PhilMeUp

I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrve my vasectomy. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Recap: Dodgy taxi driver reversed out of a driveway and into my FPV Tornado last Saturday night. Hit & run. Thanks to GPS tracking, the car and driver have been identified by the taxi dispatch company. They sent him a message, saying to contact me. However, they can't give me any of his details (privacy laws). I spoke to him on the phone Tuesday night, but he's dodging me. Now he won't answer my calls. Ah well. Got an insurance quote. $6700. For a dent in the front fender and some paint on the front bumper. Made a police report. The guy has been refusing to give me his details, so that will be a $1500 fine. Spoke with Dept of Transport on Tuesday. They can't do anything until the police charge him (ie months away), but once that happens there's not enough lubricant in the world for the arse raping that DOT will give him. He'll get thoroughly done over eventually, but that doesn't fix my bloody car in the short term. The car that I've worked on for so many %$#@ hours over the last couple of months. It becomes war next week. It will get interesting.

Taxi stuff is easy enough to trace, but it helps to know how it all works. Did you know that here in WA it's a $1500 fine to refuse to provide your details after damaging a car? I know that now - Reg 55 of the Road Traffic Act. Then there's the whole Careless Driving thing (fairly minor) and the response of the Dept of Transport regarding his taxi licence (not minor). He's fobbing me off tonight, but the SMSes that I've lined up and about to send might generate quite a response.

Went to move my Tornado on Sunday afternoon and noticed a dent in the front. The eventual conclusion was that a taxi reversed into it from a house across the road. I know the taxi industry very well, including the 24/7 GPS tracking on taxis and camera footage. Thus, it was easy enough for the taxi dispatch company to identify the driver. The law prevents them from giving me his personal details, but they have sent him a message on the taxi computer. He rang me today and agreed to come and see me between 7pm and 8pm. He didn’t show. I rang him at 8pm and sure enough, I’m getting the usual dodgy Indian treatment. Bugger. It will sort out - there’s not enough lubricant in the world to handle the arse-raping that he’ll get from the police and Dept of Transport (ie hit and run). But early indications are that it might take some time and legal action. I got a price quote on a new front bumper, just for sh*ts and giggles. $4072.79. Just for the bumper.

From a 1944 movie called, "Broadway Rhythm." This is from a scene performed by the Ross sisters - three contortionist women. Watch the whole clip - the girls start doing their tricks at about the 1:00 mark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Sisters

Keep https://eztv-proxy.net bookmarked as a backup.

Good point. And some paint chips on the bonnet and side of the car. Gee, I'd completely forgotten about that when I was getting the quote organised this afternoon... Like I said, there will be... negotiations... There is a reason that I'm not entirely raging about this right now.

HInt: Don't reverse a taxi into my FPV and do a runner. Someone will be getting the privilege of paying for painting my front bumper. Doesn't look like he's working tonight - he wasn't logged in to the system at 8pm. I'll check again later. Off to Dept of Transport tomorrow. They'll ring him. He'll feel like Andrew Chan after that call.

Teresa and I had a lovely chat about it all. Damn shame you can't do a camera download there to see how much he craps himself when I give him the options. - Dept of Transport - Driver Conduct, and whatever else they want to throw at him. - Police - leaving the scene of an accident. Failure to report an accident. Probably chuck in Careless Driving as well. - Dept of Transport - round 2 - possible suspension or cancellation of taxi driver's licence for no longer being a "fit and proper person". Or pay me $2-3000 immediately. Or I get an expensive quote that involves replacing the front bumper. What does a genuine FPV front bumper cost new? $4000ish? Not gonna be his best day. But, he chose it. If he had left a note at the time then we'd discuss a cheap fix ($500) but that option won't exist now. I'll post photos in the build thread later. It was an intriguing time figuring it all out yesterday afternoon.

Yeah, but then I can't extort...err... negotiate with him about paying me promptly. There will be... "negotiations". It won't be cheap for him. Rock ----> Him <---- Hard place.

He does the taxi computer stuff at a certain taxi company. I stopped by at that company today and said a quick hello. Gave him the usual lecture about how he needs to upgrade his brakes from the standard stuff before going beyond his existing 335rwkw. I was actually there because a taxi backed into my Tornado on Saturday night and did a runner (when I was out working in my own taxi). Rather amusing - he's hit the wrong car - someone who knows the taxi business rather well (including the 24/7 GPS tracking). Thus, the taxi (and driver) have been identified. A message has been sent to the driver via the taxi computer, so I'll wait and see if I hear back from him. If not, then the Dept of Transport gets involved. There is not enough lubricant in the world to handle the arse-raping they'll give him.

Might just have to ditch the taxi for a few hours. Can someone please send me details.

