Phil B's XB coupe

[u2canb12]

Originally Posted by Phil B

thanks for the offer, its getting fixed now, will hopefully be done tomorrow. were in indooropilli, no idea where abouts that is in Brisbane. I think well be ok though, we have a courtesy car available so I think well use that and find somewhere for the night

No worries Phil, I hope you get it fixed quickly and not too expensive.

[Phil B]

All fixed now, I have a new clutch and flywheel. The old twin plate was completely gone, pressure plate was stuffed, looked sad all round. Now have a new flywheel and single plate clutch, drives real nice. I rolled into the first place I saw yesterday, Ultratune in Indroopily, and they did a massive job, went well above and beyond the call of duty to get it done tonight, definitely recommend them, they really looked after me. It drives much better now, took a bit of getting used to though but so glad its fixed.

[2012GTLOVER]

WOW looks awesome what a beast! i love the XB's one of my dads first cars was a XC gli (i think) sedan. It was blue with globes on it it had 255's at the back and 245's at the front and it was lowered so much the exhausts almost touched the ground sadly he sold it but now me and him are looking for a coupe nice job so far phill keep it up!

[Phil B]

Thanks! Thankfully mine isn't that low, I actually have air shocks in the back and had to put a bit more air in them because of all the crap we have in the boot!

We made it to Cairns! Road trip is over, new radiator, indiscreet, starter motor and clutch later! I haven't counted how much fuel I've used, not sure I want to either!

[Phil B]

Just realised I meant windscreen above where I wrote "indiscreet"...oops.

Oh well, on that topic, the guys who did the windscreen said that the old one wasnt sitting in properly, making the chrome trim sit out a bit. They got it to sit in much better and the trim sits down nicely now. It made a huge difference to the wind noise on the trip, took us a while to work out why it was so quite!

I also have a manual starter spacer if anyone wants to buy one. PM me.

[2012GTLOVER]

whats a manual starter spacer? if i may ask lol (im a noob at this)

[Phil B]

One of these guys:


You can see it sitting half on the starter. They are needed to fit some starters to manual bellhousings. The new starter I bought doesn't need it so that's why I'm trying to sell it off.

[2012GTLOVER]

oh ok thanks

[lilmattie]

Originally Posted by Phil B

One of these guys:
image

You can see it sitting half on the starter. They are needed to fit some starters to manual bellhousings. The new starter I bought doesn't need it so that's why I'm trying to sell it off.

If I may Phil?

I think these starter motor spacers were also only fitted to the V8's.

Also - the Powertune place that did your clutch and exhaust in Brisbane are old friends of mine. We were having a chat about your car tonight. They were impressed with the fresh paint and they were telling me how careful they were trying to be around it. :-)

We're you heading up to Mareeba to work with MAF up there did I hear? My brother works with them. Often in Mareeba.

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by lilmattie

If I may Phil?

I think these starter motor spacers were also only fitted to the V8's.

Also - the Powertune place that did your clutch and exhaust in Brisbane are old friends of mine. We were having a chat about your car tonight. They were impressed with the fresh paint and they were telling me how careful they were trying to be around it. :-)

We're you heading up to Mareeba to work with MAF up there did I hear? My brother works with them. Often in Mareeba.

Yes they are V8 only, I forgot to mention that. Do they all have the notch in the ring? I haven't seen any others with it, and I had to make the same notch in the new starter for it to clear the flywheel when I pushed the clutch in.

Wow what a small world! Yeah the guys at Ultratune did a great job and they all said how they loved the car. It's running really nice now.

And yup I am with MAF, someone did say about you. I think I know which one is your brother. Ahh so damn funny.

[lilmattie]

Small world indeed. You'll be up at Treetops? My brother thinks he saw the coupe there under a cover. How long are you up North?

I think the starter spacer notch is normal. I vaguely recall that mine had it as well when I had it out to be machined last month. It wouldn't fit into the sandwich plate on my new bell housing. You can buy them new (or used to be able to).
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Ford-...p2047675.l2557

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by lilmattie

Small world indeed. You'll be up at Treetops? My brother thinks he saw the coupe there under a cover. How long are you up North?

