JANUARY 5, 2004

Well the new year has started off quite busy. The plans for the XB have taken a bit of a turn. Instead of spending countless hours grinding and sanding off 30 years of crap I’ve decided to get the car acid dipped which will ensure a true ‘rust free’ frame off restoration.

JANUARY 8, 2004

The XB is now COMPLETELY stripped and ready for a swim in the acid tank. Recieved more rust repair panels, NOS tail lamps lenes, new cam installed and ready to finish engine assembly.

JANUARY 14, 2004

The XB has been delivered to be acid dipped. Thanks to my brother Dan for coming along to help. The weather was against us but all went well. For those not familiar with what acid dipping is: the bare shell and all panels are set into a tank that will completely strip off everything and bring the metal back to it’s original finish. This will allow us to see where all rust and previous repair work was and we’ll be able to either replace with new panels or properly patch.PIC 1 – Braving the elements in -35c weather. Note the newest edition, my MFP Ford van which was just painted. PIC 2 – Sitting at the shop, waiting for the acid tank. Check out the old Porsche beside the XB.

JANUARY 27, 2004

The XB is ready for pick up but once again the weather has been lousy. A new windscreen and coupe seats are on the way and I’ve also bought a new set of rear leaf springs and headliner. Continue to clean parts for reassembly.

JANUARY 30, 2004

The XB is back at the shop safe and sound. Thanks to Adam Rye for coming along to help. The car has a coating of neutralizer on it that needs to be washed off before it can be sprayed with high solids primer…this will be my weekend chore.PIC 1 – XB back to all metal inside and out

FEBRUARY 7, 2004

The complete shell and all parts have been washed down and then sprayed with primer. The rear 1/4 panels are in better shape than I thought but the wheel arches are being cut out anyways. I only need to order 2 repair panels so we’re in better shape than expected. Complete weatherstrip kit, carpet, and insulation kit are on the way. Headers (extractors) have also been acid dipped and are now in high heat black. Engine block has been cleaned and painted and should be all back together soon (hey…it’s been cold here!)PIC 1 – In primerPIC 2 – floor and firewall

MAY 9, 2004

I’ve had many e-mails wondering what’s happened over the past couple of months and I apologize for neglecting the site. The delay has been mostly due to moving house and setting up the new shop. Here’s what’s new:-Engine is all back together and ready to install.-All parts ordered are in and waiting for install once body is done. (new rubber kit, carpet and misc dash parts)-Doors, mudguards (fenders), bonnet and boot (hood/trunk lid) and section below ‘A’ piller have been patched. I had to bring the XB back home for now though.-Had to reorganize all the parts in the new shop and continue to restore small bits and pieces.-The rear diff is all done and ready to go back in. I totally disassembled it to check it out thouroughly and then cleaned it up.-Finally located a set of 4 wheels that match what I had on the front. I will get these modified so that I can have a matching set for the rear as well as a couple of spares.-Located a set of vintage mufflers that should give me the sound I’m after.-Picked up a new windscreen but it unfortunately is not what I ordered. I’ll need to order another so I am selling the one I have now.Big thanks to Sam Costanzo, Chris Creasy and EJ Zadina for all their help over the last couple of months.

MAY 18, 2004

Received some used (but nearly mint) black seat belts for the rear. Mine were brown and in poor shape. Big thanks to ‘Jaffa’ in New Zealand for his help with those and the all the other little bits he sent along. Half way through retsoring the heater box….it’s amazing what gets into these things after 30 years. I was suprised to find the heater core in perfect condition…a quick flush is all it needed.

MAY 20, 2004

Heater box all redone and ready to install.

