BGDAV

I got stuck into the wheels today. Basically battled with the wind all day, and then started losing the sunlight which I was using to dry the coats of paint. 
So i got all the base colour done today, matte black on the back and gloss on the front. Tomorrow I will clear the front side. If only the days were a little longer  (bring on summer, sick of this cold weather) 
backs all done

front all done. yep only 3 being painted on the front today because remember I had already done one a few weeks ago, but i do need to clear coat that, so it is also masked off waiting its clear coat. 

 
 
The final step will be to do a final machine polish on the alloy before they go and get tyres fitted. once thats done, thats the last major, priority job, on the Escort for a while, and I can try focus on the wagon. 

I used to live at the top of the hill, just past the lookout cafe. Up and down the hill was usually fun even in the mirage, although the rover sounded better hehe. Up is more fun than down although when you live there you learn not to over do it because the local cops LOVE that hill. Lycra clad wankers can get stuffed though

So today, being a public holiday, and bored shitless, i decided to go for a bit of a drive in the Escort. 
If I dont say so myself, i seem to have a knack for finding great driving roads  
I started at my place in Berwick, headed to Healesville, via Belgrave, Kallista, Monbulk etc, then onto Marysville from Healesville, then the absolute high light of the drive was the drive from Marysville to Warburton  by far one of the best roads ive driven. Perfect road for the Escort. 
The route in its entirety 

and the drive between Marysville and Warburton. 

 
so how'd the car go? 
pretty good, but when its up the hills like today, im definitely finding what it needs. 
At Marysville, I got under the car and wound the suspension up, basically to double the stiffness i usually run around town on. 
From there I went up the road towards Lake Mountain, then eventually turn off towards Warburton. The road starts off 60km/h, so i sat at that, but then goes up to 100km/h, going into a steep climb. And there in lies the problem. the road was so steep, the poor car wouldnt go any faster than about 60-65km/h, so i was stuck in 3rd, if i dropped into the top gear id nearly go backwards. so here I was stuck in a situation where it was revving fairly hard, but not going anywhere. 
So yes, i got quite frustrated with the lack of power and torque, which I have to expect, but this climb goes on and on for ages, so it was getting not so enjoyable. Once it levelled out and I got the car up in the speed and momentum, the road got better and better. 
its a really well maintained road being the main road up to Lake Mountain, from both Marysville and Warburton, and the corners are perfect for a light weight, nimble car. i was loving it. for about 45 minutes, i didnt see a straight bit of road. absolutely fantastic road. My arms were actually starting to get tired from constantly steering the car through corners, and good speed.
it was great feeling how the car handled with the stiffened up suspension, and feeling the back wiggle around and bog down in corners, as it pushes the nose round. for the most part i stayed in the lane, some of the corners i could see across i would cut across the other lane, but such a fantastic road. 
The road gets a little boring towards the Warburton end, so next time i drive it, or if anyone goes for a drive that way, I would suggest going from Warburton to Marysville. for 2 reasons, 1 you wont hit the steep ass climb up out of Marysville, and 2, the road will only get better the closer you get to Marysville. 
I tested the brakes out on a long twisty descent. I had to pull up to check something (ill explain in a minute), and had noticed coming down this twisty descent the brakes were starting to fade a little. when i pulled up, they were cooked, and I had smoke coming out the front wheels  

now why did i stop? Well you know those roads signs "Falling Rocks", well today I fell victim to road side erosion  I came round a fast left hand bend, put the boot into it up to about 100km/h, and noticed just ahead on the left, i saw a big rock and tree branch coming down the cliff at an awfully fast rate, i got on the brakes hard, and swerved but it was too late. I heard a mighty big bang as I hit the rock, or vice versa. I suspect the rock was clay, and its shattered as it hit the road, as a result some of it bounced and hit the side of the car. thankfully no damage that i can see, but thats the first time ive seen those signs as being accurate. 
 

i had a t5 from a EF behind my clevo, i dont drive like a fuck whit 24/7 and it never missed a beat .. was a wreckers box - got lucky 
 
351 - 345  -t5 = fun time

Bit of both really, I often read myself to sleep looking at this kind of thing, and luckily there are a few folks out there kindly willing to share pictures of their work.  
I took this on with a general idea of how things should look. However there are things that a camera just can't show, like the transition between the short turn and the port floor, which can only be felt with your finger, kind of like looking for its g-spot lol
 
Give it a go i reckon. Stick to a few rules:
 
* use a decent size compressor
 
* always keep the burr moving
 
* take very small nibbles, not big chunks
 
* repeat exactly the same action for every port. Pretend your arm is a robot on a production line, using your muscle memory.
 
* on a street engine, you only want to smooth, not enlarge. 2Vs are already a bit big for a 302, so going bigger is a step backward.
 
