Last of the V8 Interceptors.. my XB Falcon Coupe

Daved_XB · 10-02-2022 4:33am

I now have the wing set at full Bathurst attack angle & all the nuts tightened up

I also want to get more panels out of the house & onto the car now, Mrs_XB has been awesome but the fact that we have lost a full spare room now for nearly a year is a bit of a joke & also we have friends starting to come over again & I'd hate to have one of their kids scratch a panel... the hassle of hiding a body is just not something I need right now... so I've put the lower rear valance panel on...

The way the sides bolt up is very awkward to get to so I've only done up the centre bolts for now as this panel will have to come off when/if the rear bumper ever gets re-chromed as the bumper brackets need to scrape past the panel if it's left on to install the bumper.

passatman86 · 10-02-2022 8:38am

That car will be perfection

Daved_XB · 13-02-2022 12:42pm

Finished up a chunk more of the arse end... I fitted the boot lock barrel & most importantly the rear honeycomb trim, it really sets off the rear end.

The boot hinge springs are in now too, the only thing left to be done at the rear here is to get the rear bumper re-chromed & slapped on

But that's not all... the doors have been put back on & aligned now... just need to fit the handles & the door locks, I'll look to polish them up one night this week & fit them

Daved_XB · 14-02-2022 2:40am

Then I decided to put the eyebrow moulds & the inner brackets on the front guards.....

Then I decided sod it, I'll whack them on the car for now so they are not laying about in the house taking up room & risking getting hit by visitors... I haven't full set the gaps yet as the bonnet needs to be on to do that 100% but they are on close enough & the doors can open & close with no interference so that's the most important thing I guess

Then moved over & fit the other side

Then I fit the front lower valance panel

Daved_XB · 15-02-2022 1:49am

Then the grill went on

The the door mirrors

I have no idea how both my painter & I missed the fact that there is patch of little to no paint on that mirror, but it obviously needs to come off & go back for repainting, I have a few other small parts on order to keep moving forward... but Sunday afternoon I just sat back & had a cold drink & basked in the glory that is how awesome I think this car is looking... it's been a long road but it's paying off

Daved_XB · 17-02-2022 7:03am

Trying to get some more of the little details sorted... I was going to clean & polish the old door handles, but they are actually pitted so they won't really come up as good as I would like them...

So a new set will be used

Trying to get some more of the little details sorted... I was going to clean & polish the old door handles, but they are actually pitted so they won't really come up as good as I would like them... so a new set will be used

This is actually a bit of a blessing as the XB should have 2 keys, one for the boot & then one that will do both doors & the ignition barrel... but either my ignition or the door locks had been swapped out in the past so I had a key for the boot, one for the doors & then a 3rd to actually start the car... so I've ordered a new door lock & ignition barrel set.

I still have the original sealed Hella spot lights, but the silver backing is peeling off the inside so I have gotten a new set to replace them now

I found another casualty of the storing boxes of car parts for years... one of the front indicator lenses is broken

I've ordered both sides as I'm not sure how the colours will look & I didn't want it looking like two very different lenses.. so I will probably end up using both of the new ones

Daved_XB · 17-02-2022 7:16am

I also trail fitted my front splitter

Sadly this isn't a great fit at all.... in fact it's shite... it's fine at the sides but the middle section has a huge curve in it that should not be there... I don't think I can pull it straight either without snapping off the mounting brackets that do line up... I wonder if I can gently heat it & bend it that way? Anyone got any good ideas on how to make it straight???

Here is a pic of a mates genuine original 1975 one & it connects flat up in the middle

Slideways · 17-04-2022 8:55am

Two months without an update 😔

Dilbert75 · 17-04-2022 12:26pm

Listen, many of us wait endless months for a Binky update and we just relish them when they land. :p

I'm guessing that, since Australia is only recently after coming out of lockdown, it's to be expected that progress would slow down as the options for how to spend time expand.

Daved_XB · 19-04-2022 1:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118937788#Comment_118937788

Yep.... sorry, a few things are happening to cause this. Mostly the lack of posts in this threads is due to the progress happening in the Ute restoration thread on here. I've cracked the **** as they say with the fact that my Mate isn't living up to his side of the agreement & he never comes over to work on his Ute, I have now had it in my shed for a full year & I'm now focused 100% on finishing my work on it off & getting it the hell out of my shed to get back the space, it's forever in my way & I have to constantly move it about & now every time I open the shed door & I see it I get annoyed so it has to go.

Also Dilbert is correct here... we endured the longest lockdown of any city in the world & that has meant that I'm taking any opportunity to have fun outside of my shed as I can... I've lost a few good shed working weekends to the following:

Track days in my Bullitt Mustang

We had the return of the F1 here in Melbourne after 2 years away...

