Motor's back in. . .

 Motor back in place mounted to new front end. . .geez that VZ sump certainly carries a lot further forward than the VE part. . .

Front end view shows very little space left for starter, power steering, air conditioning and did I mention the extractors? Oh, and then there's the radiator, air box and oil coolers. . .

Hiding the fuel filler. . .

 Fuel filler is now located behind LHS tail-light as per the old Chevy units. . .

Dylan lining up his handy-work and check fitting the new filler housing behind the passenger-side tail-light. . .Dylan has just officially signed on as the new Hodgey's Hotrod and Custom's apprentice and he is already turning out fantastic work, just keeps losing bloody marking pens though. . .

Fitment of the new front-end. . .

 New front end is now in place with new Nolathane bushings. Engine mounts will have to be replaced with raised units, the motor, when in place, was sitting about 30mm too low. . .Bugger

 Articulating stucture of top and lower arms sits very nicely inside the wheel arches and with its coil-over shocks, makes for a very spectacular piece of engineering. . .hope it rides as well as it looks, hahaha. . .

 VZ sump and engine mounts fitted up and looking the part. New VZ dip-stick and tube will have to be sourced also. Little things, it's always the bloody little things!

Shaved petrol filler, don't know where the term 'shaved' came from because there was no shaving going on, only cutting and welding?
Anyway, you will have to watch this space to find out what's in store for the fuel filler. . .

A new package arrives. . .

 Dirty deeds. . .done dirt cheap. Classic ACDC and this package would have to be the dirtiest, dustiest, piece of frieght that I've seen. I think that it's been in the chook shed for a few months.
Good on'ya Star Track express, taking over a week to get a parcel from Moree to Ballarat?

Unwrapped the front end looks great. . .

 Tubular arms and coil-overs, gotta be happy with that. . .

Front-end accepts VR-VS strut assemblies from memory?
Will have to check with the experts to see what gear works best.
Machining, engineering and finish is superb, a top quality product from the boys at Moree. . .although it would have been nice for them to include the gear for adjusting the coil-overs?



Note to prospective buyers: Engineering certificate is NOT included as per conversations with V6 Conversions, this must be downloaded from the internet and inspected by your OWN engineer. . .Buyer beware!

VZ sump. . .

 VZ sump back from Lusky engineering. It's been hot tank dipped, sand blasted, gasket surfaces ground square and a new coat of paint.
It looks better than new. . .

Lusky Engineering, Latrobe street, Ballarat.
Phone: 03 53358705 and ask for Maurie or Ian.

Happy Birthday. . .

Yep Guys,
Happy birthday to Corey for Monday. . .
All the best mate, have a great day. . .
Dad

Vital Parts. . .

Finally sourced some vital parts for the engine transplant. The Gardener front end is set up for the Holden VZ V6 so we had to find a VZ sump and some VZ engine mounts in good condition.
Sure there's plenty around but with bloody thieves asking for between 350 to 600 dollars for the sump, minus the frigging pick-up which is an integral part, fuck me no wonder it costs so much to do up a quality car. . .
Sump has been sent off to be hot tank dipped for a freshen up.

Progress. . .

 Hand made diff carriers in place, Dylan has done a fantastic job and ride height is spot on. . .

 Diff all lined up and ready to be secured in place. . .

Dylan carefully removing all the old wiring and dash so that braking system can be measured and installed. Dakota digital dash will replace the OEM unit. . .

Springs going in. . .

 Newly reset springs sitting in hangers and diff sitting and awaiting correct mounting. . .

Rear spring hangers had to be made from new bar stock and fit perfectly. Dylan's been working his arse off to get the springs sprung and setting his hand to hand making the diff carriers. . .top effort from the apprentice. . .

Underdash power booster. . .

Due to the size of the motor and near proximity to the inner guards, it has been decided to mount the power booster and master cylinder under the dash where there is quite a huge space that is generally vacant. . .

Boing, boing. . .

 Springs have finally been returned from Hendersons, luckily we are patient people. . .

Although the springs have been reset and shortened, I'm having trouble understanding how we can achieve full 'travel' with the current mounting position?

Strange happenings. . .

