I recently bought this 88 3.9L EA Fairmont Ghia for $400, it has about 300,000kms on the clock, it has rust in every panel, It rattles, whines, creaks and squeaks from everywhere, it has so many problems, there is loud ticking and knocking noises from the middle and rear of engine, where the cat joins to the headers rattles loud, when first started in the mornings the gearbox whines, the first time i drove it i planted the accelerator in first gear, massive cloud of black smoke and no power got to about 50 kmph after 5 seconds.. so as soon as i got the car home i serviced it, changed the plugs, flushed the oil, new oil and filter, then i checked out the air filter and air intake tubing, i found in the tube that was attached to the throttlebody was black oil,so i chucked out that tube and air intake and put a new pipe on with a pod on the end, used some dry lube on the belts to stop from squealing, started my car up again no black smoke now but still a belt was squealing and after i turned off the car their was white smoking coming from the front and back join on the cat. i dont know what that could be. after i inspected the belts i found that the belt for the AC was frayed underneath and was rubbing so i just cut it off because the AC didn't work and didn't have any gas in the system anyway.. so basically the only problems it has now is this really bad whine from gearbox when the engine is turned on when its cold, this white smoke coming from the cat, the right side windscreen wiper doesn't actually wipe the windscreen, and i am getting really terrible mileage out of it..could it be running rich? also all the rust in the panels, and the boot doesn't close even when u slam it down hard, u have to kick it hard and the headlining is sagging really bad and there is no aerial, so im just wondering what you think of the car and the problems that it has, and what i can do to make it more... respectable

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if I were in your position I'd just be using this car as a runabout, and only spending what's necessary to keep it roadworthy while I saved up for something in better condition. A decent cut and polish should make a bit of a difference to the initial appearance.
I honestly think it'd take a LOT of time and $$ to bring this car back. However that being said a 1/2 decent EA-D GLi / S Pack can be found fairly cheaply and it's not terribly difficult to swap the Fairmont stuff you have now into one of the lower spec models. If this car gets you around for 12-18 months without having to sink a buttload of cash into it, you've done well.

I'd consider giving it a good cut and polish, and I'd look at the posibility of fitting an EF/EL engine, The reason I say EF/EL and not AU, is because there's more mucking about to fit the AU motor, and it's such a cheap car. So look out for a low k's EF/EL motor and gearbox, put all your intake manifold and stuff on it, and away you go, no need to swap any wiring or computers or anything. Maybe paint up some bits gloss black? Sounds like it needs a new wiper assembly to get the wipers working, pretty cheap from the wreckers. I reckon it'll clean up alright, have fun.

Gab

start by giving it a good polish , check the gasget for the exhaust to cat, easy enough to replace, check the ignition timing with a timing light, check the rotor button and distributor cap, clean out the throttle body as it will be full of oily gunk, check/ replace leads if you didnt already and run a tank or 2 of 98 octane fuel

Is this the same post?? the-garage-f53/taming-the-beast-t112748.html

yeah sorry i posted it twice in different sections, and thanks for the advice, wit hthe EF/EL engine conversion you are saying you can swap them and put my instake manifold onto the EF/EL engine?
also i have run injector cleaner through with 98 octane a full tank, the first few start caused alot of black smoke and some black liquid to squirt out the exhaust

also u can see in the pics it has rust in the door panels and in the black parts that go between the door and the window, how can i fix that? and on the bonnet there is a massive rust bubble that is like the size of half a tennis ball, is there any reason why it would be running so rich, i t has used about half a tank of fuel to go 200kms

Half a tank for 200 ks. Seems about spot on there man, I get 250ks from $50 of 98.

i guess so but now i have done 250kms and i have used 3/4 of a tank so i dunno, i just went for a quick drive then to see what other problems would arise.. the gearbox was whining for about 2 minutes till i stopped at the servo.. i stopped and turned the engine off..loads of thick white smoke filled the place.. i opened the bonnet and it was coming from the cat and also the back of the engine where it meets the transmission.. does burning trans fluid make white smoke? also i checked the fluid for the transmission and it was fine.. would u gearbox whine if it was low on fluid? also when i was driving the gear changes were hard and there wasn't much power, but then when i left the servo, there was no whining noise, gear change wasn't hard, and there was heaps of power? enough power to spin the wheels when floored in 2nd

maybe your solenoids are stuffedin the trans , also the white smoke could be a leaking trans onto the exhaust, whats the coolant look like and what did the oil look like when you drained IT?
worst case senario headgasgets gone and you need 3 bottles of chemiweld

Yes mate they are basically the same engine, but an EF/EL engine is a bit more refined, you just re use all your accesories, alternator, power steering, manifolds, the whole job lot on the EF/EL motor.

Gab

the coolant looked normal and green, no brown or sludge, and the oil was super black and think

sounds to me like power steering fluid or oil of somekind leaking onto the back end of the exhaust manifold and burning up

no alternator wont work it has a different pulley

+1

Best solution to a busted head gasket.