PhilMeUp

You can get a BF Typhoon easily enough for around $15,000. Tornados are also around that price, but a good condition one goes for a bit more. BF XR6Ts... maybe 10 grand for a decent one. It's a buyers market right now. Lots of toys on the market... no buyers. I'm not looking forward to trying to sell my blue Tornado, but the Dubbo one was too good a package to pass up on.

I take it that you're in Sydney? No worries, just duck out to Dubbo and chuck it all in the back of the Tornado before I get it freighted over here. Easy. Actually, there's a scissor hoist in Sydney that I also wanna buy... don't 'spose you could drop that out to Dubbo as well?

Slightly similar situation here. I've always seen people tie up huge amounts of money in cars, motorbikes, etc. Massive depreciation. Compromise. Get a car that doesn't cost much to buy (ie doesn't take up lots of cash) and therefore won't depreciate much. Some shopping around will get a BF XR6T for $10k. Maximum of $20k for FG XR6T or BFII Typhoon. Look at auctions. The 2005 BA XR6T ute that I bought crash damaged last year was easy to fix and cost bugger all in the end. I did ok on the BF Tornado last year and will now sell that to pay for the next one. The new one has $9000 of engine mods, plus what appears to be a good stereo setup, so I step up to that for zero changeover cost (depending on what the current Tornado sells for). Smart buying is critical. Buy wholesale and sell retail.

It’s got 131,577km on it now, and had 95,282km on it when the engine modifications were done in August/September 2012 (ie difference of 36,295km, or 13,546km per year). Knock-down price was $15,250. Plus auction fees of $659 for a total of $15,909. That's an ok price for a standard 2007 Tornado in that condition. With $9,000 of engine modifications and likely a bunch of money in the stereo then there's not much more to spend on it - it’s just the right move for me. There's an extra power cable coming off the battery, so I'm assuming that’s for a good amplifier and speakers in there somewhere. When it was sold two weeks ago it went for $15,000, so the pricing was consistent. Being in Dubbo (400km from Sydney), it might have gone cheaper than it would have sold for in a large city such as Sydney or Melbourne. I've had an Earl's oil line kit here for about six months. This will be the third car that I've intended to fit it on. I'll get around to it one of these days.

It will be a challenge. Initial "negotiations" were commenced last week. Turns out that there's no way of really knowing which stuff is standard and which isn't. The fuel pump - apparently a lot of old cars had external fuel pumps. There's no way of knowing if the cat isn't a standard one. The Plazaman intercooler - the car already had an intercooler, so that's just an aftermarket replacement. The plenum might be a problem. Need to work out how to make it look standard for a few minutes. I like the idea of 100% legit legal, so will look into getting engineering permits later on. But for now it's a matter of finding an inspector who's a bit vague about knowing what's manufacturer standard and what isn't.

