Bit of an update.
Slapped a fresh stock l18 in it. Also a big ebay alloy radiator, 2" exhaust, a set of camber tops, removed lowering blocks and a general tidy up and its almost done(just 8 months late)

But now I'm on uni holidays so a another phase of mods is about to begin which means I going to beg for some more advice.

-Im thinking twin webers, just not sure of pros and cons between twin 40s and twin 45s? I want the ute to be practical and reliable which makes me think a well tuned set of 40s. But i think il always wonder how much better it would be have a set 45s. is the difference that much? are 45s over kill, considering i will be running stock internals with just a bigger cam.

- Ive got a bluebird box to go in it which will change it from a dogleg pattern to a normal pattern(preferred), but the box is longer and i think it will move the shifter back which might get too close to the hand brake? any advice on this?

- It is way too noisey in the cab at the moment, whats the best/cheapest way to get rid of all the sound and vibrations?

- I plan to pull the heater out and run electric heater demister. the plumbing to make the heater to work with the L18 conversion is a mess. surely a little electric heater will do the trick? also I want to tidy up the engine bay so tricks on ways to hide things would be great

-plan to overhaul suspension and brakes. stiffen and flip rear leaves? is this frowned apon? also going to make coilovers for the front. what are the best struts to start with? ive currently got early stanza ones which no decent brakes bolt up to. ive got a set of sumitomo twin pots, what struts would suit these? are disk rears worth the effort?

Thanks in advance

Ill keep it updated on these mods as I go, pictures to come soon. Will also be selling off a fair bit of stuff.

Cheers

I would put another good used engine in it.

Do you have any ideas what caused the damage?

Well I got the ute running great and was having a ball in it.




It was proving to be everything I wanted it to be from the start: something small and light and can have some fun in on a windy road but also something I can use to pick up parts and junk for other projects ive got going.




It was awesome for about 3 days until it overheated about 50m from my driveway. I pushed it home and left it until today.
Tried cranking it over and seemed as though it had next to no compression. I figured it was a piston ring so I stripped it down to find this







Now I dont know what to do with it.
1- Just forget about it for another 6 months until i have time to strip the motor back and go all out rebuilding.
2- try buy another L18 or L16
3- Buy a SR20 and take it off the road for 12months

If anyone knows for a L18 or L16 in Vic or southern NSW please let me know.
cheers

I would have thought the 2 1/2 pipe would have been ok,
I seem to remember putting the Muffler first and the hotdog on the end of the pipe was most common...

Looks the goods man, if you're still after a mechanic in Geelong I could suggest Dalton Automotive. I've had a few engines down there and they know their stuff, pretty good rates too.

Its got the 180b radiator in it and im pretty sure the fan is on the right way. Doesnt actually have the viscous part on for the fan. its solid mounted. This setup worked fine in the sunny it came out of but now not in the 1200.
The front brakes are all stanza on stanza struts. the rear are standard.
The efi is very tempting old-tin for reliablity, ill see how it goes. But I do love the sound of carbs. And after taking this ute for a run through the hills last weekend i think it is destined for hill climbs/high revs (hence blowing the budget to get some real gear!)

cant believe i mist this one looks great.

i had a 2'' exhorts on mine with hotdog and good muffler and it had a good note but not offensive nor did it attract to much attention.
a shroud may help your cooling problems and is recommend but is your viscous hub in good nick? for induction i would (and did) personally go this way http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2612302940 ... _trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649 its currently cheeper than twin Webber's, complete and give you a good platform for future tuning

Is the viscous fan blades on the right way. What radiator are you using?
Also what brakes. I fit sumitimo 4 spots under 13 inch alloy rims

Got to take it for a good drive. had a ball. got scared of police a lot.
So Ive got 2 weeks of holidays coming up and I plan to have this thing ready to be a daily(only 4months late). so im calling on some advice.
1. ive got to make it quieter. so new exhaust. Plan is to make a new 2" exhaust with 2.5" hotdog in the middle and 2.5" triple pass muffler at the end. thoughts? will just downsizing the pipe make enough of a difference? i dont want to buy new mufflers.
2.over heating. i now have viscous fan + thermo fan + thermostat removed and still gets hot! The only 2 things i can think of now are make a shroud over the fan? or the motor is so mis-tuned that it is getting it hotter then normal? was fine with this setup in the sunny.
4.tuning/reliability. Im getting to the point of throwing the budget out the door and getting some proper gear. Twin webers vs SU?? Im thinking twin webers will be better in the long run by the time i find someone to tune my su's etc. but i still have a lot to learn about webers!
Also brakes need improving. what are the biggest brakes i can fit under 13" rims? considering going coilovers camber etc.
3. tidy up. im going to replace the rh fr quarter panel, straighten out a few others and then give a lick of paint. where is the best/cheapest place for panels?

so any advice would be great. im searching the net for answers and learning slowly but now im running out of time.

so watch this space cos there will be a lot of questions pictures and updates in the next few weeks.

Cheers

Cheers for that L18_B110. But i rang the bloke up a while ago and he wasnt interested in packaging it for freight. It would have been perfect!