This
XM Futura was originally purchased in bits at the Nambour Swap by my brother
Luke, who went about having the body sandblasted and putting the jigsaw back
together. Luke got the car registered and was sing it as a daily driver for
eighteen months, albeit with a very low diff ratio, screaming its head off
and sitting like a four wheel drive. Luke then decided he needed a work ute
as he couldn't use the Ambosled as a daily driver on S plates.
My
opportunity arose to purchase the vehicle and have it the way I wanted. Dad
and the boys at LDI fitted a Centura rear end, an XF Falcon 250 unleaded
motor with C4 transmission and disc brakes adapted to the original front
end. A dual master cylinder and power booster also made a difference to the
mechanics of the car.
The
next task was to get the car back down to a realistic height. The front
springs were reset two and a half inches, the rear overload spring was
removed, one inch lowering blocks were fitted and the car now sits a lot
closer to the earth and, thanks to the heavier front stabilizer, handles
very well.
All
this was done in a limited amount of time as I had just turned 17 and got my
license, I was very keen to be on the road in my own set of wheels. Speaking
of wheels, we found an original set of14*6 & 14*7 12 slot steel rims, which
we painted silver with our own 8 ball logo.
The car is now painted in an Ivory two pack and we have added an original XM sunvisor, had the seats and doors retrimmed and the rear taillights have had a Madonna job (extended 100mm). Dad has had a play adding hand painted pinlines.
