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Hi all, it's been a while.. I couldn't get the VN ready in time for Rockynats, so I put some time in to the old girl and got her mobile again. As I had to pull the IRS to replace the outer diff support bushes, I decided to finally assemble the Try Trac that has been sitting in the shed for the past 4 years. While I was at it, I put a new set of Dana gears, so that I didn't have to cannibalise the centre that was being removed. Having missed all previous Rocky Nats due to work, I decided that I was not going to miss another. I have a great time, met many wonderful people and checked out some really cool rides. I didn't take any pics of the car, but I found some on the Nat page that I have shared below. I have also included a current pic of the bay. It has changed somewhat and looks a lot neater. The car was running really crappy, which is why I haven't really been interested in it. My tuna (Joke) installed the latest firmware update and utilised the new manifold pressure predication vs fuel table, car now runs like factory, no more hunting at idle, or stalling. For the first time in a while, I can honestly say that I really enjoy driving the car again. I have also started to make some carbon parts again, although it has been somewhat of a learning curve. I am currently toying with a new rocker garnish to suit the FG rocker cover (1st attempt failed due to air leak in the bagging, so I laid up a new one in the mould tonight) and will soon start on a modified version of the radiator sight cover. I will also have to find some time to remove the dash, as the dreaded mixer shaft failure has finally eventuated. FML Until next time... 🍺

Slight update, not that I'm planning anything right now. Fully disassembled the head, it's all good, just needs valves and valve guides. Fully disassembled the bottom end and results are mostly good. Good news is all the bearings look great, there's some pressure marks on a couple of them but that is normal when you have it cranked up. The oil film has stayed intact on all of them and there is almost no wear so happy days. The crank looks as good as it ever has so yerp. Pistons all look good except number 5. The second ring has a small amount broken off it and has deposited itself onto the ring land. Again not a big deal cos I can file the sh*t off the piston and it'll be sorted. I have some spare rings there so if I use the pistons again I'll just chuck the spare ring in it. I haven't measured them but they had minimal work since last time so should be ok still. The small ends are all still moving fine so all good there. The block looks the same as last time so not much to report there. All in all pretty good except the ring issue. I'll open the gaps up a bit more as I did have it up over 40psi a few times. It'll be fixed one day boys

The ute, along with many other things, have been completely neglected the last 12 months. Decided to finally do 'a little fix up' to my first home. Had been fixing bits and pieces around, under & behind the house over the years, but I bumped the send button this time. Within the span of 2 weeks, plan went from a cheap, simple bathroom Re-do & replace the kitchen cabinets. - To ripping half my house out, moving walls and an entire interior fix up. Done basically everything myself except for the tiling. Still the last 10% to do; finish flooring, splashbacks, kitchen pannels & shelving, laundry bifold doors ect. But family member needed secure housing so I limiter bashed the last month to get it habitable for them. Can plod along with the rest whenever. Also included the entirety of my architectural drawing (singular) to show just how organised I am. Smash first - plan later! Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

All done. Had a few issues to sort at the time/later: -One of the rocker cover bolts was snapped. I didn't have time to sort it and presumably has been a long time like that, so just put some gasket goo under it to make sure it sealed and went again. Have ordered a replacement ready for when the cover is ever off again but will have to extract the broken bit obviously. -As above the breather elbow split coming off so replacement stuff coming -One cam solenoid connector broke on the way out and another on the way in. No big deal but will repin new ones next time I do spark plugs - Dopey me didn't check the seal was seated properly. At least I thought to check the next morning. Had caught up the back so had to undo it all and reseal. Plus wait 24 hours again for the silicone to dry at the top of the timing cover. All running and leak free. I changed my intake manifold gasket too as it was soaked in oil. Fark doing that job again in a hurry.

