steve mcqueen

So do i. I had the wood grain mid brown colour in my XD with the all grey interior brand is OBA and it looked trick, the colour didn't clash with the rest and looked schimko. I have an Autotecnica brand for PG and it looks trick to

Nath, im gonna say if your going to all that bother for a small up grade and i mean track an engine down, engine swap etc etc you should go for a 4 litre conversion like Project Goldie. You have a great base car to kick off with, the XD, so do a 4 litre conversion. You wouldn't be happy with the 250 crossy, you would have to wake it up with a cam, extractor and some head work at minimum for more power anyway. Most XD's came out with a 250 from factory so if you stick with that combo just find a 250 from an XF (good luck) and use that motor but use your inlet manifold, exhaust manifold and presto, your good to go. All that effort for a tiny bit more power = WOFTAM Go and "test drive" an EF/EL/AU from a car yard and compare the power from it to your current XD and you'll be wanting to do it quick smart.

Yeah i cleaned all mine up on goldie with degreaser then put back in then gave a light coat of white lithium grease. Seemed to work. From that pic you posted that lever that aint doing anything is the outside striker, you can just take it off, 3 screws as you know and test it in your hand. Ive had them play up over the years but yeah start with a good clean.

Do you have another inner striker you can whack in and see what happens? I know it vice versa but im thinking the child lock is playing bad guy?

This is a great idea this thread. I have that car tracker on my watch list just have to buy it. Was looking for 'real info' on such items tho. Now im not tech savvy so,,,, does that tracker have any on going cost's? Do i need to have a smart phone to use it? etc etc. All info on vehicle trackers would be good so if you have one let us all know why its a good thing so we can perhaps buy one to. Also..... Vehicle camera's,,,, Id like to install a camera in Project goldie so i can record whats going on around me in the event of a crash and as there are heaps on the market,,,, what is one of the best one's? Does it record night time driving? Does it have 2 camera's one for front and the back? Again, id like to know more info.

My upholsterer supplied the carpet for Project Goldie, Its something that you would find in late model cars of today. It's glued down and follows the contours of my floor so well. Was a little more costly but looks and feels so good and its what i wanted so didn't mind forking out for it. Contact an upholsterer and speak with them, food for thought.

Its so common from the factory NZ, its bloody wrong.

Thats typicle tho, "blame the product" and not the painter who put it on. Nothing wrong with PPG products, its used very widely in the smash repair industry both here and the states. Did he say what brand they use now that 'blows on like glass'? How are they gonna re do it? If they used PPG the first time then say gonna use Spies Hecker this time that could create more issues as the paints are different again to each other. They really gonna have to remove 90% of the base coat and clear to go again. Perhaps they gonna rub it flat and buff it to shine? or Rub it flat then apply another PPG base coat and clear? Id be checking every 3 days on progress to see 'where abouts it at' If you see it rubbed back again then i hope all will be well this time round.

Yeah i wouldn't be real happy either but gotta say 'im surprized now days how much peel is in factory spray jobs'. Im always picking at peoples paint on their cars in car parks or where ever, my other half cant stand it hahaha. Even most european cars have peel in them, some top end things like BMW or Merc = peel. People are paying 100k for these shitters only to have second hand paint jobs, its a joke. If i were you, id take a walk around a couple of brand new car yards and see for yourself the quality or not paint jobs their brand new cars have, you will be amaized at how much peel is out there Then make a decision if to take it back. Perhaps get a quote on a cut and polish job? Solid colours are good, white, red etc but COB is where it turns nasty. All the hard work you have been through to get this done i understand your frustration

Yeah i vote the gunmetal grey. Some XF Falcons left the factory in a grey colour called 'Teledo' its very much like the gunmetal colour. I use to own one back in 1998 it was in the Teledo colour with a white and red pinstripe on it, Only reason i ever got rid of that car was 'money', i didn't have any.

Really well said here. Take pics or video as you go along so you have a reference to go back to when your putting it back together. You'll be fine, just go easy and take your time.