Then this 4 day long weekend just gone it was my Mates 50th Birthday, now he lives in Adelaide so that meant it was a wonderful 1500klm roadtrip over & back to have a few beers with him...

There is a huge Falcon Coupe car show later on in the year & as such I have a massive deadline looming so I will be back onto this soon as I can't miss that as they are an event that they only run every 2 years. I still have a bit left on the Ute, but I think I can be finished that by the end of April & then back into this full time again in May.... maybe, no promises but thanks for checking in.

Slideways · 19-04-2022 9:35am

All good bloke. Good to hear it’s still ticking away. Greetings from Perth btw

Daved_XB · 14-06-2022 3:18am

With the GTO running right again, time to get back onto this old girl. I decided against trying to polish up my old key locks for the doors as they had way too many dents, so I've gone with a new set now

I also decided to go with new inner door latch mechanisms rather than pulling old ones apart & rebuilding them as they are very worn & they would have a lot of slop in them even after a rebuild.

The doors have all new hardware now, next job will be to look at the window winding mechanisms to see if they can be cleaned & reused or if they too are a little to worn & should be replaced.

I need to drag out my large pile of unobtainium chrome trims that I've gathered over the years, work out which bits are best & see about getting them & the bumpers re-chromed. I also need to pull out the wiring loom & stop avoiding that little project just because I don't know what I'm doing.... I mean that's never stopped me in the past has it.

Daved_XB · 20-07-2022 4:08am

Got back into this over the weekend.... it's so cold here in Melbourne that it's just not funny anymore. It was -1 when I got up this morning. My diesel heater is getting a good work out.

I've decided that I'd rather have the underfloor of the car painted black than red, so that was an easy fix but means I wasted all that time tinting the colour in the first place.

Next job was to test fit the new AOD transmission... this is slightly longer & slightly wider that any of the original 3 speed Auto or 4 speed manual boxes that Ford Aus fitted to these XB's so it'll be a case of some modification may be required... but lets see. I think I could probably install it with the headers in place but why make my life hard for no reason.. so out they come

I'll install the sandwich plate as that moved the box back 2mm & that might make a difference to where the rear crossmember bolts up but I'll leave the flywheel off for now

Speaking of transmission crossmembers, this one will bolt up here.... Ford Aus have 3 locating holes ready to accept it for the different options they had back in 75.. I know that the AOD is longer but the mount for the crossmember seems further forward on the AOD that it was on the C4 that came out so maybe this line up as there is a bit of sliding room in the mounting holes on the car & also in the bolt slots cut into the crossmember itself

Daved_XB · 20-07-2022 4:25am

And... we have a total fail... but not for the reasons that I had thought we'd fail here... it looks like it will fit with little to no mods needed to how the crossmember bolts up... but where we failed was the trans bellhousing to engine block bolts for the C4 that I have are way to short to fit... the webbing on the AOD where the bolts go thru is thicker that the C4 mounting bolts are long

This was Sunday afternoon & I drove around several hardware shops & not one of them had a single 7/16" bolt in stock, so not that they didn't have a length I could use in stock but nothing at all in the 7/16th range... I have ordered some bolts online & hopefully I can finish this test fit properly this weekend, assuming the bolts rock up as they claim they will.

For now I just have some long thinner bolts going thru the trans bellhousing bolt holes & thru the engine side holes to hold it in place... the rear crossmember is bolted in so that's good, but you can see the trans is not pulled up tight to the block at all

I've held the exhaust hearers up in place & they seem to hit hard on the exhaust cut out part of the crossmember... so that's good, once I have the AOD properly bolted in I'll look a little closer at that issue & see what I can do.

I also need to work out how I can route the trans cooler lines to the dedicated cooler I want to mount up front... the neatest solution would be to drill two holes to allow for AN bulkhead fittings to pass thru but I'm not sure I want to drill two dirty big holes in the radiator support panel... I'll think on that

Daved_XB · 20-07-2022 4:33am

I had never re-test fitted the drop tank in the boot after I finally got the rear suspension set up fixed with new brackets... with the old brackets that where too short & pulled the mumford link arms too far forward it just snagged on the tank... with the new brackets that move the link arms further back in the car away from the diff pumpkin... it's now a full show stopper.. the tank hits by well over an inch..... bugger.... right so my options are sell this tank on & have one custom made to suit or cut a chunk out of this one & reshape it to fit... I'm leaning towards cutting this tank right now.

Ignore the glass of wine above that was for medicinal purposes only when I'd realised that nothing fit on Sunday..... maybe I should just sell it & buy a Prius

Daved_XB · 21-07-2022 6:46am

The bolts I ordered turned up.... I had ordered a few different lengths to be sure I'd have the right ones

Sadly they sent me the wrong size.... they sent 5/8 instead of 7/16..... FML

I've managed to grab some stainless 7/16 bolts today, I wouldn't use them for the final install but they'll do for now whilst I await for the right grade bolts in 7/16 to turn up

Daved_XB · 25-07-2022 4:25am

I remembered the other night that I had not only bought a set of new engine mounts from an Aussie company called Tuff Mounts but I had in fact also ordered a new gearbox mount at the same time...

