An Aussie Barn Build

[HOTFR8]

Mike, your Solar system, due you have it set up to export to the grid ? Also due you have it set up so you have power if the grid fails ?

 

[Aussie Mike]

Also picked up another project recently. I'm doing a mechanical restoration on a 72 Corvette. It's just a driver car. The paint looks OK from a distance but not good close up. It's got a 400 Chev in it which I'm rebuilding and warming up a bit along with a turbo 400 auto.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Aussie Mike]

Mike, your Solar system, due you have it set up to export to the grid ? Also due you have it set up so you have power if the grid fails ?

Only set up for export to the grid via the smart meter at this stage. I like to think about going off grid in the future but it's difficult to do in town. I could run a battery bank in the workshop.

Cheers

Mike

 

[HOTFR8]

My set up here allows for the inverter to disconnect the grid when the grid fails. Two 48 Volt batteries allow me to do that. In fact power was off for a short time this week and the only way I knew was the clock on the stove was out as the solar will not run that (stove that is).

 

[Aussie Mike]

That's handy. Our power is pretty reliable here. If I lived up country I'd definitely look at going off grid. Wind turbine and Solar with batteries for load. For heavy loads like welding etc I'd get a 3 phase gen set and just run as required.

Cheers

Mike

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thanks for the update Mike.
Just curious, what sort of system did you go for ie single inverter or micro inverter?
We have just installed a 6 kw micro inverter system on the shed roof and are really happy with it.
One thing we had a lot of stuffing around with the Power retailer to get the billing and tariffs all organised.

Regards

 

[HOTFR8]

That's handy. Our power is pretty reliable here. If I lived up country I'd definitely look at going off grid. Wind turbine and Solar with batteries for load. For heavy loads like welding etc I'd get a 3 phase gen set and just run as required.

Cheers

Mike

You possibly forget I am not for out from the centre of the city. Add in a Wind Gen here and I could go off grid. Mind you feeding back into the grid and being in credit has been valuable here. 1/2Cup has an interesting solar set up as well and he knows his electrics.

The power is reliable here but the odd branch does come down and we do suffer in the summer from the power system being shut down for a time when the demand is high and I got sick of that. I also have a small Diesel Gen Set for extreme summer days to run pumps etc. and that has not been used much.

Will be interested to see what you do with this new project.

 

[Aussie Mike]

It's a 3KW Growatt Sungold 3000TL inverter. Seems to have been reliable so far. The installation was pretty good and done on time but like you I had heaps of trouble with the power company.

I already had a smart meter but it took them 3 months to get it reprogrammed for grid feed so I missed out on half the summer of power generation. Not happy. I reckon they are deliberately incompetent so they get every last penny out of customers. I still haven't seen a proper bill that shows the feed in. I'm giving the retailer the flick and switching to another.

Cheers

Mike

 

[HOTFR8]

It's a 3KW Growatt Sungold 3000TL inverter. Seems to have been reliable so far. The installation was pretty good and done on time but like you I had heaps of trouble with the power company.

I already had a smart meter but it took them 3 months to get it reprogrammed for grid feed so I missed out on half the summer of power generation. Not happy. I reckon they are deliberately incompetent so they get every last penny out of customers. I still haven't seen a proper bill that shows the feed in. I'm giving the retailer the flick and switching to another.

Cheers

Mike

Typical . They left me with no power when my system went in. I had to get the solar installer to explain to the power company how the invertor switched over when the mains grid failed.

As for your power shop round for a good deal. I think I get 62 cents a kilowatt feed back. Often in the summer here the bill is in credit all the time and if the power fails or is off my solar panels still work. Unlike yours if the grid power is off so are you.

 

[ajohno]

What a top shed and great finish.

 

[metalhead140]

Nice! Hadn't seen this before, but looks great, well set up and you do some nice work. How are the Cobra and Vette coming along?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Nice taste in cars!!!!

 

[Aussie Mike]

Thanks all,

The Corvette is a bit of a mess. The front suspension is out for a rebuild. All the bushes and ball joints were knackered.

I'm sand blasting everything and repainting it. Also got new ball joints, urethane bushes and Bilstein shocks to go back in.

The motor is out for a rebuild along with the turbo 400 trans. I've got to do some fiberglass repairs in the engine bay, clean it up and repaint it.

I've torn the dirty old motor down for a rebuild. It turns out it's a 400 4 Bolt block. It's at the machinist at the moment. It's been in the hot tank and crack tested and the block is OK.

Still working out what to do with the motor. At this stage I'll probably put some 6" aftermarket rods in it and forged pistons. Bump the comp to about 10:1 and run some aluminium heads

It's going to be a resto-mod/driver. It's not a numbers matching car so I don't mind modding it a bit. Just improving the handling (Got a fiberglass mono-leaf to go in the rear) and making a bit more power. Still want to keep it looking fairly stock though.

I've been doing a fair bit on the Cobra lately. I've been cleaning up some things I didn't like on the chassis. I wasn't happy with the roll bar mounts and the harness mounting points on the chassis So I've made a bunch of changes there. I've also change the engine cross member to make it removable so I can remove the sump with engine in place.

The chassis is now stripped bare and I'm sand blasting it back to bare metal to respray it. After that the fun begins with bolting everything back on for the last time.

The list of things I've done is endless but a few other things I've done is adding power steering and an accusump.

Again on the safety side of things I fabbed up a decent drive shaft safety hoop. It made me nervous with the shaft spinning right next to my hip and just a layer of fiberglass in between.

