FTO AUSTRALIA

So I picked it up last night, nervously drove it home and it is now home safe! The battery was dying, CD player cutout when I put my lights on, dash lights weren't working and a few other weird issues were happening. The battery died as soon as I turned the car off, new battery resolved everything though.

Today I am planning on flushing the trans, coolant and engine oil, the car has been neglected for some time, looking forward to bringing it back to its former glory!

My Dad reckons it has been T-boned but I'm not sure the damage really fits, I think it may have just swiped something... I will take some pics of the damage soon, in the meantime:





Wheels are coming off and Evo 7 wheels are going on too

Seems straight enough! Grats.

The black prefacelift looks pretty good imo.

Here are some more photos of the damage: http://imgur.com/a/ZmPY3

Dad thinks I should have it looked at by a panel beater before I invest serious time and money in to it in case it is a write-off. I did the PPSR check though and it is not listed as a write-off and was last registered in 2013. Getting another unregistered permit and driving it to a panel beater is not really something I want to do... Apart from that the only visible issue I can find is that the dash lights do not turn on when the lights are on, I'll sus out the fuses first and update.

Can anyone confirm if the pre-facelift dash had a fog light button?

Nah she's right.

mezje wrote:Can anyone confirm if the pre-facelift dash had a fog light button?

Mine does.

They all do

SchumieFan wrote:They all do

Hm... Mine definitely does nothing, the dash surround is a little loose too, I suspect it could be related to the dash lights not lighting up.

I got the car for $1000 by the way

The fog light switch has probably burnt out, a common fault with them... welcome to FTO ownership

Supplanter wrote:The fog light switch has probably burnt out, a common fault with them... welcome to FTO ownership

Haha, thanks!

Rotors, pads and sussing out what springs/shocks are like are next. Not a fan of how it sits and both the strut tops have cracks so I think I might just get coilovers.

mezje wrote:Here are some more photos of the damage: http://imgur.com/a/ZmPY3

Dad thinks I should have it looked at by a panel beater before I invest serious time and money in to it in case it is a write-off. I did the PPSR check though and it is not listed as a write-off and was last registered in 2013. Getting another unregistered permit and driving it to a panel beater is not really something I want to do... Apart from that the only visible issue I can find is that the dash lights do not turn on when the lights are on, I'll sus out the fuses first and update.

Can anyone confirm if the pre-facelift dash had a fog light button?

Nah they just look small bumps or misaligned panels. Ive pulled apart around 20 of these now and what is in those pics is pretty common. For example, there is a bolt inside the boot well that is supposed to pull the side of the rear bar in. If that is missing or the metal bit that it screws into on the inside of the bar is missing/not connected properly, you will get the effect you are seeing in the pics.

dstocks wrote:

mezje wrote:Here are some more photos of the damage: http://imgur.com/a/ZmPY3

Dad thinks I should have it looked at by a panel beater before I invest serious time and money in to it in case it is a write-off. I did the PPSR check though and it is not listed as a write-off and was last registered in 2013. Getting another unregistered permit and driving it to a panel beater is not really something I want to do... Apart from that the only visible issue I can find is that the dash lights do not turn on when the lights are on, I'll sus out the fuses first and update.

Can anyone confirm if the pre-facelift dash had a fog light button?

Nah they just look small bumps or misaligned panels. Ive pulled apart around 20 of these now and what is in those pics is pretty common. For example, there is a bolt inside the boot well that is supposed to pull the side of the rear bar in. If that is missing or the metal bit that it screws into on the inside of the bar is missing/not connected properly, you will get the effect you are seeing in the pics.

I found a big, perhaps goldish 10cm long bolt in the boot, could that be it? My dad suspects behind the crack on the rear quarter panel there is bog, hence he is worried, the door on that side is also about 2mm out - I guess a panel beater will know for sure!

2mm out which way? It may just need re aligning

Best way to check for damage is to just take the boot liner out and have a look/feel around

I found a big, perhaps goldish 10cm long bolt in the boot, could that be it? My dad suspects behind the crack on the rear quarter panel there is bog, hence he is worried, the door on that side is also about 2mm out - I guess a panel beater will know for sure!

Well, the bolt im thinking about would be one exactly like that, but it doesnt mean it is that one. If you pull the boot liner away on the left or right side of the inside of the boot, you should see where it should be.

dstocks wrote:

I found a big, perhaps goldish 10cm long bolt in the boot, could that be it? My dad suspects behind the crack on the rear quarter panel there is bog, hence he is worried, the door on that side is also about 2mm out - I guess a panel beater will know for sure!

Well, the bolt im thinking about would be one exactly like that, but it doesnt mean it is that one. If you pull the boot liner away on the left or right side of the inside of the boot, you should see where it should be.

So it looks like the speakers in the doors are some nice after market JL audio ones, with Kenwoods at the rear, pretty stoked!

I found the bolts you are speaking of (http://imgur.com/pxSmM4Q) and the spare in the boot is identical. Both sides and both are in, I will remove the loose on though and see if it is disconnected as it perfectly lines up with where it pokes out. Need to find a new clips and boot carpet as the wood there is quite unattractive and half the carpet is falling.

Gave the car a good clean in and out, removed all the weird sub wiring they had going on and found some empty condom wrappers and a calculator among other things.

The rear suspension made some really bad grinding sounds when lowering it after jacking, once it is lowered though it seems fine and I can't seem to replicate the noise, quite weird.

My wheels sadly do not clear the shocks/springs (as some of you may have seen on Facebook), luckily I was planning on getting coilovers anyway as the suspension as a whole is screwed, so are the brakes - hopefully this fixes the issue.

Fixed the motor connectors in the mirror thanks to Phil's guide!

Having the car looked at for a pre-RWC on Friday, assuming all goes well I will be picking up new rotors, pads and coilovers and begin getting to work putting this thing on the road.

I had a better look at the crack in the paint and it seems there is some rust around it, I assume this will become a big problem, what would be the best way to fix this?

The rust is around the edges of this:

You would have to sand all that area back and see how bad it is. Then attack the rust and primer it. Bad paint does not affect RWC though

woot woot wrote:You would have to sand all that area back and see how bad it is. Then attack the rust and primer it. Bad paint does not affect RWC though

You can see in the photo it is like the paint has cracked away from the body, would I have to pretty much peel/crack it off and then sand it once it is flush with the body?

I have a feeling getting it fixed will be very expensive and don't really have the money, what could I use in the meantime to seal it or is there any sort of temp fix available?

mezje wrote:

woot woot wrote:You would have to sand all that area back and see how bad it is. Then attack the rust and primer it. Bad paint does not affect RWC though

You can see in the photo it is like the paint has cracked away from the body, would I have to pretty much peel/crack it off and then sand it once it is flush with the body?

I have a feeling getting it fixed will be very expensive and don't really have the money, what could I use in the meantime to seal it or is there any sort of temp fix available?

Duct tape...

As long as the metal is not exposed, it should be ok.. Many cars have peeling clear coat or paint. Fixing won't be too expensive. It is just a matter of peeling it back, then feathering out... Spraying primers and blending in paint.

Depends on how bad the actual area is, as it will determine how much of the car has to be sprayed.