Wow, good price on the springs and blocks buddy, can't wait to see pics in the new lower stance

Well it was tinted today and the front lowered springs installed.
It needs a good wash before I take any pics of it.
Some of you will most likely see it tomorrow night!

I have 50mm blocks with leaf rear too, although I get a bit more than 50mm out of them via other means

Anyways, am going to lower it a bit more by NOT using the standard leaf mounts at all and making some that will terminate about 15mm further away than the factory mounts.

All I am saying is --- If you're doing the same process as me (which you bloody well are - you're one of the ones who talked me into it in the first place!) why bother with ordering factory mounts from anywhere and simply weld a box to suit your own lowering requirements... Hell, if you were that way inclined you could have welded a three inch lowering "block" to the axle and got your whole ute lowered for $100 -- FRONT SPRINGS and some scrap metal..!

All good tho.

I am writing this purely as I noticed you were going to make up a jig to get pinion angle correct when welding these things on the bare shafts. As I'm taking another 10-15 mm off the rear end I'd say that I'm going to be stuffing 10-15mm extra under the pinion before finalising the position of the mounts....

All good, old mate MrFenning isn't giving you some pointers in the right direction on this too is he?!!!!!!!!!

60mm of the front is getting close to needing new shockies isn't it?!!!

Good job with blacking out stuff around windows too... Nice.

Nah mate noone is giving me any pointers on it. It will just be something me and the old man work out. He is a fitter/machinest , welder and engineer by trade so I think Im in pretty good hands.
Basically Im using factory looking mounts so it at least looks ridgy didge. Plus for the $30 they are costing me I can be a*** stuffing around cutting and drilling bits of RHS to suit.

Yeah the front probably should have got new shocks but the ones on it are nearly new so I will just wait until I destroy those ones first. I have to get some caster rod bushes tomorrow so Ill see if the suspension joint has a set of top shock mount spacers. One of the many advantages of the mighty X series. You can space to top shock mount up so you can use a standard stroke shock. Therefore you can get a shock that will handle as well as any 40 year old suspension design will handle and still have a nice ride.

Yeahthe blackouts come out ok. The rest of the old girl looks much better now but!

I didn't actually think of making a jig - I was going to measure it all three times and use a simple (to me anyway) process of putting spirit levels against the pinion face where driveshaft bolts on (should be near vertical) and on the leaf mounts (should be near horizontal)... The difference in angle could therefore be replicated.

However, making a jig is a good idea alright. In fact, any old diff from a E wagon would do for this purpose, so may just be able to work it all out with a spare one I will hopefully be playing with on Saturday.... If not, I could always walk into pick a part with 3 metres of four by two, nails, hammer.... Slide the diff out of that wagon I pulled the lowering blocks out of and make something up on the spot... Now that would get some odd looks.....!

Yeah we are going to weld my jig up out of some 25mm square tube the old man has kicking around. Basically it will be set of the clamp onto the flats of the leaf perches and clamp onto the pinion flange.
We havent worked on the finer points of it yet (thats will get done on the job over ciggerattes and alcoholic beverages) but the system we are working on will work.
I will be posting up pics of the progress and how we do it here. If people are happy with it maybe the jig might be able to be loaned to members ( in exchange for alcoholic beverages ) who wish to mod the nice easily available sedan LSD's to utes and wagons.
Big thanks but to Ashcook who has already done it and confirmed to me that the idea does work.
I didnt know Ash had already done it and I was wondering if it would work , then Ash let me know that it was all most definately a goer!

Cool - Big thanks to XPVANMAN who told me the same.

One thing tho EVL brother, most of those handbrake mounts look to be in different positions to my untrained eye. Easy enough to fold a little bit of something up to make a new bracket with a chopped washer or similar tacked on the end....

The main handbrake mount where the cable joins the axle from the right of the car looks to be the same, as does the brackets over the top of the diff cover plate, but the mountings look like different positions where the cable actually pulls against to the handbrake mechanisms.

All good, just something to consider... Easy enough to get around...

Yeah Ill be putting a complete EA-ED Wagon handbrake cable setup in mine. Its really close to being right with my ute being a 92 model and all.
Im pretty sure I have sourced one but it that doesnt come to fruition Ill have to trackone down somewhere.

Speaking of which... guess what I found today

Goody goody.
Spose that means Ill have to come out on the weekend now and talk s**t , drink coffee and smoke ciggerattes with ya................................geez lifes hard!

That sounds like a plan to me! Plenty of coffee on tap here, Rach works for Gloria Jeans Coffees no less

Well tonight at Liverpool some evil evil TERRORIST told me about a FE LTD he saw for sale. When I got home I looked it up and spoke to the owner and its still there and we are currently in negotiations over price.
Am going to look at it tomorrow once I have finished at Racedirectors so we shall see what pans out.
Maybe just maybe if I can secure it for the right dollars there might be a build of a LTD ute about to start........................................ fingers crossed!

