1981 Holden Commodore Wagon

Yeah they seemed to share stuff around over here between makes a lot, carburetors - starter motors - alternators & a lot of other stuff i've spotted over the years. Must admit though i didnt realize the Chrysler carburetor was the same though - you learn something new everyday

 

If there are Chrysler carburetors at a breaker yard to have, all you need to do is to change the jets and possibly re-adjust the float level to use in 6-cylinder applications

 

True yeah be quite simple to sort, i wont have to worry about that with the new engine with the injection, there will be a turbo in this old girls future to.......

 

It's real easy to find parts here in a junk yard, if you have patience.
I just saw a couple of Rochester 2 barrels and a Q-Jet that I am going to go back and get.

 

I am glad I saw this thread. Beautiful wagon and I love the fabrication you were doing for the gear box cross member.

Regarding the paint and prep. When you do another door do you mind doing a little bit more detail?
What type of sprayer are using? Single Stage paint?
The reason I ask is because everything I have seen with Base/Clear, you don't need to sand and you can do all of your coats in one day.

 

Cheers glad you like whats being done, that cross member did come out well for a 1st attempt. Way more solid than the original, with the paint i wont be getting back into that till spring but i'll detail my posts more then for sure.
My fathers an old school painter so he's giving me a lot of tips, the way i was going to do it was not the best way. He's given me the game plan so to speak, the paint i'm using is full gloss single stage paint but by his info there will be 2 coats of paint followed by 3 to 4 coats of clear to really bring it out. He uses a machine cutting compound for the final buff, it's handy having him on call for info.
I've only ever done engine bays & door shuts etc so this will be my 1st real paintjob, stuck at home these days with a back injury so i've got plenty of time to perfect it

As for the sprayer to i've got a 15 CFM compressor & using a gun with a 1.8 tip for the Top Coat, just using a regular 1.4 tip for the primer.....

 

I am glad he can share his wisdom with you and in turn you with us.
The engine bay looked great.
I hope your back feels better.
Is single stage just a cheaper way to go or does that give you a better end result with the gloss over?
Would your dad recommend base/clear when doing metallic?

 

It sure helps having him there for advice that's for sure, single stage will be cheaper. The reason i went with it is to keep the factory white & with my fathers way of doing it you do get way more gloss & depth to the paint, with the Metallics base then clear's the way to go he said.
I'll be doing the white on mine then once its back together i'll be doing the gun metal grey lower section, reason behind that is the metallic gun metal grey wont match up doing it a panel at a time like i'm doing. After that i'll put 2 more coats of clear over the lot then leave it to shrink back for a couple of months

 

Well springs finally kicking in so will start getting some work done on the old girl soon, having a spring clean in the garage at pres. Fired her up a couple of weeks ago, started no worries just stale petrol being a pain so got some fresh petrol in her & today a new set of spark plugs. Started 1st pop & purring like a kitten - sure need to get an exhaust on her though i no that much....
Will be doing this & another i've been working on as well, i'm addicted to these things that's for sure. I'll keep this updated as i go, mite start a thread on the other one soon to.....

 

Thought i'd chuck up a couple of pics of wagon number 3 i'm doing some work on as well, this ones an 87 Commodore. It was the parts wagon i bought for spares & silly me washed it revealing a really tidy wagon under all the crud, guy i got it off was going to demo derby it so she's had one very lucky escape lol......

 

Scored some more goodies for the old girl today - set of flows & a heap more pipe. Was on a track car that got the turbo treatment - he's got a heap of other bits i'll be grabbing over the next couple of weeks as well. Getting quite a good collection of bits in the shed for her now

 

Nice score Dave.

 

Cheers......Should help wake her up a bit, she'll never be a rocket ship but should go ok for what she is. Looking at a cam change & try one of those stage 3 chips as well, also contemplating a ratio change in the diff. Got a 3.89 ratio borg warner diff here i might chuck in & try out, will loose a bit of top end but that dont worry me

 

Started on the exhaust side of this, took the old exhaust manifold off carefully as to not break any studs only to find someones already broken 3 so that will be a mission to sort at some stage. Broken off flush with the head which is a common Rb fault - good news was the Extractors fit with no mods needed so that was a bonus. Will get some flanges for the exhaust soon then mig her all up, will be a straight through system so should sound the goods.....
Apart from that i had a good spring clean in the shed so i'm good to get some work done on this & the Vl

 

Bought some more bits for the old girl today, going to try out a stage 3 chip in her. Was going to buy a cam as well but a good deal came up on auction so i swooped on that for now, brand new Vk Lights & indicators for $140 delivered. To good a deal to turn down, should tidy the front up bigtime......