I'm. Restoring an 87 xf s pac. And I love it already. It was my first new car back in 1988. Can not wait to get it on the road again soon. Thanks guys for an interesting vid.
My mother owns an old 1985 Falcon XF. It got given to her by one of my grandmothers close friends (Who died last year from a heart attack) I was born a while after it got given to her so I never really saw it when it was in working condition. By the time I was 5 that car meant everything to me. My mother told me it was the first car I ever rode in. My family has had quite a long history of fords. My farther has owned multiple Falcons in his life. His favourite was a 1972 Ford Falcon XA Gt. It was electric blue with the classic black hood, the mirrors were silver as well as the rims witch he had gotten custom. Unfortunately he had to sell it because his X complained about it waking up the whole neighbourhood when he went to visit her. About 4 years ago my mothers Falcon looked like a total wreck, my dad kept calling it a piece of shit. He said it wouldn't last me a year. But I proved him wrong, 2 years after I got my licence I had finally finished fixing it. Even though it wasn't an S-Pac version I managed to swap out the classic v6 engine with the v8 version (Witch I restored from an old junk yard S-pac). I completely redid the body, framework, electronics, engine, even the cracked destroyed dashboard is now completely brand new. From the old rusted hood, all the way down to the worn almost burst tyres. That car has never been in better condition. Now I drive it everywhere I go, since my grandmother is blind now she always calls me to take her places. She told me that the car looks brand new. Before, I liked it only because it was an old car, like most teenagers do. But now... I found something out. After driving it around for a year I learnt thats its not the power, or the look that makes me want to drive it. Its the feeling you get when you sit inside it. As soon as I sit in it I instantly get the feeling of a classic 1980s car. The handling is incredible, unlike most old Muscle/Muscle Sedan cars (That can hardly turn because they just want to slide) this car just feels like even a child would be able to drive it. You just know as soon as you sit in it, that you'r in a pure, Australian car. This car will live on with me, and my family forever.
Sweet i had 2 of the buggers :) Love the XFs. ALso had a ED and BAs. Now i got Merc. There is a Car in a game called beamng called ETK it reminds me of a XD and a BMW its called ETK i- series :)
I had a 87 XF Fairmont Gia..3speed auto.. dad still has it..it was my 1st car..no doubt it was the best cruiser out of all my mates at the time..that had Vl’s and other falc’s and commo’s..but no V8 for 10 years really was shit..so many ppl in my age group really don’t like 90’s up falcons..due to lack of different v8 options..
Nice to see a nice original XF still on it's original 1987 issued number plates. I was at Kindergarten when the XF was new and they were bloody everywhere, even travelled in many as taxis (my mum did not drive) and they lasted a long time in that role (last time I rode in an XF taxi was 1995). They were often used on TV shows as cop cars- one was in the pilot episode of Home and Away, and one of the most famous TV show XF's was the blue one used in A Country Practice, was used on that show for quite a few years until they finally replaced it with an EA.
My father was a cabbie.. between him and myself we had 5 XFs...... this is a great review. However they forgot that these cars made great TAXIs and there were thousands upon thousands throughout Australia. What I’m saying that these cars were work horses that could reach into the 800000kms plus. Unfortunately they had their problems like all cars ie door handlesand leaking rear seals on gear boxes. Also the utes and panel vans don’t gets enough credit as you see a few around today. This car was a missed opportunity not putting any ford V8 in it. It could have been big.. however a good car considering!!!!!
Just picked up an xf sedan that has tags for having been a taxi. Engine number doesn't match and dash has been changed... Wonder how many ks she's really done
Another very interesting story, boy's, yes strange period of time for the V8 Ford people, but non the less the XF was quite a refined vehicle, fuel injection and 5spd gearbox's, was breaking new ground for the Australian family sedan buying people and the S Pack a very smart unit, just like the one featured in your story, thanks for the clip.
Awesome video guys. My old man had an XF around 87 and we did many a family holiday sitting in this old sweat box! He’s a dead set falcon man, but hasn’t had a more reliable beast than the old XF
We are about to begin restoring our 85 Fairmont Ghia that has just come out of storage. It was originally my brother in laws car that he bought in around 1992. It is Charcoal grey and has a full fibreglass body kit that suits it well. Simmons wheels and a leather sports steering wheel set it of nicely. Sadly he passed away in 1994 before he gained his drivers license. His father drove it for a few years before selling it to me. The car has great sentimental value to us as it's all that we have to remind us of my wife's brother. The longest drive we ever took it on was out to Bathurst in 1999. Everyone was FORD mad that weekend and ours definitely turned a lot of heads! Hopefully we will have her back on the road in the next couple of years, looking as good as ever.