I do think it’s particularly interesting though that this was your initial take. It aligns with certain reactions I’ve had from people I know. Something I’ve found super interesting is the shift in people’s perceptions of me and their “willingness” to comment on my body (not obviously when I post images as that’s welcoming commentary, but when I’m just going about my day). I am by far treated way better by people in general now I’m thinner. Girls in shops insist on being lovely instead of ignoring me, my hairdresser and lash tech all ask me to have photos done for their socials, constant comments on how nice my outfits are or compliments in general, men treat me far better in general… but… people comment A LOT on my appearance or training/eating habits unsolicitedly. In the last week alone I’ve had three people comment on what I was eating (not enough, complaining I wasn’t eating the garbage lunch they all had, or just about my protein based diet). I’ve been told I’m too thin, I’m getting too muscly and men don’t like that… and the list goes on. I’m eating and fueling my body arguably better than anyone I know currently in terms of macronutrient balance and vitamins and minerals. I lost all my weight naturally by relearning skills around moderation and discipline as well as fixing my negative relationship with food. I’ve got the best cardio vascular performance of my adult life, my muscle percentage is extremely high and my body fat is fairly low (aiming for additional fat loss still but within female health tolerance levels), but people seem to think that not drinking alcohol, eating healthy and watching your intake is absurd and you’re the weird one because you don’t want hungry jacks in the office for lunch with your coworkers and would rather eat your packed lunch or because you order a soda water instead of a beer at the pub after work. I find it so presumptuous that people assume you are modifying your body, in any fashion (body building, tattoos, hair, etc) for the benefit of others or their judgement or to be found attractive. I started this journey with a health focus around my illness and the same motive remains where my illness is my primary motivator for being strong and fit… but… I have grown a love and passion for body building at the same time. My nutrition, training routine, daily habits and supplementation/vitamin routine is all oriented around achieving a body builders physique. I am completely aware this isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea” and that has zero effect on my motivation and goals but others perceive it to be an issue/less attractive/desirable… which made me giggle slightly reading your comment and assumption that “losing breast fats” was a negative when it was actually intentional on my behalf. it’s made me realise during the last few months just how ill informed people are around the sport of body building and also how cavalier people can be around commenting or assuming when they perceive it to be not offensive because the person isn’t “fat” or they’re fit/muscly so they must be fine with others commenting on their body/lifestyle and it’s up for public discussion. TLDR- when you’re skinny the world treats you way better, but everyone feels they have licence to tell you what you should be doing/eating and judges you for having a health/physique focus.

Bit of progress context which made me feel pretty accomplished on top of my 8 x 60kg bench this morning 🥰

Managed to get out today briefly. Warmer temps in Canberra made a huge difference to traction. Managed to get 2nd and 3rd gear down, on the 3/4 setting (around 20psi, maybe 550kw or so). She's pretty quick when it hooks up haha. The G35-900 is pretty epic for a street driven manual. No waiting for boost, and still on like a light switch at lower load in 2nd gear, which is what makes it fun in my opinion.

Engines going in tomorrow mate, won’t be a few weeks till it’s going as need to get some piping done.

Screw buying a house, what a sh*t market. We bought land instead that's CSYJB right? 375m2 block, not bad to build our first home

Keeping it out of the OT thread. It's official!! Mr and Mrs IMPULSIVE. Had to have the cars there. So keen to see the rest of the photos from the day when they are ready

Righto I did my thing and here's an update. I did a comp test and one of the cylinders was low with others being out of spec too. Turns out the head was leaking like a mofo out of the exhaust valves...so I rebuilt the engine. I used stock turbo pistons, Spool I beam rods, upgraded piston pins, Cometic 3 layer MLS, ARP head studs with OS washers, new hx bearings with 360 thrust, inconel high pressure oil pump spring with adjustable relief, oil pump gears and backing plate, Ross balancer, Plazmaman intake and maybe more I forgot. I got hectic with the valve grinding paste and the head is passable. I relocated my trans cooler under the car and wired in the fan with a relay and a switch. I painted the rocker cover with Black Velvet Cerakote, it was sh*t before and now is a bit less sh*t. Haha I still gotta fit the catch can, I'll do that later I suppose. I've had a successful test drive or 3 today, no leaks etc so happy days. It still runs the same boost, it makes 300awkw on about 14.7psi. This should tide me over until I can afford to rebuilt the actual turbo territory. The only thing I really want to do with it now is to have electronic boost control, the na pcm doesn't have that so I'm in the gutter using a boost tee. Here's a pic, hard to believe I did it all in the span of 1 week, in the driveway, while still having family commitments.

Thought it would be appropriate to thank the people most responsible for the successful completion of this project. * This bloke needs no introduction. Aaron aka JETURBO for all the engine and fabrication work. Words are not enough to express how grateful I am for the time and effort that Aaron put into this car. The result is something to behold. Thanks mate. * Paul @ PE Customs in Brisbane for the paint job which is perfection personified * Mike @ Mike Savage Custom Bonnets at Bargo in NSW. It’s a hybrid design we cooked up that actually works. It’s that heavy I had to get new bonnet struts to hold it up lol.

