My "weekender" - AU2 Fairlane Ghia... Manual ;) - No longer in my possession!

[XRGhia]

Hahaha... Fair enough then mate!

That's good to hear, and for sure...! Wisemans Ferry Road run? Probably get a few of the others out for a FF meet up/cruise I reckon.

Naa, slept like a princess yeste arvo, and woke up at 2am :/ That's certainly screwed with my body clock...

[XRGhia]

Few pics from today. Like I said, the driveshaft isn't yet at the tuners, so fingers crossed next week will be D-Day...











Still want some AU XR front seats, and T-Series climate control etc...

[XRGhia]

also, while i'm updating threads.

[XRGhia]

Should probably update this... Had it back for just under a month now, 2 weeks of that time it's been without rego though, but re-rego'd it the Saturday just gone and been driving it since. Also, had a small photoshoot with a mate of mine the other week the night after getting my new wheels...

Few things have come up since I re-rego'd it... PS, apologies for the block of text, i'm copying from another forum...

In other news, re-registered it Saturday morning, and not even an hour of driving later, and I get a flat front left hand side tire. Being brand new tires with literally less then 5k's on them, I took it back up the road, left it with them, went back Monday morning and they had fitted a brand new tire, balanced it and then fitted it to the car. The old tire was absolutely buggered, with a decent cut in the sidewall. Ah well.


Also, Still gotta get a wheel alignment done and get another T/C ABS module (and get new sensors), but with the new steering rack, the steering is a lot more responsive, and doesn't wander across the road. Also fixed up the common failing steering column firewall piece by pushing it back into place.


And just a few other things that i've picked up on since Saturday...

-Suspension. Front is nice and soft like factory fairlylame, yet still handles alright (standard shocks, kings sl's), but the back is a bit too firm for my liking. Since the LPG tank came out, theres a lot less weight, so I really notice it a lot more now. This'll have to be fixed up soon, but thinking of going standard T-series Koni Yellows all round with the current King SL springs... Time will tell wether I go with new or get some 2nd hand T-series ones, but at this stage if I can pick up a set of factory T-series struts and springs, i'll throw the SL's in with the shocks, do swaybars and yeah, enjoy it.


-ABS. Now, this is one that I found out tonight really needs fixing. Twice I had the Fairlane lock up because of ********* pulling out in front of me, but thankfully I stopped just in time.


-Rear LSD. Hehehe. I've got one in the XR that I'll be taking out, getting reshimmed and put into the Fairlane. To be quite honest, the XR6 is auto, and is a daily driver, so doesn't really need an LSD. Besides, the Fairlane will need it pretty soon too.


-Front seats. This is a big one... I can't exactly drive it, or be in it for more then an hour without getting a really sore back, and with me having lower spine damage, it makes for a really painful drive. At this stage, I'll more then likely be getting some leather BA XR seats, and having the foams swapped over, and a little bit more foam added in the mid-lower back area...



Apart from that, it drives really nicely. I'll try to get some updated pictures once I wash it...




























All in short, i'm enjoying it bar the current issues it has, but honestly I don't mind, they're all relatively easy to fix up...

[FTe217]

Well done mate - constant work is a given. She's looking good, some Rebel or TS 5spokes would finish her off imo.

[XRGhia]

TS 5-spokes would be the only way to go, unless theres some Brembo compatible Rebels I don't know of

[XRGhia]

So, apparently it's too low so the local HWP says (bloody AU IRS and the way the exhaust runs!), so will be raising it up slightly (so it sits level front and rear), but at the moment i'm cleaning out the garage, so once it's cleaned out, the Fairlane will live in there and be retired to being driven every now and again.

[XRGhia]

So.... Clutch is screwed (among other things), so getting a quote for supply and fit of an Xtreme Clutch through Tuff Tune Performance, and i'm looking at a new set of rims (currently rolling on 2 17" stock Ghia alloys, and 2 spares) to replace these current ones (one's buckled, 3 need tires)...

I'll also be trying to chase up some factory XR6 IRS suspension, and some swaybars just to make it handle a bit better.

FYI, this is how screwed the clutch is. I wasn't even driving the car at the time, someone else was, so ah well..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZVJaYo6WOk


and how it currently sits until it gets fixed:




after having to do this from the middle of no where:

[XRGhia]

So, ended up cleaning the Fairlane up a bit... First was new wheels:








They're 20x8 KMC Rockstars... I don't really like the center caps so I'm going to get something machined up that'll go over the hub, between the hub and the wheel...


After driving it for a bit too, here's a few things I've picked up on...

1. Front hubs. They're screwed, the clowns who borrowed the car certainly did hit a gutter, so im hoping there's no other damage...

2. Suspension... This is one subject that I've been talking about for a while and I seriously need to get it sorted. It's way to soft up front, and way to hard at the back (rear shocks are bottomed out). Will fix that soon, because its dangerous how crap it is.

3. Bodykit and interior. Interior is getting a BA convert. I'm ditching aircon for now, I'll also make up a custom cluster using aftermarket items in the factory BA housing. ICC I'll see if it can be made to power up and work without the need for the CANBUS system... If it can, I'll get a colour screen ICC, throw that in and use that for radio. I rarely listen to CD or use the Aux input, so that will work fine. Door trims I've already got. Body kit will end up being a TL50 kit.


and the other thing is the ABS module is fine, replaced the two front sensors and now I have both traction control and ABS... Also replaced the thermostat, which as I found out was hollow, which explains why it would never warm up! Now it sits on "N" once up to temp, which is nice! Also noticed its no longer jerky at low speeds once warmed up... Love it.

After that, I took it down the road and got a service done, coolant flush and gearbox fluid replaced also, so yeah, it's going nicely.

Once I fix up the guard, it *may* be (and I use the term may be very loosely) for sale again. There's something about the Fairlane that doesn't seem to make me "want" to drive it... Ah well.

[XRGhia]

Oh wow, lots has changed. Mainly the fact that I sold it a week ago now. New owner is looking after it well, and I got what I wanted for it in the end so can't complain!