Family had a dark green EFI XF S-Pack wagon when I was a kid. We racked up over 300,000 kms in that car before rust got to the body and made it undrivable and the engine ended up going into a ZK Fairlane my Dad bought to replace it, as the Fairlane's engine died a year or two after we bought it (was also an EFI 6 in the Fairlane I think). At the time we thought it would just be a worthless Falcon with no value, but now, if I ever saw a mint condition S-Pack wagon it'd probably be worth a fair bit these days, especially in the odd dark green colour we had.
Every male on my Mum’s side has owned an XF. My Pop had a white Fairmont, my uncle’s first car was a silver Fairmont Ghia, and now I own a red Fairmont Ghia with the optional, factory 3-deck-cassette thingy. XF’s have been running through my blood since day one and I’m gonna continue the tradition with my future kids. Good episode guys, can’t wait for more.
These were just waiting for the turbocharger to be installed, perfect low compression ratio, long stroke, big capacity and injected. Basically triple the output with 10 pounds of boost, perfect sleeper that nobody expected. Cool straight lines and loads of comfort, best bang for buck if you can find a good one now.
exactly what im building at the moment. I own a Ghia wagon, with the EFi engine. its about to get a newly built, mild cammed engine, with roller rockers etc. and a turbo kit fitted. keeping it EFi with EL injection conversion so i can tune it
I had a white 1985 S-Pack just like the one pictured. But mine was an EFI 4 speed. Had it for over 10 years. Wish I hadnt sold it, was a great reliable first car.
My first car was a silver 1985 S-Pack with EFI and auto. Also had the 4 wheel disk breaks and the LSD diff. Beat a lot of the great VL Commodores in that car.
my 2nd car was a 1987 XF S Pack in yellow. I loved that car. Lowered, 2 & 1/2 inch exhaust, lowered with chromies and 235(wide for that time) tyres. It would tow my CBR600 to track days and the 4.1 auto did 200+kmh. It got smashed in the side and went to heaven. Miss that car.
I had a fx back in Newzealand it was my last car I had back there it was super clean inside and had a new straight six I got put in it.it also had alloy wheels from a xg.it was my pride and joy now in 2019 and after 2 more falcons.The xc then a au and now my sweet Fg ute 👍
I had a 1985 XF S Pack Panel Van for 18 years. 4 speed manual. I kept it mostly stock, except for mag wheels and a blueprinted engine with a larger cam and extractors. It ended up dying of rust that I just couldnt control anymore. Geeze I loved that car. Went camping in it, slept in it, and carried my drums in it and moved house a few times with it. I traveled all around the country in it too.
I learnt to drive on a XF 'Australian Customs' work car. It was canary yellow and fitted with orange flashing light and Customs signage. My boss said drive it around the closed wharf at Port Botany (Sunday) and don't hit any cargo containers or pigeons! A car I will never forget.
Old man had a runout 1988 XF Fairmont Ghia. He couldn't wait for the EA to come through, and we're glad for that. We cruised up and down between Gold Coast and Newcastle many times a year on holidays, the old girl never missed a beat. Pioneer three-deck premium sound, trip computer!, auto-swing air vents in the centre console, soft velour, reading lights in the back. I'd buy it back in a second.
I drove a new XF as a sales rep north coast to Tweed and the inland run through Narrabri and back to Newcastle every month. It was great but not as good as the VK Commodore it replaced. That thing hammered. Still, they were both great cars to drive no mechanical problems at all. I remember my boss was not happy when I ordered Ducaro tyres for the falcon because they were $16 dearer than the standard issue!
Correct, the vk was a better car full stop. The door handles didn’t snap of EVER the bumpers never dropped or sagged the interior plastics were FAR superior including the switchgear ect they handled better thanks to a STRUT front end rack and pinion steering and no leaf springs last seen on horse drawn wagons and with a 308 it was the final nail in the coffin for ford. I speak from experience having driven both and owning a now 35 yo vk calais 308. Open the door and it looks like it just left the factory and still running matching numbers driveline.
Point taken but ford never spent money on development on anything and were always being pushed by Holden to up the game. The vk had the first digital dash which ford copied but looked like a dogs breakfast ford had to introduce fuel injection because Holden jumped them with the Bosch setup on the vk the leaf springs may have been better for so called load carrying but the fact is they were cheap to produce and most ford owners had become used to driving around on them and didn’t question it. Dick Johnson spent a fools ransom on trying to get his xd xe cars to handle or crack the lap times of commodores and the results are there to see.
