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Classic Automobilia, Arcadia Road, Arcadia (2026)

22/05/2023

TVR T350t upgrade to Haltech Elite 2500 engine management.
Using the Elite 2500 allowed us to run Twin knock sensors and twin wideband oxygen sensors. These engines from factory run batch injection because TVR didn’t install a cam angle sensor. This makes them quite cranky and unpleasant to drive in traffic as well as uneconomical. I installed a cam angle sensor and larger injectors to facilitate sequential injection this transformed the drivability of the car as well as a big improvement in fuel economy.
A Haltech IC7 dash was also installed in conjunction with a Haltech tyre pressure monitoring system.
The induction received a carbon fibre air box with integral ITB trumpets.
The suspension was raised by 30mm using new Bilstein progressive dampers and Eibach springs to give a more compliant feel without the loss of TVR’s renowned sensational handling.
To finish off a Sony 8” display entertainment system with apple car play and reverse camera fitted very nicely into the single Din factory slot.

24/10/2022

Well after 4 1/2 months the Citroen DS21 rally car build for the Perth to Sydney Marathon was finished at 6.30pm Friday the 21/10/22. The car was loaded onto the trailer and departed Arcadia early Saturday morning bound for Perth.
On Wednesday we did a shake down run heading for Colo and Mountain Lagoon, but at the Sackville ferry the engine lost power and made a horrible clatter.
We removed the cylinder head and found a valve had jammed in the guide and was hitting the piston.
The head was serviced and machined on Thursday and reinstalled on Friday morning. A shortened shake down run was conducted in the afternoon, before a head retention and valve lash adjustment.
Then a few hours of five minute jobs took us to 6.30pm and then a well earned bottle of red.
Thanks to Johnny Gray for his help in tha last 3 weeks and also To CDA Engineering for dropping everything to turn the head work around in just a few hours.
We knew that the DS21 could not be completed by myself in the time, especially as I knew very little about the complex hydraulic system, so the owner flew in two Citroen specialists from the Netherlands. Brian and Damien became colloquially known as the Dutchies and they spent several weeks installing and refurbishing the suspension, steering and braking system. The engine had been reconditioned by a third party a couple of years earlier and the Dutchies installed the power train whilst I built the wiring and fuel system using a Haltech ECU and a Moristech PDM.
Disaster struck on the initial start up when a heavy knock emanated from the bottom of the engine. The Dutchies whipped out the engine to find a conrod bearing cap installed backwards. Shortly after getting the engine reinstalled the Dutchies departed for home and the build continued with Classic Automobilia.
I was also preparing my own vehicle for the event and time was getting short, but in the end by a combined effort 99% of the planned work was completed.

28/11/2021

Earlier this year I wrote about a replica I was building that was to be kept secret until completed. Well today I put the finishing touches to the car and apart from the final engineering inspection and dyno tune it is ready to be handed over to the very proud owner.
The vehicle is a 1985 Audi Sport Quattro replica and the only one in Australia. There are a few SQ race/rally tributes but no replicas of the road legal homologation special that Audi released in 1985.
The vehicle started life as a 1985 Quattro which was shortened by 320mm then an Audi 80 Coupe was grafted on to the front, forward of the B pillar. The roof, rear quarters, front guards and bonnet are Kevlar and wide body in design. Surprisingly there are very few similarities to the Quattro it is based on, even though the appearance of the SQ is that of a stumpy Quattro.
I won’t go into great detail about the build other than to say that sourcing parts and information was the biggest challenge, well over 100 hours was spent in research. Many components had to be cast, 3D printed or fabricated from drawings or photos. After 18 months with the panel be**er and 20 months with Classic Automobilia plus Covid and international freight problems we finally have a replica which is certainly the most accurate that I have seen and probably the best in the world. Several road going SQ replicas have been built in the USA and Europe with many using some of the original components which were still available 15 or 20 years ago, but now original parts and donor vehicles are almost extinct making it virtually impossible to achieve today.
The recent surge in popularity of classic and collectable vehicles as well as the rarity of the original Audi Sport Quattro has pushed their values upwards to a million dollars. These values and recent popularity in SQ projects have also been aided by Ken Blocks very public online Audi SQ tribute build. I say tribute as again it is a race/rally-based tribute and not a replica because behind the façade there is nothing remotely similar to the original.
I had a lot of fun building this car as well as a lot of heartache. I stopped work and walked away from the project several times as I could not see a way forward. In the last few weeks, we would move one step forward and three steps back. At one point we thought the only way forward was to start again.
One of the last jobs on the car was the door window frame trims, these are held on by small plastic clips unique to the Audi 80. These clips have not been available new for many years. I tried ringing Australian dealers hoping that some may be sitting on a shelf somewhere. I tried reusing the ones from the donor vehicle but they were too brittle and just broke on removal. I looked at a gluing or using other fasteners, but nothing worked. In the end we paid a wrecker in Germany to carefully remove these clips (which are the size of a small fly) from several wrecks until we had the 22 required to do two window frames. The wrecker would not ship to Australia, so he posted them to a friend in Germany who sent them DHL priority to Australia. The cost for the freight of a parcel the size and weight of a Cadbury’s mini favourite, 135 Euros. But what a feeling when the trims went click and stayed there.