Quite an unusual place to find a brand new mega dollar diff, just laying on the ground under the car? Seems to me that the springs are missing, any ideas as to where the springs are Mr Hodges???
This is what happens when you have to out source work and rely and wait on the outside world and its own agenda. . .

Adding a Link. . .

Hi Guys,
I just wanted to add a link to Hodgey's blog so that everyone can get to see his other work.
Andrew works from his own shed along side his close friend and collaborator Dave, I could tell you his last name but then immigration might find him. Together, these two turn out some of the most amazing vehicles, four wheel and two( and soon three) to ever be seen on our roads. Andrew has had 14 vehicles in Street Machine alone and that's only the 4 wheelers.
Go to the link below for a meet and greet. . . top guys!
Corey and Bruce

http://hhrac.blogspot.com.au/

For Sale. . .

 Yeah folks, the big man's ride is for sale, just don't tell his missus. Hodgey's Mercury out on the tarmac catching a few of Ballarat's wonderful sunny rays. . .

 Slammed on its arse. . .you can't get any lower than this. Looking lovely with its nice new touch up.

Never know what you'll find when you go for a strole out the back door. . . Hmmm?

New diff's arrival. . . .

 Borg Warner cut down to fit under the EH, sitting as is waiting for a paint job. . .

 Limited slip centre with 28spline billet axels to take the torque of the VE motor. . .

Free advertising. . . AE Engineering from Geelong handcrafted the Borg Warner diff with 3:45 gears to match the requirements of the VE gearbox  and computers. If the gears are any different then communication and speed sensors are incorrect. . .

Housing a new guest. . .

 SV6 sitting pretty in the engine bay, it fits like it was designed to be there. Only thing that needs to be seriously thought about is the airconditioning compressor. . .

 Gearbox is huge and sits perfectly so that the shifter will sit where the hand drops naturally from the wheel. This couldn't have been any better if we tried. . .

Overall engine height sits low enough so that it won't need any alterations to the bonnet. . .

New ride height. . .

 This is the new ride height of the EH now that it's back up the right way.

The age old stand-by for ride height is the lemonade can and oop's this is now a little bit low. Ride height will be jacked up for the 'jacks'.

Out with the old and in with the new. . .

 The big man at work welding in the new hand-made spring mounts. Shame about the bright reflection from the highly polished balding head. . . . hahaha

 Hand-made front mount for the rear leaf springs sitting in new raised location. Pure artistry in metal, magician at work!

This pick shows the old spring mount sitting 50mm higher than the floor. The new mount is now 20mm below floor height which means the sills are now the lowest part of the car. This build is breaking new ground all the time and showcasing the big man's talent with all things metal. . .

Final floor bracing. . .

 Final floor bracing in place now runs all the way to rear of car and ties into original internal bracing put in place by Holden workers way back in '63.

Passenger side rear brace tacked into position. . .

Full floor removal. . .new direction

 Full floor removal, Hodgey has decided to do it 'his' way and the results look great!

 The 'boys' hard at work carefully rolling the new floor sections through a swaging machine. Placing the swages into the floor sections structurally strengthens the flooring.
L to R. . John, Andrew and Dave.

Looking towards the rear through the engine bay see's that the firewall has been opened up to accept the huge new motor and gearbox that will soon be calling this space 'home'.

New floors, looking 'round. . .

New floors in place with cross bracing. Front brace is new gearbox mount and rear brace is structural to prevent side impact crushing.

In cabin looking up to new floors towards rear of car. Old tunnel section still has to be removed.

New floors looking towards fire-wall, front tunnel still has to be trimmed for new gearbox.

New flooring in place. . .

 New floor bracing fits right into the old sub-frame. Front cross brace is also new gearbox mount.

Looking forward from new tubbed rear see's the floors in place with new bracing.

Tubbed. . .

When Hodgey said that he was going to have to 'tub' the rear, I thought that he had something smaller in mind. . . .???

Sparks are good. . .

 Big push. . . the boys have finally managed to secure all the parts and finish their respective bike projects. Not a bad pair of scooters for the Summer ride to work?

Hodgey finishing off the grinding so the painter can get in and paint the tubs. Hodgey now moving on to the floor pans and cross bracing. . .