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Barra Patrol Build

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24.01.2022 Been a while now since I updated this and a few minor changes (well, really only 1 change). The BF engine loom has been 'benched' in favour of an FG engine loom due to the ecu pinouts changing between those models. That means for the build an increase in cost of $180.00 for the part, but a decrease in freight of $7.75! (All factored into the updated costs below) I also purchased an FG body loom ($220.00 + $25.00 freight), a new TB45 radiator ($199.99, freight free), and a bra...nd spanking new TB48 main fuel tank sender unit ($296.95 + $12.95 freight) - now waiting on the delivery of all the above. Still waiting on the tail housing from an RE4R03A too. Another $550.00 + $110 freight! At least thats the complete auto trans for that price. I know some people will look at the prices and say 'I can get that cheaper' - well as much as I hate some of them, they are the prices I have paid as I either don't have the time to chase cheaper ones ( which costs me in time....) OR I have to have the bits and get them delivered to remote WA - and anyone who has lived in or visited Exmouth will attest to the 'Exy Tax' we pay on pretty much everything. Anyway, rant over and back to the build and the ever- increasing totals. Build total cost now stands at $6933.19, freight at $699.95

24.01.2022 Another week down, and we still don't got a win Looms have been removed and checked, multiple tunes tried, and still it's not giving up it's secrets despite the (remote) assistance from some really switched-on guys (and possibly girls!) We seem to be stuck in a time loop and repeating the same things over and over again hoping for a different result (isn't that Einstein's definition of insanity?). I have to put the car on a truck to Queensland on the 20th of November runnin...g or not, so there is a deadline. My greatest fear is that I am moving (again!) to an even more remote area where the nearest support for this project will be 800km away if I can find it there. Really hoping to find a solution, but we are scraping the bottom of the ideas barrel now. We have one more guru (who just happens to be in Perth) that we are going to approach this coming week - just hope he can fit us into his schedule. More as it happens (or not....). Stay tuned, we're not dead yet - but we're fairly badly wounded by this experience. Besides one *dubious* supplier, I have sourced all my conversion parts from places I trust and that have proven their skills, and I have had great assistance from all over trying to sort this last hurdle. I don't suppose there is anyone out there with a ladder diagram (or diagnostics program) for the FG Barra ecu?

22.01.2022 Another day, another couple of hours on this project! I think everything I need has now been removed from the Falcon, and it has been pushed out into the weather for a while until I confirm my thoughts. Today saw the return of the Patrol to the workshop so I could remove all the bits of the dead ZD30 I had discarded into footwells and the like. I have now replaced those no longer needed parts with parts I need to fit to make this thing go. Things like the automatic-style bra...ke pedal, clutch blanking plate and FG throttle pedal, and ensuring I haven't thrown out the all-important driveshaft bolts for the reassembly. The cleanout will also enable me to access the fuel tank sender units so that I can remove them and empty the diesel out, clean the tanks and fit the new sender in the main tank complete with the new intank fuel pump. I have also put the ZF6 trans and the transmission crossmember within feet of the car ready for the next move - the first fitting! Exciting times not far away now, won't be many more days before there is a Barra drivetrain in the currently very empty engine bay and trans tunnel, stay tuned for photos real soon! See more

21.01.2022 Mounts welded (thanks to the guys from Exmouth Industrial Services - Jason and Danny). Chassis black paint applied and drying. New 'heart' ready for installation tomorrow. Currently operating in one of those rare periods where there are no holdups and everything is moving along at warp speed compared to the past. Another week will see the majority finished, another month and ..... well we'll see.

20.01.2022 Holy crap! Two days in a row, and really seeing results. All traces of the ZD30 and the manual transmission (bar the chassis mounts at this stage) have been removed from the engine bay, transfer case has been removed from the gearbox and waiting to meet the ZF 6HP26 that is to replace it. A trip to Perth this week means not much will happen next weekend, but I'm hoping to pick up (or at least source) another couple of bits for the build. All going well, weekend after that may even see the new drivetrain assembled ready to position the new chassis mounts.

