Pics etc of my AU S3 XR8..

Donny · 16-03-2011, 07:20 PM

Hi all, its been a while now, so I thought Id finally share some details about the car Iv been raving on about for ages..

Just to refresh memories, its a 04/2002 AU Series 3 XR8, 220kw Manual in Liquid Silver with Momo Steering Wheel and Shifter as its options. It has 111k klms on the clock now. It came with a twin 2.5inch stainless exhaust system, extractors, HD clutch, slotted rotors, a SS inductions cold air snorkel setup and K & N panel filter..
Since owning it, I have added my own sterio (Pioneer DEH-P5750MP) for MP3 playback, Iv added most of the Premium sound stuff bar front tweeters as I dont have the A pillar covers yet and have added a genuine brand new T series silver instrument faschia to the guage cluster.

On the to do list is to tidy up the engine bay, give the mechanicals a good going over and replace any older bits, get it running nice and get it tuned, a few cosmetic upgrades here and there, get another factory alloy for a spare and just enjoy it for what it is..

Anyway, heres a few pics to show what 10k bought me.. (car came with RWC and 6 mths rego included in that price).. Pretty clean old girl. She has the usual chips n scratches here and there.

Its only had a basic wash and vac inside done by me, hasnt been detailed, waxed or polished or anything yet, thats to come....

Inside....

Engine bay.... Still dusty and scruffy, done nothing in here yet..

In the boot....

Njoy...

rag top · 16-03-2011, 07:23 PM

Nice score there Donny!

Any mods on it besides the SS induction snorkel?

MGGT RAA · 16-03-2011, 07:25 PM

Thats nice man...

The extra's were a bonus for that price too!

Where did you manage to find a new t-series facia?

gcg2503 · 16-03-2011, 07:26 PM

Very nice Donny

Was wondering when the pics were coming - scanned your thread a few weeks back and there was nothing....

One of the best XRs in my opinion

I rate it above BA and BF.

Is the red 8 on teh side skirt a factory item. I am not an XR8 guru by any stretch!!!

**DJM83** · 16-03-2011, 07:35 PM

Very nice Donny, going on your recent cars im sure this one will be better then factory condition in your hands

**auIILTD** · 16-03-2011, 07:36 PM

Very very nice Donny. Great looking car, low kms for it's age and great price.

Well done.

b2tf · 16-03-2011, 07:43 PM

As i said in the other thread it does looks very clean indeed. Youre forgiven for the engine bay because mine is about the same

.

If it were mine I would lose the headlight covers, I hate them personally and you get better airflow if the lights are exposed due to the gap between the actual headlight and the front bar.

The interior looks great and I am jealous of the blue gear knob, I looked for one of them but I settled for a brand new all black MOMO one.

gcg2503 · 16-03-2011, 07:48 PM

$10k only!!!! Epic buying Donny

b2tf · 16-03-2011, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcg2503

$10k only!!!! Epic buying Donny

Isnt it ever. I am having more fun with my AU than I did with my FG and paying 1/4 what I was to have it in the garage.

robbyj · 16-03-2011, 07:56 PM

Nice purchase for that price!

galaxy xr8 · 16-03-2011, 08:28 PM

Not bad Donny, well done, look's like it was looked after fairly well previously.
I normally don't like how people paint the pod's and stuff like that but that actually suit's the accent's in the bodykit, look's good with the series III kit.
I'm not keen on the grille though.

galaxy xr8 · 16-03-2011, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcg2503

Very nice Donny

Was wondering when the pics were coming - scanned your thread a few weeks back and there was nothing....

One of the best XRs in my opinion

I rate it above BA and BF.

Is the red 8 on teh side skirt a factory item. I am not an XR8 guru by any stretch!!!

No the AU's never had the XR8 badge there, it is a BA/BF accessory.

Donny · 16-03-2011, 08:45 PM

Thanks for all the replies fellas, for anyones names I missed.. This will be a bit long winded, but I will answer everyone in this post..

ragtop, it has aftermarket extractors, k&n filter panel and twin 2.5 inch full stainless exhaust. Im not aware of any other mods at this stage..

mggtraa, I bought the faschia off a fella from ebay. he sells them on there occasionally. He works for VDO, so has access to genuine parts. PM me and I will give you details.

Thanks George.. Iv been waiting to do pics for once I gave her a quick clean up. The weathers been so up n down here of late, and Iv been busy on other things too.. As you know I had the BF2 GT-P, and after having both this and that, I prefer the AU. More heart n soul, and much less clinical than the GT-P.. Ironically these XR8's feel more in the spirit of a true GT than my BF2 GT-P ever did. The XR8's on the side skirts are B series ones and will be removed when I get time..