Thursday, 7th May, 2015 Regular readers will be familiar with my previous Tornado build thread. I bought a very untidy 2006 BF FPV Tornado at auction and went to work on cleaning it up. http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/topic/89684-2006-fpv-tornado-f6-ute-cleanup-resurrection/ Some history - the timeline: July 2014: Bought a crash-damaged 2005 BA XR6 Turbo ute and got it licenced in September. Figured I’d try it out and resell it if I didn’t like it, but got hooked on the turbo 6 power and wanted more within weeks. November 2014: Found a 2006 BF Tornado at auction. Saw it, obsessed about it for a week and bought it. Endless hours and huge amounts of effort went into getting it into the condition that I wanted. April 2015: Endless amounts of fun with the Tornado, but saw a modified BFII at Pickles Auctions on the other side of the country. Watched the auction via internet but didn’t buy the car. May 2015: Saw the BFII Tornado listed on Pickles again. The previous buyer didn’t have the money, so the car was listed for sale again. Just like the previous Tornado, I obsessed and bought it. I’m always looking through different web sites to see what’s out there and saw another FPV Tornado on the Pickles Auctions web site a few weeks ago. I thought about it, but I hadn’t finished the current one yet. I wasn’t really in a position to buy another car, but registered to bid via web site and watched the auction anyway. I figured if it went stupidly cheap then I’d grab it. On the day it sold for $15,000. I didn’t bid, and that was that. A few days later it was back on the Pickles site again. This time I thought about it some more and started looking into it. This one has almost $9,000 of engine modifications and produces 353kW at the rear wheels. There’s an aftermarket stereo console in there, although I don’t yet know if there is anything else added to it (ie amplifier and speakers). Within a day of it being relisted I had decided that I wanted it. Oh dear. Here we go again. I got the auctioneer to email the original full-size photos to me, and I kept staring at them several times each day. I went to performance workshops and got advice about the engine modifications. The obvious conclusion was that this had to be the next step for me. I was hooked. Software problems on the day were franticly sorted out and I bought the car. Unlike my past two cars, this one won’t require a huge amount of immediate repairs before I can drive it. This car had a bunch of modifications done in 2012: - Plazmaman Pro Series 1000hp intercooler, inlet plenum, revised piping and custom under headlight cold air intake - Plazmaman 4" stainless dump pipe - High flow cat converter - Plazmaman Billet surge tank with Bosch 044 fuel pump and wiring harness - Bosch Xspurt 1000cc fuel injectors - Custom dyno tune to suit new setup, tuned to 353kW at the rear wheels So why a build thread? I’m going to get it maintained and ready for long-term use - I intend to have this one for a while. Actually, I said that about the last two cars, so I’ll see if I actually mean it this time. Things that I’ll be doing - the usual initial maintenance and setup stuff: - Replace engine oil & filter (Gulf Western 3000X and Mobil 1 filter). - Replace diff oil - Penrite Pro Gear 80-140 (heavy duty synthetic). - Coolant flush & new coolant tank. - Wheel alignment. - Replace indicator globes with new ones (the orange coating peels off). - Flush windscreen washer tank. - Clean the seat belts. - Replace rear axle bearings. - Replace the shackle bushes in the leaf springs. - Flush the brake fluid. - Replace the upper and lower radiator hoses. - Replace the engine drive belt. - Replace the fuel filter. - Check/replace centre bearing. - Clean the air filter (pod filter behind the front bumper). - Flush power steering fluid. - Flush transmission fluid. Other things that I’ll be doing: - Check/repair the spare wheel winch. - Heat-proof o-rings on coil cover bolts. - Fit a Parrot MKi9200 phone kit. - Remove the hard lid & hinging - I’ll be keeping the back open but using a soft tonneau cover if required. I’ll keep the hard lid for future possible use. - Fit turbo oil filter return kit (ie Earl’s kit). The same one that I didn’t get around to fitting to the previous two cars. One of these days... - Replace the front 4 piston Brembo and rear PBR brakes with Brembo 6 piston front and 4 piston rear calipers. - Fit a PWR heat exchanger. I’m guessing that it’s going to be at least a few weeks before the car makes the trip from Dubbo to Perth. Good, I’m going to need to work non-stop to pay for what I’m going to get up to! Photos:

I did. Finally, something that I don't have to spend forever in the carport fixing! Hopefully. :wwww: :wwww: :wwww: :wwww:

It will be debated about forever, but Uber is illegal. Any vehicle that carries people for a profit must be authorised by Dept of Transport. That means that Uber cars aren't insured. Using a personal car for a commercial purpose, etc. I hate the bullsh*t in the taxi world and would happily try something else. I've looked into the law and Uber, and won't touch Uber. If I have any sort of crash then I'm not insured - major liability dramas then. Loss of assets, etc. Dept of Transport are currently prosecuting one driver in court. That's the test case that they've been working on for a while. Once that goes through then DOT will then be prosecuting lots more drivers. Passengers like Uber... partly because they hate taxis by default. But there's a bunch of legality stuff in the background that people don't know (or care) about.

Nah, the taxi industry in Perth is collapsing. Mining boom is over. Anyone who hasn't been fired yet is panicking that they will be fired soon. Uber is screwing it over as well. I'm gonna need to get the old one sold fairly quickly. The new one was too good to pass up on.

