XBGT Coupe

[Ricky T]

I thought I might post some photos of my coupe, which is currently at the metal bashers in Newcastle getting rust-repaired before paint.

Some people might remember it from the NSW Ford Coupe Club back in 2000-2002. Well I've still got it, it just hasn't been driven in 5 years! I definatelly want to have it finished before the next Hardtop Nationals.


My new car! This is what it looked like the day I bought it in July 2000.


With the Ford Coupe Club at Bathurst (2001 I think).


In the garage, during my half-arsed attempt at stripping the paint off.


At the 'bashers in Newcastle earlier this year before they started work on it.


Sandblasted and mounted on a rotisserie


Inside the workshop.

Overall the rust wasn't too bad once it was sandblasted. There were a few spots where rust was just starting in the boot area, and also the door sills. Currently the boot channels are being replaced, and so far they've repaired the lower-rear quarters and wheel arches, the door sills, boot floor, and knocked out a couple of dings.

In the next few months they'll be tackling the front plenum chamber, and the front left chassis rail which is slightly buckled from a previous accident. Work started in late July this year, and at this rate they should be all done with the metal work by December/January.

Plans for the car after that are:

Burnt Orange with blackouts (not walnut glow, personal preference for black)
Black trim (originally chamois)
Black Mad Max rims that I had before, or new Magnums from WheelBoyz in QLD.
351 motor as original
4spd toploader (originally Auto, but converted by a previous owner)
New custom wiring harness which I can do myself.
and copious amounts of random awesomeness.

[gcg2503]

Awesome stuff

Was it originally Burnt Orange or is Blaze Blue its original colour?

[Ricky T]

Burnt Orange without blackouts is the original colour scheme as per the build sheet. It was painted True Blue by a previous owner, probably after it had the front-end bingle.

While I was stripping the car the Orange was still evident in places, like under the windscreen and around the rear quarters and boot channels.

[Ricky T]

Out of curiosity I just did a Vehicle History check with the RTA.

According to their report, my XB was first registered in NSW in 1988, and since then has had 6 owners! Including myself. And is recorded as having been in the possession of a used car dealer for 3 weeks in 1997. Very interesting stuff. There are no names on the report, though.

Does anyone know how to trace a car all the way back to the dealer where it was first sold? I'm assuming my car was first sold out of state, mostly likely VIC or QLD, but who knows.

[XBCoupeNZ]

Originally Posted by Ricky T

Out of curiosity I just did a Vehicle History check with the RTA.

According to their report, my XB was first registered in NSW in 1988, and since then has had 6 owners! Including myself. And is recorded as having been in the possession of a used car dealer for 3 weeks in 1997. Very interesting stuff. There are no names on the report, though.

Does anyone know how to trace a car all the way back to the dealer where it was first sold? I'm assuming my car was first sold out of state, mostly likely VIC or QLD, but who knows.

1988??

[BTTB]

Originally Posted by Ricky T

my XB was first registered in NSW in 1988

It most likely lived interstate before that ...

[Ricky T]

Originally Posted by GTWORKS

It most likely lived interstate before that ...

Yeah that's what I figured. I went to the QLD transport website but they can't search beyond 1989, and the car has to have current registration in QLD, same story with VICroads.

[600hpxbcoupe]

Does anyone know how to trace a car all the way back to the dealer where it was first sold? I'm assuming my car was first sold out of state, mostly likely VIC or QLD, but who knows.

If you ring 13FORD with your VIN details they they should be able to tell you which dealer sold it originally.

[fatasslandau]

hey rick the coupe is coming along nicely i bet echuca gave you some more insperation.. will be great to see it on the road again

[Bradxbv8]

looking good Rick, wont take that long, bit by bit

[gcg2503]

Or contact user barra64 via pm with the vin details and he can inform you. He is the GT Historian

[Ricky T]

Been a while since I posted here. I'm excited about my coupe at the moment because all the rust repair and body work is finally finished! Dean at Kranky Kustoms was very thorough in the rust repair and I'm happy with how it turned out. He also provided photos of every repair before, during, and after.

I've also picked out the colour. The original colour is Burnt Orange so Dean mixed up a batch. To be honest I wasn't overly impressed, I know I want an orange GT but factory Burnt Orange didn't really stand out. We played with the colour %'s a bit and ended up with a Burnt Orange that's a bit brighter than original. Somewhere in between Burnt and Octane Orange. And the GT stripes will be black rather than walnut glow.

Only down side is I won't get to see the car again for another 5 months because I have to go overseas with work. But it'll be a good to have a painted rolling shell in the garage when I get home!

[Ricky T]

It's been just over 12 months since my car went into the shop for body repair and paint, so I'll skip to the good bits:










So in the last 12 months there's been rust repairs in the front panels, rear quarters, wheel arches, door jams and sills, doors, plenum chambers, and boot channels. And also some re-repair of previous smash repairs and dings.

The underbody has also been painted (Black), as has the diff housing, and the front-end was disassembled, painted, and re-assembled with new rubbers, etc.

And now there's colour on it! Still waiting for the blackouts to be applied, though, despite this the car should be home in 2 or 3 weeks.

[gcg2503]

Doesnt she look gorgeous now she has fresh paint on her!!!!

Awesome - post more pics

What else has been done resto wise in the last year other than paint and panel

[Ricky T]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

What else has been done resto wise in the last year other than paint and panel

Ummm... nothing, hehe. I've been overseas for the last 4 months, but besides that this paint and panel work is eating a lot of funds, so I don't want to start anything else until I get the body back.

Here's my little checklist of stuff to do:

Engine and trans reco
Ceramicoat extractors and other stuff
Wiring
Seats, carpet & dash retrim
Headlining
and all the other ****** little things along the way.

[Cabbage]

Awesome paint job.

[Bradxbv8]

Looking great Rick, now get the other bits where they need to be so that when you get back from overseas you can get straight into it. Looking forward to catching you in Echuca again.

[Geez Louise]

Fantastic colour choice. It is great when you see a bit of colour going on. Congrats

[gossy]

Simply stunning.

[Ricky T]

It's back on wheels as of this afternoon. The front and rear suspension was overhauled by Hunter Valley Steering & Suspension.

I spoke to the painter today and it looks like I'll have it back next week. I'm going up to Newy on Thursday to have a look at it, and at this stage we're just waiting for a few more parts to arrive, and the guys are currently re-assembling what they removed during the tear-down. Blackouts will go on later this week.

So it's looking good! This process has been a massive financial burden, so it'll be good to see it done.

[Bradxbv8]

Just make sure the shed is all clean and sorted for the slow and quality re-assemble stage Rick.

[Resurrection]

Originally Posted by Bradxbv8

Just make sure the shed is all clean and sorted for the slow and quality re-assemble stage Rick.

How to do the re-assmbly without damaging the paint?

[Ricky T]

By being really careful, hehe.

[LTDHO]

Looks great

[Sprint347]

Looks awesome, subscribing to this build thread

[Ricky T]

Here's some more photos from a couple of days ago. Not far away from being finished at the body shop.

[gcg2503]

Didnt your XB GT come with Walnut Glow highlights?

***EDIT: I re-read your earlier post and answered this myself!

[Ricky T]

Yeah, but Walnut Glow sucks (in my opinion, sorry). Black looks a lot better.

[Resurrection]

How rusty was the shell?

[Ricky T]

Just the usual places. Plenum chambers, lower doors, lower guards, boot channels, rear window panel. Also a few dings and some minor damage in the front.