This thread is about my territory adventures so may as well do a consolidation post here. I bought another territory, 7 seater, cloth interior, non turbo 2009 model zf awd, 360xxxkm, lightning strike same as the turbo one, trans in limp home mode, clunks and bangs galore, busted tailgate, no oil showing on the dipstick, farked lifters, overheating, slightly missing, $1500. I probably paid too much for it but considering I can do all the work it ain't that bad. So far I've chucked a reco tailshaft in it, new rear shocks, new front diff bushes, new front wheel bearings, new front lower ball joints, front sway bar bushes and links, a second hand set of trans solenoids to fix the trans issue, an engine service, a trans service, fuel filter, thermostat, rocker cover gasket kit, external trans cooler, a front mount intercooler, 1500cc injectors, 255 fuel pump, drop in adjustable fuel reg, valve springs, anti pump up lifters, roller rockers, spark plugs, genuine coils, billet wheel gt3576 with flapper mod, stock dump and stock turbo territory exhaust, engine tune obviously, trans tune, a second hand tailgate to replace the trailer hit one, 4 tyres, brake pads all round and I reckon that's about it. No doubt I'll remember something else once I hit post. I've still got the rear sway bar bushes to install and also rear diff bushes. I'll get to that in 3 months when my arm is better. It started out at probably 130awkw as an na beast, probably went up to 145awkw with a tune and now is sitting at around 275awkw with the turbo stuff installed. Anyhow there is that, now people can read about it here instead of it being spread out through the forum.

Valve springs are going in, Plazmaman Pro

Shoulders today … the last couple shoulder days I’ve managed to DB shoulder press the 25kg dbs for reps so pretty stoked… also took a pretty cool photo and realised how much back gains have been made May 2023-Feb 2024

I always have a niggle in my right shoulder… it’s balls… Been getting the gainzzzz lately only thing is in baggy shirts I’m starting to look like a square 🤣🤣

It's been a while since I have posted. Unfortunately, I have been busy with other things and have not had a lot of time for the car. In saying that, the build has not stopped, only slowed due to waiting on suppliers - Clutch and drop tank... I have dummied up the Reidspeed kit and accessories. If fitted well, and I had to remove it all for the engine to be run in on the dyno. We could not run the blower at the time, as my wiring guy was unavailable. So, I made a plate to fit on the blower manifold and we ran a 650 Holley on it. We weren't chasing a power figure for it. We pretty much ran it up, just to check the lifters were receiving adequate oil, bed the rings and check for any leaks before it gets installed into the car. The standard air conditioning compressor brackets looked ugly as, so I has it nickel plated. Afterwards, I decided to paint it black, so that it will not stand out... I'm currently waiting on my wiring guy to do his part before the engine is installed into the car. The engine will go in without the Reidspeed serpentine kit installed, as it is wider that the area between the chassis rails. Still waiting on Mal Wood for the custom twin plate clutch for the ZF S6-40 transmission. this might delay the engine install further, as I'd like to pull the front cross member and install this from underneath the car together. I have ordered a new alloy drop tank for the car. The manufacturer doesn't actually make tank for this model, nut I have managed to persuade him to do so. He does amazing work. He has promised to send some pics of it's assembly, so that I can provide some input. I had to go with the drop tank, as I could not fit 2 x Walbro 525 pumps into the standard tank. It will be put aside, in case the car ever has to be put back to standard. I've made a plug/mould, so that I could make some carbon fibre brake backing plates, for the bigger Group A brakes. I have some pics of it somewhere, I will post them up when I find them... I'll try to make the parts some time this week... On another note, I managed to buy another VN Group A engine, that came to my area in a VL Walkinshaw. The guy spun a big end bearing in the rod and never put the engine back together. Given the components in it's build, it would have been a very tough engine in its day. The heads have nice porting, with top quality components, The engine cam with a Auscrank 3,4' crank, KB pistons, A9l rods, solid roller, straight cut cam gear set, bid $$ sump and a set of Morrison ITB's. I've already stripped all components out and have started to rebuild it bigger and stronger. I had the ITB's vapor blasted. the picture speaks to the results.. Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. I'll try to get back an post more updates soon.