So I removed the original old worn one & it was pretty worn...

Installed the correct size bolts to snug the trans bellhousing tight up to the block

With that done I can happily say that the crossmember bolts up to the car using a factory supplied hole, the bolt is in at a slight angle & I think I need to clearance the hole by 1mm to make it perfect... but I'm calling this a win for a transmission that was never designed to go into this car & I had been told would need modification to fit.

Daved_XB · 25-07-2022 4:46am

Next step was to see if the extractors will fit as they are huge compared to the stock exhausts & this transmission is a little fatter that the C4's or FMX transmissions these cars had, lets start with the passenger side as that one was the easiest to bolt back on... it just about clears the exhaust cutaway in the crossmember, it's too close to run it like that as it will vibrate into the crossmember for sure, it's also just resting on the folded edge of the trans oil pan... that's not so big of an issue as the engine, trans & exhaust are all bolted together & should move a single unit.. but I'll still look to gain some clearance here. I thought I had a set of exhaust gaskets already, turns out I didn't so that are on order & these will be 1mm-1.5mm thick metal ones, so they may actually space out the exhaust & give me the clearance I need... so I would hack into anything until I've installed them as every mm here could make the difference.

The drivers side was a bit more of a ballache to fit... the exhaust tubing is way too bit to fit in between the trans & the underfloor of the car because of the round bulge to accommodate the starter motor, I had visions of having to remove the trans again & lay this exhaust up in the cavity & reinstall the trans.. then I gambled that if I removed the steering rack that I might have enough space to slide the exhaust up from a lower angle.. so out comes the steering, well unbolted & moved aside whilst still attached to the steering arms is all that was needed

With the steering rack swung out of the way I was able to install it & the clearance issues are pretty much identical to the passenger side

Daved_XB · 25-07-2022 4:54am

Another hurdle cleared... with only a little bit of fettling & we really are talking mm's here the AOD transmission & the massive exhaust's will fit

I ordered some bling for the engine bay... found a company up in Brisbane who make shiny billet gas strut bonnet hinges for XA/XB/XC Falcons... so I ordered a set

Just hope they fit & function as described... if not I'll have to fall back to plan B & repolish the existing set that I had chromed way back when I fist bought the car over 20 years ago

Daved_XB · 01-08-2022 3:20am

I installed the gaskets on the weekend & they did really move the exhaust, so I'm glad I waited to do that before doing any clearance work. On the drivers side it's only the raised weld now that it touches the transmission oil pan, I think I'll just gently bend the pan in that spot & that should sort that.

The end of the exhaust is no longer touching the crossmember on the drivers side either, it's still too close & the cross member will have to be modified but not by much so I'm happy about that.

I'll need to find an O2 to test the install fit here, I suspect that it wouldn't fit right now, so again some extra clearance needed here

The passenger side is even better, it doesn't touch the trans pan at all... but I'll still probably gently bend the edge of the pan to put another mm or 2 gap in there.

The crossmember end is just clear but again some modification will be made here to give better clearance... but nothing major is needed so happy days.

Daved_XB · 24-10-2022 3:47am

Ok... so I've been out of the shed for a while, been back in Ireland for a all of September & then was OS for work for a week too & then in between thanks to the flooding & biblical rain here in Melbourne I've been doing a lot of fixing & tidy ups in the garden & so there have been no updates, but now it's time to start back into this.

I was playing a game of Muscle car Tetris as I'm know to from time to time as nothing was where I wanted it & I needed the hoist to work on something else.... I've made the decision to order a 2nd hoist this week as I'm lucky enough to be in a situation where one just isn't cutting it any more.

Anyway during this game I rolled the XB off the hoist & noticed that the exhaust headers belted off the hoist as she rolled off, never done that before but this is the first time moving her off with the transmission installed & it is a big heavy 4 speed AOD box.

When it came time to push her back onto the hoist I couldn't get her back on backwards as she had been as the open flange end of the exhaust is no over an inch too low (never bothered measuring it) & would just smack into the hoist front cross beam so the XB had to go on forwards as that have a better ramp over angle

Now my issue is a simple one in some ways but awkward in others... the Laws here state that the lowest point of the underside of the car must be 100mm off the ground, my headers are nowhere near that right now....

They are 66mm off the deck on the passenger side & 74mm off the deck on the drivers side....

