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| McLeod |
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Hey everyone,
I thought I'd finally start a build thread of my SVO Fairlane. I've had it for just about three years now. I think I only paid $1300 or so for it at the time, with a couple of months rego. Aside from an auto that was on it's way out, it was in really good condition. It even came with the SVO paperwork (I'll grab a picture of them tomorrow), as well a manual and full service history. These are the photos that attracted me to buy the car:           
Last edited by McLeod on Mon Jun 22, 2015 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total. |
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| McLeod |
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Here's an old ad I found of it (Must have been when the previous owner bought it):         
Last edited by McLeod on Mon Jun 22, 2015 1:34 am, edited 1 time in total. |
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| McLeod |
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I started off with just a bit of general maintenance, as I was learning my way around cars. I started with the brakes, as they were none existent. I reconditioned the front brake calipers, replaced the rotors and pads with new (standard) ones and replaced the front wheel bearings. I then replaced the radiator, alternator, air filter, plugs, leads and a some rear tyres. I left it like this for a while and was quite happy with it. About a year later, the muffler rusted off, haha. I began to pay a bit more attention to exhaust and noticed the lack sound... because of the two mufflers and a resonator! (SVO Fairlanes didn't get the Maxiflow exhaust system, I don't think) So while I waited for my new exhaust to be delivered... I took the old one off at the cat and drove around in it for a few days, haha! It was hilariously obnoxious. Anyway, my new 2.5 inch Redback system with just the one muffler arrived. I took it to my local exhaust specialist, they fitted it.... then they were nice enough to tell me it was actually for a Falcon and they had to cut, lengthen and weld it to fit. Any chance of a return, Mr. eBay seller sir? Still, it sounded nice after all of that. The car was starting to look, drive, feel and sound a bit better. Then I thought it'd be a great idea to plant it mid roundabout. Went a little sideways (nice!), swung it back, caught it, exited the roundabout sideways (Hell yeah!)....aaaaand then it went a little pear shaped at this point. Didn't catch it to straighten it up, kept going sideways, went over the curb and up into a raised car park that was thankfully empty. Good job buddy. Feeling extremely embarrassed and stupid, I got out of the car and inspected the damage. It could have been much, much worse. I put a bit of a bump in the chassis, flattening the support rail on the right-hand side, put a dent just under one of the doors and put a dent in one of my wheels. 
Last edited by McLeod on Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:26 pm, edited 2 times in total. |
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| McLeod |
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I drove it around a little more (still kicking myself over that fateful day) when my gearbox started to really play up. I started losing reverse (Having to push it out of car spaces - Embarrassing), then it would suddenly come back, then go, then come back. Eventually even forward gears started going, so I just parked it until I could afford to do something with it.
After much researching and saving, I decided to go with a T5 conversion. I picked up an EL XR6 T5, clutch and flywheel, all in very good condition. I bought a Malwood clutch pin kit, had a new clutch cable made to EL/EF specifications (for added length) and managed to track down a manual console and boot in very good condition. I really wanted to do this job myself but even after lots of research, I just wasn't confident enough, nor did I have the space to undertake the task, so I ended up paying someone to do it (James from Graffiti Customs). I had him do an EL thermo fan conversion and also make up a firewall reinforcement plate, as I heard it's a big issue and didn't want to run in to it down the track. I got the car back about a week ago now and it's been amazing. I can't believe how much quicker it is now! I literally just took on a VF Commodore from a standstill to about 80-100kph and won. In front the whole way (I swear, it wasn't parked). And here's the way it looked about a year ago:       Last edited by McLeod on Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:10 pm, edited 3 times in total. |
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| McLeod |
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The other day, I went to my local wreckers looking for a few parts. I managed to find a rear seat out of an NC Fairlane Ghia in really good condition. Of course, on the way back to the office to pay for it, one of the uppers fell off my trolley and into the mud. Lovely. I took it home and let it dry. The next day I went and bought some velour cleaner and got stuck in to it. I vacuumed them very well, then sprayed them with the velour clearer and rubbed out the stains with a cloth. The seats had a few stains, even some motor oil stains. The product worked like magic and made them look new. I was very impressed. Before I put them in, I've had to do something I've been meaning to do for a while. The inside of the dogleg, Ford decided it'd be a great idea to pack the space full of foam to cancel out noise. It may have cancelled out noise, it also created rust! The foam traps all of the moisture and it can't dry out quick enough. There's a hole just large enough to fit my skinny hand inside and rip out the foam, tiny piece by tiny piece. About an hour and many cuts later, I ripped out the majority of it from both sides. If anyone does this (and I strongly recommend doing so), remember that there's a little metal flap in the space. You have to pry it up and get the foam out from under it too as that's where most of the damage is done. Here's a picture of the mess:   Here's the horrible rust it's caused:  And here's my new seats:    I plan on eventually re-trimming the entire interior, so I don't mind the slight mis-match of colours. |
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