Topic: What did you do to your non-motorcycle vehicle today?

[dave500]

was the boss like 302 windsor with cleveland heads on it?our falcons from bout 72 on were all cleveland 302 or 351,we got 302 cleveland blocks.

quick google.

Additional Information
The Boss 302 engine may be confused with the 302 Cleveland Ford small block engine, which was produced by Ford Australia. The 302 Cleveland is a (4.9L) engine that was exclusively made in Australia from 1971 to 1982 (see Ford 335 engine).

[grcamna2]

was the boss like 302 windsor with cleveland heads on it?our falcons from bout 72 on were all cleveland 302 or 351,we got 302 cleveland blocks.

quick google.

Additional Information
The Boss 302 engine may be confused with the 302 Cleveland Ford small block engine, which was produced by Ford Australia. The 302 Cleveland is a (4.9L) engine that was exclusively made in Australia from 1971 to 1982 (see Ford 335 engine).

Oh,I understand now Dave;it's a Cleveland 302 block.

[Stev-o]

we get 302 clevelands here that usa didnt?we had the 351 in windsor and cleveland in our aussie falcons and fairlanes,390 FEs in galaxies.

Hey Dave...over here, the 302's werent called "Cleveland or Windsor" but they were manufactured in Windsor, Canada starting in 1968. It was a stroked 289 block, a very good motor. My buddy has one in his '70 Mustang Convertible.

As Bill mentioned there was also a Boss 302, '69-70, had Cleveland heads and a lot of other Hi-Po parts. These are most found in Mustangs over here and very collectible and valuable.

[Don R]

 The dragster and trailer are still in storage, but I got the transmission case and bellhousing re-certified. The seat belts are re-webbed and returned. The new Flexplate was delivered too. I still need to buy slicks and get them mounted.

 Edit, the transmission had a bad thrust bearing, we've always had wear issues in the rear of this glide, I've upgraded the rear transmission and axle covers, gone from an output bushing to a bearing, and internal parts. Re-aligned the rear axle and pinion angles.
  The second "pro built" chassis rear half was so badly off center that it walked the bushing out of the old rear cover. It has a straight rear section now that is holding up well.

[BenelliSEI]

Spent Saturday swapping over competition parts to the “new” motor, for the Lexus. It looks spotless inside, low mileage, from Japan. The timing belt tensioner broke in two on the original, so we ordered a billet unit from Real Street Performance. Our intake, alloy flywheel, Supra clutch and numerous other bits bolted up smoothly. Need to find a new water rad, the old one has been pushed around too many times! Good spare. Noticed the RR shock is completely dead and lost all its nitrogen. 4 X rebuilds need to be done.

[tool14]

spent the weekend changing timing belt,water pump and pulleys on wifes honda odyssey what a pain .

[70CB750]

spent the weekend changing timing belt,water pump and pulleys on wifes honda odyssey what a pain .

Done it on Camry, ughh.

[HondaMan]

  The second "pro built" chassis rear half was so badly off center that it walked the bushing out of the old rear cover. It has a straight rear section now that is holding up well.

Don't you just love how "pro built" parts aren't?
Half my motorhome was like that when I got it. It took me 3 years to get it 'straight' and 'solid' enough to drive it in the mountains around here. I worked in a machine shop then (that built custom assembly machinery for industries) and had access to all sorts of wonderful tooling and devices. My all-time favorite was the plasma arc-cutter machine: I needed a full-width-of-the-chassis structural member of 8", 0.5" thick wall square steel tubing (to replace the sheet-metal one the motorhome builder folded up to make the cabin's frame support) with about 35% of it cut away for stuff like suspension mounts, shocks to pass thru, and 30 mounting holes for bolts. It took 1 hour with that cutter (and 2 more to clean up afterward) to make it, and it has lasted 30 years in perfect shape!

I STILL want one of those...

[BenelliSEI]

Busy day. Fresh engine is back in the LEXUS. Oil cooler tore off its mounts, but not damaged. It’s all hanging in my shop draining, a good flush and wash tomorrow. New water radiator is on its way too. Spoke with a 2jz performance specialist in Florida. He’s sending us a cam belt tensioner bracket made from billet aluminum to replace the broken original. Nothing else goes in until that gets replaced!

[grcamna2]

John,does that engine have a 4 valve per cylinder head ?

[BenelliSEI]

John,does that engine have a 4 valve per cylinder head ?

Yep. The last one had 24 bent ones! A few in #6 actually broke off and bits of the seats were stuck in the piston. The head was totally destroyed. One of our Team selected 4th gear instead of 6th (more than once). The shift linkage got a full rebuild too. There were a few worn bits and he’s a bit aggressive.

[grcamna2]

Variable valve timing:what a great feature 

[BenelliSEI]

Variable valve timing 

Oops! Meant to correct and made it disappear!

[Terry in Australia]

As much as I love my little truck, it's a bit of a tight fit for my 6'2" frame, and no aircon is a b1tch. (it never had it, it's the "Poverty pack" model) so driving it in summer isn't much fun. Today while "working from home" I trawled thru the FB Marketplace ads and found this beauty.

