ken666

Hahaha, wish I got 9 years..... Burnt out a twin ceramic in less than 6 months.... Be grateful!

very nice, (not the bike, well its ok I suppose!) I love the EF-L series, I had an EL XR8. This was before the mobile phones with good cameras, otherwise I'm sure I would have millions of pics. You have done a pretty cool job with her, top stuff

Broke, maybe.... Happy, definently! Here's a few of the money pits I have built up over the years, still got a couple of them locked away from the elements.....and BAD people! Might even make a substantial profit in a few years time if the value and rarity continues to follow its current path. And yes they are all original genuine matching number vehicles😊

Damn tree jumped out in front of me..... Gotta watch out for them😬

I fitted a new Mantic Track multiplate organic clutch kit. Pretty happy with it too!

Probably are.... But a little expensive compared to some other equally good aftermarket options... QFM make a race pad and slotted disk option, that I have found to be almost equivalent to the bigger setups. Even after a good hard thrashing they don't seem to fade if used in conjunction with braided lines all round. And around a 1/4 of the price to fit on all corners. Just some food for thought😎

Nobody really grows up, do they? Just become a bit wiser through pain! this is what helped my become a little wiser!

Lol.... no regrets, just thankful I was one of the lucky nes. Got a few mates that never got older and wiser😔

I've owned 5 BA's now, and I gave up trying to silence the "rattle" over bumps. The park brake cable through the IRS causes some noise, easily fixed with a dob of silicone on the clips on the two cable at the rear through the cradle, removing the tin plate between the pad and the caliper and smearing silicone on the back of the pad and letting it dry before driving helps a little.... But nothing really stops that familiar BA rattle over bumps? I'd be interested if somebody has found a solution too

Hmmmmm, my daughter is only allowed to get an old VW beetle or 3cyl Dihatsu charade! She just got her L's, and has no fear... When in my 530kw blown XR8 or XR6t, she begs me to step it out when over 100km/h. Reminds me of myself when younger, but I now realise that I was just lucky. Not bullet proof and indestructible. It's a really stressing time when they start driving, now I understand why my Dad used to wait up for me when I'd go out driving with the boys at night in my 351 XB GT coupe! No wonder he went bald and grey so quickly

Couldn't tell the difference between any of them! Just know that I used to get nervous with one next to me at a red light in my supercharged XR8, now I find myself slowing down when approaching traffic lights.... hoping one will just happen to pop up

So, whats the plans? Possession is 9 tenths of the law... do a revs check on the VIN#, lets you know if it's there for a reason! Ole Godzilla hey! lots of cheap Hi-Po parts available to make them quick(er!)

no point telling a story if you leave out the good bits!

?? So nobody else has other toys in lockup.. I don't believe you!

Well.... Usually I don't like to endorse or "spread the word" about products I pay good money for, as I'm still a little old fashioned and expect good service/products (value) for my hard earned dollars. I think we all feel this way when making the purchase, well I hope so! But more to the point... Q- "what made me feel good today?" A- Mantic clutches, and the customer service. I contacted many clutch distributors and manufacturers this week in desperate need of a new clutch and all associated parts to not only suit my "very specific" needs, but to also have in my possession asap, as the vehicle HAS to be back on the road by Friday!!!! (this was on Tuesday when I spoke with Mantic clutch reps) On Wed around lunchtime TNT delivered an Urgent delivery package from Mantic.. For no extra charge Mantic got this unbelievable quality track clutch kit to my door, and followed up with contacting me to ensure I was happy with the product/freight. Guys and girls..... Accept no substitute for good old fashioned service. Mantic, a subsidiary of clutch industries are the real deal. I almost lost faith in the high performance aftermarket automotive components industry, until this experience.. 20 out of 10 points I rate them! great customer service by people that don't talk sh*t to make a sale, actual experts in their products. And product quality that I haven't seen in a very long time. Great stuff guys, Thank you very much for such a wonderful experience

Hey guys We all love our turbo falcon that we spend so much time and money on, but I'm curious how many others came from the more traditional old school V8 powered falcons/commonwhores of yesteryear? And how many have still got an old dinosaur in the garage? What's done to it, is it original, restored or full show quality? I am currently in the process of buying a house, and have had to consider either downsizing my collection, or limiting my options to houses with at least 4 cars storage space... Eventually after many sleepless nights my wife made the decision for me! To keep them and most of the spare parts I have collected over the years. (I didn't see that coming) So, it looks like I might eventually finish restoring my pride and joy that is responsible for giving me the car bug all those years ago when I was 18. She is an original all matching numbers 1973 XB GT Hardtop, it has been off the road and taking a space in every place I've lived for the past 18 years! It was completely stripped to bare metal (including the removal of the sills, heater plenum and rear window beaver panel etc) then given a coat of epoxy about 6 years ago but do a change in circumstances the project was put on hold. I even considered selling it as is, to gather the funds for a deposit on a house but every time I went to assess and take pics of it to list it for sale. I found myself dreaming of driving it to club events and showing it off once its rebuilt! I still don't really understand why I love the old girl so much? They don't corner, stop or ride much better than a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel. But when you are driving it, the road presence it has can't be described. Even non car people can't help but to appreciate the moment. Who else has an old clunker that makes them feel that way?