Daved_XB · 24-10-2022 3:56am

Also they are pointing at a very rear downward angle

I think I have a few things I can do here to help this issue, the rear of the car is a little too low compared to the front, she's actually sitting just slightly nose up... so first step will be to raise the rear a little, then I have to modify the transmission crossmember anyway as it's slightly fouling the exhaust so I think I'll look to raise the back of the transmission up a bit to fix both my angle of attack & the header height issue. I might see if I can modify the end of the crossmember so that it sits onto of this red section rather than below it.

One thing I know for sure is that I really don't want to raise the front ride height if I can help it as the gap between the tyre & the guard would look less cool than I'd like... it's not exactly tucked up in their now.

Daved_XB · 12-11-2022 11:54pm

Was at a mates place yesterday helping him strip down & rebuild the front of his car after Skippy smacked the crap out of it.

I was looking in his shed at my spare bits I'd left there, looks to be two full bonnets, thought I only had one there & that green/black one is a full GT bonnet so happy days... also have 3 x doors, looks like 2 x passenger & 1 drivers side door & they also look not as bad as I thought they where. Must make a trip back soon to collect them.

Also my XB's original matching numbers V8 block is here too, must bring that home & clean it up.

Daved_XB · 29-12-2022 4:00am

Right time to get back onto this car, lets start with something simple then we can move onto bigger items/issues. Got some new hardware (they are not normal bolts) to attach the fuel cap door

This is my original cap, they didn't seem to care about fuel theft back in the 70's... I also have an old chrome version that someone added a locking key to at some point, I might polish this up & see which one I like the look of better

There is also a chrome trim ring that goes around this, I have 3, but sadly not one of them has all 4 of the mounting pins. My painter thinks that I should cut the pins off one & glue it to the car rather than drill the holes to bolt it. Not sure what I could/would use to glue it that would stand the test of time & weather.

Daved_XB · 29-12-2022 4:21am

One of the big jobs I've been putting off is the wiring, here is what I have... the dash loom

The main loom that mounts to the fuse box on the firewall & lives out in the engine bay as well as under the dash, the two black boxes you see here are part of an old alarm system that was wired in that had a dead man switch & a proximity fob that I assume was added sometime in the 90's so they have to go.

You can see the big round gromet here, everything to the left of that is on the engine bay side

I also have the taillight loom

I've ripped out the headlight relay loom that I put in back when I bought the car & I fitted better headlights, that needs to be redone better

Also a lot of stereo wiring that clearly is a mess

I have 3 options here:

1. I pull all the tape off & make myself a peg board & try & repair/rewire this loom my self

2. Buy a generic car wiring kit from someone like painless wiring & make a new loom using the XB specific connectors as needed

3. Pay a professional who does this day in day out & knows what they are doing to make me a new loom using mine as a starting point.

There are pro's & con's to each of the above but I'm leaning towards option 3 now it has to be said.

Next job now will be to sort the exhaust/car ride height issue & finish off my steering install... the gearbox definitely needs to come out again & the engine may need to.... this is why I've been putting these things off. But I want to focus on them now soo that I can then finally put the bonnet back on.

quietsailor · 06-01-2023 2:39am

Getting a professional to re make the loom sounds the best bet.

Daved_XB · 27-03-2023 6:38am

Due to work & life getting in the way, I've been ignoring this old girl for a while... I want to get back into it, so lets start with something simple shall we. I've been putting off drilling holes in her, but time to harden up as they say.

I marked out the chrome trim ring for the fuel cap surround to identify where the holes needed to be drilled & yes I did do the math on the hole locations several times before I got the drill bit anywhere near the paint.

It really finishes off that part of the car

If you read this thread from the beginning, firstly I'm sorry... secondly you may remember that I had back in the late 90's early 00's wanted a Mad Max replica, well whilst I dropped that I idea I still wanted something of a nod to Mad Max on the car. Back then my mate was making replica Maxrob steering wheels as per the one in the Interceptor, these where rare back when the movie was made & finding an actual good condition original was near on impossible, well he surprised me the other day as he thought he'd sold all of the wheels he'd made but he found an unfinished unsold one.. so I'm very excited now to get this one finished with the correct rim & centre & then I'll have my little bit of interceptor on the car

I've also gotten a mini hi-torque starter for the car as there is no way a standard one will fit with the fat exhaust headers

My next order of business is to work out what sort of stall I want for the torque converter for the transmission & get that ordered

Daved_XB · 27-03-2023 6:51am

Speaking of transmissions, I've been thinking for a while on what I was going to do about the fact that the trans cross member won't work, here's what I worked out on the weekend. The diff yoke angle is actually exactly 0 deg's which is odd, but makes my inner OCD happy.

