Credits
No information other than product images were directly copy-pasted from any of the following locations. Instead, they were used to compliment information in other places, or to serve as a base for a variation of steps for some procedures
While not all of these companies furthered the project directly, they are notable mentions regardless due to the furthering of the car that was enabling the project.
Confirmed the well-known serial number decoding rumour for the OEM head units to be false by explaining the method with which they retrieve codes using their paid service
BTA Towbars & Hitches for manufacturing a sub $1,000 hitch receiver towbar for a 27 year old Sedan, and Towbars Australia for supplying it at a bit of a discount while still having good customer service
Was more than happy to send through a manual for a towbar I was considering from a wreckers, even though they stood to gain nothing but good karma from it
Customer support was super responsive and sent me through all the info they had on a nudge bar they probably haven’t thought about for the best part of 20 years, within 24hrs
For existing, as many pages with important information would be lost to time otherwise <!–
Neither company could assist with finding the driver fuel release button plug manufacturer, but they both responded and it certainly wasn’t from lack of looking, which is better than most companies –>
Sent an email 08/10/24 asking for keyfob information
No response by 28/10/24 so followed up
Replied 28/10/24: “Ford Australia is unable to provide diagnostic, repair or technical advice via telephone or written communication”
Sent another email 04/12/24 asking for a Vehicle Verification Letter, after getting one successfully in 2021
No response by 03/02/25 so followed up
Replied 05/02/25: “we regret to advise that we are unable to confirm details of this nature”
Actually useless for ANYTHING
Took an 8 day email chain to organize a refund because they clearly didn’t program Smartlock remotes with the right codes, with them flat-out ignoring a question on if they had the configuration on hand so it could be fixed without sending it back. Poor experience led to the remote being returned, and other locksmiths later confirmed that the specific SKU of remotes were unreliable.
Hi, my name’s Ronnie, and I’ve been a fan of the AU Falcon since I was young and the AUs were new-ish. For me, it started when Dad got a white Forte Wagon that lasted nearly 500,000kms while towing a 2 tonne trailer when I was a kid. That car only got taken off the road because the rear-end needed significant work to pass a NSW Roadworthy, and it was a bush bomb for a little while but we had to get rid of it for money eventually.
I started my ownership of AUs in 2018, upgrading from a very tired 1995 Ford Festiva Trio that was costing me more each year than I paid for the car in the first place just to keep it on the road. And in my search I found it, a Series 3 SR Wagon in Venom Red, 150,000-ish kms on the clock and logbook servicing all the way through. A test drive and a little haggling with a used car dealer later and it was mine, and it’s been mostly bliss since (barring some factory parts turning to dust and the damn high pressure steering line)
The more I looked into more obscure repairs and mods to Falcons, the more I realized that the few sites (mostly forums) that ever had information on these models were basically dead (links to nowhere, 2010 posts with no good info left, one site that kept redirecting to scam ads). After all those sites, a couple of Facebook groups, and 3 workshop manuals, I still had questions on some stuff not covered anywhere, and I was running out of options that wouldn’t risk my daily driver.
Wanting to learn without the risk of losing my main set of wheels, I got a Series 1 Forte Sedan from a mate for cheap. The car looked rough, ran rough, and had a rough history from at least one bad owner, and she’d been sitting out in the weather doing nothing for months at a time, but she ran.
April 11th 2024, The SPUD Project was born.
I have no mechanical background, I’m a web developer by trade and the only reason I can use tools is due to my Dad being an ex-engineer. I’m happy to jump into research rabbit-holes, and the cars I’ve helped with and worked on have mostly been AU-FGX Falcons. I published this site on the wider net in case anyone else needs some of the weird info I’m finding/making, hopefully it helps and there’s some good info here for everyone interested.
If you like what you see and you want to buy me a beer, I added a donate button to the bottom of the site, it’s appreciated but by no means required, because I don’t believe in holding this information at ransom. I also have a feedback form in the same space below if you find anything that needs correction or want to get in touch about something I might know.