Thanks DJM, she has a few faults n flaws, but is generally well looked after and tidy.. Being my current daily driver, Iv accepted how it is condition wise and am prepared for the odd mark or 2..

Im hoping once I get it detailed, waxed, polished and clay'ed etc that she will shine then.. Todays pics (all of the above) were taken on a rather overcast day..

b2tf.. Engine bay will get its fair share of a tidy up once its all been gone over and any old worn stuff is changed out.. The header tank bottle annoys me to no end the colour it is, and I want the engine cover redone too.. I dont mind the light covers, the only thing I dont like about them is you need to unscrew one side of em to chamois in the cups and behind the covers as water gets in there.. Plus if I remove them, I will have holes where the brackets screw into the recesses.. Interiour is pretty good. The console annoys me cause of the little alarm light in it, the steering wheels a bit ordinary in a few spots and the gear knob blue has darkened and the leather under the shifter numbers isnt great.. Dunno if the blue is just dirty or not..

George.. 10k with 6 mths rego and QLD RWC, or I coulda had it for 9.5k as is. I set a goal as to what I wanted and how much I was prepared to spend..
In the end I had 2 cars that fitted my bill at the same price. One white, but not in as good a condition, buggered clutch, more milage 135k located north of Bris. This one had 110k, Silver which I wasnt keen on until I saw the car, and was cleaner and in better nick with a near new HD clutch and cable setup and best of all was local here on the Gold Coast, so no travel costs or interstate transfers etc.. It made good sence to compromise colour wise, and Iv grown to like it enough to live with.

b2tf.. Same principle here, I sold my BF2 GT-P for 50k, a few months before that I had a ***** muncher run up the back of me in it.. Wasnt a biggie, but cost him around 15k in repairs for mine, so after that I really thought hard about why Im running around in such an expensive car when I can have virtually the same setup for 1/5th the price. Hence the XR8.

Galaxy.. It was a well looked after car and serviced by a well known mechanic here Graeme Erquart, who has been a Ford man all his life.. As for the paint treatments on the front, if it comes to pass that I need it painted, I will probly do it a little diffrent..

Thanks again guys, sorry for the long post..

gcg2503 · 16-03-2011, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donny

b2tf.. Same principle here, I sold my BF2 GT-P for 50k, a few months before that I had a ***** muncher run up the back of me in it.. Wasnt a biggie, but cost him around 15k in repairs for mine, so after that I really thought hard about why Im running around in such an expensive car when I can have virtually the same setup for 1/5th the price. Hence the XR8.

hear you loud and clear on this. Car has been gone nearly a month now at the panel beaters

Thinking of doing the same "car rationalisation" Lets not call it a downgrade!!!!!

Donny · 16-03-2011, 08:54 PM

I was without the GT-P for nearly 6 weeks.. Had to get a new rear bar, left side rear exhaust pipe, muffler and tip, bootlid, reversing sensors and the reverse sensor control unit was stuffed too..
Luckily I had the XY GT to use and a very understanding insurance co..

gcg2503 · 16-03-2011, 08:58 PM

I sold the Fairlane the day before the car went away

Landau is in pieces

I have been cruising in a clapped out 1995 two door manual lancer with a shot clutch and whining gearbox......

Donny · 16-03-2011, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcg2503

I sold the Fairlane the day before the car went away

Landau is in pieces

I have been cruising in a clapped out 1995 two door manual lancer with a shot clutch and whining gearbox......

Always the way mate, when you really need one, their either sold or in bits..

Donny · 16-03-2011, 09:33 PM

Couple of quick vids of the exhaust note.. Sorry for the lousy sound quality, I really need a camera with decent audio pickup..

au11futura · 16-03-2011, 09:37 PM

dear santa................

Mr Hardware · 16-03-2011, 10:39 PM

Wow Donny, it's like you've frozen time

(about the only thing that gives it away is the feral header tank)

Your machine is the kind of thing this forum used to be full of 5 years ago

nowadays it's full of dented or havok kitted fortes

Donny · 16-03-2011, 11:08 PM

Thanks mate.. Gotta clean out that header tank somehow.. Dunno how yet, but it cant stay like that..
The condition of the car and the fact it was local are 2 huge reasons why I accepted the compromise on a colour I didnt really want..

