August 2010 Archives

Since the Ute got trashed I've been searching high and low for a quarter panel to replace the crushed one. Nobody reproduces these panels so my options were pretty limited. That is until I saw an ad in The Trading Post (made famous in the iconic Australian movie The Castle) for an NOS left side quarter panel.

So I called up Greg from Classic Oz Wreck and told him he was dreamin'. Actually I didn't. I said how much and how soon can you get it here. Shipping it is going to be a bitch. It is a full quarter panel from the door all the way back and its going to have to be crated up and sent by boat. Greg is on the case however, and I hope we can make it work. Picture below is of the actual panel.

Since the Ute debacle there have been several things going on, none of which involve the Monaro unfortunately. Look for more progress on that as the weather turns sour in a couple of months.

Tom and I bought an 86 RX7 for $1000 with a blown motor, not blown as in supercharged but blown as in thrown a rod, camshaft broken into 3 pieces, cylinder block cracked, a real mess. However, for our $1000 we got a very clean body and interior, full set of Autometer gauges, B&M Shifter, 18" wheels, aftermarket suspension and brakes, aluminum radiator, MSD 6AL and coil, TH350 trans and the small block conversion kit. The motor had Procomp aluminum heads, roller rockers and valve covers, all of which we traded for a newly rebuilt 350.

The guys who put this together were real amateurs with more money than talent. I found loose head bolts, substandard wiring, just generally sloppy work. To date I have fabricated a new radiator mount and will redo all the wiring and fuel system before putting it on the market. Its been a fun project and it should be a very nice and quick little car when its done.