Well guys, I've noticed quite a few threads on the site about individual people's planned mods, or mods to date. I think it might be an idea to have a dedicated thread in which all visitors to this forum, regardless of what they drive, have the opportunity to describe mods they have already done, planned future mods, or comments regarding other people's ideas. It's obviously something people enjoy talking about, so why not.
I might as well go first. My money so far spent on the car has only bought me restoration, learning experiences (including being overcharged a couple of times), and most of my exterior styling work done this year too. With a white EA as a starting point, I decided to focus on proportion and bringing out the purity of the car's styling - I think going for the 'full sick' look would have looked bad. That meant mild lowering, and colour coding of everything possible such as the door handles, washer jets, new mirrors, tasteful wheels, removal of unnecessary badges and pin striping and other detail work.
I'm expecting a call any time so I can pick up my car from the mechanics where it will now be manual, and have gas shocks among other updates. All of which should make it quicker, and an excellent cruiser with the 2.77 diff.
Next year it's time to fix up the body work - dents, rust and scratches that don't show up in photos. The interior will be completely replaced eventually. And finally, I'll bear the huge costs associated with forced induction. I think it will be a lot of fun embarrassing various sports car drivers in a clean white EA - more so than even an XR6T which people expect to be damn fast anyway.
__________________
Jack Travis, E-Series Acting President
1989 Ford Fairmont Ghia turbo/GL replica (underway)
1994 Eunos 800M
1990 Ford Laser S
When I got the car 4 years ago it had been resprayed so the body is nearly perfect. It also has colour coded mirrors and bumpers. So I haven't had to spend money on cosmetic mods to date.
The Stereo:
JVC KD-SH77R h/u
Pioneer 4" speakers
JL Audio 6X9s
2 x Kicker 8" subs (sealed box)
Pioneer GM-X554 4 channel amp
Coustic 240SE 2 channel amp
Plans for the audio system include new 6" splits mounted on pods on front doors and an upgrade to 2 x 12'" subs with an amp upgrade at the same time.
Engine: (updated)
At the moment it is a stock 3.9 MPI with pod filter. Extractors, Exhaust, K&N filter, Chip and Cam are all on the cards for 2003.
Transmission:
No mods as it is just a 3 speed auto. I have come to the realisation that if I want a quick EA it will need either forced induction or a manual transmission. I can't foresee a lotto win in the near future so I will opt for the cheaper alternative. Manual is planned for November/December 2003
Interior:
So far, the stereo has recieved a fair bit of attention (see above) though that's not the only interior mod. Grey sheep skin seat covers have been fitted to the front seats, the steering wheel is now from an ED Falcon ditto the T-bar handle. The poverty pack GL instrument cluster has been ditched in favour of an S-pak one, and finally I have fitted a dash mat (courtesy of my brother)
Plans for the interior are yet to be finalised, but I'm thinking completely new seats and door skins from something like an ED might be nice when I can afford it.
Exterior:
The car now resembles an EA S-pak from the outside (except for the Ghia boot garnish) because earlier this year I fitted some EA S-pak rims (again courtesy of my brother).
The car has also been lowered, and it has an XR front lower bumper extension. I didn't know what that was either until it was pointed out to me at a meet one day! Plans for the exterior are simple. New 16" rims (EL XR style) and a tint job (both scheduled for some time in the new year).
how much did the conversion set yah back Jack? Did you purchase all the parts & get the mechanic to do the labour....and yah who was the mechanic (i need t5)...
Let's see... I got the car for my 18th in December '00. I've done a fair bit to it, but most of which people probably can't see, and other than the stereo, I haven't done any 'major' mods such as engine, tranny, suspension, etc etc etc.
This is what I've done so far.
Stereo:
Kenwood double-DIN head unit (DPC-4010)
Blaupunkt 4" 2ways in the front doors
Kenwood 7"x10"s in the parcel shelf
Pioneer 2x80WRMS A-Class amp
2 x Audioline 300W amps
2 x 12" JL W0 subs
Mechanicals:
Totally stock 3.9L MPFI and 4SPD tranny
K&N Air Filter
Cowprint rocker cover
Interior:
Woodgrain steering wheel cover
Woodgrain inserts on dash
2 small hand carved cows on dash
Blue interior lights
5 auxillary switches
Keypad immobiliser
Volt guage
Total handsfree kit for mobile phone
Cowprint boot display
Exterior:
6 auxillary lights - 510W total
Xenon/Halogen headlamps
Dual uni-bars up front
7 horns
Window surrounds, base of windscreen fascia and mirror fascia painted black
Rear license plate surround painted silver
Mods coming shortly:
28L fridge
Dual battery system
High current wiring for lights
Colour coded bumpers, door strips and door handles
Mods planned for the future (Not in order):
Min. 351 V8 with blower
Lowered front by 2 inches
Chrome 17" rims
Tinted windows
5 speed manual
Satellite navigation, DVD and TV
Respray in platinum silver with purple pearl
And much more.
At the moment it's not much to look at, just another bomb on the road. But it's a brilliant car for me and there is nothing I would want to drive more. If all goes to plan in a few years it'll be in some major car shows such as Auto Salon, etc :)
My mods have pretty much been totally devoted to the stereo, there are no performance mods, and few exterior mods. BTW it's a 91 30th anniversary EA falcon GL.
The stereo includes:
- JVC mp3 player
- Two V12 MRV-1507 amps (bout 900wrms each)
- Focal utopia 6.5 inch three way splits
- 15 inch Rockford Fosgate Power HX2 subwoofer (bout 1000wrms) in a sealed box (made of 36mm thick MDF!)