Nice, I thought it was 200, but saw it was 400, Surely you can talk them down
Brett

Yeah Im going to give it a red hot go mate.
I dont think he is too smart but the guy selling it. He told me he has been trying to sell it for 3 months and no one at all has been interested. Not the kind of thing you tell someone who is going to try and bargain you down hey.
But he also then said last night he wants $700 for the car and only advertised the motor for the $400 in the add.
Yeah he seems a right cracker. Will see what pans out.

Well we had an interesting , funny but somewhat frustrating trip to look at the LTD.
We called old matey up and let him know we were on our way. Told him we would be there about 1 oclock. Got there at one fifteen. Knocked on the front door and stood around waiting for 15 minutes. No answer. Called his mobile. No answer.
Was just about to leave , knocked on the door again and his missus yells out at us who were we.
Told her we were there to look at the car. Told us to go around the back and that she thought she heard someone there but had to move some stuff before answering the door.......................................
Anyway around we go out the back. It was one of our ethnic mates that was selling it and he had numerous vehicles in his backyard and was running a backyard mechanic shop.
Looked across at his shed and he had about 50 odd lengths of poly irrigation pipe stacked up and a few charlie wongs there working away merrily. The charlies looked up , saw us in the yard and bolted and hid behind the large shelving systems they were working on with the poly pipe as someone very quickly shut the door.
Now old matey comes over to see us and show us the car. As he comes over is is putting a roll of $100 notes and a roll of $50's in his pockets afetr he has put elastic bands aroudn them to keep them together. These rolls would of been a good 2 inches thick! Lucky bugger.
Anyway he comes and shows us the car and starts talking it up. I saw that the front guard and bumper was bent and the left hand electric mirror was smashed. He told me it was all easily fixed he was a panel beater and would fix the guard and bumper for me for a hundred bucks. This was afetr he told me that he was a mechanic and auto electrican last night. Multi talented guy........................
As part of the talking up of the car he let me know that him and his mates used to pinch LTD's for a really rare expensive part that was only fitted to LTD's. What part you ask?
THE INTERIOR CABIN LIGHT WITH THE MAP LIGHTS IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I actually did pretty well at this stage to stop laughing.
As Im looking around it and chatting to the Missus to see what parts were useable on the ute and if was worth the exercise and talking to the seller he decided that he had to change one of his customers that was there tyres and walked off and started chatting to me. Left us standing there for half and hour with not so much as a get stuffed.
Well I was about to walk out but he had locked the gate into his yard. Yep we were not going anywhere.
Once he had finished he come over and started preaching about the car again. I told him that the talk up wasnt required and lets see what kind of deal we could come too.
Now this car was advertised as both free and best offer over $400 , as $300 and he told me last night he wanted $700 for it.
Obviously I was working on the $300 figure.
Started to talk turkey and he told me that he did indeed want $700 for the car as that was what he paid for it 6 months ago and he could not loose a cent on it , and he didnt understand why noone has wanted anypart of it in the last 3 months he has been trying to sell it. But he said I seemed like a nice bloke and he had taken the bonnet struts out , a few electronic bits and the battery and had sold the LTD wheels and tyres to a customer for his Magna so I would have to drive back to Penrith and get another set of wheels for it to have it towed home and I could have it for $450.
I offered him $250.
He cracked the wobbles and told me I was an idiot who wanted something for nothing and the lowest he would go was $300 because he was an honest man and could not loose a cent on the car and I seemed a good bloke that was going to put the parts to good use.
At this stage I was a cross between being p****d off with his crap and laughing at his stupidity. I said to him it was $250 or nothing. His reply was I didnt know what I was talking about and when he was running his panel shop they were paying $2000 for a bonnet and grille 10 years ago and they were a lot rarer now so worth more.
Why he would buy a bonnet and grille when he had stolen a complete LTD for the cabin light is beyond me!
Well I decided stuff it a trip back to Penrith and then back to Burwood with another set of wheels , a $180 towing fee , $300 for the car for something that a few of the bits I actually wanted it for were damaged or not there was not really worth it. I told him no thanks mate and went to leave.
He sid ok and unlocked the gate and let us out and then followed us back to the ute saying "cmon let do a deal".
So I said I would meeting him halfway at $275. Principle had got in the way of good judgement by this stage and I really had the s**t with his attitude and time wasting so I was sticking to my guns.
With that he called me a a*** d***head for quibbling over $25 and told me I was costing him money by not buying the car!
With that I got in the ute and left before I really cracked it and dropped him.
Yeah I was most likely a a*** for refusing to pay anymore but the whole being locked in the yard , stuffed around and being pulled onto a big merry go round had really got my heckles up.

So long yet amusing story short I didnt get the LTD. Sort of glad I didnt now as after looking atthe interior thats starting to devellop in the ute and the current stance of it now its lowered and tinted I actually think I prefer the current look. So I just need to get a new right hand guard and a bumper and I shall be sweet.
Just thought I would share our amusing afternoon with you all!
How was everyone elses day. Cant of been as funny as ours!