Scroll down to view the videos of this cars' refurbishment...
I should never be bored at all... there's plenty to do with Suzie and the kids, there's always work that needs to be done to the house, our classic cars always need small items of servicing and repair work and I have two full automotive restorations to do in the garage... not to mention a car or two elsewhere that needs at least some attention, then there's my job as a secondary teacher - despite valuable holiday time, the job is ever present in ones' head; so much to do both at the school and at home in preparation for school. So, to call myself "bored" is trifle ridiculous.
One night while bored, I decided to visit an old friend... the address I needed to get to was www.ebay.com.au. I like to see what's around and monitor prices and bidding patterns on cars and their associated odds and ends - normally on items I've either had, or want. So this car showed up for a very reasonable price... a price so reasonable, I thought "Why not take a punt?" It has a 5.0 V8, the usual power steering, air conditioning, power windows and mirrors, electronic climate control, dual air bags, anti-lock brakes, electronic overdrive transmission etc. etc. So I bought it, then found out they aren't worth much anyway. I got it home and pondered... should I fix it or sell it off in bits? To be frank, it's a good car with a steering rack issue and some paint gremlins - not an expensive fix as parts are very cheap. In addition, I don't like it when people take a good car and reduce it to rubble in an effort to make a quick quid, so I'll fix it. That way, I should get my money back, and someone else will get good safe and reliable transport for little money. Better than disassembling the car, photographing all the parts, storing them, taking a thousand trips to the Post Office for parts that are selling for $20 and getting left with all sorts of junk...
Why is this car on this site then? I want to show how to take a crappy old car and prepare it for roadworthy. As usual, all will be documented. With exception to the plates being fitted purely for aesthetics, here are some pictures of how it arrived:
We assess the car on arrival and begin repairs.
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More mechanical repairs and preparing to paint the bumper bars.
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A little painting and exterior refurbishment.
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The final chapter before we say goodbye to our Fairlane
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Here she is all finished... well, as finished as I was prepared to go. It became apparent that I was going to lose money on this car, so there was a very strict budget. As it stands I took a hit when I sold it, but it wasn't a bad one. I ended up losing $140.00. The good part... a very happy gent left with a car that would likely have been parted out and crushed - take a look online, there are loads of these meeting their maker as we speak. He attached the permit to the screen and drove off, headed for an RWC tester - interesting to see what they find...