AU at SA Rally

Cadge · 14-09-2010, 12:00 PM

Hey guys,

Just a couple of pics i thought you might be interested in of my AU running round at the Scouts SA Rally

And in light of this, does anyone know if you can get raised springs for an AU? I heard maybe what was called a "country pack" but wouldnt have a clue where to get them from.

**Polyal** · 14-09-2010, 12:15 PM

And in a fairmont no less?

Cool, same colour as mine, looks great in direct sunlight

**FTE217** · 14-09-2010, 12:23 PM

Well done Cadge ! rippa seeing the AU doing the dirt haha

I was going to ask what mods were done to the suspension ? and or anything else.
Your sig says lowered with kings ? is this the case whilst doing the rally ? certainly doesn't look it apart from the bottoming out pics.

Look your best bet checking for raised coils is call King Springs/Lovells/Pedders direct.
They can make them for sure - but your problem is getting a longer stroke front strut and rear shock to marry up with the springs. Ask those companys they certainly know.
Country pack is related to the commodores not Falcons fyi.

Cadge · 14-09-2010, 01:25 PM

Thanks guys,

Its not a Fairmont, its just a forte, the bonnet is off of an XR6

As for the sig, that is in relation to my personal ride, not the rally car (yes i have a fairmont on the road and another AU for off road)

Thanks for the info on the Springs, i just had a mate say that the country pack was for the AU utes, but, he is, after all, a holden fan boy so would explain alot.

**FTE217** · 14-09-2010, 02:40 PM

Well there is the BA RTV ute that was raised - just not sure all that gear fit - rear shocks have different mounts top and bottom and the front strut smaller spring pan but all this could probably be modified to suit if you talk to a trade suspension person with some nouse !

Mr Hardware · 14-09-2010, 03:26 PM

Is it an AU1 or AUII? It's got a full AUII rear end - Boot garnish, lights and bumper - but the wheels are AU1 Fairmont and the bonnet is xr6 as you said.
I'm gonna guess AUII.
Oh and yes Regency Red is most definitely one of the best colours - a million times better than amoretto or organza or silver or any of those boring old man colours.

Cadge · 14-09-2010, 03:42 PM

Yeah this is an AUII.

Reason for the Fairmont rims was that they were the only 15" rims i had lying around at the time to put Rally tyres on... Rally tyres are next to impossible to find in 16"

GK · 14-09-2010, 05:21 PM

Good onya for racing the old AU = Awesome!

How does she go on the dirt?

GK

TheInterceptor · 14-09-2010, 06:04 PM

Awesome stuff!
How does it handle the rough stuff? Break much yet?

FTe342 · 14-09-2010, 06:21 PM

Fantastic to see someone having a go in an AU!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing

The Monty · 14-09-2010, 07:08 PM

The AU did have a country pack, best to ring Ford and ask the question though. Preety sure it was just towing pack springs in the back, and a sump gaurd, but cant completely remember.

Cadge · 14-09-2010, 08:22 PM

Broken things... Yes, but that is all part of racing.

To date...

Radiator: after missing a corner and finding a tree stump on the other side (thermo fans etc etc)

Chewed through a few tyres and bent a rim.

Biggest one was after what is shown in picture # 3. There's a small bolt on the top of the power steering rack that put a nice 5c piece sized hole in the sump, but in saying that, I still won my class and have a shiny trophy to prove it

The bumper is made out of... some sort of sheet metal...

after the tree stump episode.

As far as handling goes, to be honest its gutless coming out of corners. At the moment, its only got an Auto in it and I've got an LSD sitting there ready to go in, but i picked the car up for $800, so, the cost of getting all that doesn't really matter.

Jimmyd · 14-09-2010, 09:07 PM

Lovin the thundercougarfalconbird!

TheInterceptor · 14-09-2010, 09:10 PM

haha, thats awesome, gotta love the toughness of these machines!

Grippy · 15-09-2010, 02:55 PM

Talk about cheap motorsport! The $800 AU looks fantastic in rally gear

crdave · 15-09-2010, 09:54 PM

We were that weekend and saw you having a ball in the AU, ha ha your cars the same colour as my missus AU. When we saw yours she looked at me and her lad and said don't even think about it you two !

Cadge · 16-09-2010, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grippy

Talk about cheap motorsport! The $800 AU looks fantastic in rally gear

To date weve probably spent around $3000 for harnesss' broken things, seats etc.... so yeah pretty cheap :P

Did you see the night stage or the day stuff?

crdave · 16-09-2010, 08:52 AM

Just the day stuff unfortunately. It was a great rally this year. really well done by the organisers to incorporate all the differemt classes including you guys and the bikes and quads in the event. I'm a bit biased but i really thought the classics and the SARC guys stole the show from the ARC this year.

Cadge · 16-09-2010, 10:34 AM

I reckon they always do... The ARC guys just dont seem to have any... Character?
Nothing like a 250? Z buzzing round the forrest.

broken_suave · 18-09-2010, 11:41 AM

Just out of curiousity, how did you get into this? Licences, fees, rules and regs, etc?

I've wanted to do this for some time, but wouldnt know how to start.

Edit: The AU did come with country pack suspension, cause my Futura has it :P

From what I can tell, it has taller springs (cant tell if they're softer than regular springs or not) and I think theres a difference in the swaybars as well (slightly beefier, though I cant confirm as my calipers have gone missing). My suspension really needs new bushes and balljoints, cause its a bit loose and uncomfortable on the road, but its still great on dirt roads. Rides over bumps easily, and always seems sure footed. As to how much of this can be attributed to the country pack suspension, I couldnt tell you, but I do like it. Wish it was lower, but if I cant go lower than standard, Im happy with higher than standard. Admittedly, if I was going rallying, I'd still go for the raised Kings Springs, and some cheap Bilsteins.