Captain Kaos wrong on the fuel injection. It was introduced on XE/ZK/DK 4.1models in 1983 from Bosch, then Ford's EECIV in the XF. The leaf sprung rear in the AU wagons was considered the world's best handling leaf sprung car, Ford did such a good job on making it handle with minimal difference to the watts link sedan. Ford had the size advantage over the 'dore', something that was pretty important to that market segment and the 4.1 was a way better engine than the 3.3 black motor. The digital dash in the VK was a joke compared to the impressive XF job. It was known to be dodgy. The XF S pack was a nice and cool looking variant of the body.
@@captainkaos754 XF Digital Dash shits all over the VK. C'mon the VK was a small car compared to the XF....could not touch the level of luxury in the Ghia. Power windows were an option on the Calais! I'd rather be in a nice cruiser than think my VK is some sort of track weapon.And death Knell for Ford???...Ford was Number 1 right through the 80s because Holden dropped the ball and made a small car from the VB to the VL. Holden were on its knees and if Ford didn't rush the EA to market....it would have been the end for Holden.
Not too bad of a video, but unfortunately a lot of detail left out. I own an XF Fairmont Ghia wagon. they mentioned the Fairmonts, but not the Ghias. My Ghia wagon has everything the sedan does, including the premium sound. Its a shame they didnt talk about Dick Johnsons input into developing a turbo kit to suit the EFi engines. I have one of the Dick Johnson turbo kits which is to be fitted to the new engine going into mine. They made 159kw on about 5-7psi of boost, on a stock engine with only ECU and fuel supply upgrades. The intake was manufactured to match the rocker cover and plenum manifold, and was designed to be sold as a Ford option, but Ford Australia didn't go ahead with it, so the kit became a very rare aftermarket performance upgrade. with the power and torque from those turbo 6s, they left the 351s behind big time. Shame Ford never ran with them. Also didnt talk about the fact the ESP Bilstein suspension was available in XFs, as a "sports handling" suspension option. Fantastic cars. My Ghia wagon has been in the family since 1992, I inherited it from my father, and has now been restored, converted to 5 speed manual, about to have a new engine put in. the interior is immaculate, with only the normal little bits of wear and tear but still super tidy. best touring car
I was always a Holden man, starting with HQs and ending with VS Commodores, probably about a dozen or so, but in amongst them I had a fully optioned red 87 XF S Pac, EFI, factory 5 speed, 87 litre fuel tank, 4 wheel disc brakes,(all S Pac's didn't have 4 wheel disc's), I loved the S Pac's cloth upholstery and digital dash . It did have its downfalls, door handles, clutch pedal box breakage and pulling the clutch cable through the firewall. I can honestly say that that was the BEST car I ever owned, and great on fuel. I loved that car and still wished I had it.
One of my favourites growing up - esp as I had a penchant for the unique tail light design. Years later however I started appreciating the XE more so, as they looked much more elegant in the front as opposed to the flat shape headlights the F's had.
im restoring an XF, im not entirely sure which one and am going to be using it as a first car, the only modifications i want to make is putting power steering into it, i debated on considering to switch the tape deck out but ill just get one of those dongles for my music, it was my grandad's and doesn't have that many K's on it (like 100,000KMs max)
I had a new XF 2 S pak 5 speed 4.1l manual with discs all round,White with grey trim,Air con,PS,nice roomy comfortable car but -- the engine just wouldn't rev,some guys apparently put different rods and pistons to improve the crank angle which helped. 🙃
This was the start of the demise of Ford's dominance in Australia. That 351 V8 was such an iconic part of the Ford brand with it's relationship to the XY GTHO even though by the time the XE arrived it was strangled by anti pollution gear but still sounded fantastic. Once the XF arrived with no V8 variant, this just made the Ford muscle cars before it even more desirable increasing their value to this day. Ford never really recovered taking years to bring back to the V8 in the EB Falcon but by then it was all too late. Only lately do I think Ford is starting to look good with the Ford Mustang, and Holden making a disastrous choice to go front wheel drive for the Commodore.
The S Pack wheels were pretty taxi packish on all X variants. They might have suited the base GL in addition to the standard crappy plastic 8 hole covers, but I would have expected more from Ford. Personally the XE front end looked much better, although I still have a soft spot for the XF tail lights - just a unique design. Personally I'd go for an XF Ghia or silver anniversary edition over the others.
I remember when the XF Falcon was just released i rode my bike to Binks Ford Footscray just to go and see what it looked like i was like 14 at the time and well loved what i seen it was well worth it. ..
