the build is coming along great, i probably wouldve gone with a purple 'not as light' though

maybe something that goes dark in full sun, with light purple highlights on the curvature of the panels.... something similar to the factory bordeaux colour

I'm sure there's a teco on here on how to do an LED conversion on the brake lights.

I've still got the XR6 garnish, do that tinting on the the lights and a fairmont garnish? if you don't like it ill be interested in the fairmont garnish and maybe the lights mine have little cracks, so would be good if yours are in good condition.

Edit: just read about removing the orange lens in the lights. Sounds the go for me.

Hey all again. thanks for your comments and ideas, much appreciated. Well i got what i wanted done on the weekend. But i decided to attempt another mod on the rear bar. Iam sure alot of you may find this helpful and interesting.

MODIFYING THE READ BAR FOR A DUAL EXHAUST SYSTEM:
Some of you may have read earlier that I really want a dual exhaust system, as iv seen a few pics of people who have done it and in my oppinion it looks f*@#ing tuff. However some people have left the fuel tank in and not had any troubles witch it blowing up. Iv decided to get rid of the stock tank and either locate it in the boot or put in in the centre and make a drop tank... dont know yet.

Any ways this small project should only really tank you about 8-10 hours to do. It can be done on your stock plastic bars with a piece of plastic welded on, however your gonna wanna have some idea on plastic welding to attempt it or someone who knows how to weld it.
Any ways if you dont have the confidence in plastic welding you can pick up a fibre glass bar for pretty cheap these days, (thats what i did) any ways hope you enjoy this write up

Heres my scorcher rear bar exhaust cut out:


With some masking tape, simply tape over the cut out like so:


Grab a sharp razor or stanly knife and cut it out and making a template:


With your template go to the opposite end of the rear bar, and flip the template over creating the opposite effect, if your lost just follow the pics:


Tape your stencel down in your desired place and grab a niko or pen and trace the templat out like so:


Make sure you grab a ruler and measure the original cut out as you can see with me i was about 7mm out, best to take your time with this and not rush it, you dont want a uneven looking rear bar:


Cut it out with a air hacksaw like so, also try to cut it in a few mil, that way you have a bit of room for error and also a bit of room to sand up and perfect the shape:


Sand the shape up with a orbital, can also be done by hand but may take a while:


Sand around the exhause hole until its paper thin, this will allow the new fibre glass to grip on to the bar, and also youll be able to sand it off flush with out it breaking off or having a huge high spot around the exhause hole:


With several layers of masking tape, aliminium tape or even sound deadner as iv used create the shape that you need for the fibre glass to flow back, if your lost just follow the pics:



Once dne trim it up with a razor blade and make sure you have the right angel and shape as the original:


You can go to super cheap and pick up a fibre glass kit for around the 20 bob mark, in this kit youll have more then enough to do this mod:


Mix and apply the fibre glass, apply the fibre glass so it flows back in the bar, as in the picture:


Heres a close up:


Put the rear bar in the sun for an hour or 2. Let it fully cure before sanding it. Also once dry remove the tape from behind the bar, you can choose to either glass the inside to strengthing it up or simple apply some pannel bond on from 3m. Once thats done trim it up as picturedL


Heres a pic of it trimed, this is as far as i got, however to complet the job, sand the fibre glass down, apply body fill to shape it and fill the pin holes in, finally throw a few coats of prime on it, try and put 4-5. This way itll help you block it down and blend it in the rear bar. Heres a pic of where i got up 2:


Ill post some more pics of it as time goes. Ill be sure to keep you guys always updated. Hope this mod helps out. Cheers for the comments and views. Any questions and comments feel free to leave as ill try my best to answer them.

hmm looks interesting.

As for the tail lights and garnish guys, i think iam going to have a crack with opening the fairmont ones up and painting the insides the same colour as the car and seeing what they look like. If they dont turn out any good ill tint my old ones and finally if they still dont suit it ill order some clearyies off ebay. Ill definetly put pics up of the different lights and garnishs up on here so you guys can have a oppinion on whats best.

Good work indeedy... I have an issue you could provide clarity on (although the answer is obvious, someone may learn something...)

You've almost convinced me to buy some sedan side skirts for the wagon, chop them in the middle and add about 75mm using a similar technique...


Took roof rack off to replace with a new one. New roof rack is thinner. Put bog with fibreglass fibres in holes left by removal, but then it rained that night and has been raining ever since.

Bog, if I read it correctly, is not water proof and has therefore turned into a rust causing lump of hard crap that needs to be removed, re - done and resurfaced.