I think the starter spacer notch is normal. I vaguely recall that mine had it as well when I had it out to be machined last month. It wouldn't fit into the sandwich plate on my new bell housing. You can buy them new (or used to be able to).
linky

Yeah I am there, and yup that would be my coupe, it's hiding because it's filthy at the moment, it last got washed in Albury

And yeah I see that now, I hadn't seen it on the pics before, and my new starter (which doesn't use the spacer) didn't have the notch, so I was curious.

[Phil B]

Time for an update with lots of pics from the road trip

First up, more wedding pics:










Lap around Bathurst in the coupe:








Driving through the Jenolan caves, I probably wouldnt recommend it in a coupe, 50 odd kays of 1 lane windy roads like this:




Here is a full hairpin down and to the right, didn't quite have to do a 3 point turn


Servicing at Maccas in Brisbane somewhere:


Finally rolled into a shop for a new clutch


And now this is the view out the kitchen window in our new house



Now for some questions relating to stuff still to do:
The hose barb for the overflow pipe on the radiator is not sealed and leaks a bit, can this be soldered with normal solder and a small blowtorch? Or does it have to be oxy brazed? The other option is orange high temp silicon

My back windscreen leaks, and it looks like its not quite in properly because the trim sticks up a fair way. Can it be resealed easily by a windscreen shop? I know that there is a seal in there that no one makes a good reproduction on.

Does anyone have a black gear knob for a single rail? I have a toploader one on there at the moment (reverse in the wrong direction) and its a little bit broken so I'd like a proper one.

I'm looking at replacing the ancient Bridgestone Eagers on the back by going 15" wheels all round. What have you found to be a good tyre in 295/50R15?
So far I've found these brands that do them:
Maxxis MA-S1 Maurauder or HT-760 Bravo
BF Goodrich TA
Kumho Ecsta
Sumitomo HTR 2000
Cooper Cobra
So any to avoid? I wont be doing any track work, just street driving but doing quite a lot of driving up a windy mountain road (Cairns to Mareeba). I will be driving in the wet so they need to be able to handle that.

[daytona1965]

Phil B,

Avon have the best 15" tyre available, but they are expensive!!!!!

They are available in 295/245/235/225 the model is CZZ6R or something

Similar, maybe you should have put them on your wedding register



Rohan

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by daytona1965

Phil B,
Avon have the best 15" tyre available, but they are expensive!!!!!
They are available in 295/245/235/225 the model is CZZ6R or something
Similar, maybe you should have put them on your wedding register
Rohan

Yeah they dont look like what I'm after, a bit over the top for me. Whats a rough cost? Will I have to sell the coupe to buy the tyres?

[greenjgs]

Hi Phil

Pics look great. Here's some answers.

Radiator. There is no pressure normally on the overflow tube so a bit of solder will make an ok fix. a radiator place will either solder or silver solder it in.

Was the rear window out when teh car was painted. If not there may be some sneaky rust in there, if so either a reseal of what you have or a new seal will work, I bought both of mine from GT Performance in Niddrie and they fit fine. Get a windscreen shop to do the job. These things are a complete ...... to do.

Tyres. !st see if you can find some Yokohama 352's They work great on my Gossie if not, just be careful with the BFG T/A's. They may have changed the compound but everytime I've owned them they aren't good in the wet. Other that that I've heard good things about Kumho. About to buy a set of Kumho wets for teh race car.

Hope this helps. Graeme

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by greenjgs

Hi Phil

Pics look great. Here's some answers.

Radiator. There is no pressure normally on the overflow tube so a bit of solder will make an ok fix. a radiator place will either solder or silver solder it in.

Was the rear window out when teh car was painted. If not there may be some sneaky rust in there, if so either a reseal of what you have or a new seal will work, I bought both of mine from GT Performance in Niddrie and they fit fine. Get a windscreen shop to do the job. These things are a complete ...... to do.

Tyres. !st see if you can find some Yokohama 352's They work great on my Gossie if not, just be careful with the BFG T/A's. They may have changed the compound but everytime I've owned them they aren't good in the wet. Other that that I've heard good things about Kumho. About to buy a set of Kumho wets for teh race car.