Some observations of the XF. Fairmont offered no power window option like the XD and XE. Series II more rust prone than the series I. Series II had coloured bumper uppers, series one was black uppers.Fairmiont Ghia had nicer trim than the Fairlane. The LTD had the best of both.Power windows were much nicer with the previous models classy chrome tab switches than the cheap looking rocker type.The digital dash of Ghia/Fairlane/LTD was very comprehensive, more so than the one used in the next generation EA/NA.Still looks amazing today.XF Falcon carried over the XE Fairmon't's full wheel covers. EA Falcon carried over the XF Fairmont's slightly revised version.Clever way to continue getting mileage out of the tooling! Read that Ford put in cheaper grade wiring into the XF compared to the XE to save money and this manifested in problems for owners.XF series II had an electronically controlled feedback carburettor set up similar to the CM Valiant's ELB. Kind of a rudimentary EFI like system of sensors and computer control for carburettors.
I had a second hand one exactly like the white one except it had air/ steer/ efi in it I don't know why it it efi but i wasn't complaining now i am looking for one but you forget about that prices gone trough the roof ..
8:44 nah mate those are just stockies, would look good on 12 slots though. Love the XFs but these guys were too caught up on the fact they didn't have a V8, the 250 Crossflow is still a great motor. I got my XF for $3500 in 2015 and these days here in NZ they're going for around 10k for a good one. Still alot of them around NZ too, guy around the corner has two of them and a ZL Fairlane, a mate has one and my cousin has one
A combination of low V8 sales, new emissions laws and improved 6 banger technology. It's not like the v8 boys were missing much, when they bought the Windsor back out again in the EB the XR6 was actually quicker than the XR8, with all of about 8kw separating the two.
Sorry, but the FE LTD came with an electric moonroof/sunroof. Its fuel injected donk was also more modern/reliable & sophisticated than the old FD's carby V8. As for the XF, did it not outsell every single Commodore model in history? And possibly every single Falcon model? Those things were everywhere. The characteristics these guys are criticising in this vid are exactly the things the Aussie public loved about the XF. And morons seem to forget that the *vast majority* of Commodore & Falcon sales have always come from the entry level 6-cylinder models, not bloody V8s. Here, the XF's ~100kW & 300+Nm vs. VK's 86kW &
JohnoEAL it was the enthusiasts and the P platers who decided the XF was an uncool car, because it lacked a V8 or even a turbo six. It may have won the battle for sales in the ‘80s, but lost the war of winning hearts and minds of enthusiasts as a used car in the ‘90s. Enthusiasts are who keep cars alive as they age. Not enough people cared about the XF as it aged and they’ve faded away, while surviving V8 and turbo Commodores of that era now fetch big money
John EL...in the USA, South Africa and in Europe, Ford didnt give in to a bunch of Corporate Mamon loving Gormless Morons like Ford Australia did. While it is totally true that the Cleveland V8s Autolite, Bendix and Carter carb un-reliability and gasoline consumption were the whole reason for the stella sucess of the six packs, the whole concept of a strong body shell, and proper better than European 2.8 V6 performance was an anathema to the engineering team. The two bullsh!+ statements in 1982 by Bob Murray was that Ford Australia believed their were very few V8 die hards around, and that 4.9 and 5.8 engines werent what would win the sales race. Well....they were Wrong. Holden got all Fords V8 sales, and the x-flow six fast became the most latent dinosaur pile-up on the highway. Ford Australias engineers killed off any support to AIT, Mike Vine, Bensons , Ray Hall and the brilliant turbo sixes because of the huge penny pinching of axle, gearbox drive train and chassis down grades between 1982 to 1984. In the USA, you could get a C5 behind your 3.3 litre Fairmont or an AOD behind your 4.2 or 5.0 liter ĹTĐ, but Ford Australia used carried over 265 Valiant and then the 232/258 AMC Borg Warner autos or the dreaded single rail Sigma 5 speed. The XF had the coolest apointments, but the sad old uni body couldn't hack the racking loads of sustained work...especially the Watts link sedans. When tested by a French proving ground tyre and suspension engineer, the 4.1 litre EFi was the biggest disapointment...big capacity should have ment big power. Good Years Alain Bucheft called the Falcon 4.1 a lazy mans car...great for traffic, but deviod of any other appeal. The 1.6 Camira and in line engined Commodores were dynamically excellent, as good as the best but missing European engine appeal. Ford should have slapped another 2 cylinders on the 1.6 or 1755 cc BDA Cosworth and made an early day 2.6 litre RB26ET Nissan engine. The whole Falcon engine program killed off a generation of thinking, discerning young performance minded people from ever buying a Falcon again. 9 years of grey slurry gruel was what a 4.1 or 3.3 XF represents to any sane, thinking person. One little optional turbo on a shallow deck 3.3 to get the hood line down, and a 4 speed auto, and it would have sold even more than 65000 cars a year. Ostler and Wright... are Right. Ford Australia alienated customers by it "Cardigan and knee high sox" anti performance stance. Not Sexy like the XD....
