2nd year anniversary.

Kenaz · 15-09-2006, 03:59 PM

Yes, this is another one of those random car update threads. Personally I like reading these sorts of threads as they are a welcome change from the usual "Help, my EA won't start" or "should I get superlows?" If you don't like it you don't have to comment

Anyway, it all began just over 2 years when on my brother Damo's birthday we were cruising around Car City to see what sort of nice E-series they had. At the time I was becoming a little bit bored with the VS Berlina that I had bought only 9 months earlier. After wandering around for a bit and speaking to a handful of dealers, it was becoming apparant that I wasn't going to find a ED XR6 or XR8 which I had orginally set out for.

I had nearly given up hope when one of us spotted a Gunmetal Grey EL Fairmont Ghia V8. The V8 sign plastered across the windscreen was what caught my attention. The main thing I remember from the test drive was that it was smoother than anything else I had ever driven up to that point. Having a VS probably helped enforce that point ;P

A week later I had the EL in my posession and I felt I like I was finally back in a car that I belonged in.

It was never going to stay stock for long. A few months later I picked up a genuine set of EF/EL XR 16s off the old forums and put them on just in time for the E-series GOR cruise. A few days later with the help of Sundeep we also put in a set of King Superlow springs. By this stage I had also replaced the side repeaters with NL Fairlane ones.

I was pretty happy with how the car looked and performed, but one day Damo and I were bored so we decided to swap the EL GT replicas from his (my old) EA onto the EL. I was pretty happy with how it looked and he wasn't really interested in having mags so we decided to leave it that way.

A few months later in January '05 my mate and I decided to head to a Heathcote Test and Tune to see what she was capable of as a stocker. In 32 degree heat I reeled off a 15.8, which I was pretty happy with.

Inspired by the performance at Heathcote I got a cheap 2.5" single exhaust fitted and also added a K&N air filter. Next time out at Heathcote I pulled a 15.5 again in very high temp.

About the only thing I was unhappy with at this stage was the old crappy yellow headlights. I got a brand new pair from Ford (don't ask how much $$$) and I also had some Pacemaker PH4000 extractors fitted. The car stayed this way for a long time without any other mods.

When the vplates website was up and running I ordered some new plates to give the car a bit of an identity.

Around Christmas time last year I tracked down a EL2 XR8 'Explorer' manifold off the forums. With the help of my brother we fitted it up no worries and got it strated, but it was having trouble idling and was driving very rough.

On the GOR cruise that year Karl and Scott Hart were kind enough to look at it for me. Well Karl found the problem nearly straight away. It had a big vacuum leak from a hose that wasn't hooked up to anything.

With the car running well again I was off to the AFF drag meet in Jan 06 hoping for a low 15. On a very hot day I came away with a new pb of only 15.4 but I did manage to win the DYO open class and $250 thanks to ACE. It was a great day and one of my happiest memories with the car.

A few months ago I struck a deal with Damo, where I swapped him some car audio stuff I had for a pair of Pedders sports rider struts that he was going to put in his EB. This bourght the front of the EL down a fair bit. Probably too much because the rear end was looking pretty high, so I bought a pair of King SSL 'Ultra low' springs for the rear. The car was now sitting at what I would consider to be a nice ride height.

About a month ago I ventured back to Heathcote determined to get a low 15 sec pass. Well I was shocked when the first run of the day got me a 14.9 @ 91mph. A couple of runs later I set a new pb of 14.82 @ 91 mph.

This week I got a new 2.5" single system with High flow cats fitted. The car feels much better to drive and is still pretty quiet which I love. Here is a quick vid.

This is where things currently stand and the only mods planned for now are to get the windows tinted before summer and possibly a Unichip. Thanks for taking the time to read this long thread I hope it wasn't too boring

Ash

Sundeep · 15-09-2006, 04:02 PM

Mad.. hope there's more to come ;)

Sundeep

EFFalcon · 15-09-2006, 04:03 PM

i can't beleive its been 2 years!

snypereb · 15-09-2006, 04:07 PM

Thats awesome well done and the car looks awesome!!

dansedgli · 15-09-2006, 04:09 PM

Nice! Gotta love a thread about progress.

