I've had a couple of XC Fairmonts, but that was many years ago; one was a pretty average six cylinder column auto in Blue Steel which I bought on the 12th June 1985. It was my first mechanical conversion project and soon became a 302 column auto, after I severely damaged its engine. It was then converted to a 351 manual (toploader). The donor car was an XA Fairmont GS K code in fairly poor condition that I stumbled upon in November 1985. Now I've reached soaring heights of stupidity unequalled by most in the past, but that was a suicidal blunder. In August the following year, I bought my second XC... a beautiful Coolmint 351 auto GXL with a black interior - a lovely car indeed. I traded the blue Fairmont on a P5 LTD (another dumb move) but no matter how hard I try, I just don't remember what happened to the GXL... Fast forward 27 years and now there's another one in the driveway... but this is no runner and isn't about to become one any time soon - there's work to be done.
In this chapter, the car arrives home and we take a look at it. We also discuss the engine of choice.
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Beginning of organisation... sorting and cataloguing fasteners and other parts for electroplating, further investigating the extent of repairs necessary
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In this chapter, we collect a few more bargain priced parts, cut metal and prepare replacement sections to be welded in and the little MG springs a fuel leak. Enjoy!
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In this episode we pay tribute to Louis Ashworth and thank Jason Hill and Paul Harca for the donation of some much needed parts. We also tackle some of the major metal components due for replacement on our Fairmont GXL body shell.
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In this chapter, we strip the 351 engine down to a bare block and discuss a few items.
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This chapter focuses on the engine crossmember replacement and a few new parts.
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This chapter is all about parts; wiring, seats, a dash and a donor car. Where I knew from the very beginning what the final XW specifications would be, I am winging this one, so parts availability will determine the final product to a degree. Hope you enjoy.
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A very L O N G chapter on the XC. I've made this in two halves; the first is business as usual about more parts and the second is devoted entirely to instrument cluster wiring. Our ZH Marquis interior loom won't work with a GXL dash, so I've spent 25 minutes on how I re-wired it.
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In this chapter, we repair a few other issues with the shell and discuss the final parts extracted from our ZH Fairlane donor car.
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In this chapter the car takes on a slightly different appearance. With more work completed, the welder is put away and the paint guns come out to play.
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We take an in depth look at some other new and old parts, one of which is worse than what I was bargaining for.
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I missed the Easter deadline for painting the shell, but still achieved some solid results... it's April fools day today, so not going to say where we are with the car, so you'll have to take a look.
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In this chapter, we finalise all paint etc. on the shell, modify the engine wiring loom and start preparing to assemble the car.
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1st August 2015: This is the day the car arrived. It always seems that when I look at a car it looks good, but when I get it home, I notice more issues with it. Still, this is a cracker and once the XW is on the road (hopefully 2 - 3 weeks) then the metal working tools will come out to play.
2nd August 2015: Some time spent sifting through the rubbish in the car... keeping original fasteners which will be chemically dipped and re-plated, putting old wet carpet and underlay on the neighbors hard rubbish pile and pressure washing the floors to have a good close look at them. I must say, I'm delighted with what I've seen. I then pushed this old beast into the garage where it will lie in wait. I'm predicting 18 months before it will be able to move under its own power and two years before we can drive it to the roadworthy tester... time will tell.
13th October 2015: My wonderful father in law Lou Ashworth passed away unexpectedly today after complications since triple bypass surgery. Lou was a major positive force behind my car projects and we would always look forward to hanging about in the garage and talking about all sorts of things regarding cars. He was always willing to get his hands dirty and was precise and methodical in his work. Even when some of my work wasn't exactly brilliant, he had nothing but the nicest things to say. It's been a difficult time and I'd have liked him to see the XC in a more complete state. Although Lou wasn't my father, he filled the void of a "dad" perfectly. I'll forever love and miss him. No points for guessing who I'll dedicate this car to...
1st November 2015: My late fathers birthday today and the inspiration for the XW build - took it out for a nice drive today and visited my brother. Today would be his 90th birthday and was the deadline for the XW build, it's actual completion date ended up being 20th August 2015, so ahead of schedule. It's been three months since I've reported anything on the XC, so I'd better start here... The parcel tray, firewall and LH caster rod housing is now all fitted. I need to tidy up a little in these areas to ensure that the parts fitted can't be picked from original. I'm about to begin removing the engine cross-member for replacement. I've been working with Jason on his XW build with all of the wiring. I'll spend another day with him next weekend to finalise the work and remove the cross-member from his XB donor car. It can then be prepared for fitting to the XC. I plan to have another video uploaded in the next few weeks.
18th December 2015: I started the day with a phone call to my mother wishing her a happy birthday. Today also marked the end of the school year, with holidays to look forward to. As far as the cars' concerned, the engine crossmember is now fitted and completed. I've also fitted the battery tray bracket (welded to the RHF suspension tower) and replaced a substantial amount of the RH drip rails with new metal. I'm perhaps three quarters through the metal work, with an hour or two spent here and there in the past. I hope to get a good go at a fairly speedy finish to it, so I can begin cleaning the underside and preparing the shell for paint. I plan to have the shell painted by Easter, so I can spend the colder months plumbing, wiring and mechanically fitting the car out. All hang-on panels can wait until later next year to be tackled... I suppose it remains to be seen whether or not I can adhere to the time frame I've set myself...
