First Timer

[New Rocket]

Hi everyone. I went to my first Nationals at Goulburn last weekend, had a great time and met some really nice people. Got some fantastic ideas and got a little bit confused too! I will begin building a car with RCM (Laurie Bongailas) in the New Year and can't wait to get on with it. I'm not sure what type of engine at this stage - I need to find out what is permitted in Vic. Anyone got any advice? I went to the Nationals with the idea of building a blue car but I now think I will be going for a dark gray (not silver) with a ghost stripes. I would also appreciate any photos of cars in that colour scheme.

Angelo

[alffie]

If its a brand new kit you will have to comply with the latest emissions so you are limited to gen3/4 5.7L 6.0L and the LS7. Or late model BA falcon engines. Ive been told the Ford quad cammers dont comply with euro 3 but check with an engineer BEFORE you buy anything.

[sambo]

G'day Angelo and welcome to the forum! Re engine a lot of builders are opting for the 6.0L L76 (VZ SS Commodore) or LS2 (VZ HSV) and these can be picked up as crate motors from a number of places (check eBay for starters) starting at around $6000 if you know how to bargain. For the L76 with 6sp manual and all accessories, looms, etc you will be up for about $12,000. Or you might get lucky and find a wreck but I still think you'll need 8 or 9k.

Regarding colour, the more I think about that the more confused I get. There's an awesome Murciaelago dark metallic gray Cobra with ghost stripes on the forum I've linked to below, and I really liked it a few months ago... now I'm swaying back to a classic 'retro' colour such as red or blue. I reckon the Cobra is a fun looking car and gray tones bring it down a bit. That's just me though.

For tons of photos in different colours, check this link that Les (Rebel1 on this forum) shared the other day.

Cheers,
Paul

[NASSTY]

Hi Angelo,
Congrats on the purchase of your kit. There are other RCM's on this forum as well as others that I'm sure you will get to meet over the course of your build. Really helpful blokes too.

Choice of engine re Ford, GM or other is entirely up to you. I didn't go to the Nats this year but I was told that there were a few Ford SOHC 5.4s as well as DOHCs as well. LS1's would probably now be non complient so you've only got LS2's to choose from. Any Toyota model would have to be from a late motor (In VIC), not 1/2 cut import which usually makes them too expensive. So there are a few choices available to you. Generally speaking, when your car gets it's VIN you go back three years for the applicable engine emission rules. Problem is the rules keep changing so you have to be very carefull that you don't get caught out. Speak to your engineer first before you buy anything and buy your engine late in the build, not at the start of the build. I'd suggest to talk to RCM's preferred engineer to get a detailed explaination.

Cheers and happy building

[stephen low]

Angelo

Welcome to the nut house but as said a lot of good blokes with a lot of info. to share.

I started by going back to the oldest threads posted here and working my way through what I wanted. Of course you could do a key word search for the topic of interest first.

To slightly clarify Al's details, as of the date of purchase of your kit, you will have three years to get your car VIN'd and be allowed to meet the ADR's that were current at that date of major purchase.

With emissions rules changing so quickly what Al is saying is that an engine compliant around/after your purchase date will be legal to use in the vehicle. In Al and my case, we are running the last of the AU windsors, last allowed up to the end of 2004 hence 3 years on and we MUST be VIN'd before years end or we will be likely to have to fit a later model engine eg boss or LS2 / L76 etc.

Do peripheral reasearch such as paint but really worry about what matters to get rego first unless you are confident you can fully finish the car in 3 years or you are less worried about engine choice to leave that be. Of course a major item like the engine then allows a lot of other major peripheral bits to be completed, so there will be a stage when you will have to make your mind up and commit, to be able to build on further.

Just think of it as a giant jigsaw with very little guiding picture and probably a whole lot of missing pieces, it's fun!!

Club meeting is on tomorrow night, it would be worth getting to that too.

Cheers and happy building

[hodson]

Angelo

I have been going through the same questions with engines etc. Its really important that you speak with your engineer as the rules change in every state.
As of last monday, the discussion with my engineer regarding engines (I'm putting a ford 4.6 DOHC out of a 04 Mach 1 Mustang into a Harrison)is that all engines from the US post year 2000 are considered to be Euro3 compliant. My engineer (Ray Cross) has this in writing from the federal govt DOTARS people. The problem still lies with the various state people accepting the federal ruling. If accepted by the state people this means that these engines will get a further 3 year extension. the biggest problem is with the Crate motors as there is no way of verifying their build dates. Ford crate engines will not be accepted past the end of this year, but an engine out of a registered or VIN'd car post 2000 will go through. Don't know about GM's I'm a Ford Purist (Go the Ford's).
You can go onto the US Ford web site, US EPA site and the California Clean Air Board web sites and download the actual engine certification documents for all Ford engines. In my case (the 04 4.6DOHC) it is certified as LEV I for California and Tier II for the US EPA (These are both considered to have an equivalency of Euro 3).

As the other guys have indicated, this is a mess between the states and you really must speak seriously with your engineer before making any decisions or committing any money.

Good Luck

Col Hodson

[stiffy]

Angelo,



The Cobra Car Club Of Victoria are having their Monthly Meeting tonight at The Club Tivoli 291 Dandenong Road Windsor, from 7PM onwards.

STIFFY