Last of the V8 Interceptors.. my XB Falcon Coupe

quietsailor · 25-07-2021 11:38am

Congratulations on the transmission, that sounds like a huge saving!

Daved_XB · 27-07-2021 4:28am

The underside of the boot lid & the bonnet go sealed, from the factory these panels never had any sealing so the where the skin joins the frame always looks crappy on this panels... but we've sealed them as good as we can.

More paint is going on more panels... the front & rear valance panels are done now, as is cowl panel. Sorry for the blurry pics, but I'm still in lockdown so can't go visit yet. The underside of the boot lid & the bonnet are now done too.

Daved_XB · 30-07-2021 8:15am

Ok... so I have very little words here for this update, but I've just been to see the hanging panels & OMFG they look amazing... they look liquid, I seriously thought they were still wet when I walked into the booth.. this pics make them look shite compared to how amazing the finish looks.. & this is just off the gun, they will be wet sanded back & then polished before I collect them... this car is going to look epic, epic I tells ya...

listermint · 30-07-2021 8:17am

Clean paintwork alright.

K.Flyer · 30-07-2021 5:25pm

You are going to have to do a Video Reveal when it's totally finished.

Daved_XB · 30-07-2021 11:32pm

I've had a few people now constantly tell me that I need to move with the times & start a youtube channel to deliver these updates rather than keep updating threads on forums... who knows maybe I'll look into that

K.Flyer · 30-07-2021 11:47pm

I follow a couple of youtoob car restoration / repair channels.

And while it's great to see the nitty gritty details, I imagine there is a lot of work involved to produce a 30 minute video.

I'd say in your case, an occasional short video walk around of things as you get through the reassembly would be a huge treat for many.

Daved_XB · 11-08-2021 9:28am

So I have collected the doors, guards, front & rear valance trays from my painter today... along with a load of brackets etc... these are now being stored in one of the spare rooms in the house along with a lot of the original interior as you can probably see... so we move another step forwards...

Daved_XB · 21-08-2021 5:20am

The boot lid is also finished & was collected by me just prior to the last full curfew lockdown... the Bonnet was finished this morning & I was sent this shot but who knows when I'll be free to be allowed to drive the 1km to pick that up.....

Work will start on the engine bay next week with a view to getting the engine bay & the inside of the car painted by some next week... that will then just leave the big job of the outside of the shell... but all things being equal she'll be finished very soon... just hope it won't be against the law to go collect the **** thing then...

Daved_XB · 26-08-2021 3:47am

It was time to do the very last bit of metal work to the XB.. years ago when someone else owned her the passenger side sway bar mount was obviously cracked & the owner decided to "repair" it.... to do this they took some 2.5mm plate by the looks of it & then rather than measuring it & cutting it to shape to fit they described the part to someone down a dodge phone line using units of measurement like about the length of the last dog turd you saw etc...

Anyway... thank god for plasma cutters is all I can say, there is no way I could have gotten a grinder blade in to these tight bits to cut that "repair" section out.

Then a new piece of 5mm plate was actually measured & cut to shape to weld in

Note to self remember to not weld up the two holes for the actual sway bay mounting bolts to pass thru

A quick linish back with the grinder & she's done... I added the exact same plate to the other side too.. I think it's come up nice, almost better that it was before I started too IMHO

Daved_XB · 27-08-2021 4:35am

That repair section is now fully primed & ready to go...

Daved_XB · 09-09-2021 10:57am

I want to start working on the Diff now, so I can hopefully have it ready to go back into the car when I get the car back... needed to get it off the ground & onto the work bench... on my own.. so used the hoist to get it up to the height I needed then just slid it over

Daved_XB · 10-09-2021 7:35am

The Bonnet is home now too... so that's every panel painted & wait for the shell

The top of the front engine bay rails used to have a bad kink in it from bad precious repairs... that is now fixed & perfectly smooth

Sadly due to lockdowns I can't get over to help my painter move the car & work on it... so the shell is still not painted sadly...

biketard · 10-09-2021 2:29pm

I love how your panels have their own bedroom.

Daved_XB · 12-09-2021 2:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117872643#Comment_117872643

Wait... doesn't everyones???

It would be remiss of me to not call out Mrs_XB at this point for being super supportive of my car habbit & just all around awesome. Putting the panels in that room to ensure their safety 100% was in fact her idea & not mine. Lucky for us we have 2 spare rooms, not that either are actually needed right now due to the lockdown restrictions here that won't allow friends over to our house anyway.

