lxclone

hi all,
since the sale of my xu1 some 30years ago i promised my self one day to have ago at the A9X. little did i know that when the time came to be able to buy the car and start the rebuild the cost of a purchase of one of these cars would be totaly out of reach..forced up by the sudden death of my hero of some 38 years ..
what a sad day that was.
any way now in my 50th year its time to start.
i just finished a wb ute with my son which he uses as a every day driver.

i have four toranas all need work i want to do a hatch....originally i was going to use the uc hatch and do a convertion with the lx sedan parts ..lights front and back etc...then a lx hatch came my way
76 lx sedan
76 lx hatchback good condition
74 lh sedan in poor body condition... this is now for sale!!
78 uc hatchback in reasonable condition

i plan to use the front suspension from the uc as well as the handbrake set up and the double diaphram brake boster??

i have just found a VR rear end to have shortend and a new lsd fitted.
one of the other cars i have is a wb statesman i intend to use the blue 308
from that for the power plant thats about all i have at the moment.

the big thing for me now is to get advice from you readers on what you would use on the car ??

when finished i would like a replica of the '78 winning lx hatchback car.

i would like to use as many holden parts as poss.

i have not started yet and i am undecided whether to strip the car right down and have it dipped for paint removal and rust treatment by a buss. here in adelaide....Minus Paint

i have a total buget of 25k for the whole project and intened to do as much as i can myself i have no dream of it being perfect i just would like to have ago!!

so any help on

brakes...what type
engine build..
suspension..
gear box.....
paint...and paint removal..
etc.
many thanks for future input.

i don't have access to the internet all the time so i may be slow in reply only have a dial up connection.. country area!!


many thanks for reading this


tom

k383

gday tom,

got a bit on ya plate mate!!

i live in adelaide, and id be happy to steer you toward some of the people i deal with. funny im originally a gawler boy, and even played cricket for gawler south in juniors!!

paint removal.......... minus paint is great if you dont mind re doing ALL the factory sealer and rust proofing........ massive job, and youd be sick of it before you get going! and if you dont get it right, the car will be a rattle trap!......but hey if your building a race car, its the way to go to save weight.
blasting is probly better, not just for your sanity and time but also your wallet. also blows out any rust for you to see clearly..... do repairs post blasting and priming.

i deal with a nice chap named scott from MAVERICK SODA BLASTING. (0417863516)
just off south road at the grand junction road end.
he can do both soda and grit blasting, which is handy. (grit can distort panels)
he can offer a priming service too so that it isnt bare metal for long. either etch or epoxy.
he just did my seat frames the other week.(check my thread efihk prem)

on the trim........ mick at MH TRIMMERS (0408898854) he does heaps of quality cars from monaros and gt's to late model corvettes. hes spot on and he's got a great rep around the traps.....also doin mine! mick could probly also put you onto someone for the suspension......his cousin, john. (i think his business name is SA CHASSIS)

i might be able to help you out with paint..........

good luck with it all and post pix asap, there will be a lot of jealous dudes.....
and there are plenty of very well informed individuals who float around the site!
cheers k383

__________________
guilty bystander........ dontlethemdoit

lxclone

thanks k383

i will give the soda blasting a look into the lx hatchback is my project the others are just for parts i did however consider the uc hatch and do a lx convertion on it as i am not looking for the real thing just a project and the uc has some advantages over the lx etc. i could then sell of the lx hatch and may be put the fund into a better engine build and gearbox set up....i have got to make up my mind which way to go so i can get on with it!!!

many thanks

tom

quarter pounder

Hi Tom,

I'm not familiar with S.A. laws, but the way i see it is the LX came equipped with a V8, where as the UC didn't. I take it the UC is the better car of the lot?

76lxhatch

The UC is set up for a Salisbury diff (so you could swap in a 10 bolt V8 one) with better rear sway bar setup and has the better front end suspension and steering (which can be swapped into the LX as stated). If you have a decent diff planned already there's not much advantage to using the UC as a base unless you like the dash etc.

LX8VD69

another person to do interior would be to speak to stinky, i think hes out your way and he made me an awesome rear seat that i couldnt pick if i tried, thanks glenn. just my 2 cents. oh good luck with the build. make sure you post heaps of pics to wet all us torana nuts appetites


cheers adam

__________________
UP THE DRAGONS

cover up and fight your way out

the problem with most relationships is communication, too much communication!

RIP 05

lxclone

the uc is in a bit better condition the rear panels behind the wheels are the only real rustalong with the pillars in th hatch,
the lx has rusted front floors.. problem coming from the chambers under the dash i think.

i have spoken to the road traffic group a 308 in the lx and the uc no problem.
i think the changing of the front and rear lights and the body work to do so makes me lean toward the lx...BUT do i strip it right down?? the thought of the dash removal and then the replacment doe's scare the sh..it out of me never had any experience with major electrics..

i will take some pictures of both cars and have ago of uploading them on the computer at work next week.

T

greenhj

if your gunna disconnect a heap of wires, just wrap it with a bit of masking tape and mark what it was attached too. Invariably project cars take a while and unless you got a photographic memory its hard to remember what goes where.

good luck mate!

76lxhatch

A photographic memory is exactly whats needed - use a camera! Take lots of photos, you'll find it invaluable as there is often stuff that you have overlooked even when carefully sorting and labelling parts, but the photos show everything. There aren't really any major electrics in a Torana so if you are keen go for it.

lxclone

76lxhatch
who's up late 12.38 am...your right i will start the photo's and get plenty of them......will have another look under the dash have a better look at that wiring..the tape idea's a good one as i think this project will take 3 year's or so!!

tom

76lxhatch

You forgot to take the time zone into account, it was actually 3:08am...

lxclone

sorry mate
i was well under the wether by then hope the day in your part of the world is a good one..

tom

off to maccas for breaky