@@bafg182 Still plenty of XF Falcon utes kicking around the place, although they're not the $350 specials they were 5 years ago. XF S-packs and especially Fairmont Ghias are starting to come up in price as well. They'll never reach the collectabilty of the Commodores because they made about a squillion of the things but there definitely are a group of XF enthusiasts out there.
Hi Joe, thanks for your comment and happy 21! My parents used to have a Fairmont Ghia too, it was so comfy to go on road trips, not to mention how fuel efficient they were. - Andres.
I like your car, Cesare, too bad Ford couldn't transfer something like that Stateside, they made us drive granny-grade Crown Vics and Mercury Marquis. At least the gave us the Mustang GT 5.0.
To the naysayers, your comments haven't aged well. A Fairmont Ghia with the EFI 4.1 and 3 speed sold at Shannons Auctions in 2021 for $21500. Beautiful car.
Couple of my mates had them as there first cars we thrashed the fuck out of them tough as fuck even used to take em on the beach and kane em shit cars good times.
Hi everyone, I have an xd 1979 with a 393 Cleveland aloy heads hydraulic roller cam with 5 speed tremec etc. The car is in excellent condition. If anyone is interested please let me know and I will send my details to them.
My uncle had an xf race car if you look up "Anthony bool xf race car" it'll be the first image. She was a good girl but a ol one at that. He sold that and bought a ba race car
I see a lot of clapped out VTs over AUs tbh, sure, I see lots of those, but most are the Fairmont variants around here, whereas there's a lot of clapped out VT & VX meth'd out bogan cars here.
The hilux of falcon, only hilux could use a lawnmower motor and they'd still sell, Ford got lazy. However I drove one still comfortable, roomy and easy to use,handle ok, lazy torque and reasonably reliable, I'd still have one over a modern day diesel hilux, if it had a modern lpg system and to me more collectable and comfortable than any hilux or for that matter ranger, thou that doesn't say a lot, oh and you wouldn't be able to go 4 wheel driving once every 5 year's
I had a 1987 Fairmont Ghia, very average quality, multi port efi ran rough, used rediculous amounts of fuel and no power. Those mazda pods never worked properly. The body flex was terrible, overall pretty average Australia car. Never bought a Ford again.
They’re usually frowned upon by ford tragics because the were NEVER a good car and didn’t have a v8 option. The ratio of vk vl owners compared to xe xf is not ever going to be even. Most xe xfs were used and abused long ago and discarded.
@@captainkaos754 Not saying they were a great car but you can't write them off as a bad car either. The family car when I was a kid was an XF, Dad's RT Edwards service van was an XF panel van, the car I did my learners test in was an XF S-pack ute. All three of those cars are still around. I've got an XF ute that put in 720,000kms towing horse floats around QLD, it was still a great driver 'til I thrashed it to death in the early days of having my Ps.
BCT it’s like it was solely aimed at the taxi industry, and people who saw cars like they saw their their toaster every morning-an appliance that gets the job done.
It makes me laugh do Shannon see them come through the auctions No that's because they are to s*** and they were s*** the day they left the factory at Geelong rust buckets cheap plastic interior and a gutless 6 cylinder engine... Besides that they weren't bad 😂😂
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I'm. Restoring an 87 xf s pac. And I love it already. It was my first new car back in 1988. Can not wait to get it on the road again soon. Thanks guys for an interesting vid.
My mother owns an old 1985 Falcon XF. It got given to her by one of my grandmothers close friends (Who died last year from a heart attack) I was born a while after it got given to her so I never really saw it when it was in working condition. By the time I was 5 that car meant everything to me. My mother told me it was the first car I ever rode in. My family has had quite a long history of fords. My farther has owned multiple Falcons in his life. His favourite was a 1972 Ford Falcon XA Gt. It was electric blue with the classic black hood, the mirrors were silver as well as the rims witch he had gotten custom. Unfortunately he had to sell it because his X complained about it waking up the whole neighbourhood when he went to visit her.
About 4 years ago my mothers Falcon looked like a total wreck, my dad kept calling it a piece of shit. He said it wouldn't last me a year. But I proved him wrong, 2 years after I got my licence I had finally finished fixing it. Even though it wasn't an S-Pac version I managed to swap out the classic v6 engine with the v8 version (Witch I restored from an old junk yard S-pac). I completely redid the body, framework, electronics, engine, even the cracked destroyed dashboard is now completely brand new.
