302 Cleveland Build

[MatthewXD302c 55]

don't get rid of any of the moulding or badges, the ghia is rare now, and down the track you or someone buying may want to try return it to stock .  
the ghia seat trim is also rare(i had a burgundy XD ghia with the grey trim and worn drivers seat 20yrs ago) was rare then.. keep the trim if you ever redo the seats in something else(seat cloth stores easier than the full seats if keeping them original other than the trim)
 
go buy a couple of big plastic tubs from supercheap and anything that comes off stash away for later. be worth something also down the track if not now. 

personally i'd just cruise it as is, you'll get a lot of respect for it as is i think

It needs paint, if I leave it, it will just be a rust bucket. Plans are to paint it, de badge but obviously keep all of them. New exhaust system clean the engine bay up, clean the motor up new paint, dress up kit etc, cam, carby, dyno tune, shift kit, xg diff and hi stall. Then maybe if I have enough I will do the seats but to be honest they dont worry me.

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[deankxf 20,266]

sounds good, just keeping wax on the paint as is will keep it fine. My gemini wagon and sedan both have crows feet, etc and haven't got any worse since i've waxed them twice a year(i want to enjoy driving them, not risking taking them off the road to paint them... takes too long) 

 

sounds like a good plan to Me though. 

 

My XE ghia i removed all the side moulds etc. wonder what happened to that car after i sold it

 

[MatthewXD302c 55]

sounds good, just keeping wax on the paint as is will keep it fine. My gemini wagon and sedan both have crows feet, etc and haven't got any worse since i've waxed them twice a year(i want to enjoy driving them, not risking taking them off the road to paint them... takes too long) 
 
sounds like a good plan to Me though. 
 
My XE ghia i removed all the side moulds etc. wonder what happened to that car after i sold it
 

That thing looks clean man! Ye I will be waxing it etc, will stay in the garage most of the time, my dads selling his 66 mustang so the xd will take its spot.

Ohh ye also forgot about the 19" globes, I want to put them on her with some new shoes.

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[SPArKy_Dave 8,863]

17 hours ago, MatthewXD302c said:

Nah I want to, dosnt look to good. Obviously keeping it silver but I'm going to de badge the whole thing and remove the chrome trim from the sides. Also do some work in the interior since the drivers seat etc has a couple holes in them as well as the headlining.
Does anyone know what colour interior this is, someone mentioned it to me a couple years ago but I have forgotten.
 

 

I would seriously resist any de-badging or removal of chrome.

That will only de-value an XD Ghia.

A proper bodywork and paint refurb, can get very very expensive - see Rod's thread.

 

Personally, I would only do mods, to the driveline and wheels/suspension.

 

In my experience, it's better to keep a vehicle original and honest looking (factory paint),

than try and do a cheap refurb/repaint.

 

Either way...

a theme, done with the interior and exterior kept factory looking, is always a winner.

 

 

[MatthewXD302c 55]

 
I would seriously resist any de-badging or removal of chrome.
That will only de-value an XD Ghia.
A proper bodywork and paint refurb, can get very very expensive - see Rod's thread.
 
Personally, I would only do mods, to the driveline and wheels/suspension.
 
In my experience, it's better to keep a vehicle original and honest looking (factory paint),
than try and do a cheap refurb/repaint.
 
Either way...
a theme, done with the interior and exterior kept factory looking, is always a winner.
 
 

Ahh so tempting to leave it but I just want to do a quick 4k respray, my dad went to the same guy I'm going to and it came out great, obvsiously not perfect but its good. The car isnt original, numbers arent matching, different rims, different steering wheel. So I might just take everything off and store it in a box. I'll send pictures of all the Marks on the car. That's just a few so yeah I personally want to respray it, obviously not a show car respray but a half decent one.

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[SPArKy_Dave 8,863]

Those things are not enough to justify a complete re-furb tbh...

Touch up the door surrounds with some new paint sure.

And the various scratches.

 

By far the biggest issue, will be above the rear window.
That will be roof structure rust, in-between the inner structure and outer skin.

Quite common -

but means window removal, and cutting out that whole section, incl where it's been repaired prior.

