Victorian P76 Owners

The Motivator (MTRV8R)

Phillip in Victoria

2010

Adrian,
here are a bunch of new photos for the personal pages of the club site. It would be nice to have a (almost) finished picture of my car there.
Updated from the original text there are some modifications, you could add to the page.
The engine management system is by WolfEMS in Bayswater. They have done a very professional job, and I highly recommend their work.
Injectors are VN Commodore, as are the ignitors fitted onto custom plates over the rocker covers.
The Edelbrock throttle body works excellently.
ECU is fitted under the glove box, with fuse and relay boxes to tidy up the electrics.
The front brake calipers have been changed to APRacing from Race Brakes in Yarraville.
I cannot recommend the originally purchased Outlaw brakes for anything other than racing.
They have some "features" that make them unusable for the road.
The Outlaws gone on to a good home.
I still have to finish the air-conditioning system. That will be a 2011 project.
Cheers,
___________________________________________
Phillip Stevens





2008

Movies
Engine cranking (3.6M)
John, and all,
the photos are showing my 4A44 car getting closer (and closer) to
getting back on the road... the target is of course Easter Nationals.
Its been nearly two years coming, but on Monday the motor ran. Doesn't
seem like a big thing, but for me it was. I've also put a video into
the files section, showing Simon cranking it over. It stopped teasing
and ran properly later in the day.
There's still a lot missing. Getting the injection system working
before Easter was too much in a short time frame, so its running a
Holley temporarily. The 180 deg. exhaust system will be built this
week... and we will have to complete the rest of the odds and ends,
like the air-con, over the next few months.
Cheers, Phillip

2007

My concept is to build a P76 GTHO model, something that could have been built by Leyland for homologation purposes for a Bathurst that never came. Every modification is purely bolt on (with the original items being kept in storage), but admittedly using some trick items would not have been available back in the 70s.
My P76 happened to be owned by my father who was the low mileage second owner and it has been in the family since the early 80s. I asked him to keep it for me when it was no longer needed for towing the family van. I was planned to renovate it around 10 years ago, but luckily it never happened. 10 years ago I'd have been much more aggressive in modifying, and I'm afraid not much of the P76 would have remained. The first owner also came from country Victoria, and found it too large for his needs, so kept it mostly garaged.
For this renovation, I'm convinced that I should retain as much as possible of the original car, but still try to get the drive-line into 21st century trim, hence the GTHO theme. The mechanical mods are pretty extensive, but also mostly removable. I'm putting the original pieces (where reusable) back in the same shed that the car came out of, in case someone ever wants to return the car to completely original. Perhaps when P76s are worth $100,000 each... :-)

Suspension

As a "homologation special" its not actually being built as a race car, so the suspension is not set up to be hard, but rather to have all the pieces available that you might need if you were to race it. The suspension (springs, torsion bars, dampers, bushes) is all by Pedders in Bendigo. I had chosen a variety of stuff from different manufacturers, but I was convinced to let one company handle everything so that they would have an overview of the whole system. They built the rear torsion bar, fitted to the lower links.
The design goal for the suspension was to sit 25mm lower, and only be stiffer to compensate for the reduced travel. The rear springs are however a bit stiffer to counter the perennial problem of overloading the boot.
The standard P76 strut tops are an issue, using Teflon bearings which wear out quickly. Pedders have replaced those with camber adjustable roller bearing tops, which were sourced from a Commodore, I think. The camber adjustment is required because of the lowered ride height, and would be useful for racing applications.

Wheels and Tyres

Wheels are "pre-AU" Falcon offset with 8" in the front and 9.5" in the rear. This works well, but is not perfect. I'm currently negotiating with the manufacturer to get a good price on exchanging the rears for some custom spec. The rear needs to go out about another 15mm from "pre-AU" set back. There's only about a finger width between the 255/40 rear tyre and the chassis rail, but still about 50mm left between the tyre and guard.
The tyres (Pirelli Dragon) are designed for older cars upgraded with larger diameter wheels. They have very soft sidewalls to counter the loss of compliance resulting from larger rims. At least that that's what they told me when I bought them.
The front tyres are 235/40 and are perfect. The rears are too narrow for the wheel at 255/40, but are the same rolling diameter as original. When they wear out I'll replace them with 285/35 or similar (given I can get the wheel spacing issue sorted).