The transmission is 5 deg's down bubble which is bad, but as I want to raise the back of the trans anyway this is a good thing

I was going to try & cut up & modify the existing cross member, but then I had what I believe alcoholics call a moment of clarity... I'd make one from scratch... then I realised that I'd want to make one out of 5-6mm steel & I've no way to bend that thick of strap steel... then I thought of buying a cheap universal drive shaft loop kit as they are 6mm thick & they have the loop halves already made

These are more than wide enough to not just go over the exhaust but they'll even go over the flanged ends

Now that I have a solid plan it shouldn't take to long to make up a new rear crossmember that clears the exhausts & also raises the back of the trans up.... see kids procrastination pays, maybe not today but you know... anyway this is a much better idea I think that hacking up the original Ford item & I think that the end result will not only be stronger but will look better than if I'd just hacked the original.

Daved_XB · 04-04-2023 2:01pm

With the F1 GP being on on the weekend I was never going to get much done in the shed, but I wanted to get at least one job done. When attaching the rear honeycomb trim to the car a while back I'd used the adhesive that my painter recommended but it never really worked & the heat from the sun made it constantly peel up at the ends.

I decided to up the game & go with this stuff, they use this to actually bond whole panels together on buses & truck trailers so I'm hopeful that this will do the job.

After smearing this behind the trim I then clamped it down & left it for a few days to fully cure

Seems to have done the trick... but only time & a few hot days in the shed will tell

With this coming weekend being a 4 day weekend I hope to get out into the shed & get a bit more done.

Slideways · 04-04-2023 2:46pm

As my old man always says, sikaflex sticks like shît to a blanket.

Its not coming off 😂

Daved_XB · 07-04-2023 3:09pm

There are very few highly recommended chromers here in Melbourne & the one I wanted to use still has over a 12 month waitlist for getting Bumpers done & mine needs straightening too, not just new chrome... so it was going to be expensive too. I've now decided to go with a new re-pop rear bumper... I had wanted to keep the original & who knows maybe one day I'll get it done & put it on as the re-pop is ok, but it's not a perfect fit.

Original vs New

My original has some bad scratches that go right thru the chrome & it's flaking off in several places

It also has a pretty bad dent, it might not look like much in the first photo, but you can see the bend in the support bar that is bolted to the inside of the bumper in the second photo

I pulled the original brackets off, cleaned them up & gave them a coat of black paint even thought you can't really see them when the bumper is back on the car

Daved_XB · 07-04-2023 3:17pm

The XB was pretty much the last of the chrome bumpered Muscle cars in Australia... in fact it's about a 50/50 mix of XB's that shipped with chrome bumpers vs body colour coded painted bumpers, mine was always a chrome bumper car & in my mind.. Muscle cars are chrome bumper cars & I supper happy with how the rear of the car is finished off now

Now I know the aftermarket bumper isn't perfect... the passenger side sticks out abut 8-9mm further than the drivers side, but the bumper is centred so it's a QA thing... but given that this was no doubt made in a factory in China by a guy who only had the shape of an XB Coupe arse end described to him over a phone in a language he wasn't fluent in... I gotta say I'm happy with how she looks.

Also it's a better tolerance than Ford ran with in the 70's I'd bet

Daved_XB · 08-04-2023 11:39am

As I was working on the back of the car I decided to see what needed to be done to fit the long range drop tank I bought for the car about 15 years ago, I knew that it wouldn't fit with the new multi-link rear end so figured it was finally time to stop putting off cutting up a perfectly good tank.

First I swapped the direction of all the nuts & bolts on the suspension to make as much clearance as I can for the tank.

With that done I sat the tank in to see just how much of the tank has to go to make it fit

Looks like I need to cut the back off at about 4 inches in at the bottom almost in a 45 deg line

I'd been putting this off for a while, but nothing to do now other than fire up the grinder. Due to the internal baffle panels I needed to cut this out in 3 sections

There are some other mods I plan to make to this tank, but this will just need a flat plate welded back on to close this end of the tank back in... now lets try that for fitment.

Daved_XB · 08-04-2023 11:49am

Other than having to cut the front off the tank... that's gone well, I do love how these drop tanks look... the tank was 166ltrs before I cut it up, but even now it should still be big enough for my needs.

The next question now is do I leave it with this finish or do I polish it to a mirror finish?

Daved_XB · 10-04-2023 10:13am

Right time to tackle the transmission cross member, first step pull the original one off & get the transmission at the height/angle I want it at.

With the position I want set it's a lot closer to touching the floor but isn't.. I've marked the closest spot, it's about 2-3mm clearance so when the trans is out I'll massage the floor with a knockometer

With that done, I used some foam to set the position of the two arches that go over the exhaust.

Then cut up a straight section & drilled some bolt holes in it so it could be the section that the trans mount mounts too

Then cut the two end pieces that will be what mounts the cross member to the chassis...

This is all just tacked together for now as I've run out of time but you can see where I'm going with this... I'll look to weld it all up & then also weld on some support gussets before painting it & calling it done.