21/08/2021

Toyota Supra 2JZ GE naturaly aspirated conversion to 2JZ GTE turbo charged.
This is the most powerful modification I have ever done. These engines are phenomenal for being able to create power from forced induction. We went from 220hp to 600hp just by installing a Garrett G35-900 turbo charger, Plazmaman intercooler and an Elwood intake manifold. Fueling controlled by A Haltech elite 2000 and Bosch 1000cc injectors. Engine is stock standard except for being decompressed to 9/1 by using thicker head gasket.

07/04/2021

Something a bit different and modern. Aston Martin Vantage V8 for Velocity headers and flash tune.
Increases power from 380hp to 440hp.

04/04/2021

Land Rover Discovery 1 three door engine conversion.
The original Land Rover Discovery was first released as a three door and like the Range Rover Classic two door, these cars are becoming very collectable. Also just like the Range Rover Classic they are powered by the venerable but underpowered 3.5L V8.
For the later model Range Rovers a re engineered long stroke 4.6L engine was produced, which gave huge torque gains and transformed the drivability of these two ton luxury 4wd’s.
My customer owned a very nice 1991 Disco 3 door running on LPG, (which is a great way to further decrease engine power). He also owned a late model Rangie with a 4.6 under the bonnet. The Rangie decided to catch fire on the Mt Ousley freeway climbing up from Wollongong, which gave it its 15 seconds of fame on the evening news as it burned away on the side of the road.
The Rangie’s demise made way for an engine swap. It was originally planned to put the complete 4.6L engine in the Disco complete with all ancillaries and wiring loom connected to a Haltech. This now was not possible as the entire engine bay had been consumed by fire, so I pulled the engine out and dismantled it to a bare engine.
The 4.6L uses Motronic engine management and as such does not run a distributor. The other way to put these engines into an early model car is to swap the timing cases and camshaft to facilitate the distributor. This is not that straightforward, but with some modifications and changes to the oil pump and pick up it can be done. I then bolted on the complete Disco intake system and exhaust manifolds and dropped it into the engine bay, all the ancillaries bolted to the big block except for some bolt holes which were different sizes. The standard Disco injection and MAF sensor was used and it all just worked. A 4.6L chip is available to give a bit more power, but the customer was happy and may do that in the future.

03/04/2021

Since March 2020 I have been building a very rare and special car. One that I knew nothing about 12 months ago but now know every intricate detail about now. The customers request was for this replica to be as close to looking like the original vehicle that it would be very difficult to tell apart from the original vehicle.
The project is still quite secret until completion sometime later this year, but some may recognise what it is by the limited photos.
Many components for this car are just not available and as such had to be Re manufactured including Re casting several aluminium parts. 3D printing was also used to aid in fabrication of components.
Creating an accurate replica requires lots of photos and measurements or access to an original car. Currently there are none of these cars in Australia, so this option was not possible. Available photos were only of the exterior and interior, but we needed photos of underbody, boot, engine bay plus suspension brakes and heat exchangers etc. We were offered total access to an original car in Poland, and it looked like I was going on an all expenses trip to Europe, but then Covid happened and that was no longer an option. Then an original car came up for sale through a classic car dealer and to show how original the car was they had professional photos online from nearly every angle. I quickly downloaded all the photos and enlarged them to a scale that I could use a draughting rule to get fairly accurate measurements, this plus help from the owners of the car in Poland gave me the blueprint for the layout and fabrication of the reproduction.

