MICK’S WORKSHOP
HOISTS, TOOLS & TAXIS
As you k now, we have a big project under way in t he workshop, which is a one-of f build for Tom’s HG GTS Monaro. He’s going for a big engine and a lot of custom-made components, including t he rear a x le you see here. It’s been built specif ica lly for t his car by loca l expert Charlie Gauci, and last issue we did a tria lf it to ensure ever y t hing was sweet before t he f inal product was assembled. It f itted like t he proverbia l glove and today we’ve been tack ling t he a llegedly simple job of f itting up t he rear drum bra kes.
It always makes me laugh that no matter how many times you do this, or how experienced you are, ever y now and then life will throw something at you to keep you on your toes.
We’ve actua lly did an extra dummy f it, just to be doubly sure the wheel package works.
We had ever y bra ke nut and bolt cleaned and plated as a back-up for the new components we bought. All t he critica l pieces are new, such as wheel cylinders, springs and of course shoes.
Speaking of shoes, here’s a quick assembly tip: remember the long shoe goes to the rear and the short shoe to t he front. Do it t he ot her way around and you’ll discover a much too snatchy bra ke pedal when you do to drive it.
While we kept the old bra ke cables and they worked just f ine, t hey were only on t he shelf so we had something to match the new ones to. Really, for a mechanical build like t his, you go for new parts as much as reasonably possible, as re-using old gear like t he cables is just a fa lse economy. Oh, and t he new gear looks a whole lot better.
On designs like t his, you’ll f ind t he shoes r ub against t he backing plate in a few places. You rea lly want a long-term lubricant in t here just to keep ever y t hing working smoothly. For t his job, I used just a litt le copper grease, which a lso tends to eliminate that harmonic squeal you can get.
Now for some reason, the shoes and springs put up an a lmight y batt le when it came to f inal f itment. It rea lly had me wondering if there was a mismatched component and this is another reason why you keep a ll the original components. Then you have something to compare the new gear to, so you can ensure mounting tabs, holes and the like are where t hey should be.
Plus, my next hot tip – ta ke a photo of t he assembly before you pull it apart!
In t his case I was k ind of second guessing myself, worr y ing the spring tension was too great and ended up hav ing a couple of goes at it before I was happy.
It a ll worked out and, sometimes, it just pays to stop, have a cup of tea (not a beer!) , enjoy t he sun for a few minutes, then hop back into the job.
Furt her to Les Rose’s letter (UC 442) t here are severa l considerations associated with deciding the purchase of a vehicle hoist, as t here are four basic t y pes to choose from:
Four Post f i xed,
Four Post movable, Two post f i xed. Single post (genera lly movable),
In broad terms, one needs to ta ke into account what is likely to be lif ted, and where it is li kely to be lif ted f rom.
I am an octogenarian and have t hree heritage vehicles to ser v ice, a 1926 Chev. a 1947 Chev, and a 1975 Jag uar. I have no trouble crawling under the 26 Chev for ser v ice, t he 47 is a bit of a challenge, and t here is no earthly way I could get under t he Jag !
The available space in my workshop is 6.0m wide, and I needed to park a 2.4m wide caravan a longside the area in which I wanted to set my hoist.
Two post and four post hoists ta ke up about 3.7m of f loor width, so t his practica lly put t hem out of consideration (leav ing only 2.3m width in which to park a 2.4m wide caravan) so I went for a single poster.
The single poster has a capacit y of 2500kg, and copes well with both the 47 Chev and the Jag. The abilit y to move t he hoist around the work area, even af ter t he vehicle is over t he descended hoist is most welcome. When not in use, it occupies about 2.4m of workshop width. Like a t wo poster, its support of t he vehicle permits work on the suspension much more readily t han a vehicle raised on a four poster. However it is well above t he cost of a t wo or four poster,
However, its abilit y to lif t t he 26 Chev is v irtually nonex istent. This is because, even with manufactured chocks, t he lif t arms contact the running boards and va lances before t hey are able to contact t he chassis ra ils. In addition, t he reach of t he lif t arms is limited and unable to readily contact t he narrow chassis ra ils of t he old Chev.
Consequently, I strongly suggest t hat t hose wishing to ser v ice vetera n, v intage, and even most post v intage vehicles put four post hoists at t he top of t heir shopping lists, and tolerate t he limited abilit y to work on suspensions, but those wit h 50s and later vehicles consider a ll four t y pes before making a decision.
PERMIT ME
If you drive a car on a club permit, it’s all too easy to forget to sign the logbook. Stick it on the gearshift so you can’t possibly miss it when you go to move the car.
a mate of mine, who has a couple of hoists installed in his house, and I reckon is a good example of a well set-up home garage.
I too recommend a four-post hoist. For the person who wants to store cars, and do the odd bit of tinkering, this is the safest option because anyone can use it.
If you get a two-post wrong, the car can tip off it. The positioning and weight distribution is critical.
I never recommend moveable ones, unless you’re dealing with a giant shed and you know what you’re doing. Really, a moveable hoist is just another weak link looking to create a problem. For home use, just bolt it to the floor.
We took a little visit down to my mate Phil’s shed (below), where he has two Tufflift four-posters in place. This is the perfect set-up for home, I reckon. They run off a normal domestic power supply – so no need for three-phase installations – seem pretty bulletproof and very simple to operate.
Something that works really well is the two can be mounted hard up against each other, so you don’t need an acreage to get them in. He did however have his garage built with a little extra height.
Phil has had these for a while. He’s had them serviced occasionally for peace of mind, but reckons they’re trouble-free and very simple to use. They’re pretty straight-forward to drive on and off.
If you have three-phase power on tap, great. You get more grunt with that set-up, which is why we tend to use them in a workshop where they’re in constant operation.
