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Cheers mate. I tell a lie the olds are in Geraldton and that’s where the car will end up. 4.5 hours. once I’m back I’ll be able to have a look and see what’s what. First priority is to get on the road so I can at least get some enjoyment from it, then take it from there. Even that feels like a major undertaking at this point so I’m definitely grateful for advice.

My plan when I can eventually get back into Aus. I'm tentatively planning for July next year but who knows. WA has pretty draconian laws when it comes to the Rona. I want a fairlane that looks good and is a fun weekend cruiser. I will pull out motor and take to local mech for appraisal. Change oil and filter, pull the plugs and lube cylinders and prime the oil. Check if oil is coming out of rockers etc. Just to get an idea of engine health without spending too much. What else should I get done, given the engine has been in a crash and has sat for 13 years? I have had a guy I trust have a brief look at the body and give me an idea of cost. I'm looking at 20 to get painted . I will strip everthing and get this done when I can (aiming for July and corona to bugger off). Again Im not sure because realistically, it will take me another 2-3 years once I actually have an income and time wise, Ill be so deep in reading/working that its a pipedream to think Ill be able to get much done myself. I'm not even sure when and if Ill move home. Would you recommend getting the body and paint sorted in July for it to sit again in a garage for 2-3yrs minimum? I have been giving serious though on a colour called Champagne Quartz by BMW, saw it on an M3 years ago and it looked good. With black/alloy rims it could look nice. Or is it heresy to let a german near an aussie fairlane? Fuel wise. With a holley 830cfm annular (4150) and edlebrock aircleaner it fouled the bonnet. If I go this route I need to measure, maybe a drop base cleaner would do the trick. But I am not sure, have been playing with the idea of injection. Not sure If I'll gain any clearance this way. Once I know more about the motor I can figure out how much cfm and if carby or EFI is the way forward. Interior wise, pretty sorted. Just need to do the floor shift conversion. Need to find a steering wheel but that is expensive and bloody hard to get a hold of. The aftermarket wheel can stay for now. I would love to have a racepak dash on the centre console instead of gauges, but this is costly and is it necessary for a street car. Looks cool as f** though. I need a dash fascia as I cut mine to fit in autometer gauges. The intro's billets will go if I can get anything for them. I would love to go as big as 295 15" Aumastars or similiar on the back. A low fairlane with the fattest rubber (without tubbing) I think will look good, but again is this a fad, is this silly for a sunday car? Weld racing might have gone bust by the time Im in a position to purchase. Motorwise, I will know more after appraisal and having a good look myself. But am thinking keep as is and get a reliable tune for a street cruiser. Im guessing its good for 400hp maybe? I would like to have the power at low to mid range rpm. But again I'll know more once I can get hands on and get someone to look at it. Exhaust; car had ceramic headers /to my knwledge) that I had to oxy out of the wreck. 2 1/2" h-pipe and magnaflows. I'm thinking pacemakers if they fit and the same again, 3" is perhaps overkill? Will I need to fit a granny exhaust first to get it rego'd? Suspension: would like to have coil-overs on the front (either mcdonalds or rod shop kit) and dreaming of mcdonalds 4 link at the back, installed on inside of rails to give a bit more clearance. This will be long term after the car is regod and if the money is there. Is this silly for a 400hp-ish heavy fairlane street-cruiser? Low and loud is my goal, but driveable. Does not need to be slammed but a nice stance would be nice. Again, I'm a clown with a lot of ideas and no clue. Would like some input here. Electrics: the battery will go in the boot. Electric power steering pump under drivers side wheel arch, MSD 6al in boot (maybe? no idea if this should be as close as possible to the dizzy?) Will need to wire up the electric fans on the desert cooler radiator. Will need an auto electrician to wire everything up in the long run, probably need a new alternator if I'm running EPSP, fans etc? New ecu? No idea! There will be a million other things to do, but this is the rough gist of it. I'm open to ideas and inspiration. Feel like a clown posting so much but its good to start getting my head around what I need to do to get back on the road, rather than Belladonna rusting and being forgotten in a shed. Yes ZG's arent popular, yes its a bit ugly, yes I'm an asshat, and yes its probably not worth the time and effort. But I promised myself I would get it back on the road...one day.

I brought a Fuelmiser fuel pump today and fitted it. It started fine but running/idling rough as guts. I did put a new fuel filter on it a couple of weeks ago, wondering if I should get another one or just pull it off and check it first ??? I need to pull the fuel pump out again as the sender unit is reading a 1/4 more than it should ( I can't win with this ute ) But atleast it is running.

Cheers for the help bear. A brief history of the car and my plight. When I was in my early twenties me and my mates saved up furiously with the plan to live large in South America for 3 months. Before I left however a girl caught my eye. She was old and on the heavy side but I couldn't stop thinking about her. When the chance came I got a hold of her, the dream of exotic dark south american girls and partys all but foregone. Instead I had a heavy old white girl, a 74 fairlane 500. Her body was clean as a whistle and the interior was spot on, but I fell in love with her for her heart, a 351c. While my mates were partying like hell and most likely spawning children I was enjoying my time with my ZG. I called her madonna. We went a little hard at it one night and ended up through a street light with several revolutions involved. I was lucky that night, the strong shell saved me when rolling and I rolled to the left so the passenger side took the brunt, would have been a different story if I hit something straight on in a solid ZG (photo below) I had to fork out for the electriity bill and street light etc. and had very little money left over. The wreckers called straight away that they would by the car. I nearly said yes. Probably should have and limped to south america to get on the tail end of the parties my mates where having. With very little auto knowledge I took the wreckage home and tried to salvage what I could. I scoured ebay and found a ZG in ok condition, relatively rust free (see photo below), the second one is called Belladonna. Madonna=Mono, Belladonna=Bi as in number two. Don't judge me. Like a clown I started tearing into it gung ho. I ripped off the vinyl, bloody grinded off the side rubber stripes (I still cringe at how gung ho I was). And pulled out the 302 and floged it (I regret that). I bought a set of intro billets that were all the rage, managed to get the engine bay sprayed. I had the gearbox checked by allfast torque converters and the stall checked. Motor wise I have not checked, other than putting on a new oil pan (and stripping a bolt if memory serves me right, again dont judge me). Car originally had throttle body injection with stock aircleaner which fitted under the bonnet. I flogged the tbi. I bought a holley 830cfm upon advice based on the intake, stall and heads (still unsure of what fuel delivery I will have but I will get to that). In the middle of all this I was a broke ass student studying engineering and no fucking idea of what I was doing. I still have very little idea of what Im doing, hence the reason why Im asking you guys for advice and inspiration. I met a new girl and I followed her overseas to Norway. I never moved back to Aus (Aus will always be my home). Bloody hell 12 years later, 2 kids and a volvo later here I am... Belladonna (ZG #2) has been sitting in a garage deteriorating since that. I have saved up enough for paint and am bloody unsure of what is the correct sequence to get things done. And its hard to make a plan, without getting carried away and true to yourself. I'm bloody studying again, so not much of a budget. What makes it hard is money is bloody tight, I will never get much time to do a lot myself and the car is located long long away from civilisation so I need to try and use local know how. Perth is a solid 6 hr drive without stopping. So thats my story. Sorry for the verbal diarrhea. This was to give you an idea of where I'm at. Plus I cant even get back in the bloody country at the moment. Madonna specs: ZG fairlane 500, white with chocolate interior 351c (will check the engine numbers when I can) SVO heads (I think?) Intake Victor 351 AH II Throttle body injection (cant remember the make) Power steering Aircon (bloody ugly unit sitting up high) C4 allfast TC, car came with megashifter 9" Disc brake all round

Doing fine, mate.... Got yourself a honeypot, a console and a shifter. The console needs a rear bracket to bolt to (see GTshop, or GTFordPerformance, etc) Shifter linkages should bolt straight up, if they are from a C4. Might have to move them a little bit, to get the reverse lights to work, engage park and first properly, but it's easy as. Might want to cable tie the linkages together under the bonnet, on the steering column, save them clunking around. B&M is for drag race or 'look at me'. No real benefit on a daily, the original Tbar works well for decades. Keen to see some pics of the ZG if ya have time. Love the old Fairlanes..