20.01.2022 Busy time at the moment, with only 4 weeks left before we move to Perth. Things I know I have left.... : 1. Mount trans cooler and cooler lines (once the fittings arrive for the trans....) 2. Build a header pipe for the exhaust, including a catalytic converter (once the cat arrives...) 3. Take the driveshafts to Perth and get the lengths adjusted ....... 4. Mount the thermofans to the radiator... 5. Mount the ECU, carbon canister, power steer reservoir, and transmission shifter. 6. Wire the fuel pump, and the battery leads to the alternator and starter. Lengthen the MAP sensor wiring to reach (turbo loom on the NA engine...) 7. Plumb the power steering (once I sort a fitting for the feed from the reservoir...), heater hoses, fuel lines, vacuum lines, and air intake from airbox to throttle body. 8. Adapt in the gauge senders for the Nissan water temp and oil pressure. 9. Fill fluids (including fuel), test and drive. Unfortunately, none of this will be any good if the bolts for my gearbox crossmember don't arrive so that I can get that mounted properly and then pull the engine out again to change the drive plate as the one on the engine is from a 5-speed, which doesn't align with the 6-speed converter... (luckily I haven't disposed of the old BA engine so I have a driveplate that will do the job on hand). All this, plus refitting the head on our little Mitsubishi, sorting the no-start problem on our Ranger, getting the racecar trailer registered AND still working my full time job..... Can I get it all done? Well, I'll be trying, but I think there will be a trip back up to put the finishing touches on the Patrol. Stay tuned, it's not over (and I'm not dead) yet!

18.01.2022 Not worthy of a photo today, but lots of little jobs completed and a couple more scoped out. The transfer shift lever is now fitted which allows me to let everyone know that in a GU, if using a ZF6 auto you can use either extension housing from the RE4 auto (GQ or GU) with the adapter from West Coast 4x4 or PJs Automotive. After a bit of thinking I have now removed the factory vacuum tanks and gearbox breathers, can't see why they would be needed now. I have mounted the powe...r steering pump to the engine, and discovered that in the low mounted position (below the alternator instead of above) there is no way I can use the ZD high pressure line. TD line will work, so that is now on order. All the bellhousing bolts are in. A second pair of hands is needed to line up the torque converter and drive plate, after that the bolts can go in, and then the starter motor. I still have a couple of electrical plugs to sort, it seems that my loom and my engine are slightly different in the aircon connections, and I need to extend the loom for the MAP as I have a turbo loom and an NA engine. Have also changed from the FG NA MAP to a BA version as it takes the plug on the loom. Also need to sort which oil pressure and temp senders I need to pull from the old ZD, and where they will be fitted on the Barra. Fuel lines still need work. Heater hoses too. Exhaust I haven't looked at yet. Radiator ready to go, need to adapt the fans to it. Trans cooler and lines are high on the list for fitment, trans oil on the way. Mounting the trans shifter is proving interesting.... At least there haven't been any backward steps so far, and I can't see where I could need to now. On target for engineering before Christmas, not rushing. See more

17.01.2022 Another day, another few little tasks down. Pulled the engine, changed the driveplate for the right one and refitted. 3 little holdups - first, I left one bolt in the bellhousing and couldn't work out why the engine wouldn't uncouple from the trans.... second, when the engine went back in I dropped the engine on the mounts and burst one (luckily spares were on hand, so easily fixed).... and third I discovered when attmpting to put the last bolt back in the bellhousing that I ...had pinched a loom between the engine and trans, so out with the bolts again and remedy that. But now it is all done. Bolts are all in, the converter is bolted up and I am now further along than I have been up til now. I am still waiting for the bolts for the gearbox crossmember.... not happy. I have however received (at long last) the transmission cooler adapter fittings (so I can button up the transmission system in the next couple of days) and the catalytic converter (exhaust building 101 real soon). Slowly ticking boxes, but still a ways to go yet. See more

16.01.2022 Wiring loom arrived today, looks good but need to fit up and connect for final impression. Tax cheque due in tomorrow, then I'll book the welder to come and weld the chassis mounts. Still waiting on the return of my ecu from Perth.... fair go Australia Post... over 2 weeks for EXPRESS POST to Exmouth???? Then it full steam ahead on the jigsaw puzzle. Running by mid-November is the aim now, for engineering in December

16.01.2022 Well, this day has been a long time coming! A day off, and some time to work on this project. Today has finally seen the demise of the donor car with the removal of its transmission, engine and other ancilliary items. Engine has had the mount brackets replaced with the ones purchased from West Coast 4x4 Creations, and I have also fitted the alternator/power steering pump relocation kit from Manning Valley Offroad. Next up is to get the Patrol back into the workshop and set up the engine and trans to fit the new chassis mounts. See you all again real soon, I hope!

15.01.2022 It lives! Now running (albeit still with a pesky miss) with the newly purchased and unlocked ECU. Aircon has been gassed and I'm assured it's working well. Just little touches to finish the job now, and hopefully find the source of the miss - which may be as simple as the MAP sensor extension loom pinout due to using a BA sensor on the FG loom, a dead plug, or even a bad coil. I'm hanging out to drive the beast now, even if only to load it onto a truck bound for our new home ...in Queensland. Huge thanks must go to Darren Lowden (88 Automotive, Bibra Lake) for his efforts in assembling, neatening and completing my project - and especially for solving the ECU dilemma (and all those that gave him help and support) and to those who offered and supplied their knowledge and (remote) assistance to me as well. Photos soon, and maybe even some video! See more

14.01.2022 One less piece of the puzzle to sort.... just need the adapter fittings for the trans to turn up now and that will be the cooler sorted.