In fact, we have both in my shop. The three-phase units do the heavy work, while I have another on a normal supply that just gets used occasionally.
NO, NO and again no. Car alarms definitely have their place, but I’m not a fan of them in an old car. One reason is I’ve seen cars being towed away with the alarm going off – so was that stolen or just being
towed by an owner who couldn’t switch it off?
The thing is you need to mess with the original car to do it, and that’s not always a happy result. Aftermarket offerings vary hugely in quality and aren’t always reliable.
It’s a whole different situation where the unit is integrated into the original design.
My preference is for good security at home – such as lockable posts in the shed – and keeping an eye on the thing when you’re at a car show.
And, if the old car is valuable to you, it makes all sorts of sense to have a daily driver that you don’t mind taking all the bumps and bruises.
Last but far from least, make sure you’re insured. People like Shannons will do pretty decent deals for multi-car owners, particularly for vehicles that spend most of their time under a cover. fitting shops. However I’m not a big fan of them. They have their place, but we use them very, very sparingly in my workshop.
As an apprentice, I wasn’t allowed to use them at all!
The trick is you should use them as a labour-saving device and not as a way to move reluctant bolts. We had a bit of a chat about bolts and threads a little while ago, and while you can recover an ordinary thread, force never solved an issue with them.
So, if I’m concerned about a thread during assembly, I stop and fix it. Anything that’s damaged is only going to get worse.
If I have something that doesn’t want to undo, then a rattle gun is the last thing to use. You might try penetrating fluid, and leave it overnight. In extreme cases you might need to use heat, and or a bit of a tap to shock something loose. In that case, expect
WOW, THERE’S months of material in that one. So I’ll get together with the photographer and we’ll start looking at some of our own gear. Okay, quality counts and I’ll take a closer look at the whole quality issue next edition.
First up though, let’s talk battery rattle guns. Now I know you see rattle guns in workshops the whole time, particularly at tyre
“MY GRANDMA’S OLD SPLITTY PULLS HARDER”
some repair work once you have everything undone. The whole time, we’re using manual tools to get it undone, because I want to feel what’s going on.
So, rattle gun? Just fine when you’re dealing with good threads and using it as a labour-saving device. It ’s a beautiful tool, but here’s a tip: if it sounds like it’s working hard, stop. Something is wrong.
A LOT depends on spec and mileage. For example, a high-mile 1.9lt auto is probably worth no more than about 8k.
However an exceptional low mileage (under 100,000km) 1.9lt manual could fetch as much as 15k.
You’ll find a similar range with the 2.9lt sixes: as little as 10k for a high miler in average condition, up to mid-twenties for a very good low-mile manual.
Here’s a tip, the six-cylinder versions are far superior and worth the extra money. Great motors. Also, those engines must be run with the correct oil if you want them to last. And it needs to be changed on time. Use the wrong oil and you can seize the buckets, which means throwing away the head. Let us know how you get on.
Benz Bruiser
I read in an issue or t wo ago about the Merc SELs. Well, I have got a couple and I think I wrote to you about the 1980 380 SEL.
Well, I put a 420 in it and my grandma’s old splitt y pulls harder, so I want you to ask your cast of thousands and your learned readers to tell me what I can successf ully put in it t hat will make it go hard.
Can I soup up my 420, maybe supercharge it? I’ve seen a few highly modified jobs t hat are not street lega l at burnout comps but no I’ve got to be sensible and keep it st reet lega l.
I think the sump is the problem so Chev is out. Maybe a Ford?
And who makes the conversion k its? Any way, you get my drift.
I’m on a drip of bourbon and three packs of va lium a day worr y ing about what to do.
I’ve had to put up a ta ll fence to hide my Mercs as they are a wanted item now.
All t he best to you and your colleag ues – stay sober bloke and get back to work!
Robert Bawden
Downtown virus-free sunny Ravensthorpe
GEE, A bit to chew on there, Robert. Yep you did read something about big Benzes recently, as Ed Guido recently bought a W126 300SEL. I’ve worked on that car and they’re a good thing.
The picture with most of the Benz engines of that era is they were designed to be big relatively lazy cruisers, rather than tyre-burning monsters. The engines last, but they’re not going to set the world on fire.
You could have a crack at souping up the 420, but if it were me I’d save the money. Really, you’ll spend a bomb for not enough gain.
A lot of people have put LS engines into all sorts of Benz variants of that era, including coupes and sedans, and that’s probably the way to go. An LS (there are several generations available) are generally compact and deliver decent bang for the buck. Plus there is a lot of tuning knowledge out there for them.
I’m not sure you’ll find a kit for them, but there are lots of clever people locally who might be able to help. Funnily enough, I’d also put aside some time to trawl through modifier sites in Norway and Sweden. Yep, I know that sounds weird, but there’s some pretty wild stuff going on in that part of the world and you just might get some inspiration.
Taxi!
Our Facebook feed recently fired up a storm when we ran with an old Ford ad promoting the 1977 Falcon taxi pack as the country’s top-seller.
Rob Johnson commented: “Without a doubt, the superior durability of Falcon and it being the best choice for ta xis was a double-edged sword for Ford. As a salesperson, I lost count of the times a customer chose not to buy a Falcon because it felt like a ta xi!”
Gabriel Leggieri added: “Ford even had consultant for the ta xi industr y. His sole role was to attend to the issues that would arise in taxis around Australia. Many click over one million kms.”
Which begs the question, would you buy and restore an ex-taxi? A few people have done it and you’d have to wonder how tired a million kilometer car would be. Okay, who out there has a taxi resto underway, or is using an ex-ta xi as a daily driver? Shoot us a pic and let us know how you’re getting on!