I bought another one. Dammit, haven’t finished the last one yet. 353kW at the rear wheels. Oh yeah. Pretty sure that I’m going to hate that colour once the novelty wears off in a few months, but for now I like it. I was always a huge Miami Vice fan (ie child of the 80s) and this is like one of those 80s pastel colours that was around at the time. The current one still has more things to do on it but will be advertised for sale immediately. This all started with me thinking one night that I could use a cheap Falcon ute as a round-town runabout. Oops.

Easy to do. If the pump is stuffed then get a new one from Repco/SuperCheap Auto/etc for around $20. Photo guide: http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/topic/89260-photo-essay-replacing-the-windscreen-washer-pump Feed the garden hose in for a while. Flush plenty of water through.

I know nothing about sedans - only dealt with utes and wagons. But I've found with the front bearing hubs that the Ford ones last longer than the aftermarket stuff. Do some searching on eBay and you'll find listings on there. Find the part number, and then do a search for that. One of the cheaper options is from Jefferson Ford, which is in Melbourne somewhere (ie your info says that you're in Melbourne).

Before getting any keys coded, get a second key. I normally get key blanks from China, but when I needed some quicker last year I ordered some from a place called Amalgamated Locksmiths in Brisbane. http://stores.ebay.com.au/safes4sale Then get a local locksmith to cut the key.

I knew about swapping the mounting brackets over on the Brembos, but also read somewhere that the bleed nipples and pipes also need to be swapped over. Not difficult to do, although it will mean rubbing the red paint off the pipe ends (when using a flare spanner to loosen the nuts). Some touch-up paint might be required. I might be buying another car on Thursday, so I'll wait until after then before fitting. Tornado version 2.0 will hopefully be happening. Either way, I'm going to end up with a Tornado with a 6/4 Brembo setup. Same as what's on my taxi. Extremely pleased.

Tuesday, 5th May, 2015 One of the numerous minor things that I hadn’t gotten around to fixing yet was the auto headlight switch. This was standard on BF and FG Falcons, but is rare on BA Falcons. There have been numerous BA wrecks in Perth lately, but not any BF ones. Actually, I'm pretty sure that the BA didn't actually have this option. Item: Sensor Sunload Part No: BA19E663A Retail Price: $89.60 (for the sensor and plastic holder) On my car, the day/night sensor had failed. I tend to use the Auto switch at night, which meant that sometimes when I parked the car at night and forgot to turn the headlight switch off the headlights would be on for a while the next day. I finally found a replacement sensor on a Territory wreck, and at a cost which suited the budget that I had allocated for this (ie zero). I was actually buying an alternator for someone else, and got the sensor included as well. This is the plastic holder that sits in the top of the dashboard. I was able to access it as the dashboard had been removed from the Territory wreck. The sensor sits inside this holder. The sensor sitting inside the holder. The sensor on its own. It’s the white part at the top that senses the light. The other side of the sensor. Another photo, showing the top part that senses the light. With my car, when the headlight switch was on Auto during the day, the headlights were still coming on. Headlights during the day. Not what I want. This is where the sensor is located - in the middle of the dashboard, at the very front. It’s under the dome-shaped black plastic cap. Another photo showing the sensor location. Using a small flat-blade screwdriver, I was able to pry off the plastic cap to reveal the sensor. In hindsight, I should have been more patient and tried to remove the surrounding rectangular-shaped black plastic first. However, I have large hands and getting to the sensor was difficult as a result. I tried levering it out with the screwdriver, but resorted to using some needle-nose pliers. It took minimal force to get the sensor to disconnect from the wire and socket that it’s plugged into. Once the old sensor was out, the new one dropped into place. I then pushed it down a bit with one finger to push it into its socket. Time to test it. The replacement sensor works. No more headlights during the day when on Auto.