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

While these "Utes" (Utility vehicle) were fairly common a few years ago, most ended up in the hands of young guys who destroyed them. Luckily the owner (in a tiny town 50 miles up the road from my home town) is 84 years old, and described it as "as new". It's got an electrical issue that he doesn't want to bother with, so I'm getting it towed to the garage where my cousin works one or two days a week, to sort out before I collect it. It looks lovely, and has air conditioning, runs on "dedicated gas" (liquid petroleum gas) which is around half the price of normal fuel, comes with two sets of wheels, and has a  much comfier driving position. I'm excited!

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry’s new ute 13 Feb 2024 9d by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[grcamna2]

Terry that's nice !
Running on LP gas will keep it carbon-free.
What type of motor does she have ?

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, it has a 4 litre (250 Cu in) 6 cylinder engine, I had a couple of these as “work trucks” in a previous job and theyare capable of doing huge mileages. There was a V8 version but it was a Windsor 302 and didn’t make much more hp or torque than the 6. The good thing for me will being able to drive in comfort, especially in hot weather.

[BenelliSEI]

Thanks Bill, it has a 4 litre (250 Cu in) 6 cylinder engine, I had a couple of these as “work trucks” in a previous job and theyare capable of doing huge mileages. There was a V8 version but it was a Windsor 302 and didn’t make much more hp or torque than the 6. The good thing for me will being able to drive in comfort, especially in hot weather.

That looks the perfect solution. Nice find! Has a hitch for the trailer?

[Terry in Australia]

Yes mate, has a towbar, and comes with a new oil cooler that he bought for it but never got around to installing. I’ll sell my little truck and look forward to some long comfy road trips when I retire.

[BenelliSEI]

Yes mate, has a towbar, and comes with a new oil cooler that he bought for it but never got around to installing. I’ll sell my little truck and look forward to some long comfy road trips when I retire.

Perfect! Nicely done. J.

[Kelly E]

Nice upgrade 

So it's an Aussie Ford Ranchero 

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, yep, we were building “Utilities” in Oz long before Ford and Chev etc in the US caught on. Henry Ford originally dismissed the idea by an Aussie farmer as a “Kangaroo chaser”. They were really popular here though, and they kept building them until Ford and GM closed their factories here around 2015, so all you can buy now are ridiculously big 4WD trucks that cost huge money and aren’t great for hauling big bikes around. I was really happy to find one in this condition, most of the ones I’ve seen have done enormous mileages and covered in dents. I’ll sell my little truck, but wait until winter so nobody notices how hot it gets inside the cab in summer.

[Kelly E]

I’ll sell my little truck, but wait until winter so nobody notices how hot it gets inside the cab in summer.

Hey, isn't that deceptive advertising or is that what happened to you?

My little truck doesn't have AC either. But I can live with it.

[Terry in Australia]

I’ll sell my little truck, but wait until winter so nobody notices how hot it gets inside the cab in summer.

Hey, isn't that deceptive advertising or is that what happened to you?

My little truck doesn't have AC either. But I can live with it.

Ha ha, it’s not deceptive advertising if I don’t mention it! And it does have a really nice heater in winter, but the main reason for selling it is that it’s a bit cramped for someone tall, like me. The Ford is much roomier, I really wanted one when I bought the Mitsubishi but every one I looked at had been pooched by young guys who played “Grand theft auto” and thought that’s how they were supposed to drive.

[Gurp]

I’ll sell my little truck, but wait until winter so nobody notices how hot it gets inside the cab in summer.

Hey, isn't that deceptive advertising or is that what happened to you?

My little truck doesn't have AC either. But I can live with it.

what does a decent holden ute 1999 or older sell for locally to you for?

Ha ha, it’s not deceptive advertising if I don’t mention it! And it does have a really nice heater in winter, but the main reason for selling it is that it’s a bit cramped for someone tall, like me. The Ford is much roomier, I really wanted one when I bought the Mitsubishi but every one I looked at had been pooched by young guys who played “Grand theft auto” and thought that’s how they were supposed to drive.

[Terry in Australia]

Well I guess it depends on a few things mate. As previously stated, most of them ended up the hands of 18-25 year olds who flogged them mercilessly, spent thousands on fancy rims and never gave them an oil change or transmission service, so if you can find a good V6 or V8 one with good paint (rare, all the ones painted with “Clear over basecoat” have the clear peeling by now) no body damage, no drooping hood lining, blown transmissions or differentials, you’re looking at around $6500 USD and upwards, because a good one is getting collectible now.

A rough one, with any or all of the aforementioned issues could go as low as $500 USD. Tons of bad ones around but very few left in the condition of the ‘02 Ford I’m buying in the pics above, that has been well maintained for its life. The early’60’s and 70’s era utes go for more again if they’re in good condition, but like all cars of that era were very prone to rust, so there aren’t many around.