The EB wagon.

[DJV8T5]

I hate it when I forget to organise stuff (like said engine crane) when I do a job like that. Good work on getting it out though, takes some time to make sure you get everything.

[Rollin]

Such a pity that EB got fucked up so badly Very disappointing.

[heeef]

Yeah this is my first time doing an engine on an E series (have done countless first gen Commodores and X series Falcons) and I was actually surprised how easy it all was, either that or I've just gotten good at ripping shit out..

Yeah it is, this is actually the EB that kick started my love for E series and box cars in particular, my mate got it in '08 for $900 as an auto GLi on stockies and did the engine not long after, it used to fly.. As I said to him the other day though at least all his hard work hasn't gone to scrap and that his it will live on in my wagon..

Anyway. This happened



Then this



Then this



The welsh plugs and sump gasket appear to be fine still thankfully with the only oil on it is the result of a spill whilst being changed, today depending on time I'll separate the box and go fetch my EL loom and comp from another parts car.. Then all that's left is to give the engine a decent clean, plug in the loom whilst it's out and easy and prepare the wagon.. I'll hopefully grab an EL AC compressor today too if I can and fit that while it's out.. But given all that if the weather is as predicted I may have it done by Monday morning all ready to go back to work.. /:)

[Rollin]

Handy diagram for when you're taking the motor out of your wagon and putting the new one in:



Trust me, it's a thousand times easier. Done it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many times.

[heeef]

I would have never thought to do it like that.. Although I wanna take the trans out too as lining up the converter has caused me no end of grief on previous swaps.. 10/10 for use of paint btw

[SnipeZ]

Rollins paint skills are the best around. Far beyond what people have done before


Cheers

[DJV8T5]

lining up the torque converter isn't that hard, just line up the flex plate with the torque converter before the engine goes in, try getting one of the bolts/holes at the bottom for ease of getting the first one in. It is a pain in the ass, but is the easiest way I have found of doing it

[heeef]

That's an idea.. I just take engine/box out as one these days as it's been the simplest way for me in past.. Anyway I've obtained an EL engine loom and comp.. Don't have the dash loom as it was going to be too difficult to get out of the parts car as I really didn't have room to remove the dash, so I'm gonna pull the dash out of the parts car and mod that dash loom.. I've never really done looms before so it's kinda scary for me haha..

In the meantime I did about 400ks in the wagon this weekend and it needs another bottle of Chemiweld, it's getting worse.

[heeef]

EB loom off and EL on.. There's a few things that don't match up that I'll have to figure out etc. But my main dilemma is EL dash loom plug to EB dash loom, I had a look but can't find any guides, has anyone done this before?

[heeef]

EB II dash out, I'm going to bite the bullet and start giving the loom mod a go

[heeef]

This has been a prick..

Got caught up on a few bolts stripping and driveshaft bolts but got past it



Then my mate, the one who originally put the AU 4L in the red one came over with his 4x4 toolbox and we did all this



Got up to putting the auto on the AU motor and realised the flex plate holes are different.. So that's where I'm at.

[DJV8T5]

have you got the flex plate from the gearbox originally? Because you are best off using the one that came off your old engine, it should still bolt up the same.

[heeef]

Got the loom all in, just gotta put the dash and engine back in

[heeef]

So I screwed the crank in the AU motor, obtained EL hybrid, so I'm throwing the hybrid in and building the AU motor

[heeef]

They say a picture speaks a thousand words so I'll let these next few do the talking

[DJV8T5]

nice work

[heeef]

Now the wiring begins

[DJV8T5]

the fun bit, I have done enough of it

[heeef]

I haven't updated this for quite a while and there's a reason for that..

I got a little further than my last post but still had a whole lot to do, as the EB sat I'd broken even on it so going any further would be a 'point of no return' for me, I had a long look over it and the work needed and couldn't justify spending money on it with the rust repairs it needed, so it's sat in my shed ever since.

I was lucky enough to have a friend give me an EL wagon for work I did to his EL XR mock and AU wagon which was a great car, but once again, rust. Some of the worst sill rust I'd ever seen and I couldn't figure out how it had gotten so bad so quickly until I was informed a friend he lent it to a year or so ago had a habit of going down the beach... And driving it through water.

So the hunt was on for a new car with simple requirements:

1. Be an E series or AU
2. Be a wagon
2. Be relatively rust free

It took me ages but I luckily came across this rig a guy I'd previously brought parts off of was looking at selling



Enter the EL OPT20
It was exactly what I was looking for and more.

'96 EL wagon
Fairmont interior with Fairlane door trims.
Motor recently replaced with one that'd had HG done.
Air con recently regassed.
Power windows.
FTRs (Shark Fins)
Duel battery set-up.
Extractors and high flow cat.
Full stereo.
A shit ton of spares (Inc 90k old diff)

All at a ridiculously low price!

So I (much to the missus' disgust due to the bullbar) jumped on it











I've had it a month as of today and I love it, it's a much better starting point for me as I don't have much time these days to scratch my ass let alone do much car stuff.. The plans are simple, Fairmont front and door bumpers, a little bit of low, mild custom grind cam and tune at Axe Performance, clean up the interior a little with leather seats and adding climate control and the trip computer and that's about it for now

Cheers - Heath

[DJV8T5]

nice upgrade mate, rust is a killer of all things metal. When they are bad sometimes they aren't worth the time

[heeef]

That's it, I could've put all the time and effort into removing the rust etc. but it's not like it's the only E series wagon for sale and if you look hard enough you can still find decent ones cheap enough.

Sent from my Potato

[heeef]

I've ordered a few bits, module to wind the windows up when I lock it and a trip computer, think I'll do all those little things first, next being climate control (little job LEL)

Sent from my Potato

[heeef]

So this rocked up today



Thought 'cool, I'll sus putting it in tomorrow as I have to leave for work soon'

But then the kids went for a nap and I couldn't resist, so with 2 hours before I needed to leave for work I pulled the dash apart (hoping I didn't get called in early, it's happened before while I was balls deep in an alternator swap ~45 minutes before I was due to go to work)

Really simple job, the tec doc I used as a guide made it seem harder than it really was, so now I get a cup of coffee before I leave

[heeef]

Can I have an admin move this to 'in the build' please? Thank you.

Sent from my Potato