Well where to start, have been a member for yonks, only really started reading it the last few months tho and have been really impressed and inspired by a lot of people on here.

Thought I would start this thread as I need some help, I have already picked up many things just searching thru the forums for tips and advice on repairs and mods and stuff, but i think im going to need more help as I know enough about mechanical and wiring to be dangerous.

Have owned the mont for about six years now, and is a daily drive family car; was bought off a work mate, was his missus car, i think they were the second owners but hard to tell as I never got the books with it. Think I payed 8g's for it back then with about 220k-230ks on it maybe. So it came with a few mods before I got her.

The rims were on it when I got it and have always loved them from the start, never really seen any others like them.

Car also came with 2 1/2" cat back exhaust, I don't think its S/Steel as it now has rust holes in it? I'm not sure but it didn't think S/Steel pipes rust so...

Windows tinted; its starting to come away and flake in parts now though, not bad I guess as tint only supposed to last 5 years or so.

Has yellow springs, (have been told they are "King Springs"?), and Monroe gas struts. Im pretty sure the car is lower than standard as I have parked it next to a standard mont and it looks lower, but that could be the 16" rims? any opinions? Sits low enough for me anyhow, scrapes exhaust going over speed humps but definitely needs new shockies. Also badly in need of suspension overhaul, bushes and such, has mad squeaks all the time.

Also has a 6 stacker cd player under front passenger seat and a tape deck head unit, had a hands free phone kit for an old nokia, which came out today, (whoever did the install made a right mess of the wiring), Stacker and tape deck will be out soon also. Will be replacing with mp3 and ipod unit.

So that's it for mods really, now down to whats wrong with it.

1. Paint and body is pretty well shagged, clear coat coming away around rear quarters, bumpers bars scratched to hell, front guards, bonnet and front bar aren't original, has been in a front on acco, long story, lucky was not a bad one. You can see head lights and indicator lights don't really line up right, I think drivers side doors may be from the wreckers as well, sightly different white to the rear quarters, only noticed the other day.

2. Glass; as mentioned before tinting needs re-doing. Has flaking and some mad scratches in it. Probably need to get new glass in it as well. Definitely needs new windscreen has massive crack right at the bottom and chip at the top. Also front windows an one rear window doesn't work so need new motors for them.

3. Suspension; needs re-doing as mentioned before.

4. Exhaust; Has a few holes and is only a cat back would like to get extractors if I can find a cheap set. Should be able to weld up holes cheap enough.

5. Motor and auto a bit old and tired. Has about 270,000k on it.

6. Interior not great.

So that's about it, as for plans i'm not sure. Needs a lot done to get a RWC, and have spent alot of money on it recently just getting it to go, probably about $3000.00 just this year! (more than the car is worth tbh). So what to do? I'm thinking about cutting my losses but would like to get a bit of money for it, cant really get more then 1g without a RWC and probably not much more than 2gs with one if I'm lucky. Would love to start doing some mods to it but is a very poor base to start with, I'm leaning towards fixing it up and selling and holding out for a decent EL Fairmont Ghia to play with, maybe even a f/lane.

All comments and opinions appreciated, will update soon... first to do;the windows have to work!!!

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Sounds like your at the same bridge im at, if you have the room wreck it out you will probably get more money out of it as thats what im going to do with my EF its got 310xxxkms on it and it needs way to much to stay on the road, so just wreck it out and go for the EL Ghia idea as it sounds like a better option.

Cheers
URZ2NV

yeah mate I know what you mean, would be great to wreck it out tho i don't have the space, or any other means of transport, Funds are a real issue at the mo. So I've decided to spend as little as I can each month getting it ready for a RWC, see if I can learn a little along the way, then see if I can get a little bit of cash for it.....yeah right haha.

So update so far....

Found the sticky on the power windows and rang the bloke from A1 Nerang auto care to see if he still had the window regs in stock, only had the passenger side so I got that and ordered the other, $110.00 each, a bit exp imo, but gotta have them hey. so i fitted it up with only 1 small hiccup, If your going to do this for the first time and don't have much experience with these kinds of things make sure you put it in with the motor facing the right way or you'll have to pull the whole lot out and do it again hahaha. and CRC808 silicon spray works well as mentioned in the thread as well. Also dload the pdf of the ef workshop manual is a good help too.