 

[deankxf 20,266]

all the black parts of the paint are easy, mask off, light sand, prepsol and paint in good quality satin black paint(i'd use supercheap acrylic pressure packs because it's easy to get another if one isn't enough) 

silver touch up pen on the door scratches, will take the in your face aspect away.. 
the rest need a bit more effort, and would be worth the effort but i wouldn't do it until you are happy to take it off the road for a while(that roof rust should be fixed properly.. or it will just come straight back in 12 months if bogged up again)

 

it's you're car, but we've seen hundreds of cars never finished once taken apart for resto/freshen up

[Valvebouncer 2,389]

I see only one way around this. Build an angry as hell clevo. 850dp on a single plane high rise, chi heads, crane f260/f246 solid cam, good set of forged pistons, 10.5-11:1 comp, 6 inch rods, fully balanced with pacemakers 4 into 1 with dual 3 inch collectors twin pipes with 1 magnaflow muffler in each dumped at the diff. 3500 stall c4, 3.89:1 diff. Spray fish oil on the body. Done

[MatthewXD302c 55]

I see only one way around this. Build an angry as hell clevo. 850dp on a single plane high rise, chi heads, crane f260/f246 solid cam, good set of forged pistons, 10.5-11:1 comp, 6 inch rods, fully balanced with pacemakers 4 into 1 with dual 3 inch collectors twin pipes with 1 magnaflow muffler in each dumped at the diff. 3500 stall c4, 3.89:1 diff. Spray fish oil on the body. Done

Haha how much would that cost me

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[MatthewXD302c 55]

all the black parts of the paint are easy, mask off, light sand, prepsol and paint in good quality satin black paint(i'd use supercheap acrylic pressure packs because it's easy to get another if one isn't enough) 
silver touch up pen on the door scratches, will take the in your face aspect away.. 
the rest need a bit more effort, and would be worth the effort but i wouldn't do it until you are happy to take it off the road for a while(that roof rust should be fixed properly.. or it will just come straight back in 12 months if bogged up again)
 
it's you're car, but we've seen hundreds of cars never finished once taken apart for resto/freshen up

Well that roof was fixed about 20 years ago. We are gonna take it to a guy we know and get an offer we will do the whole outside and the engine bay, I really don't want to keep the original paint, I want it looking neat that will turn anyones heads not just heads of people that know what an XD is. The car was really never used I'm ready to take it off the road now. What I'm going to do is wait and save enough to do the paint and motor. Which should be soon since my dad is chipping in a little also. Respray the whole car properly and dress the motor up.

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[Valvebouncer 2,389]

Shop around, a lot you could get second hand if your patient. What I described there is more of an older build from when I was playing with Cleveland’s 15 years ago. Try swap meets, you get some good buys at them.

[MatthewXD302c 55]

Shop around, a lot you could get second hand if your patient. What I described there is more of an older build from when I was playing with Cleveland’s 15 years ago. Try swap meets, you get some good buys at them.

That's hard for me because half the things you just said I wouldn't have a clue on what they are. I'm not mechanically minded so going to places like a swap meet will be to hard for me. Not wanting to make power any more for the clevo I have decided on a lopey cam, refurbish the carby, new exhaust system and take it to get dyno tuned.

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[Valvebouncer 2,389]

When it comes to this I think there are 2 types of people, the ones who want to learn and have a go and others that are smart enough to realise when to leave it to someone else. I say secondhand because a Cleveland block can easily gobble up a couple of grand in machining and even more of the bores need sleeving. If a seller is legit they will have a receipt for the build and the engine builder should be open to talking to you about it and a quick refresh of rings and bearings and maybe revise the cam to suit you. Honestly, a cam, rebuild carb and exhaust will wake it up a tad but it still will have its doors blown off by a stock fg n/a falcon.

[MatthewXD302c 55]

When it comes to this I think there are 2 types of people, the ones who want to learn and have a go and others that are smart enough to realise when to leave it to someone else. I say secondhand because a Cleveland block can easily gobble up a couple of grand in machining and even more of the bores need sleeving. If a seller is legit they will have a receipt for the build and the engine builder should be open to talking to you about it and a quick refresh of rings and bearings and maybe revise the cam to suit you. Honestly, a cam, rebuild carb and exhaust will wake it up a tad but it still will have its doors blown off by a stock fg n/a falcon.

Wanting to get a 2500 hi stall, xg diff gearing and a shift kit also.

 

but yea your right a N/A bf will chop it. It's just to pick up and go a bit better nothing special.

