God I hate those so-called "quick connects" on the fuel lines. They may be bloody quick to connect but they are bastards to get off. When I replace the lines back there I am going back to the old way of hose clamps!!!

might sound like a stupid question but.... wouldnt it have been easier to have the EL wagon, then change the front panels/bumper to a boxcar shape, instead of transferring 90% of EL parts to the ED wagon?

Cut down some plastic coke bottle for the quick connectors RD, thats what I did for my connectors on my V8. By the way, good job on the engine bay with the wiring. If time was on my side and I had it again, I'd do what you have done to hide the wiring under the guard EF/EL style.

EL was stuffed - bent rear chassis rails, bent rear panels. Took a big hit directly on the towbar (a Hayman Reece no less!). Plus it is riddled with rust in some weird places whereas I cannot find any rust in the ED at all! Plus where would be the "fun" in that!

Last edited by racedirector on Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ah! Thanks for the tip. My daughter will be happy, she loves Coke and will have a few empties in no time!

filling your daughter full of sugar and caffeinne to commence work on your car.. thats a ford mods 1st haha. love the progress RD and i look foward to an update

LOL I know what you mean mate, I need to convince my wife that i need a 3.45 lsd. I told her its better for towing he he.

Well Boys, and any Girls that are reading this thread too.

I had the opportunity to have a look at Bruce's progress on Sunday, and I have to say, I am mightily impressed. The Wagon looks really good, and Bruce will have a very unique and comprehensively built boxcar, that will serve him for many years to come.

As I told Bruce, now is the time to do things right, and don't take shortcuts for the sake of a bit of time saving, as you will regret it later.

Looking Good Buddy

BenJ

Thanks Ben for the kind words, it has been a long haul job, much more than I expected. I am, however, reaching the end of the major bits so will be happy when I can turn the key....

And so to some updates.

A reasonable amount has happened since my last update. To date, the EL's fuel/brake lines have been installed into the ED giving me the correct brake line configuration at the rear plus the correct fuel line attachment in the front. The diff has been installed sitting on the ED springs and the rear brake lines (east-west across the car) were installed as per the EL configuration, including the mount for the hoses. The brakes are now complete and bled. The handbrake cable falls into the rear mount perfectly with only the EL front mount to attach. That will be done when I can get the car on ramps for more working space.

The only pic I have of the whole backend deal is a crappy one:



Staying with the rear, the ED now sports an EL tailgate saving me from wiring/rewiring the ED one. It was preferable to do it this way and my good mate Ben scored a better tailgate for his stealth wagon in the process. It was Ben & his son Luke who assisted in the transfer on Sunday - thanks guys!



In the front end my work continued with the wiring which is now all installed aside from the thermo relays and changing/extending the headlight plugs. Today my attempt to install an EL air con condenser was thwarted by the ED's headlights! I even went to the extend of cutting the front end out of the EL to see if I could scavenge the mounts but that wasn't possible with the tools I have. Then after spending the morning the morning building mounts for the top, I installed the LH headlight only to find that it fouled the aircon drier. So another plan had to be worked out with the ED condenser, standard location of the receiver/drier (so I can keep my original lines) and the EL power steering cooler lines. I think I have that sussed and will show more when I have it figured out.

Then, this afternoon with the help of my lovely wife Rachel, we overcame a really big step in this process....the engine is now in - yay!





I can accomplish so much now and finish off a whole bunch of things, knowing that the major hurdles have been overcome. I am hoping sometime tomorrow to turn the key and see what happens. I'll fire it on the original ECU just incase something nasty happens before putting in my EL Ghia one that is sitting inside in a bookcase.....

So peeps, thats where it stands at the moment.

Cheers
RD

Last edited by racedirector on Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Good work mate, I look forward to seeing the final stages of your project

Josh

Thanks joshie

My plan now is to get it mobile and then do the remainder of the cosmetic stuff like the interior. As long as I can drive it I will be real happy....

Cheers
RD

As long as its drivable mate you will have plenty of time for all the minor things

Josh

Nice RD

You got the donk in. Well done.

The good lady is becoming somewhat of an expert now hey.

See you tomorrow afternoon.

BenJ

Putting these engine things in is getting easier every bloody time! One more to go with Rach's EB then the engine crane goes back to it's rightful owner. Rach is definitely an old hand at this now, even when dressed in her volleyball gear - Ha!

Tomorrow avo sound good, I have a couple of question for ya when you get here...

Cheers
RD

More progress....

All the various lines etc are connected to the trans, exhaust is on, main engine wiring connected. I wanted to get the electrics all connected to see what would happen when I turned the key. Upon connecting the negative terminal the thing came alive with wipers going, hazards flashing and the climate fan on full. The dash was emitting constant beeping and smartlock is flashing constantly. Aha! I says, I changed the BEM. Turned everything off and then turned the key to ignition and that is currently where it is for the next 30 minutes to an hour.

I am now off to finish off installing and connecting the rest of the engine stuff. Hoping for a test firing later this afternoon - wish me luck

Cheers
RD