* concentrate on the bowl and short turn. The biggest gains for time invested are made here. Leave the port alone unless you have a whole weekend to spare
 
* it doesnt need to be pretty. If it feels smooth, that's good enough. Your fingertips are your eyes
 
EDIT: also if you have a pressure reg set up in your air line, set it at or below the cut-in pressure of your compressor. The pressure variance between cut-in and cut-out causes big changes to the speed of the die grinder. A reg will keep the pressure (and thus speed) constant.
 
Sent from my CPH1607 using Tapatalk
 
 
 

do the swap and each pay postage  its win win for both 

do the swap and each pay postage  its win win for both 

standard sump is pretty average for anything high performance - ASR sumps are good cause they keep oil where it needs to be - cheap insurance to get a good baffled sump if you ask me

150-200mm on the foots is ideal for a hoist otherwise you risk an ow shit moment 

150-200mm on the foots is ideal for a hoist otherwise you risk an ow shit moment 

150-200mm on the foots is ideal for a hoist otherwise you risk an ow shit moment 

i made my own mount connecting to the wats link mount and the fuel tank mount for my lift pump
 
my big pump is in the passenger rear well under the battery (pics in my thread some where if u need more info)

i had a bellhousing from dellow to suit a t5 from a ef into a cleveland .. dunno why they dont make them - honestly i had no issues with hte bellhousing from them years ago - but the latest one i got was designed and machined wrong and cost me 2k to fix their fuck up (i wouldnt risk it again)

Don't use a Dellow bell housing.. see BGDAVs thread if unsure why..

i had a EF t5 behind my cleveland - was mild - and i didnt drive like a fuck stick, but i gave it a hiding - you need a 6cyl t5 and a custom bellhousing (dont go dellow spend the extra and get from malwood - itll save you money in the long run) then ull need a hyduralic clutch setup (standard xe pedal box) get the master cylinder bored to 2" as it will not suit a aftermarket slave cylinder - bit of fucking around but worth it

from memory the t5z is a longer shaft ? will need a custom tailshaft - bellhousing on a windsor is smaller i believe takes a smaller flywheel and clutch - windsor will fit in a clevo bellhousing but not always the other way around 
 
(i may be wrong but 90% thats correct about the clutch) need to take your flywheel and sit it in the bellhousing see if it clears 

BGDAV is running the 330mm UPC and viking coil overs.. still fine tuning the vikings, Dave found the brake pedal to be a bit lower but they stop fine.. not sure how you can compare on the internet though. the coilovers solved an issue the shelby drop caused(eg, no springs seemed to work properly anymore.)
 
i have the UPC 296mm kit on my XG, jury still out on that as i need to bleed the brakes again(if its bled right, the fronts overpower the rears but i think its just got air in the rear brake line, i had changed the master cyl and ran out of time to do it again and again.)

Fitted new slotted DBA rotor's and pad's to stock calipers on my XF ute and it goe's 11.9 116mph in the qtr and if I stand on the brakes it looses oil pressure. How much more do you need ?
 
On the coil overs I use Viking double adjustable coil overs front and rear. On Drag Challenge they were a god send (not that god is real just a figure of speech) in that we could dial in settings to suit drag or road in less than 30secs front and rear. Car felt as good @ 100kph around bends as it did @ 190kph in the top end of the track.
 
No need for fancy brakes unless you plan on doing lot's track laps. 

spoke to mcdonalds racing about the coil over in the rear issue - reckons he should have somthing that will work - would require converting to eye and running a bar with 2 bolts across the top thou - easy done really - going to go down in a few weeks to see what hes got that will work 

spoke to mcdonalds racing about the coil over in the rear issue - reckons he should have somthing that will work - would require converting to eye and running a bar with 2 bolts across the top thou - easy done really - going to go down in a few weeks to see what hes got that will work 

As Ando said I have Afco coilovers in the rear of my car and it does handle outstanding. The rear just grips and with 235/60/14 road tyres the car is very grippy and very smooth. The ride is firm but not harsh at all.
Can get better shots if you require

 
These are the top mounts I made, bolts straight into the factory location and was the only "mod" I had to do to the car to make the coilovers fit other than a little trimming to the diff which was pre-done for me

give these guys a call - they have the front for XE - i haven't called yet about the rears but im assuming they would have something 
 
http://www.mcdonaldbrosracing.com.au/
 
 
coil over viking shocks - the fronts cost me around 1k - worth every penny 

kinda had to do the drive by seat of your pants kinda thing - i made it be about 20-30k out was the closet i could get it to read then manually adjusted it with the buttons now its dead on - great bit of kit 

kinda had to do the drive by seat of your pants kinda thing - i made it be about 20-30k out was the closet i could get it to read then manually adjusted it with the buttons now its dead on - great bit of kit 

Yeah mate, the car wont even know anything has changed
 

 
http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=126/prd126.htm