What should I be doing on the roof? I've ascertained that removal of my rain effected bog is compulsory, but can I then use the fibreglass or metal fibre filled bog products such as that made by NEWTECH?

Some old timers have said they used to use lead as roofs bend and flex a little too much and my nice tidy bog will crack in next to no time?!

Good idea with the side skirts, if there fibre glass you could chop it in half, place on the ground, use some strong tape such as aliminium tape and simply space the 2 halfs 75mm aparts and apply tape on the outside and start fibreglassing.

Ok with wet bog, its ok if it became a little damp, as you can use a heat lamp or a hot air gun to dry it out providing it hasnt been soaked in ages. However if iam getting this right you want to fibreglass up some old roof rack holes? If you really carnt weld them up you could take your hood lining out, sand around the holes, apply tape under the hole, and use fibre bog or fibre glass... however it will be thin and may crack due to vibration and weather over time. Id be suggesting carefully welding it with a bronze welder so you dont create to much heat. Or your other option is getiting hold of a plastic or even better rubber bung or gromit and putting it it the hole, then sealent or stickaflex around the bung from the inside in insure no water leaks, that way you could paint the bung or gromit to blend it in with the roof. For your other question about using led, thats actually illegal (dont quote me on that) but i think it was taken out of repair industry due to the dangers it causes your health. You have a few options but if you carnt get a welder go the gromit idea. And also applying bog to roof can cause high and low spots around your repair area. Since the roof is so thin and hasnt got much support and bracing behind it, bog heats up as it cures, causing the pannels to soemtimes warp. Best way to avoid it is applying very thin lawyers of bog at a time and slowly sanding each one and applying again till you build up your desired height. Hope this some how helps you out champ.

Hows it going FordFairmont, yeah i really love the clour of your car, the purple i have choosen is surprisingly similar, in the direct sunlight its alot lighter and glittery looking (due to the perals) but once the sun is behind a cloud the colour darkens right up. And at nighttime youd think it was a black car. The photos i took were in direct sunlight. But when i look at the paint in doors it looks more similar to your colour. Ill have to wait and see how it turns out. Cheers mate.

Thanks for the hints. Well worth while.

However --- Roof rack had loads on it which has pushed the roof in and made these nice dents the shape of the old rack mounts. I did put rubber grommets in the holes to keep water at bay whilst I decided what to do. Since the dents were that big anyways, I figured filling them is the only answer. Have managed other small weld jobs and the roof lining has to come out one day as am making up a custom rig to support the 15" lcd monitor going in where the ceiling courtesy lamp usually sits. Have another roof lining sitting on top of my mates spa pool, keeping flat.

It's just so damn cold and miserable over here that progress has hit new levels of nothingness!

Is lead really bad for your health? How would you use it if you did happen to have some?!

To be honest i have never used lead, i think they stop using it in the late 80's however iam sure you can still purchase it. As far as using it goes i was told that in the olding days eg: welding a new quarter pannel, they would smear it on over the there wleds, then file finish without having to use bog. Iam not sure how its mixed and used sorry. I assumed it would be similar to bog but youll have to block the roof rack hole up so it doesnt go everywhere on your interior. Good luck with it if you do use it, and use a good breathing mask, youll know about it if you inhale to much lead.

lead causes that thurr mad hatters disease i do believe. only manipulated by heat in it's raw form. a pack of fishing sinkers, some heat (alot) and an old pan would do the job. best off done outdoors though, as mentioned not so healthy. would still rust though... what bout quick steel ? much healthier, same outcome.

I used a neodinium magnet out of a hard disk.. stuck it on the inside of the roof.. (just dropped the lining down on that area) and then migged it from the outside on really low.. came out fine and is as good as the surrounding metal.

Just a few extra things i got done tonight. I finished off the rear bar and primed it, re-primed the bonnet and re-primed the front bar.

Heres where u left off the other night with the dual exhause rear bar, heres the fibre glass sanded back:


After applying some body fill and sanding it back heres what you should expect:


And finally after priming it heres what the finished product looks like:


Heres just a random shot of the 2 bumper bars and bonnet that i primed up tonight:



I havent got to much body and pannel work to go, just the 2 sills to sand and prime. Itll be good to move this topic off pannel and paint and into the mechanical, electrical and interior side of things. Not much longer thow. Thanks again.

man, once again, fantastic work there on that. looks brilliant

this is definitely shaping up to be one of the most informative threads on FM i think

Great work, I almost get excited when I see there's new posts in this thread.

Always an interesting read.

Will be watching till the end.

Regards,

Michael.