From the old rusted hood, all the way down to the worn almost burst tyres. That car has never been in better condition. Now I drive it everywhere I go, since my grandmother is blind now she always calls me to take her places. She told me that the car looks brand new. Before, I liked it only because it was an old car, like most teenagers do. But now... I found something out. After driving it around for a year I learnt thats its not the power, or the look that makes me want to drive it. Its the feeling you get when you sit inside it. As soon as I sit in it I instantly get the feeling of a classic 1980s car. The handling is incredible, unlike most old Muscle/Muscle Sedan cars (That can hardly turn because they just want to slide) this car just feels like even a child would be able to drive it. You just know as soon as you sit in it, that you'r in a pure, Australian car.
This car will live on with me, and my family forever.
Sweet i had 2 of the buggers :) Love the XFs. ALso had a ED and BAs. Now i got Merc. There is a Car in a game called beamng called ETK it reminds me of a XD and a BMW its called ETK i- series :)
I had a 87 XF Fairmont Gia..3speed auto.. dad still has it..it was my 1st car..no doubt it was the best cruiser out of all my mates at the time..that had Vl’s and other falc’s and commo’s..but no V8 for 10 years really was shit..so many ppl in my age group really don’t like 90’s up falcons..due to lack of different v8 options..
Nice to see a nice original XF still on it's original 1987 issued number plates. I was at Kindergarten when the XF was new and they were bloody everywhere, even travelled in many as taxis (my mum did not drive) and they lasted a long time in that role (last time I rode in an XF taxi was 1995). They were often used on TV shows as cop cars- one was in the pilot episode of Home and Away, and one of the most famous TV show XF's was the blue one used in A Country Practice, was used on that show for quite a few years until they finally replaced it with an EA.
Love the xf. User name says it all.
My father was a cabbie.. between him and myself we had 5 XFs...... this is a great review. However they forgot that these cars made great TAXIs and there were thousands upon thousands throughout Australia. What I’m saying that these cars were work horses that could reach into the 800000kms plus. Unfortunately they had their problems like all cars ie door handlesand leaking rear seals on gear boxes. Also the utes and panel vans don’t gets enough credit as you see a few around today. This car was a missed opportunity not putting any ford V8 in it. It could have been big.. however a good car considering!!!!!
Just picked up an xf sedan that has tags for having been a taxi. Engine number doesn't match and dash has been changed... Wonder how many ks she's really done
Another very interesting story, boy's, yes strange period of time for the V8 Ford people, but non the less the XF was quite a refined vehicle, fuel injection and 5spd gearbox's, was breaking new ground for the Australian family sedan buying people and the S Pack a very smart unit, just like the one featured in your story, thanks for the clip.
Awesome video guys. My old man had an XF around 87 and we did many a family holiday sitting in this old sweat box! He’s a dead set falcon man, but hasn’t had a more reliable beast than the old XF
We are about to begin restoring our 85 Fairmont Ghia that has just come out of storage.
It was originally my brother in laws car that he bought in around 1992.
It is Charcoal grey and has a full fibreglass body kit that suits it well. Simmons wheels and a leather sports steering wheel set it of nicely.
Sadly he passed away in 1994 before he gained his drivers license. His father drove it for a few years before selling it to me.
The car has great sentimental value to us as it's all that we have to remind us of my wife's brother.
The longest drive we ever took it on was out to Bathurst in 1999.
Everyone was FORD mad that weekend and ours definitely turned a lot of heads!
Hopefully we will have her back on the road in the next couple of years, looking as good as ever.
Family had a dark green EFI XF S-Pack wagon when I was a kid. We racked up over 300,000 kms in that car before rust got to the body and made it undrivable and the engine ended up going into a ZK Fairlane my Dad bought to replace it, as the Fairlane's engine died a year or two after we bought it (was also an EFI 6 in the Fairlane I think). At the time we thought it would just be a worthless Falcon with no value, but now, if I ever saw a mint condition S-Pack wagon it'd probably be worth a fair bit these days, especially in the odd dark green colour we had.
Jack Stavris was EFI an option on all xf models?
Every male on my Mum’s side has owned an XF. My Pop had a white Fairmont, my uncle’s first car was a silver Fairmont Ghia, and now I own a red Fairmont Ghia with the optional, factory 3-deck-cassette thingy. XF’s have been running through my blood since day one and I’m gonna continue the tradition with my future kids. Good episode guys, can’t wait for more.
