The EA Falcon took Ford’s popular Australian sedan line in the 1990s, even if it gave way to the EB Falcon in the late 1991s. Very few people would call it high technology, but it has introduced a number of innovations to the platform that were very much in its time. A hacker, however, took a humble EA Falcon and gave it a set of Homebrood modern upgrades.
An example is the EA Fairmont Ghee, which features a handful of high-tech displays in the dash cluster, which was very popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s. This dash has seen many revisions, and now features a larger TFT display and a smaller OLED unit, both showing different important figures for the car. The screens are nicely hacked, one as part of a tachometer, the other replacing the original fuel and temperature gauge. There is no need for actual dials, with the data displayed on the screen instead.
The car is fitted with a more modern drivetrain. The EA scored a Barra six-cylinder from a BA Falcon with its computer-controlled BTR 4-speed automatic transmission. First seen in the EB model, the BTR was considered a very modern unit in the early 90’s and was easily modified for manual shifts. In this build, a pair of 3D-printed pedal shifters are attached to the steering wheel to enable tiptronic-like operation.
Modern fuel-injected vehicles are often ripe for hacking in this manner. Everything from Arduinos to CANBUS shields and the like can be used to open a car system and bend them at will. We’ve seen hackers create everything from fancy sci-fi digital dashboards to active aerodynamics! These days, armed with what you can grab off the shelves, the sky is really the limit. Video below.