Seems like I've been pondering for some time about getting another AU as I'm finding myself disinterested with the EL Fairmont Ghia (the-garage-f53/tekno-s-96-el-fairmont-ghia-infinity-t101371.html) these days. Which one would I get though? A Series 1, 2 or 3? A Forte, Sports Pack, Futura, Fairmont of the elusive Fairmont Ghia? A I6 or a V8? After having a S1 '98 Forte and then moving up to (or as some would say, moving down) the '96 EL Fairmont Ghia and the options that came with it, I didn't want to quite go back to the base model that was the Forte.

So for a few weeks I scoured local cars on eBay and in my own style, which is rushing in and buying something stupidly, $810 later I purchased a '99 "Hot Chilli" Sports Pack AU on an ad that read the following "Hey selling my car with no plates rego just run out.Got myself a brand new car.No power steering,electric windows and door locks not working.Apart from that excellent runner new gearbox 1 year ago."

Having looked at the pictures, the car seemed in relatively good condition and supposedly other than the aforementioned issues, the car was an excellent runner. The body wasn't entirely straight as seen in the pictures, but that was something I'd be happy to pay to get reworked at the cost I'd be buying it for as the pictures showed the paint work to be pretty clean.

Photos taken by the previous owner:









And so came pickup day, organised the CTP and Unregistered Driving paperwork and drove it from Lutwyche to Toowoomba. Turn up at the address where the car was to be collected from and... disappointment. The rear wheel wells both had scraping on them that will need to be patched up. The boot is rusty, the spoil is detatched in the middle and bonnet is pushed in right at the front where you'd unlatch it to open it. As well as the acceptable marks on the front and rear bumpers.

Then came the interior... whilst it looked rather straight, albeit it, worn on the interior, it too had much left to be desired... Lets start with the basics. The seats were very, very faded and the foam lacked depth (for lack of a better word, squished). The centre console was missing the lid, there was no mirror adjust (which ironicially wasn't a big issue because the passenger mirror was screwed and seemingly inches from falling off -- re: pictures above/below). The drivers window worked, but the window was unattached from the power window mechanism, whilst the passenger's wasn't working at all. And then we move on to the entire lack of door trim on the driver's door all together, including the power window switches. On a plus note, its all black trim for what is there and the dash board is in good condition.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed with what I had won, but then I thought about the potential that I'll have with this car and the perks it sports: ABS brakes, Cruise Control, Black Interior and that's about where the perks end on this one.

The main reason I'm still happy to have this is that minus the body work, I have all of the bits and pieces that I'm going to need to get this car back to a roadworthy state from my old AU (http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php ... knoslasher). The engine and gearbox should be good enough to get the car through roadworthy and then some (for its 329,000KMS).

Photos taken by myself when I got home:






















































So now we're on to the fun stage of what I expect is at least a month-long process of cleaning the car up and possibly just putting in a low-km engine and box.

Last edited by Teknoslasher on Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

And just a slight list of the things that will need attention.

Light switch.
Futura Grill.
Back Seat.
Centre Console.
Speedo.
Gear Selector.
Door Trims.
Boot lid.
Fuel Switch.
Scuff Plates.
Wheels.
Boot trim.
Bonnet Trim.
Rear Bar?
Work out what they key is from.
Mirrors.
Visors.
Chrome Intech OHC Badges.
Door actuators.
Control Arms.
Seat Belts.
Rotors.
Rear - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Slotted-Disc ... 2c5e79949c - $132 Inc Postage.
Front - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Slotted-Disc ... 2eb9abc0d3 - $132 Inc Postage.
Blank Keys.
Dash Facia.
Engine & Gearbox.
Rear Window Regulators.
Door Seals.
Change Rims.
Cut offs.
Gas Struts.
Bonnet.

A few more pictures from the weekend past. Replaced the seal on the passenger side for the doors. Pulled out the CD player for the new one, I was happily surprised to see that the cords were never cut.





I had the fun job of pulling out all of the interior and replacing it with that of my previous AU as its in better condition than what I pulled out (more than like will end up whacking it on theBay for $50). I was surprised to see how many fruit seeds were in the car. This guy must've loved his oranges. I think the car may've at one stage had mice within it as I found seeds in spots seed shouldn't be found in a car.








How the hell did the seeds end up here?!














All the while the site inspector was overseeing the work.

There's still a ******** of work to get done, the door panels will be swapped over next. I scored a few more door panels, but they're not the blue inserts, they're more charcoalt than anything. Does anyone know how to replace them to a different door?

The only mechanical work I need to do that I'm aware of is to replace the power steering pump which I'll be going to the wreckers for. Other than that, a degrease and she should be golden.

My EL Ghia is up for rego again this time in a month and so I'm not sure if I should just pay for more and keep it a bit longer or if I should just rush to get it on the road and pass the EL on to my mate for $1,000.

I'll have to swap over the S Pack seats in my EL back to the AU frames and put them into the AU.

Here's my accomplishment for the day (I was feeling too lazy to do much).







Its not going to be for everyone's tastes, but that's not what owning a car is about really. I'm thinking of doing the spear on the dashboard, but I am yet to work out how to remove it in order to vinyl wrap it. I was initially thinking of doing the facia with the wrap, which is why I bought it, but I think I'm just going to spray it black instead. It'll look s**t IMO to wrap the whole thing.

And for good measure, I'm posing a picture of the current EL FG.



I should have more pictures tomorrow to put up after I've completed the interior and there's quite a few goodies coming, but they'll just have to wait until they arrive.