Today I spent a lazy day replacing all the A/C O Rings, which not too difficult, still requires removal of half the intake, the front bumper bar and left hand headlight.

Hopefully this week, I can get it gassed.

While I had the bumper and headlight out, I took the time to fasten the Davies Craig thermo switch in place. I had to move it when the A/C Condenser was put back in. On a particularly wet drive back from Wollongong one night, too much water got in to the switch and the fans turned themselves on for the trip home. Not wanting this to happen on my trip to QLD in a couple of weeks, I wrapped it in a clear plastic bag to keep it dry.

Oh, I am also pleased to report that the Wagon survived my Daughters first manual driving lesson. For her first time driving a stick shift she did really well.

Cheers
BenJ

ahh good stuff!! aircons good..

does the young lady like driving the mighty ford wagon??

I don't think she has an opinion. You know, one of these, it's just a mode of transport, ppl. And she likes holdens BLAH!!!!!

Good think I am teaching her to drive in a REAL car. hehe.

BenJ

hmm benj in QLD? will there be any ceremony to welcome the wagon? or atleast a chance to see in person?

On Sunday, 20th from about 11am onwards I will be in the West End district. I would be very happy to meet up with one, or many, fellow Fordmodders.

I will leave it up to you to organise something.

I will be staying up in the Nambour, Maroochydore area, driving up on Thursday 17th and going home on Tuesday 22nd.

Cheers
BenJ

Yeah, my X's fifteen year old boy is doing good too... Must be the nice tutors they have huh Benj?

Have you seen the TV nightmare shows where Mum tries to teach teenager how to drive etc etc etc? Makes for good TV but.

I have been debating for some time over what to do with the roof racks.

I toyed with the idea of removing them, as the wagons look quite Smooth with the long clean lines of the roof. However decided in the end to keep them.

After adding the XR6 Tailgate Wing, I knew that I had to paint them. The original grey finish was faded and peeling off in places. I narrowed my choice down to either a bright silver, or black.

Bright silver would draw the eye to the roof racks and change the visual balance, making the wagon look taller and shorter. Black would let the roof racks blend in making the XR6 Rear Wing more prominent, and making the wagon look lower and longer.

I chose Black.

Seeing as the weather was lovely on Sunday, I got to removing the main roof rack ends and rails. The rack ends are held on with allen key bolts that screw into a boss welded to the inside of the roof.

Sounds simple enough to get out right? Wrong!!

18 Years of weather takes it's toll. I managed to remove three of the rack ends, but the rear right bolt, was rusted solid, and actually spun the boss around. I lowered the roof lining to have a look, but this boss was hidden by the roof support structure. After much messing about, I decided that I would have to sand and paint it on the car.

I masked it up and rubbed it back with wet and dry before laying down copious amonts of newspaper.





For paint, I used a mix of a black Super Etch with some Gloss Jet Black mixed in. This was suggested by a painter acquaintance, and allows a single coat application on the plastic ends and aluminium bars, resulting in a shiney satin finish.







I didn't get many finished pics, as the wagon is really dirty, and the sun was almost setting, but here is a before and after comparison.




Again, this is another one of those subtle changes that alters the appearance and stance of the Wagon, but if you didn't know better, you would have thought it had always been that way. I will get some better pics after I wash it.

The second stage of the Roof Rack Reno, is the strips mounted to the roof. More on those soon.


Now, hopefully, after much delay, the next addition to the Wagon will be arriving in the mail today.

Cheers
BenJ

Much nicer --- How about the plastic pillar covers and window surrounds now??!!!?!

it very nice now and fiend what about the right side of your wagon?

Last edited by mitchell g on Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

What about the right side of my wagon? You got issues with the right side of my wagon? Tell you what, the right side of my wagon has issues with you, bring it Mitchell bloody G... Bring it.

Fellas, settle.

Re the C Pillars, mine are stuffed. The plastic appears to have rotted. I will grab a set from Pick N Payless one day. They are just a pain to remove, as half the interior needs to come out. The D Pillar trims will also end up Black Pearl, along with the rear quarter window surrounds.

All in good time.

Cheers
BenJ

LOL

what if we don't feel like settling down what are you going to do toy boy?

then you can keep fighting via PM, and not clogging up this fine thread.

Finally!!

Ever since I did the EL dash conversion in my Red EB Sedan, I have been wanting to get a double din head unit with all the bells and whistles.

Prices were well over 1k when I first started looking, but with units now half that price, and after getting a bit more than I expected back from the taxman, I went shopping.

Ebay FTW!!!

Being a prudent sort of chap I thought I would use an Aussie seller.

Felt safer somehow - NOT!!!

Had some 'Item not delivered' issues, and ended up having to lodge a dispute. This seemed to get some action and on Monday the 'package' arrived. YAY!

Got it half installed on Monday and finished it up Tuesday.

MMMM - DVD / GPS / Bluetooth / iPod / SD / USB / every other thing - Goodness











Very happy with the finished install. Looks neat and tidy, just like I like things to be LOL.

I scored the EF1 Double Din Surround in a parts swap earlier in the year, and I prefer the clean lines when compared to the EF11/EL type.

The screen tilts down almost flat to provide access to the SD slots and the DVD/CD slot. Luckily with my short billet shifter, the screen easily clears the top of the gear knob.

Had fun working out where to put the GPS antenna, and in the end ran the cable up the drivers A pillar and used the magnet to stick it to the under side of the roof, resulting in a stealth install.

At first I wasn't sure of the Orange look, but then realised that it tied in nicely with the Orange LCD screens in the NF cluster, and EL Trip Comp and A/C panel.

Now I just have to learn how to operate all the gadgets LOL.

Cheers
BenJ