Psycho Chicken · 15-09-2006, 04:10 PM

2 years, jeez. Can clearly see your vac leak in that photo too :P

Always loved it Ash, but dammit I want that ride height! I think I'll just give up right now and go get Sportsryder front shocks and ultralows for the rear.

Only thing I'd change if it were mine would be slapping on the Ticky skirts, but hey, it's not.

And it's not a boring thread, there's heaps of progress in that.

Kenaz · 15-09-2006, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

2 years, jeez. Can clearly see your vac leak in that photo too :P

Always loved it Ash, but dammit I want that ride height! I think I'll just give up right now and go get Sportsryder front shocks and ultralows for the rear.

Only thing I'd change if it were mine would be slapping on the Ticky skirts, but hey, it's not.

lol about the vacuum leak, yeah I was/still am a bit of an amatuer with the under bonnet stuff.

I had always planned some Tickford skirts, but scrapage is a massive issue for me as it is. But we'll see...

Thanks for the nice comments so far

AdzT3-146 · 15-09-2006, 04:24 PM

Nice Ash, it's certainly come a long way.

:

And as Shaun said the car looks awesome.

niko · 15-09-2006, 04:59 PM

nice, engine bay needs a good detail though

Kenaz · 15-09-2006, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko

nice, engine bay needs a good detail though

That pic was from just after the manifold swap. It's much cleaner now and I put the engine cover back on.

BOOSTDEF · 15-09-2006, 05:27 PM

Great thread mate. Good to see how far youve come and its all going well.

335JET · 15-09-2006, 05:44 PM

great post mate, thats the sort of ride height im looking for (the first pic with the FTR'S)

Sick EB · 15-09-2006, 06:19 PM

very nice clean car. i love reading the progress threads, give a bit of inspiration. good luck 4 later on.

needfordspeed · 15-09-2006, 07:41 PM

I've always loved this car, looks hot as without the spoiler!!

Good stuff Ash.

Stevo · 16-09-2006, 12:53 AM

u know i love it mate

Aaron_EF8 · 16-09-2006, 01:29 AM

Lookin good Ash, I can't believe it's been 2 years already!

I don't think it's a boring thread at all, certainly more interesting than guessing how much coolant Niko's car has ;)

XRated · 16-09-2006, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_EF8

Lookin good Ash, I can't believe it's been 2 years already!

I don't think it's a boring thread at all, certainly more interesting than guessing how much coolant Niko's car has ;)

LMFAO!!! I agree

Ash, I love this car and you usually do really nice and subtle aesthetic mods to any car you own. I can almost say I prefer the FTRs (mainly because of the colour), how about some deep dish billet wheels? :P Your ride height now is perfect, I can't wait for mine to sit that low at the rear.

A Unichip is a good choice for your next mod. Better throttle response, hopefully a nice power increase and better fuel consumption. Keep at it, and don't trade it in for a BA whatever you do (unless it's forced or an 8)!

niko · 16-09-2006, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_EF8

Lookin good Ash, I can't believe it's been 2 years already!

I don't think it's a boring thread at all, certainly more interesting than guessing how much coolant Niko's car has ;)

im not changing my manifold anytime soon :P

Kenaz · 16-09-2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRated

I can almost say I prefer the FTRs (mainly because of the colour), how about some deep dish billet wheels? :P Your ride height now is perfect, I can't wait for mine to sit that low at the rear.

Yeah I always thought the FTRs looked pretty good as well. It would be interesting to see what it would look like these days with the lower springs and no spoiler.

I think the only rims I would upgrade to would be FR18s with either grey or black centre. The way my current financial situation is that won't be happening any time soon.

Here's another pic.

niko · 16-09-2006, 03:51 PM

the ftr's have nothing on the el gt's and if the colour matches so well...you can always spray the gt's that colour, have seen them going around

LUXO_8 · 16-09-2006, 04:02 PM

IMO the silver EL GT's look tacky...something to do with the fact that they werent that colour factory...

progress threads are cool... car looks awesome ash

cant believe youve had it 2 years already... damn thats gone fast:P