deankxf

nah not coat hangers,small black plastic single hangers,will post picture tomorrow,if i go out there now to take a pic ,the whole house will reak of 2k paint,should be fine tomorrow tho,and remember the truth is out there.

rear grab handles? i could have told you that (i remember removing them on something

in the current episode, i skipped through it a bit, he was talking about buying a property somewhere that he can store and rotate his cars through. (sounds like he plans do drive them all)

peter Anderson (youtube) latest video has bought a ZK fairlane and it has this cupcake tray also

Great to see an update! definitely good progress and a good plan. 
that cable end kit looks a great idea
 

Great to see an update! definitely good progress and a good plan. 
that cable end kit looks a great idea
 

Next on the agenda;
The dreaded heater box. 
 

 

 

 
This thing was filthy. 48 years worth of dust, leaves, and rotting foam. 
The core has been replaced, so thats a good sign. I have pressure tested the core and it seems ok, but I am going to do it again today. im not convinced i tested it properly. 
 
Also, someone had used what looks like windscreen sealer to reinstall the lid when it was apart previously 🤦‍♂️ when in actual fact, its meant to be foam to seal it. I have bought all new high density foam, not the open cell shit that rots away, and am currently in the process of resealing it and assembling the heater box. 
 
 
I got a little stuck with this lever for the main vent flap. its pressed onto a spline. I couldn't get the internals of the heater matrix out until that lever, and its flap were removed. 
 

 
Of all things, a $19 tap handle remover from Bunnings worked perfectly at getting that lever off 🤣
 

 
After I got the internals out of the box, the rest of the mess from 48 years of crap was revealed 😬
 

 

 
 
** This is where I am currently up to. The heater box is the last thing I need to do to make the car 100% water tight. 
I also have another radiator for it, second hand but pressure tested ok. its also larger. technically from a Cortina, but they are the same as what was used in Mexicos. So i has a larger top tank, and larger cores. Once the radiator is in, technically I could run the engine. And with the brakes all up and working, when I book it in for the exhaust to be done, it will be great to be able to drive it on and off the trailer instead of winching it. 
 
In between all this major stuff, I have done a lot of little things that I haven't really documented. Ive replaced all the door seals now, rebuilt all the latches on the doors, mirrors are on etc. so from the outside she looks almost complete. 
 
As you would have seen in above photos from inside the car, the wiring is still a mess. its a job I am not looking forward to doing. the inside of the car is another project in itself, to do it to the level I'd find acceptable. There is wiring to sort out, small bits of surface rust, lots of cleaning to do in cavities that aren't easily accessible. I need to clean all these out so I can then cavity wax them and keep them safe from future rust. 
I need to tidy up the wiring, install sound deadening before the carpet goes in, and order and install the new amp and wiring for the stereo, because as much as i love the sound of the weber and the exhaust, on longer drives I need decent music. 
I want to say its not that far off, but it is. My expected finish timeline keeps getting further and further away, so for now I am going to say that if I can drive it out my shed under its own steam, for its first test drive by christmas, it will be the best christmas present ever. It will also mark 3 years since it was written off.  

wow, so sorry its been so long between updates....
 
Well here we go. 
 
The bolts I originally used for the shifter were too bulky, and were touching the body, so I fitted smaller round headed bolts, and loosened the gearbox mount and resettled its alignment, which seems to have given more space. 
 

 

 
I then need to sort out the shift gator. This is a steering rack boot, that happens to actually fit together up inside the original interior shift gator. so now the short shifter mechanism and the body are both sealed. 
 

 

 
 
Next was the brakes; 
 

 
I replaced the booster with a new one instead of trying to use mine. 
 

 
Rebuilt master cylinder by myself, was pretty happy with that. And new booster all mated together. 
 

 
All installed. I was wrapped to see that my new brake lines that I made, purely off copying the old ones, fitted perfect first go. 
 

 

 
From there I went onto the wiper mechanism. It was in pretty much perfect condition. I just stripped it, cleaned it, gave the motor and gears a clean and regrease and reassembled. 
 

