xlnt6

You haven't been in the vicinity of any thermonuclear detonations have you ???? The Electro Magnetic Pulse can have those kind of side effects !!! Seriously, a friend of mine with a completely stock car had a similar thing happen on his Mk1 BA T while he was driving down the Hume Hwy, but his radio went crazy as well and the audio level wound itself up and he couldn't turn it down. Cause he couldn't get the speedo to work, he ended up getting pulled over by a copper for being 5km over the limit. When the copper asked why he was speeding he tried to explain it to him, but he wouldn't believe him. Then the copper said, "turn down your radio", and he said, "I can't". So the copper reached in and tried to turn it down, saw everything on the dash was going berserk, and then let him off with a warning and said he should take it easy til he gets to the nearest dealer !!!! Took it to the dealer and they couldn't fault it. And guess what it never happened again...... go figure. Robin.

Hey Craig, I thought that your already were in the business of polarizers ???? Oh..... nope sorry my mistake..... that was pole-risers Cheers Robin.

Yeap, for high RPM running this is certainly added insurance. If it was around when my engine was put together I probably would have gone with it too. So far no problems.... fingers crossed !! Agreed, LPG rods aren't all that much better than stock. Your much better off getting some direct fittment rods (ie. Atomic or PAR Engineering) and use the stock piston. If tuning is done properly (ie no detonation, etc) and your max figure is 380 rwkw or so, you can get away with the stock cast pistons. That's a good way of saving some $$$ if things are really tight. I am pretty sure Craig (Geea) has done something along that line, and he gives it a good "go" down the track and has (as far as I know), had good engine reliability. Cheers Robin.

Hi M6 XR6T, I have a Nizpro Stage III engine, which is good for about 500 rwkW. I have done nearly 20000km on it and have had no problems with it. Are you building the engine yourself, cause there is a lot of machining/labour cost involved in putting together a bullet-proof engine. If you have the capability / access to machine shops, you could feasibly save yourself a few $$. The only problem is knowing exactly what to alter, and I'm guessing most shops won't tell you what tolerances, clearances, etc are necessary to achieve a reliable bottom end. Maybe the Nizpro / Atomic / other good quality shop bottom end is a good option, if you get a short motor, and then build on top of that. For example in my engine bottom end here's a brief on build: 1. Forged pistons and H-beam rods. Allow about $3k. 2. Complete engine balance (rods, pistons, crank, etc). Allow $500. 3. Full circle Bearing set. Allow $250. 4. Bore No 1 cylinder (step sleeve) and CRMO sleeve (required on earlier engines, Ford seemed to have addressed the thin wall problems in later engines). 5. Sonic tested block, hot dipped, surfaced, honed bores, line hone of mains tunnels. Modified main tunnel for oil system. $$ dependant on what's done. 6. New crank linished and mic. Allow $100. 7. New gasket set, welsh plugs, etc. Allow approx. $500. 8. Labour for assembly, checking clearances, etc. In my case, it was easier to leave it to the experts. Cheers Robin.

Thanks for the info. Do you think if I trimmed the insert so it wasn't so long, then the jack would clear OK. I figured making the cutout like the one in the rear. You can't see the cutout from the side of the car, only if you look from underneath. That way I could permamently attach the front of the insert, smooth it, etc and still be able to use the jack point. I don't understand why FPV make the front and rear jack point cutouts different. If the cutout was the same in the front than in the rear of the skirt, then you wouldn't need any inserts, and you wouldn't be able to see the insert from the side of the car ? Robin.

Thanks for the reply. So do you need to remove them to get the jack in ? Cheers Robin.

Hi, I was wondering if someone with an BA FPV who has changed a tyre on the front, can answer this question. The sideskirts have a cutout on the underside at the front and rear which match up to the factory jacking points. The rear is just an opening (ie cutout), but the front has a cutout with a removable insert fitted. Do you need to remove this to fit the factory jack. I've got some genuine sideskirts, and was thinking of glueing the inserts in, cause they are only held with a single screw and get loose. Also you can see the edge of the insert, as it wraps around to the side, so after it's permanently fitted and smoothed, painted, it won't be so obvious. I can trim the back of it a bit to make the cutout the same as the rear one, so the jack point is accessible, but would like to know if getting to it is restricted, before I start glueing and chopping !! Thanks Robin.

I think the LTD type ICC with climate control has some of the functions that normally appear in the instrument cluster, so cars with this type ICC have a different instrument cluster. ie the trip computer is in the ICC. If you look at a GTP cluster it is different to a GT/XR type cluster (ie twin illumination buttons vs illumination and trip). So while it physically will fit, there may be "problems" associated with the A/C, BEM, instrument cluster, etc. I'm not 100% on this, maybe someone out there will be more certain. There is a place in Melbourne who sell DVD packages for the premium sound cars, and I asked them a similar question. They told me that not just the ICC would need to be changed to make it work properly. Cheers Robin.

