oh ok must of missed that don't think i have seen it in any pics but looks good anyway

Kind of similar principle painting metal on houses. What happens is the outer part of the coat dries while the cold metal surface keeps the internal layers soft and wet. This will not allow the paint to adhere and the wet paint under the dry paint works its way through the finished coat. Sometimes called orange peel effect too. Seeing this type of paint dries relatively quickly, by getting the metal nice and warm your making sure it will hold a decent temp until the paint dries completely and evenly. Also due to the high temp paint that gets used, how hot you make the metal shouldn't be a problem when you use a heat gun or torch.
One last thing, in winter you need to heat the paint can up a little too. If you read the label it will tell you the required temp to be using the paint can. Take the can inside if your heaters on or stick it in your jumper until you can feel the paint slosh around in the can nicely when you shake it.

79raven -Cool, thanks for the tip!

BenJ - very cool pics mate, and I love the vid on Mt Panorama! I've gotta get up there one day myself!

Cheers

ToranaGuy

Major Update - New Stuff for the Wag

Well, I have now done a bit over 3100kms with the DOHC in the car. The engine is going strong and the wagon performs well, not only in embarrassing new cars at the lights, but also just dawdling along with the Sydney traffic.

Seeing as the engine department has bell well catered for, I thought it was time to focus my attention at other areas of the Wagon.

Tires

First up was two rear tires. I went with the same Rotalla brand and size 245/45/17 for the rear, and at $110 each fitted and balanced my wallet is happy. The old tires were fitted in October 2010 so they have done pretty good, and considering I did 45000kms last year alone, I am not complaining.

Fronts are due to be done soon too. These have not lasted quite so well as they are worn on the inside edges. But with a car on Super Lows this is not surprising. I do have a camber kit, but the camber was deemed good when the current front tires were fitted and a wheel alignment done.

Oh Well.

Brakes

I don't appear to be having a lot of joy when it comes to rotors. This is the third new set since I got the Wagon.



This time I went with ADB slotted and drilled. I am not happy with them however. They didn't fit the AJR wheels very well, as in the studs fouled on the holes. I had to clean up the wheel stud holes on the alloys with a round file before they would go on. Several other wheels I have here fitted without any issue at all, so I don't know if it is a rotor issue or a wheel specific issue. And on top of that I am still getting vibration under heavy braking at speeds 80kph and above.

I will call the sellers this week to see what they say.

Shock Absorbers

Recently the ride in the Wagon has been getting harsher. I hadn't really noticed until a recent trip up to visit Paulmac at the Central Coast and Paul commented on it. Then it was obvious.

And thinking about it, the front BOGE struts I scored for free second hand have served duty in my old Red EB sedan, then in the Wagon. At least 150,000kms while I have had them. The rear shocks in the Wagon looked like they could be the original factory items.

So being a budget minded individual, I elected to go with Ultima Heavy Duty Low rear shocks and Ultima Heavy Duty Short front shocks. At $269 for all four with a three year warranty this is a good deal in my book. Yes, there are better shocks out there, but at twice the price, I don't believe they are twice as good. And for a daily driver, I can't justify the spend.

I picked the shocks up during the week after work, and changed the rears immediately. The rear shocks are easy on a Wagon and I was able to get them in before it got dark.

Old vs New


All bolted up.


The improvement in the ride was immediately noticeable. While it was still firm, the rear felt more refined and controlled. I was looking forward to getting the fronts done on the weekend.

The front strut change is a much larger job. Good thing I have spring compressors.

Hmmm, something is missing here.


Ah, there it is. Rather dirty and worn looking.


Old vs New


Gave the king springs a bath before reassembly.


All bolted up.


Once again the improvement in the ride quality was noticeable. The steering is more direct and the small bumps don't cause harshness now.

Very happy with the result. Should have done it a year ago.

BA Cruise Control Buttons

While I am still sorting out a couple of issues with the BA cruise control, I needed to mount the buttons. I chose to mount the BA buttons on the column as the EB doesn't have enough connections through the steering wheel.

This is my first attempt. I placed the buttons to be accessible through the space in the steering wheel.