Cheers

Mike

 

[rixtrix1]

Nice safety hoop! Was cruzin down the highway years ago in a friend's 63 Vette when we heard a loud clunk. Looked down to see a 2' piece of 5/8" rebar sticking through the carpet between my feet! Still love those 'glass babies, tho!

 

[Aussie Mike]

It surprised me when I got under the vette the first time and saw the floor was fiberglass too. The seat belt anchors are just on metal plates bonded to the glass. There is a safety cable from the anchors to the chassis cross member. It certainly an interesting car.

Cheers
Mike

 

[metalhead140]

Thanks for the update on the cars! You've been doing some nice work.

It surprised me when I got under the vette the first time and saw the floor was fiberglass too. The seat belt anchors are just on metal plates bonded to the glass. There is a safety cable from the anchors to the chassis cross member. It certainly an interesting car.

Cheers
Mike

The floor boards in my fathers MGA are literally floor boards - they're made of timber. I remember after a competitive event a few years ago another MGA being pulled over off the road. Turns out they'd had a spin during the day, nothing hit, no real damage done, but they'd bent the exhaust up a little and on the way home the floor started to smoulder...!

 

[Aussie Mike]

A friend of mine is into MGs. He's got an MGB, an MGB-GT and a couple of midgets. One of the midgets he's setting up for track days. Cool cars.

Cheers

 

[Aussie Mike]

Not really a shed update but a project update.

I've been messing with a Cobra replica for many years. I pulled it apart to rebuild it some years back but then had a lot of distractions with family, work moving house, building a new shed etc so progress has been slow.

I'm finally on the home stretch. I got the chassis back from sand blasting and powder coating and now begins the process of bolting it all back together. This is the fun part.

Cheers

Mike

 

[1/2 Cup]

The Cobra chassis looks fantastic, its always great to see what you are up to with your projects..

Regards.

 

[HOTFR8]

I have always admired your eye for detail with many of the things you do. The best part is always getting that project vehicle back together.

 

[ScottsRX]

Hi Mike, Great shed you have there (sorry, Barn ) You've done an amazing job of turning a steel framed shed into a working shop. It's a big effort lining the inside of a shed but you certainly make it look fantastic.

You've given me a few ideas too, I love the internal corrugated look with the lower half in timber.

Love the projects as well, I'll be keeping an eye on the Cobra build.

 

[Aussie Mike]

Thanks ScottsRX. I love that Mazda Le Mans car in your avitar. The 4 rotor motor they ran sounds nuts. I had a series 1 RX7 about 20 years ago.

Just a small update.

I got the diff all back together for the Cobra. Machined the housing to add some AN fittings for a diff cooler.

All back together, painted and installed in the chassis.

Cheers

Mike

 

[1/2 Cup]

Nice detail on the install, thanks for the update.

Regards

 

[Aussie Mike]

Rear suspension and brakes all back together.

Adapted up some 2 piece brake rotors for the rear.

Started working on putting the front end back together now.

Really enjoying putting it all back together finally

Cheers

Mike

 

[HOTFR8]

Mike, You should start a topic in fabrication about your vehicle builds as so many more would follow the topic.

 

[Aussie Mike]

It's actually about time I did a bit more work on the shed itself. I reckon over the next few months I'll line out the other side of the workshop with the 19mm flooring, dado boards and corrugated iron.

One whole side of the shed is a bit of a bomb site and needs to be better organized.

I've been pulling lots of parts off the shelves to put back on the Cobra so they need to be reorganized too. I've got a bunch of parts off the Corvette that could be put away there.

Cheers

Mike

 

[metalhead140]

Looking good! Very nice work.

 

[BBChevro]

Wow, incredible place you have there Mike - I just discovered this thread today & read it from start to finish.

I love the look of the timber & iron lining the inside walls - nice projects too.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Sweet, looking fantastic, thanks for the update..

 

[Aussie Mike]

Started paneling the walls on the other side of the shed (Where the messy part is). Got some time off over Christmas so hoping to get it all done and maybe even paint the floor. Picking up some more fluro lights this week and will wire them in over messy side.

Been making good progress on the rebuild of the Cobra. It's a rolling car now with engine and box back in. I refitted the body on Sunday as I need to cut some holes for the roll bars and bumpers. I had glassed the original holes up as the roll bar configuration has changed. Most of the work from here on is body work (Yuk!). I must say I'm happier dealing with the mechanicals.

Cheers

 

[HOTFR8]

Looking good Mike. Look at it this way. Body work is the last part of the project. If you do not like doing it find some one to do it for you that way you can get back and fine tune what you like doing being the mechanical work.

 

[Aussie Mike]

A mate of mine is helping me with the paint and bodywork. He's a professional painter so I'm hoping I can learn a few things from him. I don't mind the bodywork, it just frustrates me because I'm not very good at it.

 

[HOTFR8]

A mate of mine is helping me with the paint and bodywork. He's a professional painter so I'm hoping I can learn a few things from him. I don't mind the bodywork, it just frustrates me because I'm not very good at it.

I know the feeling.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking great Mike, love it.

 

[tool-guy]

Looking awesome.

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Looking great Mike, i bet you can't wait to get it fired up and take it for a little test drive.

 

[Aussie Mike]

You are not wrong. The club has a race meeting at Winton in April I'm hoping to get to.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Just spent some time reading through this thread again. Surprised I haven't commented before. Everything you do is impressive and collectively everything you have done in the past three years or so is a bit overwhelming. Thank you for taking the time to post. Guys like you are the reason this forum works.

 

[Aussie Mike]

Thanks Bib Overalls. It's kind of you to say.

Cheers

Mike

 

[bonecrrusher]

Built Ford Tough with Chevy Stuff!