These were just waiting for the turbocharger to be installed, perfect low compression ratio, long stroke, big capacity and injected. Basically triple the output with 10 pounds of boost, perfect sleeper that nobody expected. Cool straight lines and loads of comfort, best bang for buck if you can find a good one now.
exactly what im building at the moment. I own a Ghia wagon, with the EFi engine. its about to get a newly built, mild cammed engine, with roller rockers etc. and a turbo kit fitted. keeping it EFi with EL injection conversion so i can tune it
There was a falcon gl turbo efi
And Fairmont turbo ghia
But only a few were amd eland very little info can be found
I had a white 1985 S-Pack just like the one pictured. But mine was an EFI 4 speed. Had it for over 10 years. Wish I hadnt sold it, was a great reliable first car.
My first car was a silver 1985 S-Pack with EFI and auto. Also had the 4 wheel disk breaks and the LSD diff. Beat a lot of the great VL Commodores in that car.
my 2nd car was a 1987 XF S Pack in yellow. I loved that car. Lowered, 2 & 1/2 inch exhaust, lowered with chromies and 235(wide for that time) tyres. It would tow my CBR600 to track days and the 4.1 auto did 200+kmh. It got smashed in the side and went to heaven. Miss that car.
Nice to see this classic! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I had a fx back in Newzealand it was my last car I had back there it was super clean inside and had a new straight six I got put in it.it also had alloy wheels from a xg.it was my pride and joy now in 2019 and after 2 more falcons.The xc then a au and now my sweet Fg ute 👍
I had a 1985 XF S Pack Panel Van for 18 years. 4 speed manual. I kept it mostly stock, except for mag wheels and a blueprinted engine with a larger cam and extractors. It ended up dying of rust that I just couldnt control anymore. Geeze I loved that car. Went camping in it, slept in it, and carried my drums in it and moved house a few times with it. I traveled all around the country in it too.
I learnt to drive on a XF 'Australian Customs' work car. It was canary yellow and fitted with orange flashing light and Customs signage. My boss said drive it around the closed wharf at Port Botany (Sunday) and don't hit any cargo containers or pigeons! A car I will never forget.
Old man had a runout 1988 XF Fairmont Ghia. He couldn't wait for the EA to come through, and we're glad for that. We cruised up and down between Gold Coast and Newcastle many times a year on holidays, the old girl never missed a beat. Pioneer three-deck premium sound, trip computer!, auto-swing air vents in the centre console, soft velour, reading lights in the back. I'd buy it back in a second.
I have an '86 XF Ghia and yes, it is brilliant
I love how the door handles failed .lots of quality
I drove a new XF as a sales rep north coast to Tweed and the inland run through Narrabri and back to Newcastle every month. It was great but not as good as the VK Commodore it replaced. That thing hammered. Still, they were both great cars to drive no mechanical problems at all. I remember my boss was not happy when I ordered Ducaro tyres for the falcon because they were $16 dearer than the standard issue!
Correct, the vk was a better car full stop. The door handles didn’t snap of EVER the bumpers never dropped or sagged the interior plastics were FAR superior including the switchgear ect they handled better thanks to a STRUT front end rack and pinion steering and no leaf springs last seen on horse drawn wagons and with a 308 it was the final nail in the coffin for ford. I speak from experience having driven both and owning a now 35 yo vk calais 308. Open the door and it looks like it just left the factory and still running matching numbers driveline.
XF only had leaf sprung rear on utes and wagons which was useful for heavy loads.
Point taken but ford never spent money on development on anything and were always being pushed by Holden to up the game. The vk had the first digital dash which ford copied but looked like a dogs breakfast ford had to introduce fuel injection because Holden jumped them with the Bosch setup on the vk the leaf springs may have been better for so called load carrying but the fact is they were cheap to produce and most ford owners had become used to driving around on them and didn’t question it. Dick Johnson spent a fools ransom on trying to get his xd xe cars to handle or crack the lap times of commodores and the results are there to see.
Captain Kaos wrong on the fuel injection. It was introduced on XE/ZK/DK 4.1models in 1983 from Bosch, then Ford's EECIV in the XF.
The leaf sprung rear in the AU wagons was considered the world's best handling leaf sprung car, Ford did such a good job on making it handle with minimal difference to the watts link sedan.
Ford had the size advantage over the 'dore', something that was pretty important to that market segment and the 4.1 was a way better engine than the 3.3 black motor. The digital dash in the VK was a joke compared to the impressive XF job. It was known to be dodgy. The XF S pack was a nice and cool looking variant of the body.