In my Tornado: Roof light - 42mm http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZD0754 Cat No: ZD0754 LED Festoon Replacement Globe, 31mm, CANBus Compatible A range of ultra-bright LED replacement "festoon" globes for car interior lights, which are fully compatible with modern "CANBus" systems that would otherwise give a globe failure warning when using an LED globe. Each globe features six ultra bright wide angle SMD LEDs, a non-polarity circuit (can fit the globe either way), and a CANBus circuit. There are three models to chose from, each working on 12VDC.

Specifications:
• Size: 42mm
• Lumens: 150
• LED type: 6x5730SMD
• Beam: 120º
• Colour: White Price: $12.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Map light globes: T10 Wedge Replacement LED QUAD Globe (White) http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZD0394 Cat No: ZD0394 Jazz up your automotive dashboard by replacing your indicator lighting with LEDs! Not only will they spruce up the look of your car, these are long life LEDs with low current consumption and total reliability. T5 and T10 sizes available to suit most applications. T10 Wedge 12VDC LED QUAD Globes 
White Cat No. ZD-0394 
Red Cat No. ZD-0395
Blue Cat No. ZD-0396 Price: $3.50

See, I knew there was a good reason somewhere for removing the disc rotors!

Nah, much, much more specialised than that. It will be an auto sparky or Ford job.

Removing and re-fitting axles is extremely easy. I had trouble last year with getting the old bearings off because I didn't have the right stuff to do the job with. I was also trying to use the press for everything so that I could learn to do it late at night (ie no power tools). Last night I tried cutting the collar off an axle with a cutting disc and angle grinder. It was extremely easy to do. I used some mini boltcutters to cut the bearing cage off, and then the press to remove the inner ring from the bearing cage that was left on the axle. If you want to replace the axle bearings while you're at it then get a pair of Timken 2985 bearing kits (around $30 each) and take the axles to a workshop with a press (eg suspension place). At least then you can save on the labour cost of removing the axles and putting them back in. I can't see what they're for. For leaf springs, there's one bolt at each end and the u-bolts in the middle to hold the diff in place.

Good point... it doesn't, unless you're going to do anything with axle bearings (and possibly handbrake adjustment) while you're there. Although, removing the disc rotors might help with getting access to the u-bolt nuts.

I had trouble removing the rear discs on my FPV ute recently. I spent ages thumping them with a hammer but they still wouldn’t come loose. In the end I fed the brake caliper bolts through the caliper mounts until they pushed the disc off a little bit. Rotate the disc half a circle and repeat. http://www.fordforums.com.au/showpost.php?p=5278853&postcount=36

It's all simple. Once you've done it then you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Some photo guides (I can't find the equivalent threads on here): http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11428368 http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11418260 Check to make sure that the spare wheel winch works while you're there. Whenever unwinding or winding up the cable, make sure that there's always tension on it so that it doesn't jam up inside the casing. http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11427506

I replaced the leaf springs on my BF ute a few weeks ago. Not particularly difficult. Get some new shackle bushes before you start the job. The Ford part number is XT5781A (Ford have been using them since the 1968 XT Falcon) or you can get Nolathane ones. You'll need 8 of them (4 each side). Some photos here: http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/topic/89684-2006-fpv-tornado-f6-ute-cleanup-resurrection/#entry1520650

Go to: http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Key-Blanks-/40016/I.html and do a search for BF Falcon. I have previously bought some blanks from Amalgamated Locksmiths: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321340217452 I’ve also bought key blanks from Honrow.com but they take a while to arrive. Actually… idea… call Amalgamated Locksmiths (http://www.amalgamatedlocksmiths.net) with the VIN for your car and see if they can cut the keys before sending them. Some locksmiths can contact Ford with the VIN and get the cutting codes. The locksmith can then put the blanks in the $60,000 cutting machine, enter the four digit cutting code and the machine spits out cut keys. You might as well get three keys made. If you lose one in the future then you’ve still got two left. Once you’ve got keys, you’ll need to get either a Ford dealer or an auto electrician to code the keys to the car. Of course, you are most welcome to pay around $150 for a genuine Ford blank (the normal one) or around $280 for a flip key blank. The FPV Tornado that I bought at auction a couple of months ago didn’t have any keys (bank repossession). Luckily, I had a couple of spare key blanks at home, got them cut quickly and found a mobile locksmith who could go to the car to code the keys. I used West Coast Lock Service (I’m in Perth) - http://www.westcoastlockservice.net

I've considered the D34 but even at trade price they're a bit over twice the price of what I'm paying for MF50s. I'm getting around 12 months out of an MF50 at the moment. I need to buy a decent battery charger so that I can charge it properly every couple of months and when I leave stuff on for too long and run the battery flat (Sundays and Mondays). Currently considering a Ctek MXS 10. When the D34s get to $200 then I'll start using them (feel free to PM me how much you're getting them for). He stopped coughing up the cash... which would be why it was repossessed by the bank and sold at auction. Would love to know the full story, though. Hopefully he gets back on his feet and buys an FG F6... which I can buy at auction next year.

