'56 Ford Victoria . . .

 Custom made dash is full of Auto-meter guages and look great . . .

 Apart from the new dash and guage cluster the steering wheel is billet and the steering column is an adjustable unit from Flaming River . . .

Dave has been running around all day like someone has lit a fire under him. After finishing the chassis connectors on the EH Wagon, he has now moved on to dismantling the Vicky ready for its tub job. It's not going to be an easy task so the boys, or Dave in particular, might have to do a smoke and mirrors job and move a few things around to get the huge tubs to fit. The first thing to go will be the floor and then the chassis rails will have to be moved inboards. As I said at the start, the boys will have to keep things all fired up . . .

Joe's Mercury . . .

 The big fella has been having a good look at the wiper system and the holes for the wiper mounts were waaay too big for what was needed. So, as you do when things are not quite right, you weld up what you don't like then get out the dremels and turn the ugly space into something really special. . .

 This is the result of Hodgeys handiwork, the new bases are taylor made for the new wiper mounts . . .

How good do these wiper mounts look now they are custom made up and installed by the Big Fella? BTW, these wipers are a cable drive system and there is a lot work going on under the dash . . .more to come later.

Shorty's Shit . . .

 Shorty's Shit is still laying all round the place. . so WTF? Shorty came over to Ballarat today to pic up his '32 chassis but couldn't find a nice enough trailer to put it on so he just dropped by and said "Hi."  Hi to you too Shorty and we'll see you next week when we try again. . .

EH Wagon . . .

All fired up. . .Dave has finished stitch welding the chassis connectors into place underneath and now it's Dylan's turn to wreak some havoc in the engine bay and is removing all the unnecessary gear so that he can start filling all the un-used holes in the fire wall and make the place ready for the fire-breathing drive-train that is planned for this smoking hot project. . .

HJ Prem . . .

 Here I am thinking 'Toolie Week' comes after the end of the school year and look what I find in the front of my Prem. . .

 As the pics show, Hodgey has had a big day all round, including cutting the hole in my bonnet for the air cleaner. I can't tell you how wrapt I am in the progress and the 'Horn' appeal of the new look. What the pics don't show is the cut-out for the bonnet is an oval shape with a lot of the cut-out being behind the air-cleaner, thus giving the hot air from the engine bay somewhere to escape and not get sucked into the engine through the air-cleaner. Another Hodgey mod that goes to show the knowledge inside that rather large, bald head. . .

 You can't believe the way the front end has come together, the gaps around the bonnet are sooo FN even, it's fantastic. I haven't done anything but screw all the guards in place and this is the first time that the bonnet has been put in place and it fits perfectly. . .

Close-up of the twin VT Commodore auto-trans oil coolers that I've mounted in front of the radiator. My trans is a fully manualised Turbo350 and I'm keen to keep it cool to prevent any overheating. . .

Shorty's Other Shit . . .

 When I arrived today I find that Hodgey has mounted Shorty's Harley onto the 'Bike Jig' ready for the major shake-up that's coming. . .

 Another view of the bike in the jig. It's hard to get good access pics of the bikes when there is so much going on in the background. If you look carefully you can see Shorty's '32 chassis is finished and ready to return. . .

 WTF, Dave's wondering what the cloud of dust is and comes for a look over Hodgey's shoulder? This is what I walked into when I arrived, a cloud of white powder and Hodgey grinding happily away on Shorty's tank. . .

 Everyone wants something different and Shorty wants his tank with the fuel guage removed and the other parts covered and smoothed. . .

Just another look at the new 'shaved' tank. . .

EH Wagon . . .

This is a close-up of the chassis connector that Dave has custom made to follow the lines of the EH's floor-pan. .  .

The chassis connector tacked in place and waiting to be stich welded in to place. These custom connectors will add unbelievable structural strength to the car and are very suitable to the needs of this project with the future instalment of a Small Block V8. . .

Shorty's Shit . . .

 He's at it again; Hodgey's stylistic approach to the front and rear guards is mental, Hodgey is a class act and it shows in his metalcraft. . .

Close-up of the front guard shows how close the guards are sitting to the tyres. The bracketry is an artform on its own in the way the braces curve and contour their way around the brake calipers and rotors. . .

Tonight's Blog . . .

Hi Guys,
Sorry but tonight's blog is running a little late. My camera is in the car and Jack is at the gym and he really likes driving Dad's ute. . .coming up in the blog is the front wheel guards for Shorty's Shit and 'Toothless' has been working his guts out on the chassis connectors on the EH wagon project.  . .

EH Wagon . . .

Dave has been busy with the EH Wagon again, this time making up the chassis connectors to add strength to the rear end which in turn will need to be strengthened to control the added grunt coming rearwards from the new Chevy Small-block that's going to be thrown in the front end shortly. These things might look a little unruly at the moment but after a bit of grinding they look 'sweet as'. . .

Shorty's Shit . . .

 Unbelievable. . .simply FN unbelievable, Hodgey just continues to amaze with his handywork continually at the highest of highs when it comes to repeatable quality. . .

