Big, floaty Aussie

This XC Fairmont was bought from New Plymouth.  We've been on the lookout for a good one of these for some time - excellent original ones are megabucks and the rest are all bogged-up pieces of crap.  Except this one.  The reason they're hard to find is that they were sort of rare in NZ anyway, and they were rust-buckets - lots of rust traps and poor sealing/finishing.  On the plus side, they are a real cruisey, comfortable and roomy ride, and you gotta love that chubby, oversize look.  Also, the Cleveland V8 that these cars use is the epitome of the lazy, understressed & torquey American lump.

So - the idea here is to restore the smooth power and cushy ride that makes this car what it is. Typical "go-faster" mods like a big carb, loud exhaust and lowering/heavier springs, etc. in my opinion detract from this type of vehicle rather than enhance it.



This one was bought for a very reasonable price and I was immediately impressed by it's originality and the generally tidy (although very grubby) interior.  Apart from the ridiculously wide chrome wheels & tyres (which rubbed on the inner guards on sharp turns), rear airshocks and the Holley carburettor, it was all in great unmolested shape. The drive back from Taranaki was a bit hairy because it rained almost all the way and the windscreen was leaking badly on the passenger side (poor co-driver Chris had to put a plastic bag over his knees!).  Also, the Holley carb had been poorly fitted & tuned, so it just wasn't at it's best - farting around and missing badly on part-throttle.  To add to that, there was a sort of vague feel about the front end and much clunking under brakes.  Here is what I found.

There are always going to be "issues" with a car like this (unless you have $30-40K to spend), but they are relatively minor in this case.  The vinyl roof will have to come off because of blisters forming under it.  The heater hoses had been bypassed because of a leaky core - this will involve a bit of work because the entire dash needs to come out to get to it.  Go here to view the process.

As I mentioned, the Holly carb was poorly fitted (adapter) and needed tuning.  I'll also be getting some standard wheels & rear shocks for it.