For terry

[T1 Terry]

If they had designed the heads better to avoid the steam pockets and the valley cover so the oil stayed on the inside, they would have been 350 Cheve killers. The engine had to be de-tuned to stop the steam pocket boiling problem and sadly that never really was addressed during production, so the only other fix was to reduce the capacity.
We modified a few, tapped brass fittings into all the upper pieces in the heads so the water/steam could escape back to an overflow tank so the air/steam separated from the water, then the compression could be increased and a better profile cam fitted. We welded sections into the valley so we could tap threads and bolt a proper aluminium plate with rubber compound gaskets, copper head gaskets sealed with 333 compound and "O" ringed the block to create a fire ring to stop any gas escape. Run on methanol they pulled and revved harder than a 350 chev, something we proved in a Marina at the drags and circuit racing at the old Oran Park track .... wheel spin over the hump mid straight because of the weight shift and could hold a gear higher out of Energo corner onto the up hill climb to the straight ..... sadly the owner lost control on a drive up Mt Kembla and put it on the rail line destroying the front end ... we still had more development work we wanted to do, so the Marina was really only remembered with the 350 chev in it.

T1 Terry

[Greynomad]

T1,
Surprised you chose the Marina for development.
It was a rush job cobbled together from the BMC parts bin due to the dismal sales of the 5-speed 1500/Nomad.
While working in Canberra I unfortunately bought a Nomad! ... seven gearboxes in the first 10 months!! — selector forks had been slimmed down to squeeze five gears into the old four-speed casing making them prone to breaking, leaving me with a box of neutrals. (Mechanic friend told me.)
I got warranty replacement gearboxes — all with the same weak forks — the UK ambassador’s wife got a replacement car with the Mk11 gearbox.
With the seventh gearbox I asked for a Mk11 — and was told that would be a ‘modification’ and would void the warranty! I said bu&&er the warranty, give me a Mk11!
No further problems............
(...and the camping body came in handy several times )

[T1 Terry]

not my choice for the base vehicle, it was another mechanical workshop, it was just a handy platform to do the trials while the 350 chev was away getting mods to the heads and crank .... Tried to do quick Google search for any reference to the car but it must have been too early in the interweb days to get much of a mention

T1 Terry

[Mrcoolabah1au]

4926D9EF-71A7-4432-904E-645E2A18289C.jpeg

[T1 Terry]

4926D9EF-71A7-4432-904E-645E2A18289C.jpeg

As far as I can tell, the iMIEV has the first prize as the ugliest all electric vehicle, but that must be running a close second ...... There is a Japanese market hybrid that is moving into the country in great numbers for use in the luxury limousine market and I think that takes the award hands down for the ugliest hybrid ..... I'll see if I can find a photo to post up here and see if the membership here agrees on the ugliness factor

Interesting that VW had deleted the "Kombi" (Australia is the only country that calls it a Kombi) from its range sighting safety cell compliance problems that could not be met in that shape, yet here is an electric version ...... Does that mean the real reason was they couldn't make it emissions compliant without being caught out cheating again?

T1 Terry

[BruceS]

I think that is NOT a photo of the vehicle at all. Might be an artists impression?
Not sure where the door hinges?

[Greynomad]

I think that is NOT a photo of the vehicle at all. Might be an artists impression?
Not sure where the door hinges?

Our cars both have hinges not visible. (One is 2001 vintage! Last car I owned with visible hinges was my 1962 Mini panelvan!!) Our Kombi’s sliding door hinges/track were not visible with the door closed.
The question is where are the door handles?
They’re either concealed in the accent stripe or you press a button on the keyfob. (My guess, anyway.)
Looks like exterior mirrors have been replaced with outboard cameras. Certainly cuts down the blind spots behind them...
Enlarging shows what I suspect is the sliding door track in the stripe, and possibly a touchpad just fore of the driver’s door. Possibly auto powered doors? Kia’s Carnival van (people mover) has powered sliding rear doors on both sides.

[Newcastle George]

If it's an artist's impression then said artist did a good job painting the people viewing it on the far side.

George

[BruceS]

I suspect a fair bit of 'photoshopping' still though.
You reckon the wheels/tyres look for real?

[Newcastle George]

I must admit that the front door forming part of the front wheel arch is a bit strange.

George