Oh alright.... you've convinced me.... Cruise List 1. Mr Turbo - BA XR6T 2. EvilDaifu - BF XR6T 3. flukeyluke - BA XR6T 4. Fast Ford XR6 - BA XR6 5. Stang - BA XR6T 6. Dagabond - BA F6 Tornado 7. Adam - BA XR6T 8. XR6T8_U - BA XR6T 9. XBOSSR - BA XR8 10. gogo - BA XR6T 11. geea - BA XR6T (possible) 12. Bain - BA XR6T 13. XRhoon - BA XR6 14. XLNT6 - BA XR6T Cheers Robin.

He works for Prodrive in the Engineering department, and is involved with test and evaluation of proposed vehicle updates, prototypes and test mules. Nuff said. Robin.

Well done Simon and Nizpro. Caught up with the guys late this arvo, and Simon said "were going out to Calder to run an 11, if all is good, you'll hear about it on the forum.... if not I'll be going home with my tail between my legs !!!" Nice to see it all turned out well (I'm sure they have the diff fixed quick smart). Let the time's tumble... Cheers Robin.

Yeah, sorry folks, I'm so use to using rwkW, I should have said just kW or fwkW. Apologies for the confusion. After all, if it were rwKW, that means there would be less scope for mods !!! I'm not sure if that is the case of not, would seem the logical thing to do. The piping I was talking about was the turbo outlet to IC to throttle body being more direct. The outlet of the turbo will be straight up (a la the Territory turbo), but then loop back down per the BA/BF. He couldn't understand why this would be done, except for parts commonality with the Terry T. Robin.

Was talking today with someone that knows a thing or two about the future development of the Falcon, and as most people know the new platform is called the Orion. That's not the name of the car as such, just the "project" name. He was saying that the updated T will use a smaller Garrett turbo than is currently used on BA/BF, but the target HP is greater. The FPV series (Typhoon) will be just above 300 rwkW and the GT/GTP a bit more again. The platform target date is 2008, so it's a while to go yet. The Typhoon will get a bigger front mount again than BF, and across the T range the intake plumbing has been revised due to a new intake plenum design, the intercooler is a cross flow design (ie not looping back on itself), which means the intake path is much shorter. To get the power up on the Boss a revised head design and intake system is also used. I was a bit disappointed to hear about the turbo downsizing, but I guess that's cost cutting. Anybody else heard anything ??? Cheers Robin.

Chris, Those spacers pictured are 25mm thick, and a way to thick. They will cause you all sorts of guard clearance problems. The upside of those spacers are they are legal cause they attach to the disc hub and then provide another set of studs to mount the wheels to. But like I said they are too wide. Go with the min thickness required. Robin.

Chris, You bought those wheels off me. It's been so long since you got them and I assumed you had already fitted them. Anyway at the time, as I said they don't fit cause of the Brembo brakes, but I never said anything about PBR "premium" calipers, I'm pretty sure the last time I saw your car it had standard brakes on it. That doesn't help you now, but I can provide the following suggestions. You can fit spacers legally if they are attached permanently to either the disk hub or the back of the wheel. The best option is to the wheel, rather than the disk effectively leaving the car standard. The spacer should be the minimum thickness that provides the required clearance, ie 8-10 mm (as you indicate), to ensure the wheel/tyres clear the guards at full bump, and minimize extra loading on the hub assembly. The extra track will actually improve on-road handling. To attach the spacer you can drill a 2x small holes (ie 6 mm) thru the spacer in a convenient point which can be diametrically opposite one another (for balance), althought such a small weight delta will be negliable. Then you tap the holes in the back of the wheel hub and use countersunk screws to fix it in place. You'd want to do this all the wheels so you get the same offset on each and ensure interchangeability. It's a bit of mucking around, but that's the best I can offer. I'm very sorry about the trouble, but I guess you can sell the wheels and find something else. There's a lot of guys with stock brakes, so you should have no problem. Cheers Robin.

Great arfternoon (I was only on the second leg), and enjoyed the cruise thru the ranges and the "twisties". Nice to finally meet and put faces to some of those handles. Well done Gary, catch you all at the next event... Cheers Robin.

Hi All, I'm in for the 2nd leg of the cruise. See you at Caulfield Park... BTW, the weather forecast is - Sunday Fine. Min 14 Max 24 Nice cruisin weather. Cheers Robin.