Transmission

The transmission is the original BW35, although upon recommendation I've had the valve body replaced by the BW51 item and the internals have been upgraded to BW40 heavy duty components where compatible. I understand that the BW51 valve body uses slightly higher pressures, particularly on the reverse gear. Homologation purposes would have probably have seen the 4 speed as the starting point, but I wasn't starting from that variant.
The differential comes from an XF falcon and is 3.23 LSD. There was a big issue getting proper engagement between crown wheel and pinion in the standard P76 housing that was solved by a spacer, 12.8mm if I remember correctly. This weakens the diff, but it could also be welded or doweled if it were used for racing.
I'm using a 3.23 LSD, based on the opinion from various reports from motoring writers who tested it back in the 70s, and the normal kind of modification made by factories to their performance models today, like the Tickford Falcons etc.

Brakes

The rear brakes come from XF Falcon ute. The Falcon was built with optional rear disks right through to the XF model, which means that XF rear disks are designed to use the same activation pressures as drum brakes. It was too hard to match optional disks with optional proportioning valves on the assembly line, so the proportioning valves were never changed from drum pressure specifications right up to the XF. There is a tiny bit of milling required on the P76 axles to fit the different seals and wheel bearing assembly.
Front brakes come from a company in Melbourne. I won't name them as I can't recommend them. They're 330mm slotted front (I was offered drilled and slotted, but I didn't want this), with Outlaw 3000XD 4pot callipers.

Engine

The design goal for is to get about 300hp out of the engine, without needing to go beyond the standard red-line or at most 5,500rpm. Most people who've worked on it seem to think this will be possible. With 300hp the 1/4 mile should be about 12.6 seconds (perhaps slightly slower because of auto transmission loss).
The short motor is fairly original, but using Rover low compression pistons and was completely squared, refinished, and balanced. The crank is located using a stud kit. The heads have been flowed and port matched to the beautiful Willpower EFI manifold. When the motor goes back together quite a few people who've contributed will be interested to see the end result.
I've not spent too much money on the engine bottom end, as I'm not building a high rev. race engine. Also, if things break I'd rather invest money on a RPi Engineering 5.2l cross-bolted short motor than dick about with the P76 block. The P76 pistons are not very good. There were 3 pistons with cracked skirts in my motor. I'm using the Rover 3.5 low compression 8.25:1 as a replacement. They give about 10.6:1 in the P76, which should work OK with PULP.
I've gone to town at the top end, mainly as a result of it taking over a year to get it happening. You loose track of how much has been spent when its done a bit at a time. I don't want to add it all up.
The heads have 44mm inlet and 37mm exhaust (with ceramic coating) valves, and have been properly flowed and port matched to the Willpower EFI manifold. I followed the lead from an Internet resource and used some Holden V8 valves EVL P/No 37062 (in) & 37065 (ex). These are the biggest you can fit and don't require any mods to the valves themselves.
I'm using an Edelbrock 3878 throttle body, and an EMS8860 ECU. There's a Crow cam, lifters and dual row timing chain, and Yella Terra rockers for reliability.

Detailing, Panels, & Interior.

Once the mechanicals are finished, its off to detailing to get the interior back up to best possible original condition. I will recondition the seating and the seat belts. The pirelli straps in the seats are likely to need replacing. I will use inertia reel seat belts, as I'm not sure that I would trust 30 year old webbing in an emergency.
There is a little panel damage (roo into the front passenger door), but not enough to warrant urgent action. At some stage I'll get the car stripped and fully resprayed and rebuilt. But, for now I'm just looking forward to enjoying my P76 GTHO on the road for a year or two.

Leyland P76 Quotation

Check all hidden metal surfaces for rust, rodent, and insect surprises: firewall, floorpan, guards, sills.
Retain all major items removed: disks, manifold, carburettor, diff, springs, swaybar, etc, for storage.
Remove and retain tow bar and associated wiring.
Engineer's Certificate, RWC and prepare registration with provided plates: MTRV8R

Quoted Item Cost Total Cost

Brakes

Master Brake Cylinder - New or Recondition
Proportioning Valves - Recondition
Rubber Brake Lines - Replace with Steelflex
Vacuum Diaphragm & Booster - Replace with NEW rubber and recondition
Rear Brake Cylinder - New
Rear Brake Pads - New
"Rear Brake - Replace with Ford Falcon XF Disk
DBA Gold
Black Enamel Calliper."
"Front Brake Rotor- New
Ford Mustang Disk
Slotted 330mm"
Front Brake Calliper - New Outlaw 3000XD 4 pot for 330mm, Black powdercoat.
Front Brake Pads - New
Labour