Daved_XB · 16-04-2023 3:23pm

Finished up putting some supporting gussets on the crossmember, mind you it's 6mm plate steel so I don't think it probably needed them but best to be sure to be sure

As is often the case with these things I thought of a better way of doing it when I was about 90% through with it... so I may well end up remaking this, but for now I've painted & installed ver 1.0

I've always said that there has been no job yet that I couldn't do on my 4 poster hoist that would see me wishing for a 2 poster... well the caveat to that statement is that it's fecking hard to push a big car like this up the bloody ramps on your own...

Why did I almost give myself a hernia turning the car around on the hoist... well I'm a bit odd & I only really like working on the end of the car that's facing the front of the shed for some reason & now a lot of the jobs will be back at the front end of the car... so I saw it as having no choice.

Time to finish off the engine bay & decide if the engine has to come out again to install anything or if it's in for good... if it is in for good, then there is no reason that I couldn't or shouldn't put the bonnet back on. That way friends we have staying over will no longer have to ask why there is a bright red car bonnet in the spare room up against the wall.

Daved_XB · 25-04-2023 1:29pm

Didn't have a lot of time to get anything done this weekend as I had other jobs that kept me out of the shed, but I wanted to get a couple of simple little things done. I'd ordered a heap of new hardware to replace the old bolts, nuts & screws that would be on show... a lot of the car was held together with different size hardware in the what ever fits mindset.

First to be replaced was the screws that held the door catch in, I only had 5 of the 6 & they are a very specific shape & the old one are discoloured & wallered out

I also wanted to install the inner linkages so that the handles & the locks all now work, happily they remake all the little plastic & metal locking clips

Next whilst still a small job in the grand scheme of things, was a big job as it would mean drilling 6 x 4mm holes in each beautifully painted rear Qtr's that needed to be spot on in their location... this would be to fit the rear side scoops

CAD template that marked the scoop shape & the location of the holes was made, the beauty of this template is that I can just flip it over & it'll be perfect for the other side

Then I taped up the paint to protect it & make my marking out easier obviously & working of the factory measurement I located the template & traced through the locations for the holes

No going back now that I've drilled the holes I guess

Daved_XB · 25-04-2023 1:36pm

And we're done.....

Well not really done, only had time to do the drivers side... so more like half done

Now these are a divisive piece of trim... I'm sure that some of you will think that the smooth look in that last pic without the non functional scoop is much nicer & I did agonise over putting them on or not, that's why no holes where drilled prior to painting so I could leave them off if I wanted too. But to me these are an iconic styling cue of the XB GT/GS coupes & my car had them fitted from the factory so I've opted to fit them.

Daved_XB · 07-05-2023 5:37am

Ok, quick pic to prove that I did in fact fit both scoops to the car

Another small but important job sorted this Sat, I only had 2hrs to spend so I needed to pick a small job that I could finish in that time so I pulled out the old roof sound proofing... it was ratty & falling down, truth be know it's probably asbestos based anyway knowing how few **** where given to that sort of thing in the 70's.

I got it all off, but some of the old glue was well bonded on & I wasn't willing to put any heat in to the roof sanding it off

The new dynamat stuff is real thick & again super easy to work with

Not an exciting job I know, but every job on the to-do list has to get done if I'm ever going to finish the car.

Speaking of getting things done to finish the car.... as part of operation 2 steps back I've changed my direction with the brake set up now & this will slow things down as I wait on new parts to be delivered. I was always going to have issues with a lack of vacuum from the engine due to the cam profile to feel the brake booster, I was going to mount a vacuum tank in the engine bay & either have it fed from the engine allowing the vacuum to be built up & stored or I do have a small Hella electric vacuum pump from a Prius I think that I was going to run.

Now if you read my other threads you'll know that I have a Hydraboost set up that I'm going to fit to the GTO soon (actually have one in a box for the Challenger too), I won't explain what that is here as it's already done in the GTO thread... the issue with these systems is that they are LONG & the gap between the firewall & the shock tower of an XB is not big enough... see below.

I got chatting with another Coupe owner on a FB user group the other night & turns out that a few years ago someone who had an XB imported into the USA gave their car to hydratech, the company who make these & got one built as a special order... turns out they have the pattern but it's not listed on their website for some reason, so you have to be in the know as it where & then contact them... so I have & they make a special mounting plate & a half length hydroboost body that bolts up to the stock XB master cylinder. Long story short the brake setup in the Pic above has to come back out. Sadly there is a 90 day lead time as it's a special build order, but they said they will do their best to get one to me ASAP... happy days, even if it is another delay.

