Hi, this is our 1997 EL Futura picked it up for $300 no rego and a blown head gasket. At the time we were looking for a XH Panel van but had no luck with our price range then this EL popped up so i grabbed it.


It sure hasn't been loved over the years, it stunk of cigarettes and rotten food. As soon as we got it home it got a wash and a vacuum and straight away it was looking much better. The smart bar/roo bar was removed as it was ugly and the bumper had snagged on the car trailer and ripped off.

She sure has been through a lot 324,595km and once the head gasket is done many more to come. It has the usual shopping trolley dents and one big one under the fuel flap which i have fixed up, i have de-badged and bogged up the holes and all dents and primed them all up, the de-badging looks really good.



Interior wise its perfect just dirty carpet and a dirty bottom drivers seat, the dash also got a clean and i wiped interior protection over it and it is still looking good.


Engine wise its ok as i stated before she has a blown head gasket we got the head off last week and the gasket was rooted, the head looks alright but i will get it checked over by a mechanic. The engine bay is dirty as rusty water stains all on the drivers side and oil on the passengers side.


I have resprayed the rocker cover in the colour i want to do the whole car in.



Im currently looking for a full EF front end to put on it as im not a fan of the EL fronts and im also looking for EF taillights again not a fan of EL ones

Future plans are:

Full respray in a metallic red
17inch ROH RT's
Super lows all round
Window tint
Full 2.5" cat-back exhaust
Tossing up between pacemaker 4480 or 4499 extractors
Wade 1673 cam
Upgrade the stereo with amp and sub

We would like just a nice cruiser that has a bit of go with the looks.
Sorry for the pic overload but i hope you all like it and have positive feedback

Thankyou.
Brett

wow nice pick up, easy to work on, will be keeping an eye on this thread will be interesting to see your processes. good to see cars given a second chance

That tappet cover looks really really nice, the whole car in that will certainly be a treat. Interior-wise it looks pretty good too, that red futura badge on the passenger dashboard sticks out after only seeing green GLi ones. Should be a sweet car when it's done, looking forward to the finished product!

I have an EF XR front end for sale. Includes bonnet, front bar, headlights and indicators. All genuine Ford, not fibreglass knockoffs.
PM me for details.

Brett

Ive got a EF front end for it so cant wait to get it on, now im just after a boot lid after we dented ours last week and EF tail lights.

No such thing, the more the better, imo.
Nice pick-up for $300.. can't complain about that, really. Hope it cleans up nice.

unsure on springs for this as it will be sitting on 17"s.

Lows or super lows?

what do you guys think??

Supers any day of the week for me

I have super lows in my ED with 18"s and thats pretty good, sometimes it will tuck the rears.

Also picked up my first performance mod yesterday a Wade 1673 with shims.

I gave the engine bay a good clean up as well, some parts came up pretty shiny just a pity its all getting painted over

The drivers side has no guard on it so the whole lot isn't sitting properly. But here is a mock up of the front end.





I think i did alright considering i have never taken off or replaced a EF/EL front end. There is a first time for everything.

Front bar is primed as well as the roof and both rear 1/4 panels.

Also picked up the timing chain kit, which means the engine will be coming out to do that and to get the engine bay prepped, primed and painted. Also paint the block and possibly the head and BBM but dunno on those 2 yet.

Does anyone on here know where to get clear side indicators the ones in the front 1/4 panels? (Perth).

cheers

try superoo spares in bellvue

be sure to take some pics when you do!

Picked up 2 new front fenders today, the front is now complete, now just for the rear to come.

I wanted to see what my rim would look like on the car, not sold on the idea.


Primed front bar not really much to look at but its a update


Which lights are better... EL or EF


I would love to get that tow bar assembly off, this car will never tow anything.

That's it for now, as i have to get onto the mechanical side of things i want to get this thing running so it can be moved around.

cheers

looks like you got yourself a bargain, good to see the progress already. Personally i think the ef tail lights look better, when you debadged the car, did you mean you had to bog the holes up from badges or what? im wanna debadge mine but not if there is holes behind