another L sedan bites the dust

[steptoe]

That's it, finally, one month short of eight years since I bought two GLTA Jaffas on the one day. One was a parts donor, the other is Project Cheap Grief.

Spied it at least a year earlier in a wrecking yard, stopped the parts pilfering and had it trucked home to park the other jaffa in, @ 188,000km. Now, I got it to 295,000km before I started to strip her out this arvo. Nice bit of recycling the old girl to squeeze another 100,000 + km out of the body. I did something like 60,000km before rear pads were needed and 75,000 before fronts were done.

Never did a CV boot or wheel bearings, or replaced radiator.

I might have replaced the over cooked EA82T but is same hairdryer! New genuine bits like the coil and vac advance/boost retard diaphragm unit will also carry over to the Brumby. ECU and wiring loom looks a challenge to rip out and how much ....

A Touring Wagon was sacraficed for its fine 5 speed DR 4WD box, clutch, power rack, seats and tiller - 85,000km ago.

Now, it is a case of pilferingthe power train, brakes and a few other bits to go into a Brumby. Just where I am gonna store the bits until that happens - Fuji knows !!
Other bits are appearing in my sig - there is those RX rear door spats to remove gently, tow bar, little dash plug panels and then the suspension is coming out to leave a shell out front waiting for its ticket to China

[sublime]

What did it succumb to? Rust or boredom?

[steptoe]

The original plan was to buy it, get it running right, convert to LPG and run which was not a straight forward thing, then put the gear in my Brumby. It came with mags, sports steering wheel (just millimetres of spline contact!) 2.5" exhaust pretty shiny red exterior and was just a fun car to drive, great all round visibilty, reliable, nimble - just could not ditch the development mule just yet.

It had windscreen plenum panel? rust and some in chassis rail ends under floor - all got attention in 2006.The whole project did not need outside assistance or engineering unlike the next stage. I am sure the exhaust will not just fit from L Sedan to MY Brumby - more coin !

And was a way to reduce my collection in a practical way and had put too much efort, learning and maybe coin into the driveline and stuff it would be a waste not to continue with original idea - besides I got a tidy Brumby to drop it all into for Christmas. Which in turn has a very neat 4 speed in it that may raise needed funds to go towards an exhaust.

I saved it from further disection, put another 100,000km on it, so must be saving the planet in some way.I know a mechanic who worked for the car yard that disposed it at the wreckers. The sales guy sold these babies when new, loved them, drove it until the used car world fix it tricks ran out of reliabilty and could not keep water in it. No dedication on their part to spend any decent time on it to get it running right.

That is my justification anyway

[TOONGA]

No mention of the type of rear diff I notice

TOONGA

[steptoe]

plain jane rear diff, just don't tell me how much an LSD goes for coz I passed up an RX with one in its bum a few years back

[steptoe]

found my long lost Aussie made Sidchrome combo pliers Been missing six months at least !! 35 years old and still look like they have done little work ! Also gained a dollar from under the back seat - fell through a rubber bung hole first.
That is it, stripped of very useful little thing, filled with bumpers off other L's, a few extra front guards, an extra boot lid, an EA81 block and crank and more uselesss L Sries junk to follow before the man comes with his all up lift truck

[El_Freddo]

What's wrong with the EA81 block??

Even the L bumpers are becoming hard to get - especially those bumper indicators.

Cheers

Bennie

[steptoe]

the block has been rusting away for 9 years in the pots, just managed to salvage the camshaft with a BFH, the crank is scored, motor was only 239,000 km old and run low on oil resulting in poor performance in on cylinder - replaced, sat in back of ute. No room to store EA81, scored its sump - means I can toss out a suspect one !

Bumpers may be hard to get ? I kept it FKW, have another to go in, may keep indicators - easier to post. Gees, I better have a second look at what I chucked- light was getting low

Found a sealed jar of ALDI US made peanut butttr too - with in its use by date

One less set of keys to keep track of, one less rego - time to cancel insurance too ! It was cleansing to pick it clean, knowing no one is going to drive it again - until it makes its debut, reincarnated as a white steed - B3

As I stripped more and more out of the sedan, I was convinced I was doing the right thing at the right time - otherwise the seep just started to get out a minute crack on the plastic tank of the heater core would not have improved, just found it looking for a total copper core

Then , all the brake hoses - 29 years old and numerous carcks just starting to appear on the outside . I'd had to replace all them for just another year or twos motoring. Oh poop - BOTH CV boots were split and one starting to knock on car park turns. It was already on its third life , what with being stripped in a wrecking yard, then when the dash smoked up after the fusible link incident in 2009 or 2010 - three weeks to sort it out then, not everything worked in the dash. The rear shocks needed new internal bump stops.