Buy back an old AU

[JC]

Originally Posted by au2sw

check fuses first....may be just that....fingers crossed for you. and congrats on the new baby. hopefully purring like a kitten soon (if not already) i bet there'll be an upgraded exhaust before long;)
i dont think much changed electrically between the EF/EL to the AU's either, so if you know your wiring for the AU's, it'll be fairly easy to hunt down problems in the NF

Checked fuses, but will be pulling the whole fuse panel out to check all wiring connections.

It already has a single 2.5" with straight through muffler - sounds pretty good for an old E7 headed wheezer. Doesn't go much better than the EL, actually, just sounds better doing it, and so far uses less fuel doing it!

I have full wiring diagrams from the AU LWB models, so am using that as there is no E series wiring diagrams that I can find.

[JC]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Well done Shane. Hanging to see pics mate. LPG FTMFW plus V8, sounds awesome, cant go wrong with the price either. Top stuff

Thanks. Price is about the best feature of this purchase, lol! Nah, it's OK actually - a bit of work to do, but then I enjoy doing it, so no real dramas there.

Oh, and Shane = Casper, JC = JC!

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by JC

Thanks. Price is about the best feature of this purchase, lol! Nah, it's OK actually - a bit of work to do, but then I enjoy doing it, so no real dramas there.

Oh, and Shane = Casper, JC = JC!

sh!t sorry mate, I get confused sometimes.

[Mr Hardware]

I'm glad you made the choice you did JC. I think you'll find you'll be far more satisfied with the NF Fairlane than you would with your old car, especially the price. My old boss had a White '95 NF Fairlane V8 on LPG, and it went alright. Not much better than an AU I6 though, i might add. I enjoyed driving it, I felt like a limo driver haha. Luxo POS is about as accurate as you get! I'd be ****ed if i paid $50k for one new, cos the old EF shifter and switchgear really belay its EF GLi underlyings, hence why they are worth three-fifths of all now, which make them a very good buy.

[JC]

As posted in the E series workshop build section, here's a crappy pic of the new beast:



Almost the first thing I did on Saturday evening was break the original grille (accidently), so I've gone with an EF or EL Fairmont Ghia (?) grille. Wanted to do a mesh/FBT grille, but at $125 for the fairmont grille (and over $250 for a 'lane one!!!), I may just keep it like it is. never liked the fairlane grille anyway - this is much more subtle.

[blueoval]

thats a clean unit JC. good find.

[Uncle_Ken]

JC are you keeping the seat covers?

LOL

Uncle Ken

[JC]

Originally Posted by Uncle_Ken

JC are you keeping the seat covers?

LOL

Uncle Ken

Yep - they're just throw ons, but they'll do until I find some decent ones to match the cappuccino interior.

I lost my tail lights and brake lights yesterday (OK, I knew where they were, but they didn't work, and no, it wasn't bulbs - there was no power at the loom in the boot). I spent 7 hours tonight tracking it all down - ripped the drivers and back seats out, followed individual wires and tested them along their length, lifted carpet to make sure there was no wire earthing to the body (even though it wasn't blowing fuses). Anyway, found it - after I put the blue LEDs from the EL into the NF dash, I forgot to connect one 4 pin connector. Once I plugged it in, I had both tail and brake lights again. Doh! Then it took me another 2 hours to put the car back together! I have pictures (and will post them later today) to remind me of my stupidity!

I posted this in the E series section, but to be honest, I feel more at home here than there. Things that have been done, or will be done to the beast:

Mods done to the car before I got it:
Lowered (to SL height - ride is surprisingly comfortable)
Dual fuel conversion (Sprintgas using Landi Renzo complex converter & mixer ring)
Single 2.5" straight through muffler and 2.5" pipe from the Y pipe back
Various dents, scratches and overall terrible paint job
Tint
Pioneer front speakers (not connected)
JVC rear speakers (one was connected)

My mods/changes/additions to this thing so far:
From the EL:
SVO 16 x 7" rims
Bendix Ultra Premium front brake pads
DVD player (in dash)
Blue LED dash lights & auto shifter lights

From Zhodak (from his AU2 Ghia):
K&N pod filter (still need modified air box lid to pass rego) courtesy of Zhodak
Shaker rubber base thing

From Ford Spares (local auto parts recyclers):
EF/EL Fairmont Ghia grille (I accidentally broke/crumbled the Fairlane grille)

From ebay:
2 x door lock remote unit thingys

Things fixed:
Idle on LPG (was crap, now all good)
Cleaned ISC (bast@rd to get to on the E series V8s)
Wired BOTH rear speakers
Front seat (frame bolts were all loose)
Plumbed oil breather hose back to TB
Made headlights clear and see through!!!
Drivers side seatbelt (was more twisted than anything I've seen)
New handbrake cover (top bit only - it's grey, but I'll spray it black one of these warm days)

