And now for sump-thing completely different!!

Damian was meant to be heading onsite today, but that was cancelled. Scottie works outdoors in his day job, and due to the weather, his work was cancelled also, so a surprise visit to work on Booger Mobile was in order!!

While Damian went to borrow an oxy torch from Gold Sponsor Jason Sheather Plumbing, Scottie arrived and cleaned up the driver's side wheel hub.



A couple of parcels were waiting for Damian at the PO Box - the first being the set of keyed-alike ignition, doors and BOOT LOCK barrels!!


Scottie got to work with the oxy gear, heating up the engine cross member. Since the sump debacle from the previous day, it was necessary to attack the clearance issue from a different angle - adjusting the cross member was that angle!!

Damian continued opening his parcels - the second being a pair of tapered sleeves for attaching the outer tie rod ends to - the XD Falcon disc brake assembly (and wheel hub) has a slightly larger diameter hole, which requires an aftermarket tapered sleeve - this pair came from Fishop Falcons!

Damian got to work installing the new ignition barrel, while Scottie continued to beat and torture the cross-member, which by all accounts, would make anyone cross!!

The existing boot lock already had a barrel in it (of course), but no key. The barrels are added/removed by depressing a small locking pin after turning the key. This poses the question "How do I remove the boot lock barrel from an XM Falcon without the key?" Damian googled this question and found no answers, so hopefully including it here will give people in a similar situation what they are looking for.

To remove the boot lock barrel from an XM Falcon without the key, simply grab the small locking pin with a pair of pointy-nosed pliers, and pull it out upwards!! The barrel will then simply slide out of the surround.

A little later, Scottie mentioned to Damian that he had earlier hooked up the transmission coolant hoses to the radiator, thus getting Damian's photos out of order!!

With a tinge of sadness, Damian cut off Scottie's excellent remote boot release cable - sadly you can't have both...

But on a happier note, the boot lock turned out excellently!! And it opens with the turn of a key!

Damian kept Scottie's excellent cable-bracket for use another time...

Meanwhile, more oxy work and hammering was taking place...

But as you can see from the picture below, most of the sump clearance issues have now been sorted!! Just some minor panel-beating of the passenger side of the sump is required!!

After removing the inner door trim etc, Damian attached the first of the door locks!! So exciting - a lockable car with the same key used to open the boot and start the engine!!!!!

After a good morning of work, Scottie had to head off to collect his daughter from school. On the way out the gate, he nearly had a head on collision with a courier, who was delivering the nice, shiny (brand new) VH40 remote booster from Hydroboost.

With a lot of parts finally starting to arrive, it should only be a matter of time before Booger Mobile is back on its wheels again...

Another day of fun, another step closer to the 2010 Camp Quality esCarpade!!