Yep, soda blasting is the way to go, There is this technology in the states but im not sure if it hit us in OZ yet. Give these people a call and see what it costs for your car to get done. http://www.allsodablastservices.com.au/default.htm If you can strip the car to a rolling shell its gonna save you money so with that saving you can put it towards a new rubber kit for the old girl, a rubber kit you can get through Rare spares. Dont assume 'there is no welding'. Once that back window comes out and you find rust that needs cutting out 'Ka-ching' goes more money. There maybe rust in the firewall and plenum? Whilst its striped nows the time to replace things like the 'heater core in the dash' Would hate to see it leak due to rust after you have just put down new floor carpets. What sort of time frame do you want this project to be completed in? There is 6 weeks left of summer so if you dont have a garage to put this freshly painted roller into whilst you take 6 months to put it back together, thats not gonna be good. So many diffrent factors in a project like this, so planning is crucial.

You got a spare 20k have you? Dont email these people, that says "your not fair dinkum" Take a day, drive to half a dozen smash repairs across sydney and its west introduce yourself and say "whats it gonna cost for a full bare metal respray" Tell em what you want, what colour, what work you want done and watch the dollar signs roll. Some places might say 'they not interested' but some might say 'yeah mate we could do it'. How much work are you gonna put in to it? Do you want them to 'remove and replace' the parts? You want the engine bay and door jams painted? Better make a list now and tell em what you want. so everybody is on the same page when you get your quotes in. Alot of us, including me would love to know how much its gonna cost you.

If you can, you'll be an expert when you finished. You'll also say "that was pretty easy" So dont stress about it, it is easy.

Gotta say here as the owner of 2 cars with the plastic bonnet protector, these things are a pain in the bum to. When it comes time to wash the car, you have to remove them to do a proper job, and they get leave's and what not behind them thus making them difficult to deal with. I hated the headlight and bonnet protector so much on one of my cars i took them off. I dont know what the answer is, but suggest just a good wax for paint protection.

Well, im going off what sparky has posted after my original comment and its gonna be more than a pulley swap. "EA/EB/ED/XG run a 85Amp alternator" the EF has a 110 amp alternator so its has much bigger output. the EL has a 100 amp alternator so a tad smaller output than EF but bigger than EA/EB/ED, so that would cause other issues (battery charging, night time lighting etc) The wiring plug in the EF car wont plug into the alternator from EA/EB/ED, its also different. That $90 unit from the wreckers is sounding good about now, surley it comes with a warranty?

Yes

I like that ^^^

Did you buy it?

Yeap, an EL should fit. EA/EB and ED all run V belts, the EF runs a serpentine belt set up. Is it as simple as a pulley swap?

You be the first hendrixhc. I bought a double din unit for Nana a few years ago, it was a brand new unit from a Hyundai santa fe, the then owner had the sat nav up garde so i bought the standard unit off them anyway,,,,, Nana being an XF she only has the plastic pocket at the bottom of the centre dash and i reckon with some small mods you could make it work. If i was to attempt it in XD/XE you could do away with the 2 grey centre dash piece's and make a 1 piece from a piece of perspex, cut a hole for the stereo face, glue on some mounting brackets and use piece's from a meccano set to secure the unit in the dash itself. Some foam insulation 3 parts around the unit, paint the perspex the same colour as the car and presto. Make a card board template and see what needs doing.

The XR6 diff would need big mods to fit your XD, would be to costly. Perhaps as its a daily, just keep the auto and the car the way it is.

You need to modify the XD gear box cross member for the T5 to bolt in. The XF gear box cross member dont fit, they are to short. Ive got pics some where of it but cant find them right now. Think of an EA gear box cross member with XD cross member ends welded to it and presto. You need a pedal box of cause and the small clutch cable support that bolts to the firewall, yours being an auto has a blanking plate over the hole. Clutch and a cable and you should be right. Oh yeah and as polson says you need a bell housing off a XF T5. And a new flywheel, and bolts.

I got Goldie done a few weeks back, that was my dearest one as mentioned above. I have another grey velour roof lining in a car but in all honesty i think fitting a second hand one would be a pain in the back side? Its still in the car and looks pristine as the day it was done and that car will one day be toast. You see, you dont have the 'excess side material' to glue down a second hand one. Hey it might work but im not sure. I just thought pulling it out might damage it to. If you could get it done for around the $300 mark id say 'get it' They some times appear on evil bay to for the X series falcon brand new. Ill keep my eyes open.

I would have thought 500 was a little steep, most i ever payed for a 'grey velour roof lining' to supply and install was $440.