12th January 2016: With Summer here, there's always plenty to do. A bit of time has been spent at a friends place dismantling a ZH Fairlane Marquis donor car. With the original specifications of our GXL been made known by way of a Ford Verification letter (see above), I can now ascertain which options should be returned to the car. The issue is the gold diggers that sell some of these rare parts and the costs associated with them. Let's look at the options list:
03 - Seat Belts (Mandatory) As far as the law and I are concerned, they're still mandatory, so will be fitted.
40 - Integrated Air Conditioning I've never liked it in classic cars and the Selectaire unit clutters the engine bay considerably. I have an integrated unit, but may or may not fit it.
Whatever the case, it will stay with the car.
46 - Power Operated Windows I have a set ready to go, so will be fitted.
64 - Long Range Fuel Tank If I can find one will fit it, but like the AC, don't really need it but the car is meant to have one.
67 - Dual Exhaust System Will be fitted, still need a correct dual exhaust rear bumper bar.
81 - Class 1 Towing Pack If I can find an original Ford one will fit it, but like the AC don't really need it. However as mentioned above, the car is meant to have one.
Although the originality of this car being kept is more important than my taste, keeping it true to its original specifications presents a few significant issues:
* Finding the original Ochre coloured interior fabric is nigh on impossible. Although I don't like the colour, if it was accessible I'd use it.
* Although Sweet Cream is original colour, it won't match the interior I've purchased for the car which is Dusk (Pale Blue).
* Although Selectaire Air conditioning works well, I will never use it. In either cold or hot weather, I'd sooner drive a modern car. Should I ever relinquish the car (which I can't see happening), it will be sold with an integrated A/C in a separate box.
* I have a virgin bore 5.8 litre engine which will be used for this car. As with most desirable Ford parts, nine inch rear axle assemblies command a huge premium. If I can find one I'll use it, if not I will use a Borg Warner four pinion disc brake LSD. I am considering dressing the car as a 4.9 litre... red rocker covers, B/W rear end, 4.9 badges etc.
03 - Seat Belts (Mandatory) As far as the law and I are concerned, they're still mandatory, so will be fitted.
40 - Integrated Air Conditioning I've never liked it in classic cars and the Selectaire unit clutters the engine bay considerably. I have an integrated unit, but may or may not fit it.
Whatever the case, it will stay with the car.
46 - Power Operated Windows I have a set ready to go, so will be fitted.
64 - Long Range Fuel Tank If I can find one will fit it, but like the AC, don't really need it but the car is meant to have one.
67 - Dual Exhaust System Will be fitted, still need a correct dual exhaust rear bumper bar.
81 - Class 1 Towing Pack If I can find an original Ford one will fit it, but like the AC don't really need it. However as mentioned above, the car is meant to have one.
Although the originality of this car being kept is more important than my taste, keeping it true to its original specifications presents a few significant issues:
* Finding the original Ochre coloured interior fabric is nigh on impossible. Although I don't like the colour, if it was accessible I'd use it.
* Although Sweet Cream is original colour, it won't match the interior I've purchased for the car which is Dusk (Pale Blue).
* Although Selectaire Air conditioning works well, I will never use it. In either cold or hot weather, I'd sooner drive a modern car. Should I ever relinquish the car (which I can't see happening), it will be sold with an integrated A/C in a separate box.
* I have a virgin bore 5.8 litre engine which will be used for this car. As with most desirable Ford parts, nine inch rear axle assemblies command a huge premium. If I can find one I'll use it, if not I will use a Borg Warner four pinion disc brake LSD. I am considering dressing the car as a 4.9 litre... red rocker covers, B/W rear end, 4.9 badges etc.
With the XW, I knew exactly what specifications the car would have from the very beginning. Parts availability will to some extent determine how this GXL ends up. With exception to paint colour, everything else is easily replaceable.
25th February 2016: Well, this is how the shell looks at present. While in one colour, I can see most small repairs that need to be done, before applying a guide coat and blocking the car back. I'm hopeful that there aren't too many issues to take care of. One part I'm dreading is the need to finalise cleaning underneath before applying the spray-on deadener. Once the shell is painted all over, I can begin the fun stuff. I'm feeling okay about work being completed on the shell by the Easter deadline I set myself.
1st April 2016: Well, I managed to get the shell painted today, which I was keen to have completed by Easter. Despite missing this deadline, I ended up only being late by a few days. The issue faced was the rapidly cooling weather at this time of year and the fact that I'm back at work next week.
2nd April 2016: There is still much work to be done on the shell before I can call it complete. All black-out treatment these GXL's are known for needs to be painted around the side glass and around the tail lights. I also need to paint the radiator support panel and of course the worst job of all... cleaning up and re-coating the deadener underneath the vehicle.
15th April 2016: With exception to some black paint on the sills and lower rear quarters, this shell is finished!
So, that's it for this page. All subsequent work on this project may be accessed under the "Ford" tab above under 1977 XC Fairmont GXL Part 2: Re-assembling the Car.