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Read-only historical archive.
Browse the preserved forum and gallery. Registration, login, uploads and account changes are no longer available.

Read-only historical archive.
Browse the preserved forum and gallery. Registration, login, uploads and account changes are no longer available.
October 17, 2026, 07:22:03 AM

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[davius]

I've done some further weight reduction.. I chopped out the guts of the rear doors and the spare tyre compartment.. now I have to concentrate on the rear windscreen surround and the tray floor. I've also made a tailgate for the beast from the wagon tailgate, I just need to go buy some light c channel of the rite size and weld it around the tray and across the top of the tailgate to cover the holes from the pillars I chopped and to enclose the top of the tailgate.
Cheers, Dave.

[davius]

I dropped the motor in 2day so I could get all of the wiring sorted out..

and thought I'd take some pics of the weight reduction so far....


Cheers, Dave.

[ricktewagon]

Hey buddy so did you get all the wiring done or what??
U still gonna paint that engine bay??
is ur drivers side seatbelt frayed and do u want it if its not?

[davius]

I got most of the wiring done man, I still have to extend the positive terminal to the back where I'm going 2 mount the battery and a couple of plugs need to be done. yea I'm still gonna paint it, I should have some jet black paint left over from my bike once I've finished it so Ill probably just slap on a few coats of that. and thanks but I'm not gonna to need that seatbelt, I plan on putting harnesses in.
Cheers, Dave.

[xle_freak]

Good work dude!

Always good to see progress shots. I guess you have a sump and oil pickup from a Cortina then? I wondered that when I saw the Engine on the stand as there different from Cortina / falcon.

Do you need ny parts for it? like bumpers or lights r anything? there a couple of people wrecking te's in Adelaide right at the moment but there both sedans. Also there is a te wagon at u-pull-it Elizabeth at the moment but it's starting to get to the end of it's life there so if you wanted / needed anything that's wagon specific  you would want to do something soon.

Can't wait to see this thing melting a pair of rear tyres on the pad  

[davius]

cheers dude, yea I have the cortina sump and oil pickup, I also have to put in an electric fuel pump and some cortina extractors as the xf ones where in the way of the cortina mounts.

I am chasing a few parts for it.. I need a radiator, headlights, grill and possibly a front bumper. some rust free front quater panels would help too lol

Cheers, Dave.

[davius]

ok.. I know the progress has been slow but Im getting there lol I just havn't had much cash or time lately.
I have put in the rear windscreen surround, welded up the back doors and stripped the dash butt naked. I also had to make up a frame to strengthen up around the back windscreen and stop it from twisting when I jack it up from one side. I was hoping to have it finished before gazzanats this year but its not looking good... I might just have to aim for the cortina nationals next year. once the bodys done Ill be looking at working and possibly turbo charging the engine and I could use all the help I can get with it as I havn't built an engine before and quite frankly I don't know sh*t about engine internals.
Cheers, Dave.
p.s. Ill upload progress shots when I get the beast out of the shed next time.

[davius]

I found this little beast a couple of months back.. dirt cheap too!
 

So the ute is gone  :norm:
The new one has bugger all rust and its straight except for the drivers side door, the only down fall is its a 2ltr. Not for long though, im taking it off the road tomorrow so i can start working on the ol girl. I have everything for the 250 conversion except the trans cross member and the tail shaft. I may need a diff centre too. Hopefully this one doesn't have any hidden surprises....
Cheers, Dave.

[xle_freak]

Hey Dave,

Glad to see you found yourself a nice tidy Cortina. She looke like a VERY solid starting point for you. Bit sad to hear about the ute    would have been awesome to see a ute murdering a pair of tyres on the pad.

As for the gearbox crossmember I'm not 100% but I think you have to cut one out of a 6cyl Cortina and weld in. There is a neat TF Cortina sedan down at u-pull-it Elizabeth that had a 200 crossflow engine, but it's been there a while, would say the gearbox mount would still be there though. It would pay to grab the diff out of it too and probably the tailshaft as they are different from 4 to 6.

Hope this helps you a bit.

[Tils]

What have you done to the "ute"?

[davius]

Cheers xle, but I took the trans crossmember and diff from the ute before i scrapped it but apparenty the 4cyl crossmember mounts in a different spot so Id have to get a custom one made up or weld some brackets to the chassis rail in the right position for the 6.

[davius]

got the engine out over the weekend and today i pulled the heater box and that out and found hidden surprise #1...  

should be pretty easy to fix though luckily.
Cheers, Dave.

[xle_freak]

Should'a stuck with the ute!  

[ricktewagon]

ahh you'll bve right small job ay, u can weld cant you dave?

[BigNorm]

quick!!! put the heater box back in!!!