When I first saw the ad for this car, I said to myself NO, dont want another silver car.. Few days later I had a slow day, thought what the hell, rang the guy an went to look at it.. He was 5 mins from his home and able to get away from work an keen as heck to have me come see it straight away.. Went for a look, saw how clean it was, went for a drive in it and that was it. Had it RACQ inspected, and it passed well, so negotiated a deal and bought it.. He was asking 12k for it as is, unreg.

It was just ment to be.. It all went through so easily.

b2tf · 17-03-2011, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donny

Thanks mate.. Gotta clean out that header tank somehow.. Dunno how yet, but it cant stay like that..
The condition of the car and the fact it was local are 2 huge reasons why I accepted the compromise on a colour I didnt really want..

When I first saw the ad for this car, I said to myself NO, dont want another silver car.. Few days later I had a slow day, thought what the hell, rang the guy an went to look at it.. He was 5 mins from his home and able to get away from work an keen as heck to have me come see it straight away.. Went for a look, saw how clean it was, went for a drive in it and that was it. Had it RACQ inspected, and it passed well, so negotiated a deal and bought it.. He was asking 12k for it as is, unreg.

It was just ment to be.. It all went through so easily.

Honestly dont bother, its not worth it. The tank is seperated internally by plastic baffles too so you'll never get pressure in there to clean out all the gunk, I tried mine last weekend when I installed the radiator.

Go for a new one or one of the aftermarket steel type ones. I think I'm going to paint mine and just leave a window to check the level.

Mz Revvv Head · 17-03-2011, 12:15 AM

Finally pic's of the XR8, Yay ... ( You slacka ... lol )

It's much better than I expected & it looks Fantastic DV8 ...

It was a little time in finding it, But it was well worth it ...
& you got it for the price you wanted to pay, what a find ...

Imagine how much nicer it would look with my GT-P wheels on it... Lol ...

P.S. It sounds good to ...

**FTE217** · 17-03-2011, 12:19 AM

New reseviour is near on $120 from Fraud - I replaced mine late last year,best thing to freshen up the engine bay.
Worth it IMO - as much as I like the pwr stainless ones I really dislike not seeing the coolant level and for me just too much bling.
Donny she's a beauty as has been said - I had a new Meteorite one miss her at times.....

Donny · 17-03-2011, 12:49 AM

Thanks re the advise about cleaning them.. That will save me a tun of heartache tryin to clean it out.. I will just get a newbie..
I dont like the PWR ones at all for a few reasons, mainly their way too blingy, I like the bay to look closer to factory.. And perhaps the biggest part I dont like about them is theres no mark to tell what the water level is, which I think is absolute stupidity..

Thanks for your comments Cyclone.. ;-)
This one kinda fell into my lap, It was ment to be.. Of all the cars Iv bought in my lifetime, this was by far the easiest transaction and find..

And yes, it would look great with your GT-P wheels on it. Come to think of it, the Brembos and GT-P seats could work too...lol

mik · 17-03-2011, 01:03 AM

wow thats a nice car, i never liked liq silver either ,but it grows on ya, after looking at yours mine could be spare parts :(, nice pick up.

Donny · 17-03-2011, 01:09 AM

Thanks mate.. Im still not a silver fan, but I dont hate the colour.. The car as a whole package surpassed the small colour compromise I made..

EATHSV · 17-03-2011, 02:14 AM

Neat lookinf car there mate, front looks similar to mine but lighter. Envy your rebel kit though.
Ditch the poxy BA sill badges and it'll look better.

Donny · 17-03-2011, 02:50 AM

The BA XR badges are definantly going.. No iffs, buts or maybes..

My front does look similar to yours, but I have more stuff coloured in. Mines also colour matched to the darker inset bits on the Rebel Kit..

Your envious of the Rebel Kit, Im envious of your sunroof and your steering wheel, it looks brand new..

disco · 23-03-2011, 01:53 AM

Donny,

Awesome buy mate! I'm one of those sick guys that actually loves AU's lol!

I even convinced my old man to buy 2 of em and he loves em.

On of my "cars to own list", right at the top is a narooma blue T3 TE50 manual! I was that close to buying one in 2008 and it was even an auto! But couldn't agree on price. If I could find the right combo in narooma with a roof, premium sound and brembo's I would sacrifice one of my x-series Falcon's for it!

I love em, FTe hand built a lot of the engines in those AU's and the pushrod technology make them sound, go and feel much more like a GT than the B series GT's IMO.

Bang for you buck you can't beat that man.

Well done!

disco.