Timing cover seal 100% needs a built engine.

Picked this up at the powder coater this morning - came up even better than I was expecting

Some progress...

Gainzzzzzz Last Weeks Results Hack Squat PR - 200kg DB Chest Press PR - 25s DB Shoulder Press PR - 20’s Deadlift PR - 125kg

My old girl is still going. This pic was at a winery the Ford Performance Club of ACT went to for lunch last Sunday. The weekend before we were at Sydney All Ford Day with the club as well.

Went clamping over the weekend, what a fkn cracking time - of course I had to get some shots. Sunrise, and first time trying to take photos of the milky way

Think I was still pissing the bed last time someone posted to this thread.

Spool'n...

Sounds like the car is already modified and then they were taken out and it was sold to you... I'd be asking the previous owner some serious questions.

May as well add in here what we're looking at building. Block is 375m2, 15x25. We will be building with Home Group WA. The design we liked the most is called "London", a 4x2 with a scullery, theatre and "activity" room which would likely end up being a sort of small office. The master is also at the back which is a big win. Its a double garage, and we can only extend it by about 300mm wider due to the block size. This design should give enough room to put a shed in the back though, that is 3.5x4m (as mentioned before). This one isn't on their website unfortunately so you'll have to live with this sh*tty pic of a print-out. Its about 220m2 in total and will fit just fine on our block. The other design that I really like is called "St Louis". Also a 4x2, scullery, theatre. No area that will work well as an office. But being young and having no kids (yet) we could sacrifice a room to make an office. The issue with this one is it is 270m2, and requires 15x30 block as its 28m long. We can make changed to the design though. Having a meeting either this Thursday or the 6th of June due to the long weekend here in WA to discuss building plans. We need to suss out the price of this one too, because it is the "luxury" range it is way more fancy. But we are hoping we can adjust it to reduce the cost. For example, this one has 2 wall mounted ovens. Bit over kill lol. I really like the idea of having the workshop in the garage and not a shed in the back, can also widen it a bit for extra room to put shelving in and not sacrifice car space. It will, like always, come down to the cost. You can check out their other builds too if you're interested at all, keen to hear what you all think Will this bring back @Mrs Jeturbo to the forums 👀👀

I would build the motor with a super simple spool H beam/cp bullet piston deal with the necessary timing, oil pump, crank dowelling mods etc. I would leave the rest as it is for now because you will get a lot more power out of the bolt ons than it's currently making. It will save a lot of money while you enjoy the car with a fair bit more power and decide how much power you actually want. Numbers are good and all but if you add another 100rwkw with the current mods, it'll be a totally different car. Just a couple more minor mods and you'll have mid to high 400s which is ample for a rwd on the street and also the limit of a single 460 on E85. Don't go straight to 600rwkw cos that is overkill for a street car, will cost an arm and a leg and although you may end up there eventually, I would enjoy it with the current bolt ons, maybe bigger injectors etc, for a while. That's just my 2c, 450rwkw is very fast and you might not even want more. There are obviously a bunch of specifics when it comes to building the engine that can be gone through some other time, cos it's quite in depth and takes a long time to sort out with online posting.

Wow good progress everyone! Good point about the scales. I've done about 6 weeks of not losing a thing, but can visibly see I've reduced fat. Body weight exercises and running obviously adding muscle mass. Weight started coming off again over the past week.

Been hitting some goalssssss Current PBS Bench Press - 60kg Lat Pull Downs -72kg Dead Lifts - 100kg - no straps ^^ that's av video if it’s working Also … been smashing footy and basketball too 🥰

Pulled it halfway down today and it looks about what I'd expect to see. I pulled one piston out for a look, the bearing is nearly perfect and can be run again and the crank looks good. The ring gap hasn't changed, the skirt coating has taken a bit of a beating, the crown coating is fine except a bit of a mark where the valves hit, pin is still fully floating so the pin bore is good. The bores don't look much different than when it was assembled but need measuring. I've gotta do some measuring on the oil pump to make sure it still has the right clearance and the front cover hasn't been squished. It looks fine inside however. The head looks good from what I've seen so far. I haven't got the valves out yet so will see what the seats look like when I get to that. All the valves are bent except a a couple. Cams are good, lifters/rockers are good, cam tunnels are good. Nothing is too terrible all things considered. I'll need to get a bit more organized to get stuff further apart, measured and cleaned up, so will do that whenever.

