Hi Andrew,

Been crewing for Craig Watson in Formula Ford but keep disappearing when the twelvies are racing - it has been the best racing all weekend! SR 20 coupe vs. L series Sunny at front of pack and 2 A series back in mid-field having a blast. Craig has just bought an R32 GTR which we are planning to build for a bit of action - hope to get up your way for the Hill Climb one day. I also seem to have ended up with 2 Rotax Race Karts in my garage tonight so I'm starting to feel like I'm back amongst it. Over >2.0 litre has the 6's and 8's and from what I know of your car you'd be running close to the action up front. John Taylor is not racing yet but I have heard heaps about him from the guy with the Bathurst coupe. Is he lapping the Creek 3 secs faster than you with an A series in his car?!

Hi teratonga unfortunatly with the turbo it puts me into over 3000cc class I still give it to the V8 & 6 guys.Who have you been crewing for?? Is John Taylor running his yellow pedders 1200 coupe yet? its a wild bit of gear runs eastern creek around 3 seconds a lap quicker than mine :) The next event at bathurst is the flying 1/5th im not %100 sure if im going over for that one yet but will be over for the speed weekend normally held early in december. Hope to catch up soon.
Cheers Andrew

I wholeheartedly agree with teretonga about driving it with the A-series for a while. It won't be the fastest thing on the road but it can be heaps of fun. I bought a '73 for $5.00 (yes that does say five US dollars) a few years back and just had to replace the wires, cap, rotor and gas to get it running. That car was twice the fun of my NAPS-Z powered Chickenhawk. Well, okay, maybe not twice the fun. I could race anyone, anywhere at anytime and have an absolute blast. They never knew they were being raced because it all happened so slowly, but it was fun none the less. My advice, slap a Weber carburetor and a header (oops, sorry, extractor) and drive the piss out of it.
By the way, my buddy George gets credit for actually doing the work to get it running that first time.

Chris and Andrew you boys are legends!I've been crewing for a driver in the NSW State Champs and am rapt to see 3 coupes in the Under 2.0 litre class. I would love to see your coupe out there in the > two litre, Andrew!! Let us know if you are racing out Bathurst way any time this year. Mikali maybe you should just enjoy driving your A series at the moment and gradually do a few mods like brakes and diff yourself. The CA is a great swap but it's a big time/money deal and you may be better off waiting until you gain more experience. Chris is right - if you are proud to be driving a Datty then you probably don't want to be a cheque book tuner - that bangs the street cred way down.

Diff is almost done, getting the axle done tomorrow..*Cringe* got to pay for someone else to do it. He's a nice fella and I don't think he'll charge too much. The original suspension mounts fit the Toyota AE86 rear suspension bars. The bottom arm will fit in the front spring holder. A second mount point at the front of the rear wheel arch will hold the top bar. Not sure if I'm going Panhard rod or Watts linkage yet. Can decide that later.
I like how the diff has integral drum brakes as part of the disc, for the handbrake. No offence fellas, but the diff's handbrake pads are the same size as standard 1200 rear drum shoes

It's looking good. 3.54 ratio (non-LSD) can be converted later if it holds up. I was at the wreckers on the w'end (spent 5.5 hours there), and every second 1990+ commodore and falcon use this diff. It's not too hard a modification, especially because only one axle needs shortening.
I switched them over from left to right.
It'll look pretty mean hanging out from under the spare wheel well.

The disks are the same dia. as the Mitsubishi Verada disks on the front. I'll need to get new rear disks, but at $250 for the diff, I can't complain. My good ol' man will sandblast the calipers and caliper brackets tomorrow.
The housing was welded up this evening. It's lost 100mm per side. The diff should be complete by the end of the week.

I've spent the last few weeks paint stripping the undercarraige and rust treating every square inch. Completed leadwiping a strip of brazing rod around the edge of the boot to give a nice even gap.

The project is still moving. Although it's at the cost of going out and having a good time. I need to save both money and time for the 1200.

Chris.

Your spot on there Chris I spent quite a lot of money setting mine up even doing the majority of the work myself the good part's you need still cost lots of money for instance my fuel system cost is around $1000 it all adds up. If I had every cent I had spent would have to be close to $25k maybe more but then think of it liek this what coudl I buy knew for that?? a pulsar or simaler no style or fun. If only I had more time and money I would love to set my shed - workshop up for doing conversions on other people cars even at $25-$30 an hr im sure would get a lot of work.
cheers Andrew
PS when will your 120 hit the road?? is the diff finished yet?

The cost is in doing all the work in one place.
Doing this install properly isn't cheap.

Using a fitting kit example:

2nd hand Engine and Gearbox and Wiring Loom $2300
Engine Install $450
Fitting Kit$350
Diff $250
+ shortened + modify mounts + respline $600
+install $250
Fuel Lines + EFI Pump + surge tank $300
Clutch pedal parts $150
+install 0.5day$200
Wiring + labour 1day $400
Radiator + Install + labour 0.5 days $550
Piping to intercooler + hoses $500
Move battery to boot $160
Exhaust $250
Stiffer rear springs to deal with axle tramping $180
Bigger brakes on front $350
Booster and Master Cylinder to suit brakes $100
Retractable Seatbelts and passenger mirrors for registration $200

Engineering certificate $300

With all of this and probably 10 hours additional labour @$50/hr $500

AUS$8340. That's even with the savings made by using a fitting kit. Instead spending 10 hours making the engine and gearbox mounts. Which would add another 5-10 hours labour.

I think you might get away with $6000 if you don't mind having very bad brakes. How much is your life worth?

These are all approximates. I sometimes forget how much can be saved by spending days on end searching wrecking yards for cheap parts. This will take even longer if you don't know what to look for. R&D is always where the expense is.

This is why I think that any work on cars 'must' be a hobby that you enjoy. Otherwise you are paying other people for their knowledge, and you risk being labelled a chequebook tuner.

Flame me if you think I'm wrong. I think working on cars, and developing a good set of tools/equipment is critical to doing the job yourself. If you can't invest in tools, then paying someone else is the only alternative.

Chris

fellaz its just the dif and driveline ive been told a diff conversion is guna cost like 2000 + if i could know what to put on my car without spending a shitload on a diff i would keep it every mechanic i call tells me its heaps expensive it makes me wish i knew how to do more to a car than put petrol in it if u know what i mean CAN U GUYS HELP if u do ill post everything on my website if i can find a cheaper way to do it.

1200 coupe is lighter + easier = :)...

-taken from the ozdat.com forsale board

1200 CA18 conversion kits Full bolt in conversion kits for CA18DE/DET into 1200 ute,sedan & coupe.
Price: $350 Location: sydney
Contact: paul Email: inj_18l@hotmail.com.au
Phone: 0414487469 (hours: all)

i find it hard that some1 can charge 7k->9k for a conversion with the avialibility of kits such as this...

<small>[ Edited by 120WHY on 2002/5/13 12:15:59 ]</small>

hey 120why
what happend? did you see the light? not converting 120Y anymore? going for a 1200? if so nice work