cam.giles AU Fotre to BA Xr Interior Conversion

fourl6 · 20-01-2009, 11:35 PM

as you all know iv been slowly converting my AU Forte interior to a BA XR...
my progress has sort of been tacked onto the end of a few different threads so i thought id just create this one to show the progress...

A Few Things to note.
- I Am note planning on using Pretty much any BA Wiring (Down the track i will research the BA cluster a bit more)
- I Have not yet figured out what im going to do about the passenger airbag as the AU is a Single Stage Airbag and the BA is a Duel Stage Airbag
what iv done so far... (although i did notice the trigger connector looks the same)
- At Them Moment im just going to use the AU Steering Column and Steering Wheel
- I Know alot of you think the AU Dash is alot better than the BA and imo it is better built but its just to ugly and there really isnt that much you can do with it to improve it

Front Door Trims - Will Bolt straight on but because they are thicker that AU Trims you wont be able to close the door... this is what iv had for the last 6 months... i have modded the top corner with the au trim inserted behind and this is how i had the power windows wired up...
(i havent done the rears yet as i havent converter them to power windows yet)

Rear Seats - Pretty much not worth the effort... go on ebay and buy yourself some fake Leather Seat Covers... but just to show i have attempted it this is a cut and paste from another tread...

Quote:

Why BA rear seats are not easy to put in a AU
(I have not put them in the misses BA and have decided to get the ebay fake leather covers)

have a few pics of it all...
the BA falcon is around 5cms longer than the AU and if you look from the side most of this length is just in front of the wheel arch

The metal floor under the rear seat is about 5/6cm's lower in the AU than the BA

As in previous post. the mounting point for the back rest are completely different and are not interchangeable (Welded not bolted on)

The latch positions are different

Here are a few pics to show the differences in the floor plans

this is just a pic of the seats sitting in there, not mounted or leveled at all

AU<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ----- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>BA
Note the height difference compared to the water bottle

BA Fascia Modification - this is what im doing now...

an overall before short for future reference and a few parts

a few bits and the fascia being modded to accommodate fit a single din, AU heater Controls and buttons modded to work (4 lower buttons will be A/C, Rear Demister, Interior Lights, Central Locking)
im working on a circuit to make the A/C switch cycle the a/c... if i wire it straight up i would have to hold it in to get the A/C on when im after a toggle type switch...
iv also got all the back lights figured out to... and the parts you can see hack sawed are a old rooted set of heater Controls that using for testing

kenays going to give me a hand fibreglassing it back into one peace... im going to turn the old screen hole into a GPS holder... a 4.3" gps will fit in there nicely

i have lined up a Black BA XR Premium Dash and center console... should be able to pick it up this weekend hopefully with the cabin carpet and rear power window regs aswell...

Cheers Cam

aye you · 20-01-2009, 11:46 PM

So your not going to be using the BA dash, but canabilising it for parts and modding the AU dash to suit?

fourl6 · 20-01-2009, 11:49 PM

it'll physically look like a BA Dash, centre console and door trims and just with a modded fascia... and a AU steering wheel and cluster Atm...

aye you · 20-01-2009, 11:53 PM

sounds like a plan

oh an why'd u let Laura destroy the fairmont with a wing?

Kenay · 20-01-2009, 11:57 PM

hmm looks like i have a bit of work to do

fourl6 · 20-01-2009, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aye you

sounds like a plan

oh an why'd u let Laura destroy the fairmont with a wing?

why'd you get custom lights? :P
she likes the wing and i think it looks pretty good..

aye you · 21-01-2009, 12:01 AM

i saw the error of my ways and got rid of the damn things though....

superroo · 21-01-2009, 12:30 AM

If you haven't seen it yet,

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=63511

http://www.fordmods.com/forums/viewt...er=asc&start=0

Cheers

sikford · 21-01-2009, 07:32 AM

car is definatly getting there cam. nice work

fourl6 · 21-01-2009, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superroo

If you haven't seen it yet,

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=63511

http://www.fordmods.com/forums/viewt...er=asc&start=0

Cheers

cheers superroo iv tried to get a hold of that guy though several forums etc but i can find him... its good that it show the dash fits... but thats all it really shows... no info on what is needed to make it fit or no prof that any of it actually works...

RG · 21-01-2009, 08:37 AM

How did you (or are you planning on) getting the front seats to fit?

sikford · 21-01-2009, 10:12 AM

front seats r the easy part. just need to mod the rails/brackets...

ten[A]cio[U]s · 21-01-2009, 10:44 AM

Looks like its all comign together mate. Im dreading swapping an AU dash to an AU dash, I couldnt imagine what stress I would be under hacking one up to be differen.t

Great work for trying something different!