All, Thanks guys for the replies. I found a really comprehensive painting procedure in the back of the Ford workshop manual, but it didn't talk about stripping a bar, rather what you need to do if you paint one up. I spoke to a paint shop and they said if a good sealer/primer is used, that if any stone chips occurred, it would only be down to the sealer/primer, so no "old paint colour" would appear in 99% of cases. So I decided to do it that way. Thanks again. Cheers Robin.

Hi All, I think there are some guys out there that know about panels and paint, so I have a question maybe someone can answer. If you were replacing a plastic bumper (PU or FRP) which was already painted one colour and you wanted to re-paint it a different colour, what do you need to do, so any stone chips, etc in the future don't end up being the underneath colour. ie a red bumper being painted blueprint for example ? I tried to find a paint stripper for plastic bars, and there is a product in the USA called Bulldog flexible parts stripper, especially made for plastics, but I can't find anywhere that stocks it in Oz. I figured roughing up the current top coat, re-prime and then topcoat, but I'd prefer to do the "back to metal" equivalent for plastic. Sanding it all back to completely remove the topcoat, seemed to hard. Any suggestions ? Cheers Robin.

The BG system described above has three different injector manifolds available, either with two, three of four injectors each. That way it can be set-up to run just about any number of cylinders (ie 2 x 2 for 4, 2 x 3 for 6, etc). I think it would be possible to double up each, ie two injectors per manifold port and that way effectively double the per injector cc capacity. That would suit higher HP applications. Also due to the vaporisation effect from the LPG fuel, the charge temps are really low, so currently the cars are really punchy down low. Like driving in cold weather all the time !! Hence why the pre-conditions for engine temp need to be reached before it will auto switch from petrol to LPG. If I find out any more I'll post up the details. Cheers Robin.

Apparently $3200, but prices are expected to drop, once it becomes more wide spread. I forgot to mention that you end up a dual fuel system (ie can switch between LPG and petrol). Cheers Robin.

Well after a long wait for Impco to come thru with there BA LPG injection kit ..... it still hasn't happened. But, BG Gas a company from Spain of all places, has come thru. Below are some pics of what is believed to be the first BA Falcon converted to full sequential liquid fed LPG injection in Queensland. It's a BA NA, and the second one has been done since then as well. The old man's up in Townsville, and runs Townsville Auto Gas Installations. The injection system uses a complete set of six LPG only injectors mounted on a seperate fuel manifold, which then ports the LPG to each intake port of the lower stock manifold via a tapped hole and feed hose, drilled close to the stock petrol injectors. The fuel manifold is fed via a regulator mounted near the LPG ECU. The LPG ECU (mounted in the engine bay) interfaces to the stock OEM ECU and can turn off the petrol injectors. It is laptop programmable, and has basic fuel maps based on load (just like every other ECU). The system starts the car on petrol and switches over to LPG based on a set of default conditions being met. ie engine temp, etc. That way no hard starting, etc is experienced. So far the car has been trialled using the default maps supplied, and the thing makes more power than the petrol engine, with much improved low RPM torque and it hasn't even been tuned properly yet. I'm sure more is to come. Cheers Robin.

Interesting.... I know Mal changed the centre hub on my Option 3, due to some problems with the original design. I'm wondering if yours had the upgraded hub or not. What application were you using the clutch ? Drags or Street and how much did you flog it ? I bought mine in early Sept 04 when did you get yours ? Cheers Robin.

I have a Mal Wood Option 3 organic full face 11 inch clutch with custom flywheel (for T56) in mine. I've put some serious power thru it, and it is completely 100% street drivable. No shudder. I discussed this for a quite a while with Ben and Mal, and we agreed to try this solution before attempting the cerametallic option. So far so good, and I could be happier. I drive in peak hour traffic, so I wanted a clutch that could do both. It's a fine balance, but it can be achieved (up to a point !!!). Cheers Robin.

The principle behind a electric supercharger is valid, and has been used in practical application before. For example the 36 litre V10 diesel in a Leopard tank has a electric supercharger to help power at low RPM. That said, the cheaper solutions offered (aka as described here) are limited by the real world practicality. For one, for the compressor to be efficient the spool RPM has to be very high, in the order of 30-70 kRPM, ie just like a crank driven supercharger. The motor/ gearbox to do this ends up drawing huge currents at 12V (in the order of 100A), so you need to have a mother of a charging system to cope. All of this draws on the engine and the parasitic losses is self defeating. To balance this down side, the flow capability is limited, so high power applications aren't what it's really about. Even the Leopard tank engine only uses the super charger for low RPM, then cutting over to twin turbos to make the 1500HP needed at the top end to get this big hunk of metal moving. Maybe as engineering improves and once the switch to a 32V power system is common place, an electric supercharger may be really worthwhile. Until then, beside improvements in low RPM fuel consumption, forget using it in a real power application. Cheers Robin.