 

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[Valvebouncer 2,389]

Wanting to get a 2500 hi stall, xg diff gearing and a shift kit also. 
but yea your right a N/A bf will chop it. It's just to pick up and go a bit better nothing special.
 
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Fair enough. This can be an expensive hobby!

[Free.51 2,717]

On 26/09/2018 at 11:14 AM, MatthewXD302c said:

I definetly will start the YouTube channel.

Just another question.

Where do you recommend to get the exhaust system from? Does it have to be custom fabricated or can I buy pre made ones? And what extractors do you recommend?

Hi-tech exhaust in Sunshine, Duane does a great job & isnt too expensive👍

[gerg 10,871]

That's hard for me because half the things you just said I wouldn't have a clue on what they are. I'm not mechanically minded so going to places like a swap meet will be to hard for me. Not wanting to make power any more for the clevo I have decided on a lopey cam, refurbish the carby, new exhaust system and take it to get dyno tuned.

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Your mods may be limited to what you can bolt on externally. A cam swap sounds like something beyond what you're capable of right now. Maybe a mate that knows could help? Many shops wouldn't be willing to work on old clunkers like yours unless you're a cashed-up, retired baby-boomer re-living your youth. That said, a cam swap shouldn't take more than 2 hours in a competent shop with the right tools and attitude.

Things like carby, etc are pretty simple to bolt on. Diff assemblies maybe not, you need to bleed up brakes, adjust handbrake, etc so maybe diff place could do that as part of a diff build for you (even experienced people get them built up elsewhere). I don't know any places in your area that play with the old stuff so maybe someone local can help?

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[MatthewXD302c 55]

Your mods may be limited to what you can bolt on externally. A cam swap sounds like something beyond what you're capable of right now. Maybe a mate that knows could help? Many shops wouldn't be willing to work on old clunkers like yours unless you're a cashed-up, retired baby-boomer re-living your youth. That said, a cam swap shouldn't take more than 2 hours in a competent shop with the right tools and attitude.

Things like carby, etc are pretty simple to bolt on. Diff assemblies maybe not, you need to bleed up brakes, adjust handbrake, etc so maybe diff place could do that as part of a diff build for you (even experienced people get them built up elsewhere). I don't know any places in your area that play with the old stuff so maybe someone local can help?

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I have heaps of mates that can help, engine wise, I will be taking it down to a friend of ours to help. Ye I will get someone else to drop a new diff in for me.

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[MatthewXD302c 55]

I will go check them out. Are they custom made exhaust or pre made?

Hi-tech exhaust in Sunshine, Duane does a great job & isnt too expensive

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[MatthewXD302c 55]

Just finished trying to fit 20" on the rear, just fit.
Anyone recommend any good rims that come in 19".


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[Ando81 2,949]

Mate, I don’t want to sound like a boring old man but those globes suit it fine in my opinion. With a bit of polish on the alloy they would look sexy as hell. But that’s just my opinion

[MatthewXD302c 55]

Mate, I don’t want to sound like a boring old man but those globes suit it fine in my opinion. With a bit of polish on the alloy they would look sexy as hell. But that’s just my opinion

I want fat tyres at least to fill the guard in. Because there is heaps of room there and it just looks silly. (In the rear)

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[deankxf 20,266]

yeah if i had My way i'd go with 15x7 globes on the front and 15x10 globes on the rear with a shortened diff.. 

 

but it's your car. unless you have big brakes that need 17s, i'd keep 15s with fat sidewalls on the tyre.. but ... i'm old .. (old enough to know better? i drive a gemini... )

 

[MatthewXD302c 55]

yeah if i had My way i'd go with 15x7 globes on the front and 15x10 globes on the rear with a shortened diff.. 
 
but it's your car. unless you have big brakes that need 17s, i'd keep 15s with fat sidewalls on the tyre.. but ... i'm old .. (old enough to know better? i drive a gemini... )
 

How much are globes now day?
Is there any pictures of an xd with 15x7s and 15x10s globes I can look at?

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[MatthewXD302c 55]

yeah if i had My way i'd go with 15x7 globes on the front and 15x10 globes on the rear with a shortened diff.. 
 
but it's your car. unless you have big brakes that need 17s, i'd keep 15s with fat sidewalls on the tyre.. but ... i'm old .. (old enough to know better? i drive a gemini... )
 

And if never heard on a shortened diff? Where does it shorten?

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