Monday, 4th May, 2015 I have been looking for a bargain-priced set of six piston Brembo calipers for a while. When a set listed on Gumtree dropped from $2,200 to $1,800 I figured I’d better go have a look. Some haggling and waving of cash resulted in the acquisition of the prized Brembo setup for the very acceptable cost of $1,650. I was actually looking for something a lot cheaper and in bad condition so that I could save some money by rebuilding them myself, but this deal suits me just fine. They are actually from an FG and my car is a BF. If I can’t make these fit my BF then I’ll have to go looking for a set of BF brackets, but I’m pretty sure that with some swapping around of mounting brackets, piping and bleed nipples that I’ll get these to fit properly. Although the calipers were covered in brake dust, I could tell as soon as I saw them that they were in excellent condition. Brembo calipers suffer from the clear lacquer coat fading off, and there is none of that with these ones. I’m not fussed about the disc rotors - I’ve already got a brand new set of DBA4000 rotors to go on the car (DBA4102S). They were a lucky find on eBay for $300 delivered. I’ve also got a set of four piston rear Brembo calipers, so the Tornado will end up with six piston front and four piston rear calipers. Those disc rotors will probably get resold with the existing four piston calipers. I’ll be getting them checked and machined before doing so, so I got out the usual drill and wire brush to clean the inside of each disc rotor so that they sit flush for machining. This creates a lot of dust, so these days I’m also using a Ryobi battery powered fan to help prevent me from breathing in that dust. This is working well - normally the dust sits in the air where I’m sitting and I’m always moving my head around trying to avoid breathing in the dust. With the fan on this is no longer a problem. The cleaned-up inside of one of the disc rotors. I was curious who these discs were made by, so went around the outside of one of the rotors with the drill and brush to try and find a company name or brand. This is also where disc manufacturers specify the minimum thickness of the discs (29mm minimum for this one). Turns out that they are Brembo discs. I went over the calipers with some CT18 degreaser and a brush. After rinsing off with water, the calipers looked almost new after this. I was extremely pleased with they almost-new condition that they’re in. As mentioned, these came off an FG Falcon but will be going on my BF. The part number for the FG mounting brackets is M6-FG-355-BKT-LH (and RH for the other side). The callipers also have Goodridge braided lines. They’ve got almost-new Bendix DB1845 pads in them, but I’ll be using Hawk Performance ceramic pads (part number HB616Z.607). I’ve been using Hawk ceramic pads in the 6/4 Brembo setup on my taxi for close to 500,000km now. They produce less dust than other pads that I’ve tried, and the dust that they do produce is easier to wash off the wheels.

Spending two grand (or more) on a hoist... there needs to be enough use of it to make it worthwhile. Although, something portable like a scissor hoist can be kept for years and taken from house to house. I've got two taxis (with plans to get more) and a project ute. Safety will also be a factor for me. I'm using a good trolley jack and axle stands, but I'd be safer under a hoist.

I'm in a rented house (ie I can't modify stuff) with a driveway and a fairly conventional carport. I'd love to have a huge shed with a high roof and 4 post hoist. Some day... Until that day, I'm keen to see if I can find something that fits within the space I've got, and at least gets the car off the ground easily enough. Places all over the world sell the scissor hoist that is often referred to as the MR30. Do some Google searching (MR30 scissor hoist) and you'll find various places with specifications and photos. Yeah, if you're buying a house (ie long term commitment) then a huge shed with a high roof is the way to go. Assuming that there aren't any council issues. Still, a 4 post hoist does take up a heap of room. All good, if you've got the space. An in-ground scissor hoist doesn't take up any space, but still gets the car off the ground. If you were building a shed from scratch then you would be able to plan from the start (ie concrete depth). An in-ground scissor hoist could even go in a normal carport, where the car is normally parked. A 4 point hoist is the ultimate, but a scissor hoist is worth considering if that isn't an option. Damn shame that a scissor hoist is almost the same cost as a 4 point hoist, though.

I had a quick look at one a few weeks ago. There was more access to underneath the car than I expected. Tail shafts would be a breeze. Dunno about gearboxes, but can't see any reason why not. Something like an MR30 only raises the car up by 1 metre, so there's no standing room. It's still going to be crawling and squatting. But it will raise a car up in a standard carport (ie limited ceiling height).

