83 WB_Ute's Ultimate Shed Thread

[83 WB_Ute]

Well, this definatley has to be one of the longest times between posts.. 10 days off 2 months to be precise.. lol

Over those 2 months, not much has happened to the car. But there has still be small amounts of progress towards getting it registered.

Well, while working on fixing my GTS dash fascia I wasn't getting enough heat into the plastic while I was 'trying' to plastic weld with a soldering iron. Cracks started to appear around the area that I was trying to fix, so I said stuff it and went and bought a cheap plastic welder off ebay to do the job right the first time... While waiting for it to come, I started stripping the old paint from the fascia.. And it hasn't been touched since.. :(

This is where it is up to though.. I have also decided to pinch a WB RTS badge off one of my spare kingswood dashes and fit it to the GTS fascia to make it a WB one..





I then turned my attention to the things that needed to be done for rego. I started with the mudflaps. I pulled the three ones off the parts ute, cleaned them up and gave them a once over with shoe polish to fill up the little cracks and make them look nice.. I also sanded the mounting brackets back and gave them a coat of black paint as well.. I am yet to fit them, because I'm still trying to find a passenger side rear one.. :(

Front Pair



Single Rear One..



The next thing was that the rear numberplate light bulb wasn't working. I got a new bulb, tried it.. No luck.. Then I tested all the wiring and found that It was all fine, I spent 3 days thinking constantly why won't it work?? And then it clicked, I pulled the light out and out comes the wire with no end on it..

So I got the one from the parts ute and fitted it..



Then I had troubles with the brake lights flashing when the indicators were on, and then the indicators coming on when the brakes were on.. I traced that back to me being an idiot and forgetting to put the earth strap on the taillights.. lol

Then I added coolant to the radiator, because it was getting into the minus' up here and I didn't want the radiator to shit itself..

Then came the replacing of the drivers and passenger side window winders.. I bought them both brad new from Kingswood Country and while I was at it, bought a new clutch cable to replace the severely stretched one thats on the car..





Just need to fit the window winder...



I haven't fitted the clutch cable yet, but thats the next job on my to do list..

Then came my 18th... Then I got my green p's..

And I spent most of today at a swap meet/show and shine.. I went over real early and had a look around, and the first stall that I went to had 5 original GTS wheel centre caps.. So I jumped on them, $100 for the 5 in pretty good condition.. 3 of the lions have tails and the other 2 don't..



Then I stumbled across some cheap HD badges.. I bought 2 of the metal inserts that go in the centre of the steering wheel, and one holden badge.. I am going to turn the steering wheel things into dished clocks.. and just gonna put the other one up on the wall in the shed..







And at the same place I seen a manifold sitting under a tarp, and lifted the tarp to see that it was a CAIN 2bbl holley manifold to suit a red motor.. He wanted $60 for it, but I talked him down to $50.. I got it home and started cleaning it up.. I think the carby is a 500cfm one, just not 100% sure.. lol







I also have a new indicator stalk from Kingswood Country to fit before it goes for rego..

Then came a nice package from @V6HQUTE ; that had a heaterbox cable for the demister that I am in the process of fitting now..

Other than that not much has been happening..

[83 WB_Ute]

Again it has been a while between posts.. So here it goes..

Since my last post I have finished the GTS dash fascia and it is now being soaked in a barrel of caustic soda and water.. Here is a picture of it once all the plastic work was finished..



This will be is home for a while..





I gave it a light coat of black paint to see what it would look like (and to see if there were any other areas that needed work..) the WB RTS badge is just sitting there, while one 'idiot light' is dull and the other one is shiney because I started to fix them up.. lol



The lenses were crap as and needed a fair bit of work, so I decided to just sand them right back and remove all the crap that was on them aswell as the writing on them.. I went through these grades of sandpaper on them - 240, 320, 600, 1000 and 1500 - I know it was overkill, but the smoother they are before you apply the clear coat the better they look..
I was going to repaint the writing on them, but thought I'll just leave them blank until I can find a rooted dash with good lenses.. lol

Here are the lenses before the clear coat:


I struggled to get a picture after I put the clear coat on because of the glare.. So these will have to do..

Because the fascia was soaking and the lenses were done I turned my attention to the gauges and sent them off to be tested to make sure they are all good.. I fitted the correct oil pressure sender and the correct temperature sender is on its way and will be picked up tomorrow..

I've also bought some GTS gauge lenses, GTS steering wheel horn setup and some WB kingswood body clips from rare spares and I also got a new heater tap from kingswood country..

I then decided to give the whole car a service now, and I would fill the gearbox up while it is out of the car while the clutch is being adjusted...
So I went and bought some oil..



I also got some fuel line to relocate the fuel filter because it was heaps close to the steering joint and the hoses seemed to be bent and blocking the flow a little bit..

Before:


After:


It looks much better, it is much safer than having it rub on the steering joint and the car seems to run heaps better with it like that..

I got given a mudflap for nothing, and when I went and fitted it to the car it was a sedan one.. So I have a mudflap waiting to be picked up when we go to Queensland in august..

[83 WB_Ute]

Well, finally got around to going and picking up the parts from Queensland... We drove 1700k's (up and back..) to go and see some family, so I thought that I would tag some car parts on the end..

This fulla was wrecking a WB that was full of rust, and I went and had a look at it. I found that it had a set of original Dragway Splats on it with decent rubber on them.
They are 14 x 7 all round, they have 225/65's on the rear and 215/65's on the front, all the tyres would pass rego no problems at all...
There are a few bumps on the edges of the rims, but overall they are pretty good..

I also picked up a heater cable, the rear mudflaps and he threw in the heater controls on the dash for nothing..

Here are some pics..

Genuine Dragways!!





The one on the left is after a light clean, and the others need a clean badly..







The backs are very very dirty.. Ohh, and the 4runner in the back ground is the trusty daily run about.. It has been i our family since brand new, dad brought it from Tamworth Toyota and it has been a country car ever since.. Its the highest optioned you could get, SR5 with 5spd manual, it is a 2.8L (Sighs..) Diesel - Its absolutley gutless.. - and special velour interior.. lol But it is just going over 403,000k's on the last trip.. It is all original, only ever had 2 clutches done and 3 timing belts done since 1990..
Once it gets to 425,000k's the engine is coming out for a freshen up and a turbo, then the gearbox will follow.. Its all in preparation for mum and dad towing the caravan.. lol

This is the worst on one of the front wheels.. What do you guys reckon?? safe to drive on???



Its still got heaps of tread left..

Rears


Fronts


I also picked up some strips my aunty was holding.. They are WB kingswood strips, full set plus an extra door one.. They are in pretty good nick as well..





The speedo is finished being fixed, and is ready to be collected. Hopefully I can get it soon..

I am getting a few more parts from a wrecker to finish the main things that need to be done. Ohh, and am going to try and get the right throw-out bearing tomorrow so I can put the gearbox back in and have the clutch adjusted properly!!

Well thats all the progress for the moment!