Layed some grass and a garden, poured a slab. House builds really test the patience Jealous of you barra owners watching prices go up lol Mine would have rusted away by now lol

Holy crap that was the best euphoric feeling I've ever felt... It was non-describably amazing wow, just wow.

I've increased the boost on the na+t territory and it makes a bit over 300awkw and 600nm on 15psi. As a result the trans needed an update to the tune, which I did this morning. Once again the shifts are quick and crisp and you wouldn't know it's an na trans in there. I think this is where I'll stop the increase in power, it is a na engine after all. When the time is right I'll do some minor engine work to it so it can handle all the boost, but for now it will do.

THE END

morning all, happy Thursday 💡 happy to have got the gains... after winning the Grand Final by 1 solitary run

Quick update....the car still ran a little rough after the new battery...especially idle when cold, but has been like that for quite a while. It also had a very slight hesitation too. On the weekend, I changed both cam senors (Genuine), no burnt wiring on the exhaust side...but wrapped in shielding anyway. I also changed the MAP sensor(Genuine), and removed all injectors ( DEKA's) and gave them a good clean using the poor man method, battery and throttle body cleaner. I re-flashed the tune, started it up, and idled perfectly. Taken it for a few good drives, and I cannot believe how smooth it is. Hasn't been this smooth since I bought it. Feels like driving a new car, and all my power is back too. Spins the wheels at 80ks in third.....hasn't done that for a long long time. It's no longer running rich either. The injectors were pretty dirty with some slight carbon buildup. I noticed the drastic difference in the spray pattern as I cleaned them. Kinda reminded me of a dirty shower head with limescale. Anyway...car is running great.....finally.

Merry Gainzmass peeps! Was glutes day today… I have been training legs of some form every second day on this program. it’s been 8 weeks roughly… I feel like I haven’t seem a difference in leg appearance, until I looked at a comparison photo today… August vs December Bring on 2024 growth!

Yay Wednesday Diff backlash is generally measured in thousands of an inch. My car is measured in inches

Pic of tyre changing stuff in boxes. Farken 41 degrees today, lucky the car decided halfway on the temp gauge was it's resting place! I've got a thermostat to install and as I left and was watching the gauge climb, I regretted not fitting it earlier. Tf it was fine.

When I get to restoring mine I'm gonna show the wife this thread!

Finally did the rocker cover seal to eliminate that. Was definitely leaking but remains to be seen whether or not the head gasket is leaking too. I removed the the intake manifold so I could get a good look and also clean everything down. Intake gasket had a fair bit of oil soaked in it so definitely was a substantial leak above the head/block join so fingers crossed. Good news too is that I thought the rear main was leaking but seems pretty clear underneath that oil is running down the side of the block and along the bottom of the sump. The rear main was done by a mechanic recently so under warranty but still no fin asking someone to do a big job again and having no car for a couple of days. So anyway, rocker cover gasket sorted, everything clean, and we will see from here whether it needs a built motor or not.

^^ Puff is correct that the code will go away once you start the car the first time. Also, his suggestion is good to rebuild the barrel to ensure it stays together. It might be OK as-is for a while, but it also might break, so best to get it done properly.

I ain't no expert but that sounds like 2 issues. The same thing happened with my ignition barrel, the back of it had popped out. Take it apart and put it back together so it stays together. Again no expert but I'm pretty sure the code will just go away after you start the car for the first time.

morning all, happy Friday 🎑 Here's a freeze-frame from the video I took this morning of Zeke (my dog) jumping onto the bed to celebrate my 36th Birthday today (actually, he sooks every morning next to the bed wanting to cuddle)

One thing I'm trying to do this year now that I'm exercising more regularly is to not let easy excuses like being busy get in the way. Otherwise I skip a week and it runs into 6 months. So if I travel I take my running gear. Turns out it is actually I nice way to see a bit more of whatever city I'm in. So did a 7km run at sub 5:00min/km in Brisbane this morning. Here's my big bald head to prove it.

Prickly

If only women existed on the internet, we'd never have to leave

It's been a fantastic day.

Not a great photo, but shows you the disc of the moon coming down from above the disc of the sun Absolutely pumped for totality to happen in about 30min