So, that's the basic spec on it. The sticker in the window was $5995 (canadian bux), which was a little high. It sat on the lot while I hmmm'd and haaa'd over it, and by the time I decided to buy it, he'd dropped the price from that to $3995 as is, to $4995 certifed. Keep in mind, if you're in the States, that's plus GST and PST, a total of 15% tax going to our fair government. Ptooie. So, the total going out the door certified and emissions tested/passed would be $5754. Ouch. It was a little much for me. So, I bartered a bit, and we settled on $4500 certified/e-tested, with my plates paid for ($130), and their "dealer charge" (read: profit) of $500 included. I had to fill the tank myself. But, the cost was, at the end of things, $5175 canadian, plus my first two months of insurance to the good folks at co-operators.

And so, I owned a Ford again.

Yeah, I know. You don't REALLY care about the story. You care about the car. Or maybe you don't care at all. Either way, here's the pics, taken over the last few months.

Lets have a look inside, first, shall we? Save the good stuff for last? What we have is a big-ass back seat, and a just-as-big front seat. What you can't see is the JVC MP3 CD deck I replaced the stock AM/FM/cassette deck with, and the Pioneer 150w 3-way 6x9's I put on the back shelf. A worthwhile investment if I ever saw one. So, back to the interior. Room for six, comfortably. Powerlocks, Power Windows, Power.. You get the picture.

I love the interior. It's so choice. I cruise on the highway at a nice, comfortable 115kmh (about 65mph for you US folks) and she is like silk. Also, I'm getting rediculously good mileage on long trips, around 32MPG average on the highway, and 20mpg in town (I have a heavy foot in traffic, as does my girlfriend, who LOVES to drive this thing).

Now, it's not JUST the interior itself. The trunk is, as you know, I'm sure, massive. I like to call it the "three-corpse-trunk". Don't ask questions you don't want answers to. As you can tell, this car was CLEAN when I bought it. Even the trunk was immaculate.

So, into the Engine bay. It's bone stock under there right now, but I'm working on a home-made forced-air intake to replace the ass-tastic and restrictive plastic manifold that's currently on top. Don't laugh, but I'm building it out of PVC and ABS plumbing pieces, at a 3" diameter. It's going to look a little odd, but anything is better than that chambered thing that Ford calls an intake.

Now, lets take a look at the outside of the car. As I mentioned, it's got 215/70R15 Nordic WinterTrac winter tires on stock 15" gold Honeycomb's. Looks decent, but it's not enough. I'm going to be upgrading to 16" chrome wheels (I've not decided on the style yet, but possible These) with 235/60R16's, which are almost definitely going to be Falken Ziex ze-512's. This way, I can swap out the rims/rubber come winter again, and not worry about tire/wheel damage, or traction in the snow.

Yes, I know, you want to see pictures, don't you? Ok, here goes:

So, pretty and fun as this thing is...

I need more.

Once upon a time, I had a plan. I was going to pull the 307 out of the Parissienne Safari Wagon, and drop a big-block, worked up engine into it. Lowered, paint, tint, exhaust etc. Then, I realized that the bodywork alone was going to kill me. And the stock exhuast fell off. And a linkpin broke. And it burned more oil than an Iraqi oil field.

And it went to the scrap yard.

So, there I was, without a car of my own, driving my little brothers 1991 Mazda MX6 GT Turbo. And liking it, despite it being front wheel drive. And dad kept talking about selling his '97 integra GS to me (which never happened).

And then, this thing appeared, and piqued my interest.

But, it's not enough.

So, what's on the list to be done?

Well, I'm planning on suspension first thing in the spring. I've got winter tires/rims now, so I'm leaving them as is, and I'll be getting new rims and rubber in spring.

The Suspension list:

So, that's it for suspension, I think. But it needs some more grunt under the hood, and that's going to come in several ways.

Go faster list:

We'll see how a 200 000km+ engine likes doing some power stuff, and see what happens, my buddy Jay (mentioned before), thinks a crate engine would be a wonderful swap... I wonder where he's going to ge the money to buy it for me?

It's also going to get tinted and painted next spring. I'm still torn on the colour for the paint; I get too many baby-blue comments with the current colour; but I don't want to have to change the interior to match the oudside, so I'll probably just go with a darker blue.

Oh, and a neat trick for anyone who has one of these? Rubbing compound works wonders on those dirty, chemically-darkened head-lamp enclosures. I'm going to try clear-coat after I do them again, to seal the surface up again, but rubbing-compound once a month really brings back the headlight power.

What have I already done on it you ask? Well, nothing, beyond basic tune-up/repair stuff. In July, just after buying the car, the oil-pan started to seep. That cost me $776 in emergency repairs, as it was leaking through the metal, not cracked, and not from the gasket or drainplug. Through the pan itself. Since then, I've done 4 oil-changes (every 5000km), replaced the plugs (noticed a difference there IMMEDIATELY), and, last week (November 10th, 2003) changed the transmission filter/fluid/gasket. I've also decided to try the LUcas brand of products/additives, and have already noticed an improvement in the transmission's shifting. I added the oil-treatment, and the fuel treatment too. Updates as they become available.

I also have a "check engine" light coming on sporadically. I know what it is, and I need the time/money to get it done. It's the chronic carbon-build-up/EGR/PCV thing that these cars/engines are known for. That's gonna run me $300 to get done.