 Photo bombed by little miss Ava. I told you that it was 'Poppy Day' and this is the fun we have all day. She's sooo beautiful!

Another look at what Hodgey has turned out for Shorty. . .

'56 Ford Victoria . . .

What a worry, such a beautiful car out in Ballarat's FN weather? How the F*#K are you supposed to get out of bed and trundle off to work with a big smile on your dial with this shit weather to contend with?

Anyway, forget the weather and have a gander at the beauty of this rig. Geez, big old classics look great in a coat of liquid black. . .

My Apologies . . .

Every know and then even the best of us make a small faux paux. Well it was my turn recently when I handed over the keys of Ziggy's Studibaker to Rudie. Who the hell is Rudie I hear you ask, well Ziggy certainly did and rightfully so. Anyway, a couple of clicks with the mouse and Zig has his Studie back and Rudie is back out in the cold, whoever he is? Sorry Zig. . .


Thanks Zig . . .

Poppy's Day . . .

Remember folks, Wednesday is Poppy's day with his little girl Ava. She's the most gentle and funny little girl I've ever met and Poppy is besotted by her. Hopefully we will be able to sneak down the shed a little later and get some quick snaps for tonight's updates. I want to keep on top of things because there is a lot going on at the moment, including my buggered back needing some more attention, but for now it's Giggle and Hoot. . .

'56 Ford Victoria . . .

The Taranto's are back! This time Michael has dropped in his '56 Victoria for some bigger wheel tubs. How big are the new tubs going to be, by the look of the wheels and tyres that arrived with the vehicle, I would say that the tubs are going to be FN huge! Sorry for the poor photo quality but the weather is that bad that all vehicles had to stay in doors and all doors closed, so there was very little natural light available for picture taking. . .

 Close-up of a nicely modified dash and if you look closely, you can see the old push button radio still in its original position. . .

 The big fella showing off the big wheels that he has to fit underneath the arse end of this lovely resto/mod. I notice a couple of new fuel pumps sitting on the floor too, so I'm assuming that there is a bit more than tub work to be carried out on this beauty?

Close-up of the new rims and tyres. Stats for the rims are 15 x 10inch and wearing brand new 30 x 12inch Mickey Thompson 'Sportsman' radials.
The rims are Centrelines of course . . .

Danny and Chris . . .

 Dylan is turning out more outstanding work with the hand-made custom mount hinges for the tail-gate of Danny and Chris' 'F' Truck. Looking into the pic you can see the fantastic looking addition of the "Power by Ford" insert that Dylan cut into the tail-gate skin. I reckon it looks FN great. . end of story!

Tail-gate swings down to 90degrees and looks great. . . A few more little things left to do and now we have to look closely at bringing the exhaust out the side and partially through the side-steps. . .

Shorty's Shit . . .

 Hodgey has been busy with the oxy and grinders, putting his skills to work, hand making these mounts for the cycle style mud-guards for Shorty's '32. These things were cut out of 6mm hunks of steel, try that at home!

Hodgey's big mitts shows where the mounts will be mounted and now it's time to make up the guards . . .

HJ Prem . . .

Can you believe this? 12volt electric heater demister installed into Brucey Baby's "LongTerm" project. Further more, this work has been carried out by 'D' who has to be a part owner, at least, of the HJ after all the work that he has done for me. Thanks 'D', I really appreciate what you do and the car looks great! In the pic you can also see the Ice unit mounted to the left of the heater. The Ice unit is the heart and sole of the electronics and control the way spark and timing is delivered to the motor. . .

EH Wagon . . .

 Looking into the rear of the EH Wagon you can see that the 'Toothless Terror' has been hard at it filling in the gap made for the mini tubs. . .

 Closer looks see's that Toothless has done a fantastic job of the metalwork filling in the opening left splitting the wheel tub staight down the middle and then re-locating it hard up against the chassis rails, therefore making the mini-tubs and widening the available space for bigger tyres in the wheel arches . . .

Underneath looking up, the metalwork will disappear when a coat of underbody deadener is applied . . .

Shorty's Shit . . .

 I wanted to add some more pics of the frame, it is really something special. Rear end is basically a Holden style triangulated unit, but also has the big spring running the whole way across the back underneath the chassis mount. . .

 View from the front is a good look. . .

 Big arsed rear end with the 9inch ready to smash those big tyres. . .

 Not much to look at except the change of wheels. These are the new rims that we promised you last time. . .

Big arsed rear wheels. They might only be 15inch rims, but the huge tyres are rated at 'Light Truck' for the high side walls. But tough as . . .

Danny and Chris. . .

 Tail-gate is now well under way and fits perfectly. . .

Nice touch added by the 'D'. Dylan cut the logo from a Ford rocker cover and after carefully flattening out the metal logo he welded it into the tail-gate skin. FN looks sensational 'D', the more you do bloke, the better you look!

VW Volksrod. . .

 Nicely made custom headlight mounts welded into place look good and offer plenty of adjustment . . .

The Volksie is looking low and very mean. Dylan has been turing this thing into a road going warrior, looking good D. . .