Thread: Plugger and The Camel

excellent work keeping under the tyre budget! I blew far more than that on mine I can't even remember the last time I managed to get tyres for under $200.... not to mention 4x4 tyres under $200.

those rims look schmick! I should have shelled out and got mine powder coated.

Hi Gang,

I usually post an update either Sunday or Monday but I have been so busy with work that this is the first opportunity to do an update....

So where are we?? I am still waiting on some parts to arrive to we can wrap up the front suspension assembly. All the bearings have arrived but there were some locktabs that I ordered that are yet to turn up. All good, they should be here before the weekend. Which brings me my first question for those of you following this build - Britparts! I have heard a few people poo poo Britparts bearings and other parts as being Chinese made, out-of-spec rubbish that they would not use. The kits I have bought from both here and overseas do contain some blue boxes - is this really going to be a problem and will I be replacing these bearings in 12 months time? I hope not! Mind you, not all of the bearings are Britpart, some are Timkin (preferred) and some NSK....

OK, so the front diff assembly will have to wait, I decided to turn my attention to the engine and gearbox. To tell the tale I need to take you back to last week with the chain of events (cue the transcendental music and wavy screen )... Pluggers 186 Holden six was in need of a freshen up. It was running the proprietary Holden chassis oiling system and the whole thing was covered in oil and gunk. If the engine was in any way in the same condition as the front diff and subject to the same maintenance regime then a full rebuild was in order. Last week I started the procurement process for parts for the 186. First off was to hunt around for a set of extractors and 2-barrel manifold for improved power, torque, throttle response and economy - knowing how choked down the red motors were from the factory.

Searching Gumtree I came across and ad for a Holden 202 out of a HZ - low mileage the seller said - 146,000 miles, all original - Swapped out for a 308! He also had a set of extractors for said red motor which is what I was really after. A quick phone call persuaded him to part with the extractors (unused mind you) for $100. Bargain. Next on the list was a 2-barrel manifold and Holley carb. Knowing that the 350cfm Holley would drown the little 186, I chose the 320 Economaster from Holley with much smaller primaries and secondaries. I grabbed both from a guy at Forest Glen for the princely sum of $100 for both. I was on a roll!!

I sat down that night and did some sums on how much the 186 would cost to rebuild - too much!! Parts alone were over the $1k mark. It would blow the budget wide open! So, thinking back to the 202 I had seen earlier in the day I rang the seller the next day and see if was still for sale - it looked in good nick. He said yes and wanted $200 for it. I offered him $50 pickup immediately and to my astonishment he said yes! Bargain! So that afternoon and $250 down we had these to show for our troubles:


I knew the 202 would probably need some sort of freshen up. Even if it was freshly rebuilt it would need to have all the ancillaries and adapter plate swapped over so on Tuesday we put it on the engine stand to have a quick squiz at what we had. For $50, unless it had a cracked block it was worth the money we paid:




From the first initial inspection the engine would need a new water neck/thermostat housing (corroded), a new water pump would be smart (the bypass neck had corroded off and was stuck in the bypass hose) and if the timing gears were fibrous they would need replacing (many horror stories around of stripped fibrous timing gears leaving the owners stranded). I removed the timing cover and yep, the gears were certainly the originals. Mind you, they looked to be absolutely in pristine condition which backed up the previous owners comments regarding the mileage of the engine.

Here is the cover removed:


And I ran a file across the camshaft timing gear just to be sure it was a fibre one (which it was):


That was it for mid-week. It was time to hunt up some parts and other bits n pieces and get ready for Saturday's teardown...

Cheers,
Tricky