Got a quote from O'Brien glass the other day for windscreen replacement first call was $409.00 all up! Didn't really have to think about it too hard and said cya later, they called back 5 mins later n it was $306.00! unbelievable!! so I booked her in, seems like a good deal to me and Its not like I could do it myself. They're also going to come to my work and do it there which is a bonus.

Also picked up some plastic/ vinyl spray a few weeks ago from super cheap auto, 3M stuff, thought I would have a go at painting a few bits and pieces. So I wanted to start with something fairly easy first of all and see how good this stuff was. I decided to do the plastic step trim on the drivers side as this gets alot of scuffs and the most use. Was dead easy to do these small parts and the result was pretty cool. Has been a few weeks now and a few scuffs later cleans up very well and no flaking or chipping so far, so good, will start doing bits and pieces here and there when time permits.

Alright, so I got some confidence doing the small trim parts and thought id tackle something a little more challenging, the rear window quarters! read a few threads on this and didn't seem too difficult. I did manage to do 1 of them in about 2 hours or so. I gotta say that I probably should have done more sanding with the w&d but the pitting was pretty bad and i got jack of sanding soon enough. You can still see tiny pits but have to look pretty hard at it, came up alright but at least I know what i'm in for with the other side.

Getting more confident now am thinking about colour coding the black wing mirrors now, i think colour is arctic ice, can anyone confirm this?

I got a buffer from Supercheap on the weekend also, $29.99, i thought was a bargain with 2 year warranty am going to give it a go this week end. more to come........

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mate i wouldnt part with it. atleast if you did everything on it you knew you had a good car and you could mod it to be better than a ghia. most things you have mentioned arent that exspensive if you shop around. its also a good learning curve

Alright its been a while since I updated and have been fairly busy at work so haven't had a lot of time to do much to the poor old mont. So last week I was putting a bit of fuel in the car on the way home from work, (she has been running like a dog lately chewing thru a tank for 380kms!), and went to turn the key and... nothing, my heart broke right then and there, radio working, lights working but not even a red light on the dash. Bugger! Lucky the servo had a mechanics and I only lived down the road so we pushed it in there and I walked home. Mechanic looked at it the next day and said the ignition barrel and copper plate under the steering column was cactus and he was going to charge me $580.00 to fix it!!! Said it need a brand new genuine part and second handies from the wreckers were unreliable???....hmm didnt have to think about it too long, now I don't know a lot about cars or ignition thingy's but fer crissakes $580!!! The wanker charged me $40.00 to tell me what was wrong with it too!! Called a tow truck to take it to my own mechanics $88.00 and was fixed with a second hand part for about $250.00 or so. Also got him to do a full service and it needed new wheel bearings and brake pads all round, She is driving well now so i'm stoked with that just got to get a wheel alignment on Monday and looking to get a price on an O2 sensor to help with the fuel economy. It probly going to cost me $600-800 all up I reckon, Goddamnit! Unbelievable.....rego next month too hahahaha if you don't laugh you'd cry. So that's about it for now will be a couple of months before I can afford to do anything substantial to it but I recently picked up a chrome grill and I'm in the process of painting the insert white and will be color coding the wing mirrors soon too so will hopefully post some pics next weekend.

Keep an eye on ebay bud, theres always plenty of aftermarket supply if u cant wait it out, or try sss automotive (google) - got my window regs there for $55 each + they freight almost anywhere. BTW those chicanes look cool as on ur mont!!

Thanks mate, yeah I really like them, they're a pain to keep clean but they come up real nice. That's a good idea, about the regs, I didn't even think about checking ebay.

Update; list of things done when she went into the shop to get fixed up...
The ignition replacement cost $220.00 (used from wreckers)
Front Bearings $48.80
Front & rear pads $140.00
O2 sensor $80.00
Wheel Alignment $60.00
Labor $180.00
Full Service/ Consumables $160.20
Grand Total $889.24
Not to mention $90.00 for the tow to the shop, damn near $1000.00 all in. I guess the main thing is she works now so that's good and got to have transport to get to work so its not all bad. Put in a full tank of petrol too so I'm going to be interested to see mileage now, will post in a week or so when I go through the tank.

Next month rego, then, Looking to put new 2.5" cat back and try & find a set of extractors cheap. Then will be happy with it mechanically, and just a few cosmetics to fix, Will give her a tub and take some photos this weekend I think, time to get motivated with color coding and the like.