acceptable mods for your classic - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

JG33PY · 10-24-2004, 19:06

on the classics what mods would you find acceptable. for example would you put 18" wheels on a xt fairmont. how about a full recaro interior for your coupe. or perhaps ef thermo fans for your radiator etc.
for my xb gt i prefer mods from the era of car produced. like a deep dish saas steering wheel in place of the skinny gt/gs one. upgrade brakes to kelsey hays 4 spotters with slotted discs and still be able to use 15" maglites or globes. braided hoses in the engine bay, chromed alternator and accessories. externally, period correct spoilers but no flares unless it's xd/e, upgrade to h4 instead of sealed beam headlights.
would the race cars of the era be a good starting point for finding acceptable mods for your current classic? check out dicks old group "C" xe and you'll understand what i mean, that is one tough looking car.

Yellow Fire · 10-24-2004, 20:54

Personally I only like mods that are:

1) Tastefull (period style wheels, spoliers etc)

and/or

2) Practical (engine, transmission mods etc)

Big rims on old cars & an engine bay full of chrome looks tacky (dare I say rice?) to me.

galaxy xr8 · 10-24-2004, 20:59

I would only do something that can be taken off and you wouldn't know it was there in the 1st place, I would never drill hole's or something like that, that is a pernament fixture.

Neeek · 10-24-2004, 21:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by nak302

on the classics what mods would you find acceptable.

Tricky... my car has very few modern mods... in fact, the only one I can think of is the CD player.

I would personally allow AU thermos into the front of my car. To get them to fit, I wouldn't have any problem with taking the dremel to a small bit of metal because in my view, they are a practical upgrade. Ditto more modern headlights and other little things like that. Upgrades to engines and the like are all well and good too. As long as it's subtle.

But I'd draw the line at a full interior refit and stuff like that. And yes, wheels too. Case in point - there's a rather lovely yellow and black XB GT (I think it's a replica, but that doesn't worry me) that bangs about this way and it gives me goosebumps. I've never seen the inside, so can't comment on it, but the one thing that, in my humble opinion, makes it look shit is that it rides on 17" chrome alloy wheels. No, no, no. Not my thing, but obviously the owner disagrees.

As for keeping original parts, I say chuck 'em out or sell 'em unless you either might want to use them again (why, if you've upgraded?) or you have have an obsession with originality, in which case you shouldn't even be thinking about modern mods. Which is fine if you have a genuine XY GT or something, but for those of us with more humble transport, I say go for it provided it's not out of character to the car.

brenx · 10-24-2004, 21:32

I'd never believe modding a car to please someone else/other people would be deemed as acceptable.

I mod things, how I like or want them to be, as I am the one that has to drive and enjoy it. How can you enjoy something that you may not like but everyone else does?

Best not to try and please anyone but yourself. If your happy then you've achieved the desired result

Brenden

xbgs351 · 10-24-2004, 22:24

That's pretty much my belief.

XpCoupe · 10-24-2004, 22:27

I am fan of moding to suit the car era. if it was made within 10 years of the car I am happy. Of course that is if you want a classic car. If you want a Hot Rod any thing goes as long as you deam it taste full. Then you have the over the top as the XP on the front page of Street machine. Sorry but I do not like it at all (being a XP owner what a loss of a nice car).

ZC-Cruiser · 10-24-2004, 22:37

Exactly BrenX.

Whatever is needed to make your machine do exactly what you intend it to do.

Keeping the old cars running and making it worthwhile to have used the resources to manufacture the car in the first place is the environmentally friendly thing to do.

Did you know it takes:
180 tonnes of water to make 1 tonne of steel?
136,000 tonnes of water to make 1 tonne of aluminium?
91 tonnes of water to make 1 tonne of petrol?
900 tonnes of water to make 1 tonne of artificial fibres?

Like My ZC Fairlane with the Alloy Head II engine - full emission control gear - just have to fit the fuel tank vent to charcoal filter pipe and vapour control cap:
http://www.ftw.com.au/cpg/displayima...lbum=106&pos=0

:-)

lilMattie · 10-24-2004, 23:19

Era mods for me...

I'd accept tinted windows as they have a practical purpose ie. saving the interior and lowered springs and perfomance shocks. Apart from that, fat wheels and a dual exhaust system :) everything else.. stock!

tacrat · 10-24-2004, 23:22

I guess I've always subscribed to the view that if it's yours you can do whatever you want to it, it all depends on who you're trying to impress.

My personal opinion is you're not building a concourse original, then keep the exterior bodywork original and make the interior/engine/driveline into whatever you want (or can afford). Anything that makes an oldie go/stop/turn/ride better is acceptable (within reason ie. bigger rims that still complement the style of the car and decent tyres, modded engine, brakes and suspension).

Rgds,
Tacrat