mount the gauge there, Just tested the size and it will be perfect for it.

I also have some ideas for more of the interior, but i'm not telling yet.

 

[sleepa]

Took out the oil pressure switch and found out that one of the previous owners did it up too tight and stuffed the threads.
So bought myself a new one, and also found out that 2 wires on the connector were stripped back a little and could have possibly been touching.

Put in the new switch, made sure the wires weren't touching, started it up a few times and all is good, no flickering oil pressure light anymore.
Acting like it should. So this is a nice easy fix.

I am still going to install the oil pressure gauge to keep an eye on the pressures though.

My exhaust just got dropped off so next 2 days of installing parts and by sunday it should be all back together and working well

 

[sleepa]

Oil pressure gauge installed. Photos soon, when my dash is back together.

On a cold start it shows 37psi then quickly goes up to ~47psi where it stays (45 - 47psi idling)
Give it a bit of a light rev and it climbs to around the 53psi mark.

I assume this is pretty good for a stock engine. Means I can go through the rest of the engine and driveline now to check everything else is operating as normal.

But next is to get the console all bolted in and then the exhaust.

 

[sleepa]

Had myself a busy weekend.

Installed the new exhaust, it bolted up pretty easy, only needed some new rubber mounts, checked my cat as well while I was at it and it's all good.

Then I was wondering why the car was running a bit rough so had a look over it, turns out one of the spark plug leads was corroded, quick replacement and it runs much better.
Checked Alternator, charges at 14v, put a new hose clamp on hose connected to power steering reservoir to stop it leaking, Had a look for any leaks - none.

Checked all suspension components - all good, all Nolathane, Pedders and King Springs, guess that's what you get with a ute previously owned by a tyre and suspension shop.

So after that I tried to install the stereo again but had to make up some new brackets which took a while to get everything all lined up but got it done eventually.

Needed to buy a new vent control/heater switch as mine was completely stuffed and also different to the 2 seater so wouldn't work anyway.
Also tried to get a rubber seal for the gearstick where it meets with the floor. Turns out holden don't make them anymore and they don't have a single one in australia.

So went to the wreckers to try and find something to suit. Problem with nearly all cars being auto for the last 20 years is it's not easy to find manual stuff. But I did end up with something that works. It was from an early 90's falcon EB I think. It's rectangle, but it does fit and works pretty good too. And it was also very cheap.

Here is a very crappy phone photo of the work so far. You can see the Oil Pressure Gauge up the top (By the way it's only an Autotechnica but it's been good so far, nice lights, seems accurate. I would have preferred an auto meter or something but they are little pricey)



Just need install a sheet of something to cover the gear stick, cut a hole out and put in a leather boot. Maybe a sheet of aluminium.

Hopefully not long til it's on the road

 

[sleepa]

Well, good news and some bad.

It's registered.

But the gearbox is making some noises that it probably shouldn't.

Syncros gone in 1st and 2nd and a VERY noisy box in 1st 2nd and 3rd gears.

I guess this is the problem of not being able to test drive it beforehand.

Also what looks like a coolant leak when its hot at the back of the engine where it meets the transmission.


But hey, its on the road.
Now to either fix this or look towards a V8 Conversion.

 

[sleepa]

The coolant leak turned out to be the top radiator hose slightly dripping, then pooling on the top of the engine, so when I parked (on an incline) it would run down behind the engine.

The fix was just to tighten the clamp with a screwdriver.
I love these fixes.

And had a transmission guy look at the gearbox, he reckons the Diff is the main problem.
Second gear syncros are gone, and the input bearing is noisy.

His recommendation was to replace the Diff, change to a thicker gearbox oil, and then if I want to later replace the gearbox instead of repairing it.

OR a V8 Conversion.. But I want to keep it manual, and the wreckers around here only have a few Auto VN V8s.

What's everyone reckon?
Buy a V8 stato and change to auto in the ute.
Or do as above but find a good V6 manual converted to be used behind an 8 instead.

Or keep it as a 6 and find a good manual box (and Diff)