InfernoSR · 21-01-2009, 06:25 PM

dammit... now i want to do it... and you know me guys... i keep chopping and changing my mind more than my undies :P

fourl6 · 21-01-2009, 09:11 PM

i need a beer :P... pulled the dash out... now that i have the dash out im going to rewire my amps and speakers... should be able to do a better job this time...

InfernoSR · 21-01-2009, 09:25 PM

Adding more sound deadening?

aye you · 21-01-2009, 09:44 PM

i see a billet short shifter soon me thinks...

fourl6 · 26-01-2009, 11:05 PM

A bit of progress... before you say that dash is missing a heap of and has a few dints etc. its not the actual dash ill be using (i think this one is out of a BA futura?).i picked this up for free of a mate of a mate lol... its purely for me to suss out what works and what doesn't... so i got the top half of the dash and the frame from behind it... im not sure when i can get the actual dash... there is speak of this friday but im not holdijng my breath :(...

Positives
- Dash Frame lines straight up with the wholes near the door jams
- Top of dash fits snug up against the windscreen
Negatives
- Steering Wheel Brackets (that hold it up to the dash) and different widths apart (i think i should be able to mix and match the ba and au steering columns)
- Some of the BA Dash Frame Has to be bent to fit in because of the au heater box...

Pics...

[/quote]

**Peuty** · 26-01-2009, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aye you

i see a billet short shifter soon me thinks...

If the gearbox is anything like the V8's, he isn't even close to being able to get to the shifter mechanism yet.

Good to see you putting the effort in cam

fourl6 · 27-01-2009, 11:04 PM

can anyone with a Manual B Series take off the Shifter Surround and take a photo of their gear stick... i think they come a little bent as mine looks a little to close to the dash...

fourl6 · 28-01-2009, 11:20 PM

Transferred All the Wires etc from the AU dash to the BA dash and connected everything... IT ALL WORKS

:
(with the crap dash missing vents and all...) i have just bolted up one side of the steering wheel and its only just not sitting center so ill have to make a bracket for that...

aye you · 28-01-2009, 11:48 PM

pics dammit!

fourl6 · 29-01-2009, 12:39 AM

just went for a drive... good i love my AU... if your not sure you like the handling, performance, sound, feel or even smell of yours spend atleast 200kms a day in a magna wagon lol the AU seems like a 100k Audi to me

thanks to Tuf240/260 for txting me a pic of his Gear Stick... yeah the BA is seriously bent towards the back seats so looks like ill be getting a BA Gear Stick aswell...

Pics... look pretty much the same as before... have no sound system installed atm... Kenays starting to mod the ICC faceplate for me this weekend... Clusters just shoved in lol... passenger airbag is just shoved in aswell... but im happy

this pic is with it in reverse so you can see how close the shifter is to the icc...

aye you · 29-01-2009, 12:43 PM

even though its rough, i reckon its going to look great once its done man. I gotta say i was skeptical at first but i'm slowly begining to like what I see

InfernoSR · 29-01-2009, 10:40 PM

Good one mate! now hurry up and source mine too! lol!

Kenay · 31-01-2009, 08:07 PM

well cam its been a slow day but it is coming along nicely well heres some pic for you

alot more work to be done but it will get there..

InfernoSR · 31-01-2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenay

well cam its been a slow day but it is coming along nicely well heres some pic for you

alot more work to be done but it will get there..

Thats basically what i envisioned it to be when Cam described it the other day... did you plastic weld the parts together, or is it a trade secret? ;) lol

Kenay · 31-01-2009, 09:45 PM

plastic welded,
but my style and it has never failed

InfernoSR · 31-01-2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenay

plastic welded,
but my style and it has never failed

Good stuff... i wasnt the most main stream Plastic Welder when i did my course, but just like you, it never let me down either

fourl6 · 03-02-2009, 10:39 AM

Little Update From Kenay...

im also getting prices on a good condition dash and centre console from a few wreckers... the only one that has got back to me so far has said $275 for dash (without ICC passenger airbag and Cluster) and $150 for the console (all in charcoal)...
the bloke i was originally getting the dash from still hasn't set a date to get it and im on a deadline of the 15/2 (all ford day)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenay

well its getting ther after today i bondo'd the heater control and got them smooth.. but i might go over them again ...im a perfectionist..

well as i was saying bondo'd the heater control. and i finished welding up the stereo fascia
so tomorrow's job will be to weld up some holes uner the screen area and bondo the whole fascia and sand it all down....
pics will come
paint will come Wednesday after cam has been and inspected it to make sure he is happy.

before sanding ..stereo fascia tacked into place

after sanding ..stereo fascia fully welded

well i think cams car is now going to be one of a kind