G'day everyone,
This is my first post on the forum and I'm very new to all this so please don't bite my head off.
I am 20years old and have an 1996 efII fairmont which I got 2 years ago for $3900 and it was from an elderly owner and it was in fantastic condition. Over time i have done some mods, such as;
•extractors
•highflow cat
•2.5" exhaust
•modded air intake
•ba xr6 turbo snorkel
•lowered "sl" king springs
•el gt 17" wheels
•corner lights
And some other stuff as well to the interior and exterior.

It's probably been asked before but,
I want to install a tickford head to the fairmont, and I want to know if I do this do I have to change the;
*fuel reg to a 300kph
or
*ecu to a tickford
Or
*the diff 3.45
Etc, because in the past I installed a tickford ecu and 300 fuel reg and the car idled like crap when changing gears, and was squealing when I turned because it must have thought I had a 3.45 diff.

So is it possible to just change the head to a tickford without changing anything else??
Cheers- Callum

S#%t sorry I should have mentioned at the start, the tickford head is reconditioned and was removed from a "Sportsman NC Fairlane", correct me if I'm wrong but they have 161kw.
Will this mean I still need to change the ecu/ j3 chip and 300 fuel reg??

Sorry about the annoying/ stupid questions I keep asking everyone!!
Cheers

mate i thought your question was decent and fine.

now this is what a stupid question looks like ----> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=114335

would it be easyer and more beneficial to go for a after market cam and a j3 to mtch? as the tikky cams arent all that much bigger over the stoko cam. but use the tikky head for the valves + springs etc..

Mine is effII fairmont but had all the ghia accessories, eg 6 cd stacker, premium sound system, climate control, and all that stuff. It came/ has a standard 157kw engine and usual/ stock 3.23diff, I have added all the accessories that the ghias have chrome handles, woodgrain, blah blah blah.
It used to have a crud looking blue colour rocker but I swapped it to a red tickford one.
Sorry after all that ranting and raving it's just a stock engine with a red rocker cover lol..
Cheers for the responses guys.

So if i put the tickford head on it would run like a standard head not working at its full potential. But if I changed the ecu and fuel reg to go with it, it would work like a tickford heads ment to??
I am still on my p's in Victoria, and been told that I'm not allowed any mods so I kinda wanna just keep it simple which Is a pain in the a** cause it's such a good car!!
Thanks again guys

Considering you are on your P's, I'm surprised you already have done so many mods, yet are worried about changing the head over to a Tickford one.

Anyways, you can change the head to a Tickford head without changing anything else, but really that would be a waste of money unless you get the Tickford head for really cheap and your current engine has a head gasket issue.

If you want to do the swap and make it worthwhile, get a matching camshaft (or get an aftermarket one...such as a Wade 1636 or 1673), 300kpa fuel reg, AU injectors (assuming you may have spare change for it, if not they will work just fine with the standard injectors) and ECU (stock EFII Fairmont Ghia or J3 chip). That combo should work just fine with 3.23 gears...it will do great long distance hauls, but will suck in the metro department.

No money for all that? Then either start saving or buy stuff as you go along. If the Tickford head is cheap, grab it and let it sit there until you are ready to put it in...if you never will, then you can sell it off later on in life when they start to get expensive.

Ok,
I picked up the reconditioned tickford head this evening nice and cheap cause nobody bided for it on eBay. Only $100!!!
Went to springvale self serve wreckers today and as lucky as I was, there was a bloody efII fairmont ghia with a ticky engine not even touched.. So I snagged the "ecu" and "300 fuel reg" nice and cheap!!
(•anyone looking for good condition grey leather, chrome handles or wood grain get to the wreckers quick LOL)
I think I might just wait, and keep an eye out for a 3.45 diff and get the whole lot thrown on the fairmont. But I am open to other suggestions also, thank you very much again for the replies really appreciate it. I don't have a head gasket problem, YET, so I'll just hold off for the moment.

