yetchh

5th

a pillar attachment..

looks way better huh?...

extremely happy with how the front clip came out.. very happy..

4th

update time.. c&p again from ff's

okay.. heres an update with a fairly different looking car.. for the better i might say.. theres a lot of pics but it gives you a good idea of what i have to do to her.. for some reason the blasters did all the plenum and a pillars when i said dont but also didnt do the underside of the new roof or the inside of the frame for it.. no matter i'm very very happy with the $1000 it cost me, would definitely recommend doing this as i gives you an awesome start and good idea of what to do to finish your pride and joy.. anyway.. hope you enjoy the pics

swiss cheese..

this shows the major damage to the original panels.. not sure if i'll even use them

the good panels.. no rust in rear quarters either, one has a small amount of dimpling as you can see

3rd

Question one.. have you had a look at the history of the car?

:raiseeyes: I mean REALLY looked into the history..

Ok, perhaps i can pose this question to you to generate a train of thought... I am still stuck on the photos with the rear 1/4s and the weld lines.. the exact same on both sides you say?

Have a look at the profile of the car, taking into consideration the weld line and angle of it... i dont know about you but the words convertable test mule come to mind?? Since the tags (?) are stamped warranty void, wouldnt this mean something was VERY wrong of changed from factory?

which a couple of people have indicated could be referring to a place called lyon bros motors/bodyworks in eltham.. as for the convertable idea, the welds tell me that it was the bottom of the rear quarters that have been replaced as they've brazed them on where as everything above that line is spot welded, theres also no evidence of any other repairs to the body frame, i suspect it was just damaged in the factory or something, for them to put what looks to me like a factory stamp on the vin plate.. its all a bit of a mystery.. anyway, thanks for the welcome fellaz, and i'll try to keep regular updates comin in

2nd instalment..

this next post is the last update i made on ford forums.. again, C&P.. cheers, thomas

ok i have an update to my progress, after deliberating for the last few weeks ive decided to go the whole hog and strip her right back to make sure all the rust is completely eliminated, not only strip her but also separate her into her three major components, body structure, floor pan/firewall and engine sub frame.. this will allow me to repair all the rust spots and and proof against further attacks also, i will be able to replace other panels within these separate components with more ease than if they were together .. i may also be relocating the body to a better environment for this procedure.. anyway.. heres a couple of pics, cheers, thomas

say hello to my little friend..

parcel shelf awesomeness

garage is starting to fill up

so that is pretty much where i'm at, just waiting on some parts from another FF members and then i can get right into it which i am seriously itching to do, but not only that, i had set myself a 2 year time frame before i shift back to nz.. now its the end of this year, so i have even less time with which to finish. hopefully if i dont get stuffed around too much this wont be a problem.. anyway, cheers for reading... and wish me luck, cheers, thomas

__________________

Discussion thread - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=34426

Ok so after a small push ive got one car to put up here, i started this while i was still in oz but had to put it all on hold otherwise my repair certifier would have made me pull it all apart which i didnt relish.. so this is a cut and paste from fordforums.com.au and also on aussiecoupes.net, enjoy.. thomas

Fast forward to aug 07 and i could not believe how much things had changed in the price department.. like 300% increase in price i pretty much consigned myself to never owning a coupe in good cond.. so i bought my xc wagon (which my missus christened goldie) as i needed a car for work, not the best choice as i only get around 4-5kms per liter, then after around 2 years of watching things come and go on the coupe market.. my landau came up on ebay. i watched it for a while with a few bids pushing it to the 6k mark where it stayed for about 80% of the auction.. at the time i was up in St Arnud shooting and i ummd and ahhd about it before coming home to find that it was still at the 6k mark with 5hrs to go, i set myself a max bid of 8k and sniped it in the last 4 seconds and somehow managed to buy myself a clapped out piece of craap for 7800..

I had bought it sight unseen and those of you who know, you can never really tell whats goin on in the photos unless they are close up.. this thing is seriously stuffed as you'll see, with some major rust problems going on, it might have been a bit of a non bargain but i am happy that i am now on the ford coupe ladder, albeit on the groung still but at least i'm holding the sides .. its matching numbers but the engine doesnt turn over at all, i have no idea why just yet but i hope its not termina, i just scored mysel a fairly mint roof for $620 and the guy also has a couple of rear 1/4s to sell me when i'm ready(youll see why) but i a bit piissed at myself for letting a fairly mint parcel shelf go by on ebay for $610.. sorry about the long intro, i just thought its better with a little history then you get why i bought this car.. anyway heres some photos to start

on the trailer at the sellers place

back at mine after only being able to load it backwards and wobbling the trailer all the way home

proud new owner :$

and the rust

i think i might have discovered the reason for the warranty void stamp on the vin.. as you can see its clearly had something done to the rear 1/4s as there is a weld line from one side to the other on both sides

you can also see where theyve lapped the new panel

new roof on goldie

the area in which i hope to start a massive job soon

so that brings it up to date.. i have yet to get myself a welder but have a friend who is an engineer and can get me one cost.. hopefully give me some tips too.. the funny thing is ive buying up tools for the last 6 months and everything is shiney new.. i wonder how long that'll last..