Thanks k31th, this forum stuff is all new to me. I'll eventually catch up!🙄

Ive tried to add pics here once before, but only I could see them? So I'll try a different method, forgive me if I post another blank page. Hahaha! looks like I still didn't get it right.

I'm sure there are! It just doesn't make sense to buy a part that has the potential to give substantial gains, then to fit it incorrectly and sacrifice some of its efficiency. Just to say you have it! The best other example I see often, is people fitting bigger cams and not degreeing them in to the correct timing where they are meant to operate!!

Hey guys, I'm in the process of building my replacement turbo from all new parts, but I acquired an even better billet compressor wheel than the one already fitted to the new core I bought. So obviously I would like to fit it while assembling the turbo. But I've never had much to do with turbos, so I would like to just confirm my suspicions that it will require balancing once fitted? I understand the type of rpm they can spin to, and I couldn't imagine it would last too long without being balanced as an assembly? Cheers Ken

Cheers guys, I ended up buying a Mantic Track twin plate organic kit from Mantic. It is designed to handle over 1200nm of torque and up to 1000hp, but will be a lot more streetable than the ceramic type clutches. It includes a lightweight solid mass billet steel flywheel, twin centre sprung organic plates, alloy lightweight pressure plate and all other associated parts. I bought the car with the ceramic clutches already fitted, but never liked the feel from the day I got it. I assume that it was installed as the cheaper option to the organic type kit? I have considered the option of upgrading to a ZF fitted model, and swapping my parts over... but I keep coming back to the same conclusion. That this BA is probably one of the best examples of this model I have seen, and I can't bring myself to letting it go and starting out again on another car. I am confident that I have almost sorted out all of the typical issues that are associated with modifying a car so extensively, and am confident that it will be as reliable as when it left the factory. Everything from engine internals to input shaft, and the rest of the driveline/shafts etc has been upgraded now to handle around 850hp, and 1300nm of torque. So hopefully the driveability should be improved once the new clutch is fitted... Next step is to fit a new GTX3582R with upgraded racing billet compressor wheel, a pair of custom grind cams from Crow and a couple of different custom tunes with 16 & 21psi on the dyno. (might even go higher if the tuner feels it's safe?) Cant wait to see what sort of numbers it will make with all of the mods finally done?

Hi guys, I'm just playing with a few ideas and possible options in the gearbox world as a future project to build up, and fit to my BA XR6t..... I have just gotten home (more like limped home with my tail between my legs!) from working away, and have had to order another new clutch kit to fit before I have to drive it back to work on Friday arvo.. Suddenly while accelerating in 6th while driving up some steep mountains near Wollongong, my clutch started to slip as the turbo spooled up past 15psi.. The clutch it has fitted is a twin plate ceramic Exedy unit, that is only 5-6 months old??? Yes, the car is running some pretty serious power and torque (612hp at the treads on 20psi).......... But 6 MONTHS lifespan at that expense?? So once I fit the replacement Mantic TRACK MULTIPLATE CLUTCH KIT, I will be looking at my options for changing the transmission to something auto. I understand there are plenty of super strong 3 speed conversions available. But since the car is driven 600Km every week to work and is a daily driver, I need the extra legs of the overdrive gear(s). As the final drive has been dropped to 4.1:1 to help negotiate driving in Sydney peak hour traffic (and help keep the RPM snappy enough to minimise turbo lag!), so a 3 speed is out of the question. What exactly is the compatibility issues with fitting a ZF auto into a BA? I know that the ecu and possibly the wiring would need to be changed to something from a BF donor, and I would even expect the possibility of a tailshaft swap? But these parts are not all that expensive to source.. So why do I read posts that claim it would cost the best part of $10,000 to do the conversion? What am I missing? I have even toyed with the idea of having a ZF fully manualised? I know that its electronically controlled, but is there a way of running either a stand alone computer to control the box? Or can it be physically modified with a full manual valvebody like earlier C4's, turbo 400's etc? I know very little about modern ford transmissions and possible modifications to them, so any technical advice would be much appreciated. Cheers Ken

...... But what is normally! For you and I, it may be a little different from others!!!