If anyone is interested I have to shots of the fairmont in the gallery "ef nut".
Thinking of fitting an el bodykit which I have at home, wat are your thoughts?
Cheers

So just to finalise my ranting and raving on the subject,
If i get installed the;
·tickford head
·300kpa fuel pressure regulator
·ef fairmont ghia ecu(4tbd)
·3.45 diff
It will run like a normal efII ghia or efxr6 with a tickford engine?
This may be going off topic, but will i need to do a speedo cog change or anything else?
I am trying to weigh up and see if its actually worth doing at all or if im wasting my time cause i all ready have all the parts i have listed above except for the diff, which i can get cheap!
Thanks heaps guys for the responses i have got so far they have been awesome, just some final info to sum it all up would be excellent. Cheers

If you change your diff ratio, you will have to change your speedo drive gear. Find the speed transducer, it's located on the gearbox extension housing. Source a gear for the 3.45 diff and then swap with the (assuming) 3.08 gear. Then your speedo will be correct.

If you use the 3.08 gear with the 3.45 diff your speedo will under read.(Edit: Over-read)

Cheers,

Evan

Correcting the speedo is as simple as fitting the correct cog on the sender - that's a very simple job - the sender is held in place with a single bolt. The cogs are coloured - I don't recall what the 3.45 needs - it might be grey to replace the std green one or vice versa - sure someone will know. Grab the cog or sender + cog from a 3.45 car at the wrecker.

Tricky thing about changing diffs in the auto is the ECU programming (ie. spd vs rpm vs shift points) is set for the specific diff and driveability DOES suffer if the two are not matched - you can kid urself it's ok abut in the end it just becomes really annoying. It's actually more important to change the ECU to match the diff than for improved engine perfomance. ie. the car will definitely drive best with a std ecu if it's got std 3.08 diff - and best with Tickford ECU with the 3.45 diff.

In your situation I'd go ahead with the 3.45 diff + tickford ECU (the ECU because of the diff, not for extra or improved engine performance) but also chuck a higher stall converter in - ie. TCI's "Heavy Duty XR6" converter works really nicely.

Until you use one, your impression of hi stall converter might be that it will slip and flare etc. and feel "doughy" - but in actual fact nothing is further from the truth - it FEELS like the drivetrain hooks up much more positively and with LESS doughyness than std... You poke the gas - she f*&^en GOES! Off the line becomes as good as the manual ever was.

Slightly lower diff ratio will reduce the effect that added load has on your performance, and slightly improve driveability in higher gears but won't really improve your basic performance very much if at all. Going to 3.7 or 3.9 etc. might work ok for performance - I haven't tried that so couldn't say for sure.

I really appreciate the responses I have received so far you guys have been magnificent!!
Im not the smartest/ most confident guy when I comes to pulling apart my car, like getting the diff changed and Adding a different torque converter sounds like a bit of a hastle and a fair bit of Money especially getting it installed by a mechanic.
I know completely nothing about "chips" at all, but I think some one mentioned I could get a J3 chip to work my standard 3.23 diff, and work the tickford head fuel reg with it?!?
Could someone post me a link as to where I can get this done, or do u by one off eBay and get a mechanic to mod it?? Like I said I'm really new to all this!
Cheers guys

Having a torque converter done breaks down to something like $380 for the converter and maybe $250 for fitting - having a diff changed over by mechs will be pretty similar if not a tad more expensive in labour and then whatever the parts cost.

Grab the diff out of the EF Ghia II at the wreckers, It will be a 3:45. Grabe the speedo gear out of the gearbox while you are there any you are all set.

EF Fairmont has 3.23:1 Diff not a 3.08:1 for those not in the know.

Last edited by SWC on Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks "SWC",
Im not the stupidest person when it come to removing parts just not to confident changing the diff etc.
But if I could get a few points/ things to kerp in mind on how to remove the "speed gear" out of the gear box would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers guys

The hardest part of removing/installing the speedo transducer is getting access.



Jack up the car, put on jack stands. Then find the speedo drive as shown in the above picture, on the driver's side, towards the top of the extension housing. You should be able to trace the wires with the bright red sheathing. Undo the retaining bolt with an 8mm spanner and pull the thing straight out. Disconnect the wiring connector. Remove the retaining clip and the gear should come straight off.

When installing, just make sure that the o-ring is in good condition and lubricate it with a little transmission oil.

Pretty simple really.

So i take it all this is similar to putting a tickford head on a ea? Also the diff cos arent the early e series speedos different from the ef/el speedos?