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Two months after the last report and the car is progressing well. The front brake conversion is now in place and I decided to take a photo of all the bits laid out nicely before I bolted them up. Everything went together well, and hopefully this should provide ample braking with the V8 nestled in the back.
The upright used is still the standard Holden Torana unit, with one of the mounting lugs cut off. A 10mm flat adaptor plate was cut out to suit (thanks to Alan Price), and when bolted up is spot on for having the caliper lined up with the centre of the disc. After market Bendix pads are used which are designed for the Nissan caliper. New bearings and cups were also installed. Whilst the front was going back together, I decided to replace the front shocks with some Koni Sports. These are internally adjustable models, which require them to be removed from the car, but in the case of the Torana suspension, is quite easy.
Everything is now together in the front including, new air horns, Toyota variable speed intermittent wiper motor, a washer bottle and all wiring in place for the front lights.
Moving to the back, all the accessories have been reinstalled onto the motor, wiring complete up to the plugs on the chassis and most of the other pipes (heater etc), are in place. Inside, my friend Mal is still working away at the wiring, and in the mean time I have made up a dummy dashboard, which I soon will have cut out of aluminium then have the surface given the brushed effect. This part of the dash has no switches, only gauges and lights and most of the operation of the car (except the heater) is controlled via the steering column binnacle.
Unfortunately adding all these goodies to the car is probably taking a toll on the overall weight, however there are plans in the pipeline to improve the power to weight ratio if it becomes a problem! First to go will be the passenger…
Currently I am in the process of plumbing in the two radiators and next is the installation of the fuel pump, filter and lines. Some of the little jobs are now taking much longer than expected, so unfortunately I no longer have a target date in mind. However, the sooner the better!
By Matthew Cooley