Suspension

Wheel Bearings Front & Rear - New
"Suspension Bushings Front - New
Radius Rods & Strut top Bushings - New."
"Suspension Bushings Rear - New
Rear Upper & Lower control arm bushings - New"
Front Bump Stop - Shorten by 25mm
"Springs Front - New 25mm lower & 25% stiffer
Pedders"
"Springs Rear - New 25mm lower & 25% stiffer
Pedders"
Sway Bar Front - New Pedders
Sway Bar Rear - Kit New Pedders
Shocks Front - New (eg. Pedders 8730 Comfort Gas Cartridge)
Shocks Rear - New (eg Pedders 8003 Comfort Gas Shock)
Wheel alignment
Labour





Wheels

Front - 17" x 8"
Rear - 17" x 9.5"
Tyres - New to suit
Balance 4x

Transmission

Auto Transmission - BW35 Full Detailed Recondition (BW40 Heavy Duty Bands & Clutches) and valve-body BW51 type.
Transmission Oil Cooler - Check existing for capacity and plumb with solid pipe-work.
Prop Universal Joints Bearings - New
Differential - Replace with 3.23:1 4-pinion LSD from Ford Falcon
Torque Converter - New
Labour

Engine

"Short Engine - Rebuild, bearings, rings, etc.
Rover 3.5 Low Compression Pistons
Blueprint & Dynamic Balance
Main bearing cap studs"
"Heads - Recondition, Gas Flow,
Jet-Hot Coating on Exhaust Valves.
http://www.hi-flow.com/HPJH1.htm
Hi Performance Products (03) 9874 1800"
"Valve Chain - New (Valves, Roller rocker, and Twin row timing)
Holden V8 valves EVL P/No 37062 (inl 44mm) & 37065 (exh 37mm).
Yella Terra Stud Mount Adjustable YT5000/1
Use 3/8"" stud YT1854 or 7/16"" stud YT1856 with guide plates YT1867 and hardened pushrods."
"Camshaft - New
(Crow Cams #37776 Tel: (03) 93570469)"
"Wilpower single plane 4 barrel inlet manifold
Max Wedge Performance
ADDRESS:- 10 Jaffa Rd Dural 2158
Ph :- (02) 9651 3550
Mr Bill Laney
williaml@hotkey.net.au"
"Fuel Injection - EMS http://www.fuel-injection.com/
1x 8860 system
1x Oxygen Sensor (p/.n 0258-104-002)
1x Ignitor
1x MEC717 or MEC716
M18 x 1.5 Oxy sensor bung to weld into headers at final Y (monitor 4x cylinders) on top side, so oxy sensor is mounted vertical wires up. "
Distributor - Valiant ELB distributor (new or reconditioned) DISABLE (remove) both mechanical and vacuum advance so there's no movement in distributor.
Water Pump - Recondition
Oil Pump - Recondition or high capacity New.
Fuel Pump & lines - Remove & replace with Electrical high pressure EFI pump
Labour





Power Steering

Check that the metal pipes behind and close to the pump have not been rubbing together until a hole appears giving a leak. It's a matter of having tightened the pipes so that there is clearance between them. Even the hoses themselves can weep fluid if the
Pump - Recondition
Rack - Recondition
Steering Column Lower Universal Joint & Bearings - Replace with new.
Rubber Boots - Replace with new.
Hoses - Replace with new.
Labour

Ancillaries

"Exhaust Header - New (Tri-Y 2.25"" finals)
Oxygen sensor bung fitted to Y on both sides.
Jet-Hot coating inside & outside"
"Exhaust Pipes - New 2.25"" Dual
Stainless Steel
X crossover pipe (balance pipe)
Exit to hung over rear axle.
Check VicRoads VSI 8"
"Muffler - 2 x Flowmaster 60 Series 2.25""
Heatshield to be added."
"Radiator - Recondition and check capacity for extra load.
Check 3 core capacity.
Replace all hoses with new."
Fuel Tank - Flush & Clean
"Coil & HT Leads - New
Performance Ignition"
Alternator - Recondition
Thermatic Fan - New
Battery - New
Front and rear windscreens. - Check (refit & glue)
Labour

Air-conditioning

Fit original air-conditioning system according to diagrams and parts provided.
Labour

Internal

Doors - Adjust and Rehang where required
"Doors Rubber seals - replace with New
Scotts Old Rubber"
"Inertia Reel Seatbelts Front & Rear - New
Rear central lap seatbelt - New"
Tachometer - Replace existing clock (major left instrument) with tachometer, white on black.
Instrument lamps - replace all globes.
Labour
Engineer's Certificate Needed
Front Brake Calliper & Rotor
"Track increase
Front Track wider by +2"" total
Rear Track wider by +4"" total"
Front Wheel width to 8" @ 17" Diam.
Rear Wheel width to 9.5" @ 17" Diam.

Original car







Last updated
December, 2010
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