Sounds like you've got DS2500 pads - they're known for being some of the dustiest pads around. Good bite, but dusty. They're good pads - they'll work well. You'll just be going nuts cleaning wheels all the time. For Brembo calipers, brake pads are like picking football teams or car brands - everyone's got their favourite choice. When I put 6/4 Brembos on my taxi a few years ago I did a bunch of homework to try and figure out which pads were the least dustiest. I ended up using Hawk Performance ceramic pads. They're not cheap, but I've never had any heat fade. They still produce brake dust, but nowhere near as much as DS2500s (I've got a set that I've tried a few times). The Hawk dust also washes off wheels much easier than the DS2500 dust. I couldn't pick any difference in bite between the DS2500 and Hawk Perforamce ceramic pads. Everyone's got their preferred choice of pad. Talk to Matt at Race Brakes Sydney on (02) 9609 1101 - he gets feedback about all sorts of different options. http://www.racebrakessydney.com.au Hawk Performance Brake Pad Part Numbers: PBR Premium 325mm: HB247Z.575 http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb247z575 Brembo 6 piston front: HB616Z.607 http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb616z607 Brembo 4 piston front: HB193Z.670 http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb193z670 Brembo 4 piston rear: HB194Z.665 http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hb194z665 For cleaning wheels, I use a Hills weed sprayer bottle and CT18. You can buy specialised wheel cleaning spray bottles but they all still need physical contact (ie brush) to get the brake dust build-up off.

Been doing homework on a scissor lift recently - they don't take up much space. Needs to be a) portable, and b) fit in a normal carport (height). There's one called an MR30 which looks ok. Do a search on YouTube for MR30 scissor lift to see how they work. Sold in Perth by AAQ, but they're expensive and won't budge on price ($3250): http://www.aaq.net.au/shop/detail/autolift-161108/ Molnar have their version, but it's even more expensive. Meanwhile, they're around $US1200 direct from China: http://en.eae-ae.com/En/proshow/pId/20/classID/5 They're on eBay for $2590 in Melbourne - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/121489496955 I've found a new/unused one in Sydney for $2000 but need to figure out how to get it to Perth (I've set myself a budget limit of $2000 in total). Lynford in Perth have a couple of in-ground scissor lifts. Surprisingly, they don't limit access to underneath the car much. Photos of in-ground ones: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35433 YouTube:

Likewise - despite owning the car and having spent dozens of hours in the carport working on it, I just hadn't had a proper close-up look at the paint. It was always something that I'd get around to later (ie last). The obsession has been on stuff that I deal with as a driver (ie interior and general mechanical stuff). Now I realise that no matter what I do, the Shockwave paint is going to be an ongoing problem unless the car is stripped back and resprayed. Ford's response is going to be crucial.

Yep, this is going to turn out really, really really, really good... or really, really, really bad. Ford's decision will result in quite a huge effect on the value of the car.

Sunday, 3rd May, 2015 Having spent the weekend reading through endless forum posts and discussions about the problems with Ford’s Shockwave paint, I’ll be taking the car to a Ford dealer tomorrow to hopefully be photographed and assessed. Although I washed the car only a few days ago, I wanted to make sure that it’s presented as tidily as possible. So I washed it again, including paying a bunch of extra attention to the wheels. I also went through the interior of the car with my weed blower to blow dust off the dashboard, centre console, speedo gauges, etc. Most of the photos in this thread have been close-up photos of particular parts of the car that I was working on at the time. Time for a couple of photos that show the whole car. Even from a distance, you can see a couple of paint chips on the roof, as well as numerous paint chips on the bonnet. During washing the car today, another chunk of paint came off. A close-up of where the paint came off today. As you can see, the Shockwave paint completely fails to adhere to the metal bodywork.

The ones that I bought new in February are still packed up in their original boxes, unopened. I'm going to fit them when I replace the calipers (ie I've got some other Brembos that I've had powder coated to replace the current ones that have lost the clear lacquer). The part number on the box is 42102S.