ohh.. the other thing is that i have given myself till late 2011 then i'm going back to NZ to live the good life in Christchurch, both the fords will be going back with me and maybe the pig (landcruiser).. cheers for reading.. thomas

The panel beater has just been around and is keen to start on it asap, so that's good news. Just need to decide if I want him to do the hole lot or just the rear quarters. I'm thinking the hole lot done would be nice especially as he thinks he could have it all done and painted within 3 months.

.

oldschool needs to have a like button. come have a look at my hatch if ya ever need to, otherwise it is in very very good hands. he is all about doing it the right way and making everything work. fucks him off when people dont take the extra effort to make body lines work, and/or use bog instead of a hammer and dolly.

That's good to know, and he's in Christchurch?... I've lost count of how many beaters I've heard that bog up instead of proper panel work, a mate of mine in oz spent 10k on a resto panel and paint to find that 18 months later bubbles appeared from under layers of bog, had to do it all again..

haha yeah, and motorcycles get away with murder.. pretty much everyone I know who bought and installed straight cuts removed them after about a month..

i see your putting a straight cut cam drive in, why not just a chain drive?.. straight cuts are farken noisy, unless thats what your going for

I was thinking this path for my falcon wagon.. nothings tougher than tunnel rams bro, except maybe a blower but theyre a bit OTT, even better you dont have to massacre another bonnet.. put a nice big cam in it, twin BG Demons mmmmmm..

anyone had any experience with the Repco RST157 http://tradecatalogues.repco.co.nz/Mega_Tools/3314/Ball_Joint_Seperator/300953?

thats the one i have, never let me down yet

what about the auto? hasnt been running since at least 2001..

Would be the same block wouldn't it, if they're anything like the Toyota m series..

geeeee mate!!!.looking a bit rough there.she wont get on the road for a long time i expect.

you thinks thats rough? compared to my landau its showroom condition haha..

what about a low pressure pump from a mazda?, ive got one you could prob have

not as bad as 2011, still snow to the beach.. 121 stuck outside all by itself..

yeah i realised after i sent it to you, i should prob start a couple ay..

stoked the rust isn't to bad bro, its a killer when you find more than you expected.. i had an fj55 landcruier that had 4 wheel drums you had to adjust every month or so, would always lock the right front wheel in the wet.. dodgy az

cheers bro, as for the 121.. no, some classic evasion tactics going on...

hi, my names Thomas, in Chch, have known about OS for a year or so but only decided to join now after i sold another member a datsun cedric,

cars i own are,

1965 red/white ford zephyr special, rep car from factory ie: no carpet, arm rests, one speed wiper and heater.. essentially a very basic zephyr six.. no mods but i do have twin carbs and extractors to put on it, maybe a 302w one day... daily drive

1974 ford landau(p5 coupe) siezed 351c, extremely stuffed classic in complete pieces.. will be like that for a while... build thread on fordforums but you need to join..

1974 MS75 met green crown coupe, took out the old 4m and sold it(doh) replaced with 5mge/link but did damage after running 5 b/e bearings.. still goes

1976 blue mazda 121 coupe, has an efi ma turbo that was from memory farkin fast, would spin into 4th anyway... is about to be put back together after being reverted to standard.. plans change..

1976 gold ford fairmont wagon factory v8, 380hp 351c, 650 bg mighty demon on tfc manifold, original block, stage two fmx, lowered on 12 slots and eagers.. 14 sec 1/4.. not bad for 1800kgs... has to pass compliance yet

1977 brg s3 mazda 929 coupe(merc).. did have a worked ma but sold that with a 626, so bog standard with rx5 front struts, 626 5 speed and big exhaust... could be up for sale soon, need to make space....

also 1978 121 sold awaiting pickup...

thats about it, have joined a few forums around the place but after seeing there's such a big community here, would make me an idiot if if i didnt join up.. cheers, Thomas