Thursday, 29th January, 2015 In amongst my slightly obsessive (and time consuming) cleanup on the interior when I first got the Tornado home the one thing that I didn’t do was clean the inside of the windscreen. Although parking it with the afternoon sun shining directly on it is a tad extreme, you get the picture. It’s a bit of a mess. I’ve never taken to having a dashboard cover, which means that I get grime build-up on the inside of the glass when the sun heats up the dashboard enough. And we’re all aware of how messy the whole car was when I originally bought it. It also looks like my earlier attempt at gluing the sagging roof lining back in to place hasn’t been particularly successful, although it was at least enough to get the car through the licencing inspection. This is what I do with my taxi when the inside of the windscreen is getting too grimy. I use a window squeegee, a towel, some Windex and a marker pen. I keep a TomTom GPS in each car but when I clean the inside of the windscreen it’s always frustrating trying to get the GPS mount back in the same place. I use the marker pen to put two or three dots on the outside of the windscreen to mark where the bracket goes. You can see one black dot above the bracket, and one on each side. Then I put a towel over the dashboard before spraying the window cleaner. I don’t use much Windex - just a few small squirts. Because I’m only using lightweight half squirts, the towel is there to catch the droplets that don’t get to the glass. I wet the window squeegee with water and remove the handle before using it. Removing the handle makes it easier to use in the car, particularly on the side of the glass when I curve the squeegee toward me so that the rubber lip can get as close to the edge of the glass as possible. Doing all this covers about three quarters of the glass (ie as far down as the squeegee will get between the glass and the dashboard). Large drops of remaining water get taken care off with a towel before I wrap a microfibre cloth around my hand to remove remaining smudges. Much cleaner now. To finish, I put the TomTom GPS bracket back in place by lining it up with the marker pen dots. The standard TomTom brackets are junk, so I bought this one from buybits.com in the UK (SKU 6130). This whole process only takes a few minutes and is very easy to do. It also helps reduce glare in bright light situations such as morning sunrises, afternoon sunsets and oncoming headlights at night.

Sunday, 18th January, 2015 After replacing the radiator during the week it occurred to me on Sunday that there was still some coolant on the top of the plastic splash guard (ie the black plastic bit that attaches to the bottom of the front bumper). This would probably dry up and turn to goo later on. Time for the extremely useful Ryobi pressure washer to get some use. Whilst replacing the radiator I had also noticed a few areas of greasy grime around the power steering pump area that I hadn’t originally cleaned, so I decided to blast some water around there as well. I’ve been using CT18 cleaner for years but CT14 is better for greasy conditions. The problem with CT14 is that is wrecks the seals in normal spray bottles, so I bought a $30 CRC one from Repco to try out. That’s a tad expensive for a simple spray bottle, which is why it’s taken me so many years to finally cough up that much money for one. For that price, it had better last for decades. I’m almost tempted to have children just so that they can inherit it. Being Sunday, it was also taxi washing day, so both cars got parked in the front yard. And both engine bays got cleaned. I removed the cooling fans on the Tornado so that I could get to the top of the splash guard. CT14 was sprayed all through the front of the engine bay. I used the pressure washer on the splash guard and some small areas around the steering pump and water pump, but nowhere else. Much to my delight, the Tornado started up straight away and ran on all six cylinders. The trick to washing Falcon engines is to not let water get past the coil cover bolts. The coil cover is the black plastic thing on top of the engine and underneath is a coil and spark plug for each cylinder. Although there is a fibre washer on each coil cover bolt, it is still possible for water to get past and fall into the spark plug holes. This results in the irritating task of removing the coil cover and coils to get to the spark plugs (which will have water around them, resulting in them not firing). On my taxi I have replaced the fibre washers with heat-proof o-rings. This has been working well - I can spray a garden hose all over the engine bay now and water won’t get past the o-rings. I’ll be doing the same with the Tornado when I get around to it. The SuperCharge battery has 650CC and 107RC (pretty much the highest ratings around). For around $150-160 retail, they are a very good choice of battery.

For diff oil, I use Penrite Pro Gear 80-140. Not cheap, but synthetic and heavy duty and doesn't require additional additives for LSDs. Make sure that you are able to remove the fill bolt before draining the diff (in case the fill bolt won't come loose).

Yep, for WA you need an F class endorsement on your licence. Easy enough, it's just a form and some money (around $100). Pretty sure you'll need a medical check from a GP for that one as well. There will be info on www.transport.wa.gov.au somewhere. For commercial use it will probably have to be licenced as a Small Charter Vehicle, which will also mean a pits inspection every 12 months. Insurance is where it gets tricky. Have a chat with your current insurance company and see what they can do. Sure, you can try and do things with your current conventional insurance, but that's all gonna go bad if/when you make a claim. Possible fraud charges and court appearances for making a claim on personal car insurance when it was commercial use (Uber drivers will be finding out about that one). My taxi costs $1,600 to licence and $3,500 to insure per year (with a $2,000 excess). Call Dept of Transport on 1300 660 147 for some info, or go see them at 10 Brown Street, East Perth.