14.01.2022 Melbourne Cup day, and I have a little win.... Well, not me exactly - and not on a horse. But I am the beneficiary of some long hours of research and effort. IT FIRED UP! Not on my ECU, and not running perfect, but it ran. So next up is another ECU purchase, plus unlock and then see if it will need to bypass that ECU's start signal (at least for now).... Close. So close. Aircon gas and transmission oil. Almost there.

14.01.2022 As usual, not everything is going to plan. The project transfer from Learmonth to Perth was going to schedule this weekend - drove the truck up, fitted the length-adjusted tailshafts (to give me handbrake), rolled out of the shed and loaded the Patrol onto the truck and headed south again. Blew the first tyre on the truck about 2pm yesterday - no problem! Changed and away again. Overnighted just north of Eneabba, slept well and hit the road again at 6am this morning. Just s...outh of Badgingarra the next tyre went, taking the taillights with it. Being that I only have one spare, that is where the rot set in. Continued by the left hand rear wheel nuts not being shifted in the last millennia... and the blown tyre being the inner.... and the outer showing signs of overheating in the sidewall! All this on a Public holiday . So after all that, my lovely partner Katherine jumped in the (unmodified) Patrol and drove the 150km to rescue me and the trailer (loaded with my little racecar) and bring me home for a rest to continue the tyre war tomorrow. That will entail finding a big enough 'persuader' bar and returning to the truck, removing the rear left wheels, getting 3 new tyres, returning with them to the truck, fitting them and completing the journey and approximately 600km in the process! At least after all that, the Patrol will be in Perth and within reach to complete the conversion. More again soon!

12.01.2022 The end of the tunnel is in sight! Due to time constraints involved with our move to Cape York, we have had to call time and pay the bill. So close, but not quite there - just the misfire problem to sort, change the wheels over to my Dynamics with the 33" Toyo's, a pair of front corner lights (pilfered for use on the current road car after an incident involving a wallaby remodelling the bullbar and breaking the lights) and a new entertainment system and it's off to engineerin...g once we are reunited with the car in Weipa. The only holdup will be the misfire - we know it isn't coils, but we don't know what is causing it. Plugs? Injectors? Is it the loom or some obscure sensor? We just don't know. But I hope to have enough time to check exhaust port temps (and find the 'lazy' cylinder(s)) before I hand it over to the carriers. I will go down to Darren's workshop on Monday for the handover and to say thanks, and get whatever further info he can give me on his search for the elusive final fix. I'm keen to see (and hear) it run for.my first time, even if it isn't perfect yet. Til Monday, Y'all! See more

12.01.2022 For those in WA, hopefully you will have done a bit of research and discovered that there is a modification application on the DOT website. This will make engineering inspection so much easier if done prior to doing the modification as it may lay down specific areas that require further work, and the requirements for all areas. You need to know quite a lot of detail, as in engine number, etc for the donor engine but I have been assured this application is worth its weight in ...gold when it comes to the inspector for sign-off. Costs nothing to apply, but there may be a bit of a wait for response. Mine has been submitted to include my 2" suspension lift, 33" tyres and 17" x 8", -22 dynamic rims so that the whole vehicle will end up legal for licensing in WA. Other States and Territories have their own processes, each being different and not necessarily recognised by any other jurisdiction. This is a 'do it right, do it once' project, to ensure my legality. Cheers for now! See more

12.01.2022 Finally got an hour of time on the build this afternoon - chassis mounts gooooooone! Next trick is get the engine out of the Falcon, then fit it and the ZF up for the new chassis mounts. Photographic evidence coming soon!

11.01.2022 A little bit more work this week now sees the engine bolted to the trans, in the engine bay. Some clearances are tighter than I would build from scratch, but it does fit. Please note, this is with the transmission mount in the original position (ZD30 Manual), and not 35mm rearward AT THIS TIME. This is because I wanted to see what the reason for moving the drivetrain back is, other than making money for the driveshaft people when they modify the shafts to suit. Engine is still sitting high(about 2 inches on the passenger's side) and slightly rolled to the drivers side at the top. Clearances look pretty good except for the balancer to the chassis crossmember at the front - thinking this may be the reason for the 35mm shift?