 

 
Next, I went onto the throttle cable. 
I'd had this vision for ages, to run a throttle cable like Mk 2 1600 Ghias had. The Mk2 1600 Ghia had a 1600 with a factory 32/36 Weber. basically my exact setup. now they also had a unique throttle cable, where it was super short, and came from the firewall and straight to the back of the carby. I have the same setup, including the Mk2 Weber throttle bracket. Problem is, Mk1 and 2 throttle pedals are different, and cable ends are different. I had a custom cable sitting here, suited for a 2L Pinto into Mk1. Basically its a Mk1 pedal, but Mk2 at the carby end. However it was way too long for what I wanted because the carby on a Pinto is on the opposite side to a 1600. 
 
My solution;
I bought a generic cable end and ball from Aeroflow. That gave me the ability to cut the cable down to the length i needed, and set it up how i liked. 
 
Can see the cable end in the below photo. 
 

 
The kit came with a larger ball, so I had to cut the original one off the linkage and the new one was a bolt on arrangement. 
 

 
AND this is the end result 
 

 

 
 
** there is more to come. Still sorting through photos** 
 

in the current episode, i skipped through it a bit, he was talking about buying a property somewhere that he can store and rotate his cars through. (sounds like he plans do drive them all)

OOOHH
I had this issue once also then. 
i didn't pick it, i didn't have many cars that had this style seat, and once i got over the fact they weren't a "head rest" and the Girl Friend at the time fit her pony tail knot in the opening, it was the best thing ever invented apparently. 
if they marketed it as a pony tail void, they'd sold double the amount lol

baking tray for cupcakes?

OOOHH
I had this issue once also then. 
i didn't pick it, i didn't have many cars that had this style seat, and once i got over the fact they weren't a "head rest" and the Girl Friend at the time fit her pony tail knot in the opening, it was the best thing ever invented apparently. 
if they marketed it as a pony tail void, they'd sold double the amount lol

.
 

Hmmm

baking tray for cupcakes?

Hi guys, 
 
Im looking for a fabricator in Melbourne that can custom make a turbo manifold to suit a 250 crossflow, copied off another manifold that i can provide for them to replicate. 
 
Thanks in advance

Pic

Show something that dont make sense on your car ,like a rare option or thrown in on the assembly line,this number looks like something from the factory ,never seen this ever on a xe ,its definatly the original wheel as everything else on this car is,and being a 3/82 my guess is its a numberd prototype thrown in on the assembly line that no one knew about cause who would have seen the back of it in that 1 minute to install it,4/82 was the release date on the xe,and plenty of cars were being built in feb and march for stock to the public to snap up.

so,  its still no go, so my mechanic is going to come up one night and have a look ( he's done  a heap of work on this car so knows it well ) , its a mystery but I'll let you all know the results.
 
Fingers crossed, and thanks for your suggestions.

it was running, then wasn't so i can't see the timing being out(unless messed with)
if it has spark, it should just work 

Good shout that, I'll give that a go as next step, 
cheers, 
Ray

if it fires with a spray of something in the carby top(even WD would do it etc) then it's fuel supply issue. 
can be many causes, check the fuel hoses don't have cracks in them, sucking air instead of fuel is something i've seen a few times on XD to XFs and that was 15yrs ago. 
 

cheers for the suggestions, a new battery has gone in, car cranks over fine now, but that's all it does, crank.
 
Its got spark to the cylinders, but now seems not to be getting fuel, so that's my next mystery.

I have these for the XF. The lower arm is a reinforced stocky, with the spherical bushing. The upper is for the std coil set-up, using the corrected top balljoint and Shelby drop. I'm using the Open Tracer Racing delrin front strut pivot balls, instead of the urethane style, as it puts less stress on the bracket. Using a 1/2" bolt isn't an issue, one can drill it for the 14mm (9/16") bolt if one desires, as I have, plus I'm using the fixed square camber plates they supply to stop the pivot bolt moving under cornering, or minor bumps with those who won't give way when I dive under them in the corners. I also have the a Baer bump steer kit, plus solid tie rod adjusters so I don't have the same happen like Dick Johnson at Forest Elbow in 1983.😉

it's still going to have the clicky click issue with a new battery most likely, arcing/tarnish on the solenoid contacts internally