OCTOBER 14, 2004

Well,…. another few months have slipped by and not a whole lot to report other than the large package I received was a proper Arcaidipane front, roof spoiler and the rear flares. Front flares and boot spoiler to follow shortly. I’ve been asked to keep my source quiet for now though so I must respect their wishes.I’ve also been very busy doing some renovations to my shop.The main body has been delivered to a new panel beaters shop and I’ll be posting pics of the progress as it happens. (yes Bart!! some new pics finally)I managed to buy a heap of XB parts from a guy that had to give up his “MAX” project. Included were, NOS zoomies, GT side flutes, 2 sets of tail lamps, rear tail lamp panel, steering column and a box full of smaller items. The best part was another Scott Super Slot injectoer that has been rebuilt and calibrated for street use along with a brand new Scott pump made for the same. There was also a box of file folders containing all of his research and even some genuine photos of the original Mad Max car at the museum in England taken back in 1994 by the museums owner and then forwarded.

OCTOBER 24, 2004

Finally finished the steering linkage (all new parts but had to clean and paint) and then assembled all the parts and is ready for install. Glassbeaded the remaining upper control arm and painted it and then will rebuild. All that’s left for the suspension is the front caliper rebuild/restore. I also had 8 new pipes made up that go between the zoomie pipe and the tips.

NOVEMBER 2, 2004

Have been going thru my entire inventory of parts and sorting out what needs to be restored/cleaned up. Went to the final outdoor swapmeet of the year and found another pair of vintage BFGs for the front in excellent condition. I will be finally picking up my coupe front seats this weekend and then it’s off to get some retrimming done.

NOVEMBER 9, 2004

Picked up my coupe seats this past weekend so I can now focus on getting them and the rear seat retrimmed. I just received another Maxrob steering wheel that I found on ebay. This one is pefect and will end up being he one used. The other one will be used in a future project. Thanks again to Jay, EJ and Goober for a relaxing weekend.

DECEMBER 3, 2004

Just returned from checking out the progress on the coupe at the shop where the body/paint will be done. The XB has been there for about a month but another project was in line ahead of me. I will post more on the guy doing it in the near future. About 1/2 of the patchwork has been completed including the panel below the rear window, boot channels and the seam on the firewall. There were a few other spots that had some small holes but I was able to obtain some pieces cut from other coupes and these were then used. As for the progress in my shop: I’ve restored the steering wheel, glass beaded some more small items, prepping all the window chrome and wipers for paint, sorting thru more parts. I took my seats to a few different places and got the usual overpriced quotes. However, one guy looked at me and simlpy said “why not just vinyl dye them?”. There is a product out there the I was aware of (used by a fellow member of the Falcon Club) that this guy also highly recommended. He even went so far as to guarantee me that if the dye wears off that he’ll retrim all my seats for free. Needless to say I’ll go with the dye and save big $$$ (of course I’ll spend it some other way). I was shown a few samples of this product and I could not tell the difference between it and actual black material.

DECEMBER 7, 2004

Dropped off the rear bumper to get de-chromed and the ready for paint. Right side wheel well patched and arch has been modified for the flare.

DECEMBER 10, 2004

Another quick visit tonight. New left rocker panel/sill is on, left inner rear quarter welded in place along with a few odd spots that needed minor attention. I must say that I’m very excited at the progress as it looks like the XB wil be heading back to my shop ahead of schedule for the driveline install.I’ve had a few e-mails lately asking about the costs into my project and if I’m willing to sell…..NOT going to happen !!

DECEMBER 17, 2004

The back end (tail panel) is all fixed up now. Only a few people were aware that my vehicle had received some damage during shipping and the back corners and bumper were damaged but was covered by the insurance . Naturally I was all frustrated when I first saw this and for the last couple of years I thought it would never be the same however once Rick worked his magic you’d swear there was never any damage to begin with. All that’s left to weld is the right side sill panel and a bit of patchwork in the right wheel well. Still a bit of a delay on the front flares and boot spoiler but I know it’ll be worth the wait. A big thanks to Bill Budd for his help this weekend !PIC 1PIC 2

DECEMBER 22, 2004

Right side sill and lower quarter are on and right wheel well is also fixed and modified for the flare. Boot lid has been test fitted to assure everything is straight. The new rubber seal fits great and the lid closes like it did when new. The only welding left to do is on the torque boxes. They have some holes but fortunately nothing to worry about but I want to make sure they’ll handle the added engine power. I was not going to bother with a 9 inch diff for now but that may change this weekend if all goes well.