Things to do:
New A arm bushes on RHS (pretty urgent - it's loose as buggery)
Install roof mounted monitor donated by the EL
Fix passenger window (doesn't go up or down)
Install HID kit from EL
Install Shaker and direct air to Pod
Install reverse camera (gotta buy it first though)
Get radiator flush and put Nulon long life coolant in
Fit calliper kits to all 4 callipers & change brake fluid (black fluid hardly works)
Get front discs machined
Change engine oil
Get auto trans serviced
Make Fairmont grille into a FBT style grille
Install towbar from EL, or get tongue for tow bar already fitted
Wire up front speakers
Swap JVC speakers with the US audio speakers from the EL
Install a head unit in the EL
Install transmission in the EL (next month, maybe)
Replace serpentine belt (looks a bit fragile)
Source and install new handbrake shoes
Rub back Sparkling Burgundy paint, and spray matt or satin black (rat rod luxo POS!?)

Well that's about it - not too much to do. I would have had some of the above done tonight if I had reconnected the instrument cluster properly in the first place. Anyway, I learned a lesson - if you have a spare plug, it should really plug in somewhere!

[zhodak]

Originally Posted by JC

courtesy of Zhodak
Shaker rubber base thing

i should be getting my new one tomorrow, so the current one on my Ghia is all yours.

[Mr Hardware]

Hey JC, tell me:

Made headlights clear and see through!!!

how?

Make Fairmont grille into a FBT style grille

whilst i don't think the fairmont ghia grille is anywhere near as good as the fairlane grille, what is FBT? All i read is Fringe Benefits Tax! (i think ive spent too much time in the public service)

Rub back Sparkling Burgundy paint, and spray matt or satin black (rat rod luxo POS!?)

noooooooooooooooooooo! keep it as luxo as possible. When building a nice falcon, i have to make sure i think 'regal' not 'rocket' cos otherwise they turn out too bogan. Just my 2c.

[rag top]

FBT - fairlane by tickford...

[JC]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Hey JC, tell me:
how?

Headlights - easy.

First and easiest fix:
Spray headlight with aeroguard (seriously) and rub vigorously with a clean cloth. This works to get rid of about 80% of the UV buildup stuff on E series lights. (mine were very yellow though - like nicotine stains).

If you are not satisfied with the above, then this is what I did, and am now very happy:
I used a cream cutting compound to get the surface back to smooth.
I then used scratch-X, or equivalent, to smooth them out more.
Then I used P1500 wet and dry
Then I used P2000 wet and dry
Lastly, the secret ingredient; I used autosol to polish the lights up and they came out brilliantly.

The above is all done with the lights still attached to the car, and is all done to the outer surface.

The same thing should also fix AU headlights, but I am not aware of any issues with them turning yellow.

[JC]

Originally Posted by rag top

FBT - fairlane by tickford...

If I do the FBT style grille, I'll be getting a badge made up:
PBJ - POS by JC!

[JC]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

noooooooooooooooooooo! keep it as luxo as possible. When building a nice falcon, i have to make sure i think 'regal' not 'rocket' cos otherwise they turn out too bogan. Just my 2c.

Actually, I'm thinking of satin black flames on the sparkling burgundy would look great - the front is really the worst, so i could just do it and leave the rest of the car the colour(s) it is.

[Mr Hardware]

i spose there's gotta be some point where a fairlane is no longer an old man cruiser.
If you do it well, it will be rather impressive. If you do it badly = mega bogan.
Also thanks for the tips on the headlight cleaning. Yeah, my AU 'lights are starting to yellow a bit. Usually you can just look through the clear outside and see the H4 in full detail. If i try and look through the worst spots, the H4 is just a blur. I'm sure it impedes my headlight's effectiveness.

[private9]

Great work so far JC!

I've got a front bumper strip, and a bootlid (complete with Ghia sliding badge and carpet) from an NF - if you have any use for them, you're welcome to them for free.
Only prob is I'm in VIC.

[HLC]

i think JC has earned somewhat of a right to talk about his e-series here : after all the stuff he's done for us crazy au owners :

[private9]

Originally Posted by HLC

i think JC has earned somewhat of a right to talk about his e-series here : after all the stuff he's done for us crazy au owners :

Agreed! There's probably not one of us on here that hasn't benefited from JC's experience!

[GK]

Originally Posted by private9

Agreed! There's probably not one of us on here that hasn't benefited from JC's experience!

Agreed again!

GK

[HLC]

Originally Posted by private9

Agreed! There's probably not one of us on here that hasn't benefited from JC's experience!

i havent.


nah just kidding that statement is probably nearly 100% true

[JC]

Originally Posted by HLC

i think JC has earned somewhat of a right to talk about his e-series here : after all the stuff he's done for us crazy au owners :

Thanks H. I'll keep it to a minimum though. There's surprisingly little difference between an EF and an AU1 anyway (apart from body shape). In fact, I've been using the AU Haynes manual for the wiring for the NF - and apart from a few small differences in wire colours, its all pretty much the same.