Daved_XB · 15-09-2021 4:50am

Not much of an update but the rear light panel & the boot channels have all been painted up now...

Daved_XB · 15-09-2021 5:46am

Sorry for the crappy pic quality (I can't get around to take any myself) here is a bit more..... the rear tail light panel.. boot channels & up under the rear window are done as are the door jams & sills now...

Daved_XB · 20-09-2021 11:53am

It's amazing how time consuming the whole masking up process is around painting... the interior needed to be painted so the whole car exterior needs to be masked off...

The drivers side door jams are getting painted next then the engine bay so the whole car has been bagged

Daved_XB · 23-09-2021 1:24am

We've moved onto the interior now, I had painted it in the Raptor paint for it's sound deadening qualities & as you may remember that I'd tinted it the same red as the car had been painted as my thinking at the time was it'll all be covered anyway so who cares what colour it is. Well turns out my painter cares what colour it is... so he set about fixing it. First it needed a primer base to cover my crimes against cars

With that done he hazed the inside with the exterior colour, he's done this in the same way that Ford did from the factory.. to save paint & dollars Ford only really lightly hazed the inside of the cars with the paint.. I mean no one will ever see it so who cares.... so now mine looks like the Ferrari F1 red was done at the factory & not in a shed.

The floor inside the cabin is now black again as per how it would have been leaving the factory

Daved_XB · 23-09-2021 8:15am

Here are some more pics of the car as she stands right now, the inner rear guards have been painted too.. not taken by me personally of course as we're 51 days into our 7 day lockdown & I can't visit the car...

Daved_XB · 29-09-2021 9:50am

The final wet sanding & panel prep has begun......

Tomorrow will be spent masking up the car.... then the final paint should be going on either Friday or Saturday now....

biketard · 29-09-2021 11:47am

This is looking incredible. It's brilliant to think that parts will be getting added back on pretty soon and we'll start seeing the whole rebuild next.

Also, I'd totally be trying to buy that storage locker with the 27 on it off the painter. It's a REALLY good match for the car. Not just the colour, but also the little vents match the back of the car.

Daved_XB · 02-10-2021 8:13am

She's done.... again this finish is just off the gun, so she'll be polished & buffed to a mirror shine later.

Actually felt a little emotional when I was looking at her... I know that's silly but it's been a long journey, I remember sitting on the floor in our house in Dublin 7 about 40 years ago watching Mad Max with my older brother & swearing that one day I'd own an Interceptor, even though back then we had NFI what the car was... then 21 years later & I'm the proud owner of a shitbox XB Falcon of my own... When I started pulling her apart 5 years ago I had no idea what I was doing & I used to dream of this day but to be honest I often never thought it would ever actually happen... but here she is & she looks so much better than I'd ever imagined...

Billyw75 · 06-10-2021 10:14pm

Great stuff Dave ,brilliant to see the interceptor.would love to hear the roar off that v8. Parts must be hard to get or have you got them all. That raptor is great stuff i used it on my truck underneath the cab and also the interior . Well done

Daved_XB · 06-10-2021 10:53pm

It's a mixed bag, some parts can be gotten easy.. some can be gotten reproduction & they are of dubious quality & some parts are made of unobtainium & you'll have to pay a fortune for them & they'll most likely need reworking if you can even find them.

I do have everything as the car was a complete runner that I drove for years before taking her apart, the bigger issue will be working out what needs to be restored before it goes back on.. the car looks so amazing I can't just bolt on crappy looking worn parts now.

Daved_XB · 07-10-2021 11:38am

She's had her first buff... & looks even more amazing,

The tow truck is booked for tomorrow now to bring her home to me... the next car in my painters que rocked up & if you've never seen an XB Falcon in the metal, this pick of a Mini in the same space will give you an idea of just how fat she is

Slideways · 07-10-2021 1:23pm

Delighted for you. Grand distraction at the minute to be able to put it back together

Daved_XB · 08-10-2021 8:33am

Went around today to oversee operation tie my car down so it doesn't fall off the back of the truck...

Spoiler alert.... it didn't, made it the 1.1k journey with no issues as expected..

She left here on the back of the exact same truck on the 5th of Feb... now she'll sit in the front garage for a few days whilst I'll finish up some work on the Ute I'm working on for my mate, before she moves to the shed where I get to play a game called.... now where the **** did I put that bloody part...