05/09/2020

Well a two year project has finally come to fruition. I received this butchered Jaguar MK2 a few years ago. The car had an extremely unprofessional Holden V8 and Trimatic automatic powertrain conversion. My customer wanted a modernisation of the MK2 but using the formidable original DOHC inline six with the traditional 4 speed gearbox and Lockheed overdrive.
In large and complicated projects like this one, the first thing I do is ask the customer for a list of all the features and functions they would like incorporated into the build so that the layout and associated wiring can be carefully planned. Especially in a MK2 where space is very limited due to the tapering engine bay design. The other important question is what are their expectations of the vehicle, so that again these areas can be planned. The list below is what we wanted to achieve and amazingly did achieve.
Features,
1) Triple Jenvey DCOE EFI system.
2) Sequential fuel injection with wasted spark ignition system.
3) Hidden EFI wiring and associated components.
4) Electric hydraulic power steering.
5) Fully integrated modern Air conditioning ventilation system.
6) 4 pot aluminium front calipers with vented oversize rotors.
7) 2 pot aluminium rear calipers and standard rotors.
8) Two speed high torque wipers with variable intermittent control.
9) Cibie Oscar driving lamps with HID bulbs.
10) Freeform H4 halogen headlamps.
11) Electric front windows.
12) Remote central locking.
13) Inertia reel seat belts.
14) In car entertainment system with 9”display and Apple car play.
15) Reversing camera.
16) Cruise control.
17) Modern efficient cooling system.
18) USB ports.
19) Modern wiring system with a programmable power distribution module.
Expectations,
1) Intake system must look and sound like triple Weber DCOE.
2) Minimum 300hp with power up to 6000rpm.
3) Wide flat torque for good drivability.
4) Reliable easy engine starting.
5) No overheating problems.
6) Car is for every day city driving.
7) Comfortable suspension.
8) Great brakes.
9) Easy to live with.
10) Features that are common in modern cars.
11) Classic looks with a twist.
12) Fast and smooth.
I believe we achieved everything, with one very surprising outcome.
The engine build was very expensive, the cylinder head was CNC ported and larger valves installed. The cost for that work which I subcontracted was a huge shock. I assembled the engine using quality internal components and 9.5 to 1 pistons, the camshafts were high lift medium duration and the intake runners were match ported and of the optimum length. The exhaust was bespoke fabricated headers running into a single large bore exhaust system. As we know fuelling was sequential multiport with a wideband oxygen sensor. But here was the surprise, the engines performance is outstanding. Good torque is available throughout the rev range with a real kick of power from 3000 to 6000rpm but the real kicker is that the idle is so smooth that the engine does not even move. I am an ex Jaguar mechanic and have built many engines and worked on 100s of cars with these engines including the later EFI units, but they have all had a hereditary rocking imbalance to them at idle.

15/12/2018

A long time customer of Classic Automobilia has two 60’s Mercedes. This one a 280SL came in for a service in November. It’s last check over was in 2014 and as such needed some TLC. All the brake calipers had seized due to corrosion and required all new pistons. The radiator core had failed and required replacement. Copper radiator repairers are getting hard to find now but several recommendations put me into Alexandria Radiator Service who were very professional. The fuel system was also severely contaminated and corroded from the use of ethanol blended fuels, these fuels are so destructive to fuel systems especially in older cars. I will talk more about that in a future feature.
Again Alexandria Radiators did a great job of cleaning the tank, then I wire wheeled the old paint off and then gave it three coats of stone guard and three coats of 2k satin black.
The body then got a buff and polish and it’s ready for the customer to do some classic motoring.

14/12/2018

Classic Automobilia's latest completed project is a 1960's replica of a Ferrari 250 Le Mans. This unloved but much admired vehicle had been sitting in the customers back yard under a tarp for many years. It was delivered to me after the front suspension broke whilst the customer was preparing to drive it to a car show. During the repairs I found that the engine had very low compression and two cylinders were not working at all. The body is built around a 1960's open wheel space frame race car and the mechanicals were in a very sorry state. Over the Next five months, Classic Automobilia restored the engine bay area and rear suspension. The engine was completely reconditioned and the cooling system was revised and modernised. The crowning glory was the beautiful polished stainless steel exhaust system fabricated by Craig Stallard of Quality Performance Exhaust. Not only does it look good but the exhaust note is amazing. There is still more that could be done, but for now it's time for the excited customer to enjoy.

01/09/2018

After 18 Months and 100s of hours Classic Automobilia has transformed this rusted and neglected Australian Mk1 Capri 3000GT into a virtually brand new vehicle. The car had almost no usable components due to corrosion, weathering and past modifications. It had been sitting in a paddock since 1982 and was tracked down and purchased by our customer, who had previously owned the vehicle forty years ago when he was a lead foot teenager.
The car though was a matching numbers vehicle with it's original driveline and build/compliance plate. The restoration was carried out mindful of how it left the factory in 1970 with the exception of the period accessories such as driving lamps and Hotwire wheels fitted by the customer back in the 70s. The customer plans to compete in some classic rallys so we installed a set of reproduction 15 inch Hotwire wheels to house the four pot big brake upgrade and some supportive Recaro seats. A retro looking sound system with bluetooth was installed for the convenience of modern day in car entertainment and communications.

Classic Automobilia

22/05/2023

24/10/2022

28/11/2021

21/08/2021

07/04/2021

04/04/2021

03/04/2021

05/09/2020

15/12/2018

14/12/2018

01/09/2018

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Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm