SirkWhyXF

Well today went well. i finished everything i needed to get it driving again. 
all the brakes are in and working...the brakes are awesome in it haha, and they haven't even bed in yet obviously. 


 
now, before i took this photo, i ran into some trouble...
 

 
chop chop 
 

 
 
clearance issues. 
 

 
so i lowered the car, and even with the 13s on, it was grabbing the front corner of the guard. silly design. when Ford released the Lotus Twin Cam Escort, they actually trimmed that corner off. so i had to do some massaging
 
vvv this is the final result of my home attempt of massaging the guard. Ill get them all rolled properly when its registered, especially if i want to fit the 15s on. I've also discovered that the 13s are actually 24mm oversized diameter, compared to the factory 12" tyre size. so that wouldn't be helping with clearance. 
 

 
anyway, once i got that sorted i put it back in the garage on stands, hooked up the last of the brake hoses and and bled the brakes, then corrected the front end alignment so i could at least drive it (its going in for a front and rear end alignment tomorrow morning) 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Ive made good progress this week. Not much more to do now. 
 
sway bar with fresh subframe black paint. 


 
sway bar, new control arms and tie rods fitted. 
 

 
steering column dropped to repair the steering coupling 
 

 
steering coupling repaired, cleaned. looks nearly new  
 

 
interior all back together 
 

 
discs freshly machined up 
 

 
new springs  
 

 
bit of height difference. apparently only 1" lower when in the car...we'll see lol 
 

 
old vs new. just goes to show what some cleaning can do. all I've replaced on the "new" strut is the springs. the shock inserts are the same, all the rubbers (shock sleeves and bumpstops) tops and all are the same ones, just been thoroughly cleaned. 
 

 
passenger side back together, and thats where i had to leave it for today, as i have to go to work shortly. Turns out you can't put the struts back in with the sway bar installed, so i had to remove it from the car entirely again  
 

 
more to come tomorrow if all goes well, it will be on its wheels by tomorrow night. 

Yep, that does..........
 

That looks nice now mate

Should stretch with a bit of heat
 
 
 
 
That's what he said...

If anyones interested i found a product that should do the job perfect at clarke rubber. They call it "Sponge extrusion self adhesive blister 16x12mm" part no. 31633, was $11.95/m. I bought 1.8m, but 1.6 will do the job easy.
 
Here's the stuff
 

 
Trial fitted this piece this arvo and it fits perfect, the rib at the top seals on the underside of the bonnet like it was meant for it.
 
I'll put up a pic when i clean up the area and install it.

Got up this morning to find this on my door step
 

 

Twin barrel manifold for my down draught weber
 
I then gave the car a wash and took it for its last drive until i get the new front end it.


 
If you look close at the boot lid you can see where i did the test cut and polish
 


 
And this is how i left it for the day. Tomorrow work begins. Fun times ahead

So i got the car home and it took prime spot in the garage next to the XF  
 

 
I decided to have a crack at giving the old paint a bit of a cut and polish. test patch on the boot lid. 
 
Before...

 
After...


 
So it has plenty of scratches still, but has taken the cloudiness out. Ill leave the rest to be done professionally, its definitely beyond my expertise.
 
Today, I decided i would give the under belly of the car a scrub, and i mean scrub. degreaser and a wire brush kind of thing lol. 41 years of dirt, oil, lead to my driveway looking like this....

 
this lot came from the front RH wheel arch on its own  
 


 
 
its much cleaner underneath now. Thursday, I plan to start pulling the front end out. whole front end, minus steering, is coming out to be rebuilt. 

i came across them on graysonline.com last night.. auction.. pain to work out also, need to pay a buyers premium and bids in $10 increments ..take care to read it or find it elsewhere..
http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0126-2158821/power-tools/sidchrome-rear-disc-brake-piston-tool-70016?spr=true
(i used multi grip pliers to screw the piston in last time i did them)

T&E tools make the special tools for the caliper pistons.
 
Part numbers are
 
2021 (suits Falcon XB-X, Fairlane/LTD Holden HJ-HZ and early Commodore)
 
2022 (suits Falcon XE-XF and Fairlane/LTD)
 
 
A well equiped tool shop like Total tools sell T&E products. I bought mine off the shelf from a Qualitool in Geelong

Lol. the different colours are just from sheet steel i had sitting in the shed and had painted other crap on it. When i get some time ill add more pics of where it is up to now

Did you get those panels from the wolf creek f truck ?

Heres a post i put on Facebook last night.
 
 
Today marks the end of an era, an Australian motoring icon has left its mark and has turned off the great Australian motoring highway and into the history books.
 
Many thanks to the team of men and women at Ford Australia for bringing us a car that was designed, developed and built in our own backyard. Through the years, the ups and downs it has been a great car and one hell of a roller-coaster ride.
 
Thank you Ford Australia, its been Falcon great.
 
#ford #fordfalcon #fordaustralia #itsbeenfalcongreat
 

 

 

 
 

I'll rock this for the weekend. Or maybe the week IDK
 

Awsome score!
 
Looks like frankineffy in that second last pic with all the different coloured patches.
 
Turbo crossflow effy. Love it. Can't wait to see more.

Had no idea wtf you were on about there with Haval. Had to google it.

Tied a bolt to the inside of cant rail ,sill or pillar so it rattles around and drives the service dept nuts trying to find the rattle that the potential customer keeps complaining about. Don't laugh has happened in the past! 

The Ford Falcon is dead. Long live the Falcon. I'm taking a moment to reflect on my past loves, an XT was my first. Then I loved an XC, an XB, an XW, another XW, an XE, an XF, and it all began with my Dad's XY. I still have 3 Xfalcons to love, and a tolerant wife.
 
Mmm, that reminds me, wedding anniversary on Sunday....and Bathurst....mmm, better do something nice...quick!

Inspiration

and i have a 28 day permit on the car at the moment. So challenge accepted, i plan to try get it done within that 28 day period. 

Did you reset the clock for daylight savings?

All 20mm.
 
I'd hate for you to blow money on something you may not need. Make sure you go over the thread I linked to determine if you actually NEED shock spacers.
 
If you do, No problem. Will you have issues?
If you jamming another 5mm (Strut brace) under the shock spacer I'm going to say yes. It will be VERY close to the bonnet, and the deflection in the upper shock mount bushes as you drive over bumps might be all it needs to wack a dint in your bonnet. In fact, I recommended anyone running these as is that they should check clearances, as there are small differences in manufacturing tolerances, shocks and bushes (rubber vs polyurethane), it might clear one bonnet on a setup but will hit the next (although i've had no reports of any bonnets been hit yet)
You can easily avoid this by cutting the top off your Shocky, when assembled. Only a couple mm above the nut, then cut a slot in the top with a 1mm blade on an angle grinder that you can put a large flatblade screw driver in to hold the top of the shock still when removing/installing.
 
Go for a drive without your bonnet on and watch your shocky, you'll see how much they move when going over bumps. Plus driving without a bonnet is badass.