Hope this helps. Graeme

Thanks, that helps a lot!

I was more worried about the temperature for the silver solder, won't be too hot and melt it?

The back windscreen didn't come out for paint. And yeah I was definitely going to get a shop to do it, I had heard they were a pain. Thanks for the tip on the seal though, I thought I'd heard all the new seals didn't fit.

I have heard similar things about the BFGs so was already cautious about them. Thanks for the tip on the kumhos. Anyone else had any experience with any others? I would like white lettering, but not if its going to cost a lot more or have a worse tyre.

[greenjgs]

No it won't be too hot, the water should only be around 80-100 deg, not even close enough to melt solder

[daytona1965]

Phil B,

The Avon's are $2600 a set (installed) but are the best.

They do not have white writing.

I am running a set of 352's on my coupe ( 295/245 ) but they are also not

Available. They are an average tyre but period correct.

The modern BFG's are better in the wet, period correct and well priced.

Good luck

[Phil B]

Coupe is still going strong as a daily

I had a look under my coupe the other day just for a look and noticed that there is some slop in the diff, a definite visible movement and cluck when I turn the driveshaft by hand. Just wondering how much is normal and how much is too much? I have the little BW diff.

I also saw that I have a leak in my exhaust at the X pipe, another thing to get fixed.

[lilmattie]

Has the diff got enough oil? I was getting some clunks when rotating the shaft in mine at one point and found the diff was almost devoid of oil. Not sure about the slop though..?

[Phil B]

Got a new battery today, old one was well on its way out, of course I got stuck out, in the rain with the starter just clicking. cue crawling under the car checking the starter (before I found out it was the battery)

Also the old bridgestone eagers aren't very good going up the kuranda range road, during the first rain before all the scum had been washed off. lost the back end twice on the way up, and that was taking it very easy.

[Phil B]

Thought I'd test that my alternator is charging today to make sure that didn't cause the problem with the old battery, and I got 14.2V. My mate says that's too high, is that the case?

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by lilmattie

Has the diff got enough oil? I was getting some clunks when rotating the shaft in mine at one point and found the diff was almost devoid of oil. Not sure about the slop though..?

Just checked the diff oil, level is good and the oil looks pretty good. Just old and worn then?

[cs123]

Originally Posted by Phil B

Just checked the diff oil, level is good and the oil looks pretty good. Just old and worn then?

There is always backlash in the diff. And you can feel it rotating the driveshaft. As long as its quiet then don't worry.

Do you have a mechanical or electronic regulator for the alternator ?

[Bearman]

Hey Phil. Regarding tyres I reckon the pick off your list is Maxxis Marauder MS1 and Sumitomo HTR2000.

Maxxis - A mate ran them on the front of his Moffat replica XB as rain tyres at the Muscle Car Masters in Sydney a few years ago. He borrowed these off another mate so he could do some practice laps in monsoon conditions. He did a couple of laps and reported the Maxxis on the front were pretty good for a street tyre in the wet.

Sumitomo - A couple of guys I know have used them and say they're a pretty decent tyre.

I haven't heard any real feedback on the others on your list.

I wouldn't bother looking for any Yokohama 352's. If you find any they'll be expensive and not very fresh since they haven't been made for a couple of years.

I'd recommend the Maxxis.

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by cs123

There is always backlash in the diff. And you can feel it rotating the driveshaft. As long as its quiet then don't worry.

Do you have a mechanical or electronic regulator for the alternator ?

It's quite I think, though sometimes I get a little thump on gear changes, that's why I looked.

Don't know about the regulator, but its all good, was just checking it was only the battery. and its all going well now so it was only just the battery.

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by Bearman

Hey Phil. Regarding tyres I reckon the pick off your list is Maxxis Marauder MS1 and Sumitomo HTR2000.

Looks like I'll actually end up getting Hercules tyres. Waiting to hear back from the shop at the moment.

[Bearman]

Let us know what you think of the Hercules.

[Phil B]

Originally Posted by Bearman

Let us know what you think of the Hercules.

Will do when I get there, not many people used them?

What's involved in lubing the speedo cable? I need to do mine.