Also the fact that it's also been made specifically to fit a red car gives me extra confidence

Daved_XB · 07-05-2023 6:04am

I need to start sorting through all my chrome trim, I have a multiples of some bits & one one of others so I need to sort through it & pick the best pieces & see if I think that I can polish them up in the shed with a drill or if I need to get them done more professionally which will take an age I'm sure. As is always the case there is a pile of stuff that needs to be moved first so I can get to the bits I want. I was able to grab the rear lower window frame bits easily enough

These go here

The long straight section is in great shape & I'm confident that with some metal polish even I of little skill can make this shiny again

This corner piece I'm not so sure of... there are lots of raised dots on these, maybe some very fine X000 grit wet & dry sandpaper can be used to smooth these out again before using the metal polish to bring them back? But it looks to me like the chrome finish is actually peeling & as such the only way to reuse these would be to have them fully stripped & re-chromed.

I am lucky that they do make re-production versions of these corners so I may have a simple out there, assuming they are the right shape & they fit of course

I'm not sure if I'll get anytime in the shed on Sun, but if I do it will be spent cursing past Dave who clearly **** hates future Dave as not only do I have to move a pile of Camaro bits to get to the chrome trim pile, past Dave thought it would be hilarious to not label any of it & to mix the chrome trim from the Challenger into the same pile as the original XB trim that came off this car & with the "spare" XB chrome trim I had.. so much of the day will be spend just sorting out what's what... fun.

Daved_XB · 16-05-2023 7:42am

Right, so I've just been aimlessly working on small jobs here as & when I think of them but now I'm going to try & have a bit of a plan to get a chunk of work done. I went through my Chrome pile & I separated out the Dodge stuff from my XB stuff.

The Dodge pile looks likes this

The XB pile looks like this as I have multiple sets of front & rear window chrome trim

Looking through the chrome I think I'm in a really good place, it looks like most of it will polish up fine with just doing it in the shed. Except the two long thin strips of rain gutter trim at the top of that pic, they are too bad to be used but luckily they have recently started remaking those sections of trim so I'll get a set of them ordered soon. The other bits that need proper work are those thick corner bits I had in the post above, again they remake these & I already have a new set now as per below.

Part one of my plan now is to clean all the chrome & fit it up. Also I've ordered a new headliner as the one I had is well stuffed.

I've also got brand new interior lights to go in as the old one cracked & crumbled as they where removed

The plan being with the headliner in that I can fit the rear glass & the top rubber channel that will allow me to fit the side glass too, that with the chrome cleaned, polished & fitted would mean that the exterior of the car would be finished from the A-pillars back.

Speaking of the glass, I have two full sets but again my slow pace in restoring this car has paid off as they now remake the glass for XB's... so I know that some of my side glass is badly scratched, but I'll clean it & check it out... if I can make a full good set then great, if not then I'll get new glass simply because I can't put old scratched glass back in now. On the topic of glass, I've also gotten the window winder mechanisms out of storage & I'll clean them up when doing the chrome & install them in the doors.

Speaking of doors, I dragged out my door cards & whilst they are ok, again they just aren't good enough to go into the car... so I'm waiting to hear back from a trimming company here who I'm told make the best replacements. The only bits of mine that I need to reuse are the curved steel tops as they don't make them yet.

I feel more motivated now that I have a plan or a to-do list as it where, I now want to get to a point of having the doors finished with glass & trims installed & the headliner & the rear screen in (time dependant of course for the bits I need to order). It would be great to have this done for when the wiring loom finally comes back as that's holding up the dash install & the wiring up of the engine bay obviously.

Daved_XB · 27-05-2023 7:42am

Ok, so I checked out my original glass & it's really badly scratched. I'm not sure how well it comes out in the pics, but here are the passenger & drivers side front glass & when you run a fingernail across the face of the glass it feels like a cattle grid, this is from the previous owner running the car for years with the door felts missing & thus scoring the glass every time is raised or lowered. Looks like I'm ordering new glass on Monday then.

To prevent this from ever happening again with the new glass I of course have all new felts to go on, the rear window felts actually mount to the chrome & get installed that way.

Fitting the roof rain gutter trim was a nightmare as it's one long extremely flimsy piece that's not held on by clips but is a C channel shape that you slide on at the top & push under to snap it onto the actual gutter channel. This thing was bending under it's own weight & was something that I probably should have had a helper with me to install.. but with some patience (not something I'm know for) & some gentle hand bending I got them both on & they look great

The rear Qtr chrome screws on & doesn't use clips, so that was pretty easy to fit up along with the rear elbow for want of a better word that joins the Qtr trim to the roof gutter trim

Couldn't fit the door top chrome trim in the end as the clips I'd been given will in no way work, they fit to the top of the door & the trip should snap onto them but the clips are way too big, I almost damaged the trim trying to get it to fit.

I've found a different style of clip now online so I've ordered a set of them & hopefully I can finish off operation chrome install during the week.