09.01.2022 In Perth for a few days... picked up a few more parts to save on freight. Tony's 4x4 Wreckers supplied me with an Automatic brake pedal ($66.00), a clutch blanking plate for the firewall ($11.00) and an Automatic shifter surround ($165.00) Running total $5345.75, including freight of $559.75.... A couple more parts to pick up Friday (Ford bits) as the weather is pretty average and the parts are time-consuming to remove so I said I'd come back to get them.

08.01.2022 Ok, so for those of you worrying about moving the transmission mounts backwards, here is a solution. Marks4WD fabricate this lovely adjustable crossmember, which is designed for use with other engine swaps, but just happens to be perfect for what I want. Moves the mounts back another 35mm from the original ZD30 manual position, or 85mm back from where a ZD30 auto would have sat. Cost $450.00, plus $66.60 tax (WTF?) and $216.03 for freight! Getting sick of this paying freight, but can't do much about it At least I can now get the engine mounts in place and welded, then sit back and wait for my wiring looms to travel from one side of the country to the other and back again. Slowly getting there.....

07.01.2022 Crossmember bolts arrived at last! All the threads cleaned up and all new bolts fitted and tensioned. That means the drivetrain is now in it's final position and now only ancillaries to sort. A 'minor' disaster with one of the other cars though, which has put a spanner in the works - the Mitsubishi lived and drove into town nicely. The return trip was not so successful due to spinning a big end bearing about 5 km from home. Back to the drawing board on that car.... Ranger sti...ll not running, despite having all the required signals in the right order. Thinking maybe a fuel pressure problem may be the culprit, but no diagnostic gear to prove it. Only a couple more days before the start of the (not so) big move now, started loading the trailer with bikes for run number one. The Patrol only really needs a couple if dedicated weekends now to finish it off - once we get into the new location, it will be a high priority and I think February is now a possibility for completion See more

06.01.2022 First fit. ZF box in the tunnel, now I need my 'missing' (thanks, StarTrack) sump so I can get the engine in and positioned.

05.01.2022 It has come to my attention that somehow the great Book of Faces has removed yesterday's update..... so here is the news from then for those who missed it. Sorry it's out of order..... 25 minutes work today and the new engine is sitting bolted in with no visible (or invisible) means of support other than the mounts. Very happy with the position, plenty of clearance all round from all things panel and chassis.

02.01.2022 What a frustrating couple of weeks! So close to the end, but little problems still prevent us from getting the final touches completed. All that is left is to get the engine to run, fill the trans, bleed the power steering and charge the aircon.....BUT the darn thing just doesn't want to play. Missing the fuel pump signal to prime the system, and output to the starter motor . After asking questions and researching possibilities it was suggested by one of my 'suppliers' that ...it was a tune problem (Mk2 FG can be a pain apparently). So..... after some resetting of the ecu (why it had been changed to suit a manual transmission I don't know....) and trying a couple of other tunes with no success, today Darren has had a mini breakthrough (at least) and discovered what we believe to be a wiring fault in the loom! Although all care was taken (by all parties) to ensure a 'plug and play' wiring solution for the conversion somehow we seem to have a broken wire or bad connection. Next step is finding exactly which wire/connector it is and repair the fault - Darren is into it, loom is out and being inspected - and hopefully we will have the breakthrough we have been seeking. Fingers crossed for a running vehicle this week See more

01.01.2022 No photos today, but the Marks4WD transmission crossmember is now in place. Required a little filing on one hole for the bolts to the chassis, and a trim of the support gusset from the chassis to the crossmember to clear the bolts that hold the mount plate to the crossmember in the required position. Fitting the crossmember has allowed me to sort the location for the engine mounts on the chassis, which can now be welded in (hopefully this week) as I have the engine removed ag...ain ready for that. The wiring looms have been boxed up ready to send to Killa Kustom Kables next time I get into town with some spare cash. That will round up the major parts, only leaving the manufacture of an exhaust engine pipe and the purchase of radiator, heater and aircon hoses. And of course the mounting of small but important items like the ECU and carbon canister. Target finish date at this time is end of August, with a bit of hope for June. See more

01.01.2022 Woohoo! Transfer case is now reinstalled. Looms have been mostly run, still need to adapt a couple of sender units (oil pressure and water temp) for the dash gauges, plus wire the starter and alternator battery leads. Welder bringing the 'metal hot glue' machine tomorrow for the chassis mounts - hopefully painted by tomorrow evening so the engine can be installed on Saturday. Ecu on the way.... A few brackets to build for things like the trans shifter, ecu, carbon canister. Mount the fans to the radiator and install. Plumb the fuel lines, trans cooler lines, vacuum lines and power steering. Refit air cleaner, battery, etc. Build an exhaust (well, an engine pipe) Fill with fluids. Start, run, check fluid levels. Arrange the engineer, and registration. Drive judiciously, without fear of engine failure for unbelievable amounts of time!!!! See more