Projects Belly Tank Build, NZ.

When you say it will hold an additional 2.1 L I am ***uming you don't plan to add 2.1 L of additional oil, but lower the level of the existing oil fill by 1 9/16" for windage reduction?

A magnetic drain plug will reduce wear and add a telltale method of inspecting engine wear effects.

 

I plan to add the 2.1 L as extra oil, a windage tray may be fitted but running at a max of 5500 rpm i doubt it will be much of an issue but it is on my mind. I always put some strip magnets in any pan i have off and the drain plug will have one too.
Still waiting for the engine work to be done, was told maybe this week so just doing little things for now like the solid mounts, a little bumper up under the body lip to protect the body in case i bump into something while pushing it around, more on that and other stuff soon. JW

 

Finished making the little bumper (3/4'' solid) for the front, was concerned about bumping the front while moving it about resulting in the body taking any/all of an impact so made this that will be just proud of the flange.
I was checking all the sensors for the gauges and found one needed two wires so i was one short in the loom so painstakingly added two extras leaving a spare. JW

 

While i had the front bit off i had a go at sorting how i will mount the gas strut, will make some brackets at work from my templates and see how i did. The gas strut will be static when fully open so no need for a compressor to fit it. JW

 

Got the bits for the gas strut fab'd up today, the top one kicked my **** for a bit but got it in the end. A tidy up and a coat of paint.... one more item to tick off. JW

 

and in the closed position, has some pressure holding it down too when closed. JW

 

Had the pan TIGed ( thanks Todd) and just needs a fitting for the oil temp sender. All the engine's exterior will be painted in flat black stove paint. Also got some hoses to start finalizing the cooling side of things except for the radiator ducting... that's coming soon. I pick the block and head up Monday, still waiting on the reciprocating m***. JW

 

Made up an air scoop to help direct air to the intake in the front of the fairing, will be bolted to the roll cage.
Got all the engine parts back home now and have already lap'd the valves in. next will be to fill all water jackets (head and block) with evaporust to give them a final clean, not much **** in there but i don't want to have anything ending up in the radiator.
More soon. JW

 

Had a sight issue with all the parts used in the stub axle/hub and the fix was to trim the stub axles by 1/4'' and space the small bearing to lock nut and drill new cotter pin holes. The reason for shortening them was to clear the grease cap. The spindles are new steel items, the inner bearing adaptor is Ford V-8 to Aussie Ford Falcon which are what the hubs are with the disc machined off. There was only one cotter pin hole so i added an extra for finer adjustments.
With all these parts the scrub point is pretty good. JW

 

Gave the block a rotary wire brushing to remove old paint etc and another sudsy water blast. will fill the water jackets with evaporust and let it sit for bit then give it one final clean, then the head and start the ***embly. I have made a basic to do list and ticking it off.... still having fun. JW

 

My final piece of safety gear arrived today, the Stand 21 HANS unit.
Also filled the block with Evaporust and packed the front wheel bearings, installed and called that done.
JW

 

Merry Christmas to those in the Northern end of the World and hope the Southerners hade a good day yesterday. More Tank progress very soon. JW

 

Merry Christmas to you to.

 

Merry Christmas, JW. Quiet Christmas Day yesterday and another quiet one today. A bit of packing begun in anticipation of moving at the end of January. Looking forward to seeing more progress on your tank.

Glen.

 

When i did the first roll cage i cut the body for clearance but after i redid it two more times it was narrower, i have kept all the pieces i have removed. Today's effort was to put it right and put as much back. With this done i can pull all the bodywork off and do the louvers on the lower section and reduce the width of the flange down to 3/4''. Still lots to do but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting much brighter. JW

 

I read this thread from the start, and am very pleased I did. I will be following this one for sure!

 

Thank you for that and welcome aboard, its been a long trip but getting near the pointy end its getting exciting. Three months to go!! JW

 

Spent a great portion of the day working out the positioning of the lower louvers, i had two section left over so i put an extra one each side to aim air at the oil pan. Tomorrow will be cutting openings in the f-gl***, drilling a million 1/8''holes and start the messy job of gl***ing them in with 14 little bolts in each section. JW

 

As i write this i have just over an hour of 2025 left, SO i would like to wish you all a great and happy new year, good health and progress on your projects. Cheers, JW

 

And the same to you too, JW. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that I'm looking forward to seeing photos/video of the Belly Tank's maiden voyage on the track. Keep up the great work... it's very inspiring.

Cheers,

Glen.

 

Thanks Glen nd i hope you can get a project together this year. Oh where are you moving to?
You will be one of the first to get coverage of the Tanks happenings and thanks for your support. JW

 

Moving to Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in Auckland. I wanted to move back to Christchurch but my friend that I live with wasn't keen on that after a weekend visit in early December. It was the first time back for her since 2011 and she decided that she's not ready to go back there yet.

Regarding a project, who knows what 2026 will bring

Glen.

 

Got all ten louver panels gl***ed and bolted in with the help of Mrs W, now just need to blend them in with some bondo....oh yah!! JW

 

Then pulled the rear axle so it can be pulled apart, fit a new fill plug , clean the inside and check and fit 1/2'' wheel studs. JW

 

Progressing well that man! Looks like you will make it for the deadline. Every job you do is one less job to do!
Cheers old man and compliments of the season to you both.

 

Thanks Wade, lots of little things to do but doing them in order of priority. The rear axle is all cleaned out, new fill plug welded in and ready to go back in. More updates soon.
Happy New year to everyone following my journey. Cheers, JW