The buttons are within easy reach and I like the industrial look.

Steering Wheel

Then I decided to replace the steering wheel. The above wheels was a freebie from SVO Matt and it has served me well. Unfortunately, the leather is about worn through, and the paint was very thin.

I picked up this new wheel from the markets for $55.




While I was at it I changed the horn button logo from the good old 'F' Fairmont emblem to the AU Ghia badge I am using now.


As you can clearly see in the above photo, the cruise buttons are now in the wrong place. I will redo the mounting brackets to suit the four spoke wheel.

Mig Welder

For quite some time I have been wanting to buy a mig welder. While SWC has been very generous with his time and skills over the last few years, welding is something I have wanted to learn to do for myself.

I picked this up off eBay for $70.




The deal also included a stick welder. I had to go for a 4 hour round trip to pick them up, but on LPG that only added $40 to the overall spend. Still cheap in my book.

I went down to SWCs this morning for some Welding 101.

SWC gave it the once over and tested all the settings, and deemed it a good buy. I also picked up a auto darkening welding helmet from Aldi during the week, which also turns out to be a nice bit of gear. A few test welds later and I am confident to have a go myself at home.

Thanks mate for the help and lessons.

First victim will be my rusty box trailer.

Well, that about sums it up I think.

Oh, I have ordered a new heater core. Should arrive this week.

Cheers
BenJ

That sucks about the rotors Ben!
Hopefully they sort it out hassle free as brakes are kind've important..
Definitely winning on the interior, new steering wheel ties in nicely
Congrats on the welder too, its on my list of new skills to learn one day lol!
If you're looking for something to weld, I may have a new cat to go on in the next few weeks

Wow Ben, that's a huge update! Good shocks make a big difference to a car's ride & stopping distance. I've gotta replace the rear shocks in the tx5 turbo soon, and maybe the shocks in the Ghia too.

I really don't know how you have gone all these years without a welder or two! I bought a mig years ago, it's so handy it's not funny. I also picked up stick welder to do a couple of jobs with as well.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

how much drama was the cruise to get working or is it still work in progress?

The cruise works as it should, except for one thing.

If you use the brake, the cruise disengages like it should, but it also then puts the cruise module in limp mode, and won't re engage the cruise function at all until after the car is turned off then back on again.

There are other oddities as well, but I am still sorting through a couple of things.

Cheers
BenJ

Yes, new shocks might be nice. Especially driving up and down that goat track they call Old Windsor Road everyday.

The cruise controls are reminiscent of the spark advance control on the vintage cars lol.

how is the Eonon double din unit going after all this time, still going ok?

i just bought a chinese gps unit for $360 posted, and even though it works great, im kicking myself everyday for buying such junk after reading all the bad reviews on these type of things.

it will being doing a 12 hour trip soon, so will see if the heat will kill it like it did to your previous one

The EONON stereo is going great.

No GPS in mine though, but with a Stand Alone GPS and now my Galaxy SIII I don't need it.

Cheers
BenJ

Heater Core + Cruise Control

Heater Core

The heater core arrived yesterday.



Looks well made. Now just have to get up the motivation to install it. Not looking forward to this job.

Cruise Control

I got some time this afternoon to reposition the BA Cruise Buttons.

This photo shows how it is mounted to the column. By using the bolts and nylock nuts, I can adjust the depth of the buttons.


The brackets are hidden behind the top plate.


And how it looks with the new steering wheel in place.


I also have the BA Stereo buttons. May have to see if I can get them to work with my head unit, and then I can mount them too.

Cheers
BenJ

Looking great BenJ! I absolutely love this build, i reckon its one of the most unique E-series builds out there.

Quick question, where'd you get the extractor hex bolts from?

I'm using the factory bolts with a buttload of washers on my headers as they're way too long now, the ones you have seem to fit nice.

Looking good ben. if the stereo controls dont work for you, how about mocking up some sort of hands free/auto answer for your phone (this combined with bluetooth system) With the laws the way they are now, maybe a decent mod to have a go at?- you seem to be good at making everything else work.

You aren't running prime brake pads by any chance? Popular with cab drivers for their price but notorious for chewing through brake rotors.