Daved_XB · 19-06-2023 5:46am

My new headliner arrived, I think I have to fit the wiring for the centre doom light & the two rear C pillar lights before this can be put in.

The new door chrome top clips are in too & they do look different to the ones I had tried that didn't work.. what also gives me hope is that there is also a threaded bolt in the kit that is used to bolt the trim thru the small hole in the top of the door.

I've also gotten the new fuel tank sender, this unit will drop on from the top but most importantly it operates at the same OHM readings as the factory unit did so the factory fuel gauge should work fine.

Got a call from the guy who'll be remaking my wiring loom at the start of the month so that I could run him through what I wanted him to do & what extra's needed to be integrated into the loom.

The mini loom for the ICE ignition system will be integrated

The loom for the in tank fuel pump

The electric fan controller

The electric water pump wiring

Finally the wiring for the aftermarket radio

Daved_XB · 19-06-2023 5:56am

I haven't had a chance to be out in the shed in weeks now, but there are a few small jobs that need to be done before I put the wiring in... I need to clean up & install the floor drain caps to close up the floor, this will allow me to fit the carpet as soon as I have the wiring run through the car.

Got a call last week from the wiring guy who told me that it was all done...

The box turned up this morning

Now that I have it all laid out on the table I'm half excited & half just scared as to how the hell to fit all of this back into the car..... luckily it's several looms that all connect, so I'm thinking I'll start with the rear light loom & work forward... now to try & find the pics of how this should be routed through the car.

Slideways · 19-06-2023 1:39pm

Good luck! Have you a heater in the garage so there’s no excuses?

Daved_XB · 20-06-2023 2:29am

I do have a heater & it's very much needed this winter, the last 2 weeks have been proper cold for Melbourne. But this Thursday is the shortest day of the year for us... so in theory it's all better from here as we slowly crawl out of winter & into summer.

Slideways · 21-06-2023 12:38am

It got as low as 3c in Perth this week. I don’t have a heater, but I don’t have a shed either 😂

Daved_XB · 05-07-2023 11:31am

I've had a lot of non shed stuff on the last two weeks so I've not done any actual work on this.... but one of the things I was doing was helping my good mate clean up & dismantle his old shed prior to the delivery of his new shed. To this end I've finally taken home my XB bits that I'd asked him to store for a few weeks back in 2007.

I have 3 x door's, the two in this pic are a matched pair from a Ute (same door but different shaped glass), they look like they could be repaired easily...

The 3rd door is in a bad way... it could be repaired but both the door skin & the inner structure have bad rust, my thoughts for it are to not repair it at all but paint it up to look like a rusted & dented original 1975 race car door in one of Allan Moffats race car liveries. The two bonnets are GT bonnets & in amazing shape, I honestly thought they where much worse when I bought them. The lime green bonnet at the back has a shaker hole cut in it & it may well end up being the bonnet used on my XB if the intake/Carb/air cleaner turn out to be sitting too high for the standard bonnet.

I've also gotten the original matching numbers engine block from my XB... this I'll clean up, paint & make a coffee table out of I think.

I'd ordered brand new side & rear glass as mine are all badly scratched... I went for the green tinted glass which would have been an option back in the day.. it turned up this morning

I've also just ordered a set of 2020 Mustang front seats from a guy in Sydney who was parting out a crashed Mustang.. these will hopefully go in nicely & give me not just electromagicly moved seats but also heated seats as old Muscle cars have the shittest of heaters stock.

Daved_XB · 13-02-2024 11:14am

Right.... so the Brake parts I'd custom ordered from the US back in April 2023 which had a 10-12 week delivery time finally turned up at my door today. This is the hydroboost brake booster set up that I had custom made for the firewall of an Australian Falcon..

Now I have a few little jobs to finish on the GT-Four so I can get her off the main hoist & then I can drag the Challenger out from under the hoist the XB is on & get her up on the main hoist & then I can lower the XB down & start working on her again too.... why am I such a muppet with so many projects all running at the same time.

Daved_XB · 07-04-2024 12:29pm

Right decided to get back into this today as I'm waiting on ordered parts now for the Challenger.. so pulled this hydroboost brake booster out of its box for the last time.

First step is to pull the old vac booster out

Both boosters seem to be almost the exact same depth which is a good thing as there is little to no extra room between the firewall & the strut tower.

I was worried as just how bolt in this custom bolt in kit would be given it's made in the US for an Australian car that they've never seen before in the metal. I was so happy to see that it bolted directly in with zero fitment issues at all.... just perfect.

The factory master cylinder bolts right up too & with just the same gap left to the shock tower. I'm really happy with how this unit looks now its installed.

Of course now my problem is that I don't have a power steering pump setup installed on this engine so I guess I need to sort that given that the braking system is relaying on it to stop the car.

Last of the V8 Interceptors.. my XB Falcon Coupe

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