- 1.5 Farad stinger capacitor
- Optima yellow top dry cell battery
- EF alternator (needs to be put in)
- Bout $700 worth of wiring
- Bout $200 worth of sound deadening
- Custom door pods, no boot display though :(
- Won first place in second division for SPL, hoping to get some SQ trophies soon :)
All up, about $8300 worth
The last stereo mods to this car would be a nice big monoblock amp for the sub, and use both V12 for the front stage. If I do this then a second cap is very likely. I'm not going to bother getting a second sub till I buy a new car. This'll tip the value of my stereo past $10,000!
Other mods include:
- 16 inch chrome wheels
- Genuine ED GT clear indicators
- The most SEXIEST steering wheel I have ever seen in an EA (sorry, but I do love this steering wheel)
- Darkest legal window tint
- $500 security system
- Other minor things here and there that only an E-series expert would pick out
Future mods for THIS car will only include a slight lowering job, and color coded bumpers. Also as mentioned before the slight stereo upgrade is also possible.
Originally posted by michaelmarter how much did the conversion set yah back Jack? Did you purchase all the parts & get the mechanic to do the labour....and yah who was the mechanic (i need t5)...
I purchased the parts from a seller here on FordForums. Costs were approximately:
$600 for gearbox
$165 for heavy duty clutch
$35 to have the flywheel machined
$300 for installation
It is being installed by Huntingdale Auto Electrics. The owner of the business used to work for Ford, and 2 of the mechanics there drive X Series Falcons. In fact, one of them recently converted his XF Ghia to manual.
__________________
Jack Travis, E-Series Acting President
1989 Ford Fairmont Ghia turbo/GL replica (underway)
1994 Eunos 800M
1990 Ford Laser S
Hmmm, well I might as well give a run down on what I have done to the EA Ghia as well.
The Outside:
-Spent 3 months doing a complete bare metal re spray.
-Finished in 2 pack paint, various pearls.
-New headlights etc
-Various color coding
-Polished wheels
-Super low springs
-Tinted windows
Mostly just a clean/neat look, which is what I like, and this was my initial intention.
The Audio System:
-Alpine HU
-2 sets of 6.5" in the front, with the Soundstream SPL's in the door pods
-Orion XTR subs
-PPI & Soundstream amps
-Full 2 pack install, purple/Green pearl, including the door pods, gauge holder panel, and various other things.
-Gold Battery terminals, big fuse holder etc.
-A nice little SQ trophy to go with it all, and the car was at MAS 2001
- All up, initial value was around $5000
Running Gear:
-3.9 MPI, Neat Engine Bay
- head work, including increased comp, porting etc
- Dual runner manifold
- Modified EF air box
- Extractors & 2.5" zorst, 3.5" Dump Tip
- T5 Gearbox conversion (4.0L Box)
- 3.23 LSD (#3)
Also a few additional modifications.
2nd Place at Spring Nats 10 Dyno Challenge for N/A 6 cyl Class.
-A few thousand spent in this department.
Future mods.
Probably throw in a set of Thermo fans this summer. Besides that, it will be mainly refinement of previous modifications, as much to my amazement, I’m happy with the car in basically all aspects.
__________________ CAUTION: Slippery When BOOSTING!
The Outside:
-Tickford Clear Front Indicators
-AUIII Clear Fender Indicators
-Removal of 4.0L badges for Tickford Wings Badge
-Peddars Sports Rider Suspension
-NL Tickford Fairlane Rims (Made by Speedline)
-Tinted windows
Paint is still as is from factory with just a few scratches
The Audio System:
-Clarion Head Unit
-Pioneer 3way 6x9's
-Kenwood 8inch Subwoofer
-Sony Xplode 4-Channel Amp
Running Gear:
-4.0 L Six Cylinder
- K&N Panel Filter
- 2.5 inch Cat back exhaust
- 4 speed Auto
Future mods.
This time next year will be updating to a Phantom XR6 Turbo
Interior:
Resprayed black, with silver inserts around the headunit, thermo controls etc.
racing seat covers.
Sports steering wheel
aftermarket shift lever.
Audio:
Sony Xplod HU
Clarion splits in custom door pods, powered by a coustic amp.
Rockford Fosgate 12" HE sub powered by Rockford Fosgate 300s punch amp.
Sound deadening.
Future mods:
Clear indicators
Exhaust
Rockford Fosgate HU
Boston rally splits
Stock Donk, soon to get Lukey extractors and cat to go with the 2.5 in exhaust.
Lowered Suspension
Performance Alloys (15inch)
Cold Air induction (own design using EF Airbox)
Decent Stereo (Blaupunkt HU, JVC 4" splits up front, JBL GT series 6 x 9's in the back, Alpine 10inch sub, Blaupunkt amp
Future Mods
Thermos
Manual (till the motor is built, then back to a C4 auto)
EL GT Front brakes, DBA slotted rear discs
Complete custom interior, based on Fairmont Ghia with purple and black highlights
3.45 LSD
Some bigger subs and splits
And hopefully...
EF Falcon donk, blueprinted bottom end, forgies, XR6 head with mild porting, bigger valesprings etc, modified Garret ballbearing turbo (similar specs to current BA XR6-T), new ECU, C4 Auto with 3500rpm stall, kitted, custom tailshaft into aforementioned LSD or if that breaks, 9 inch
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Mods: what you've done, and future plans
Rmyers 91 EA falcon
Linear Mode