@@captainkaos754 XF Digital Dash shits all over the VK. C'mon the VK was a small car compared to the XF....could not touch the level of luxury in the Ghia. Power windows were an option on the Calais! I'd rather be in a nice cruiser than think my VK is some sort of track weapon.And death Knell for Ford???...Ford was Number 1 right through the 80s because Holden dropped the ball and made a small car from the VB to the VL. Holden were on its knees and if Ford didn't rush the EA to market....it would have been the end for Holden.
Not too bad of a video, but unfortunately a lot of detail left out.
I own an XF Fairmont Ghia wagon. they mentioned the Fairmonts, but not the Ghias. My Ghia wagon has everything the sedan does, including the premium sound.
Its a shame they didnt talk about Dick Johnsons input into developing a turbo kit to suit the EFi engines. I have one of the Dick Johnson turbo kits which is to be fitted to the new engine going into mine.
They made 159kw on about 5-7psi of boost, on a stock engine with only ECU and fuel supply upgrades. The intake was manufactured to match the rocker cover and plenum manifold, and was designed to be sold as a Ford option, but Ford Australia didn't go ahead with it, so the kit became a very rare aftermarket performance upgrade. with the power and torque from those turbo 6s, they left the 351s behind big time. Shame Ford never ran with them.
Also didnt talk about the fact the ESP Bilstein suspension was available in XFs, as a "sports handling" suspension option.
Fantastic cars. My Ghia wagon has been in the family since 1992, I inherited it from my father, and has now been restored, converted to 5 speed manual, about to have a new engine put in. the interior is immaculate, with only the normal little bits of wear and tear but still super tidy. best touring car
I had a Outback equipped XF Panel Van, tough as old boots and go anywhere, but many a time you wished it was a V8.
I was always a Holden man, starting with HQs and ending with VS Commodores, probably about a dozen or so, but in amongst them I had a fully optioned red 87 XF S Pac, EFI, factory 5 speed, 87 litre fuel tank, 4 wheel disc brakes,(all S Pac's didn't have 4 wheel disc's), I loved the S Pac's cloth upholstery and digital dash . It did have its downfalls, door handles, clutch pedal box breakage and pulling the clutch cable through the firewall. I can honestly say that that was the BEST car I ever owned, and great on fuel. I loved that car and still wished I had it.
Have to say as a Ford man, the VR and VS' definitely crapped over the abysmal EL's.
One of my favourites growing up - esp as I had a penchant for the unique tail light design. Years later however I started appreciating the XE more so, as they looked much more elegant in the front as opposed to the flat shape headlights the F's had.
Had an XF bench seat column auto, being a big fellow 6’9, loved driving it
I own an 85 XF. With the 4.1 Xflow I dont think Ford lost anything at all. They still managed to build the toughest family sedan without needing a V8
This is great! I love the XF but they just don’t have the appeal that the Xe and XD do :(
Its missing the X factor.
im restoring an XF, im not entirely sure which one and am going to be using it as a first car, the only modifications i want to make is putting power steering into it, i debated on considering to switch the tape deck out but ill just get one of those dongles for my music, it was my grandad's and doesn't have that many K's on it (like 100,000KMs max)
My god those vaccum heater controls were pure evil
I had a new XF 2 S pak 5 speed 4.1l manual with discs all round,White with grey trim,Air con,PS,nice roomy comfortable car but -- the engine just wouldn't rev,some guys apparently put different rods and pistons to improve the crank angle which helped. 🙃
XD and XE's are starting to be sought after but no one has much love for the XF. As said in the video no V8 option really hurt them for appeal today.
I would rather have a xd or xe because of the style and v8. Also prefer the earlier zk, zj fairlane to the zl. They have become minor collectables.
Dad had a series 2 XF when new and was a great car fitted with air conditioning and 5 speed manual so much better than the EA that replaced it
For a First Car, mine was an '85 XF Fairmont Ghia with a factory 4 Speed. Would hate to think what one would ask for it now.
This was the start of the demise of Ford's dominance in Australia. That 351 V8 was such an iconic part of the Ford brand with it's relationship to the XY GTHO even though by the time the XE arrived it was strangled by anti pollution gear but still sounded fantastic. Once the XF arrived with no V8 variant, this just made the Ford muscle cars before it even more desirable increasing their value to this day. Ford never really recovered taking years to bring back to the V8 in the EB Falcon but by then it was all too late. Only lately do I think Ford is starting to look good with the Ford Mustang, and Holden making a disastrous choice to go front wheel drive for the Commodore.
The S Pack wheels were pretty taxi packish on all X variants. They might have suited the base GL in addition to the standard crappy plastic 8 hole covers, but I would have expected more from Ford.
Personally the XE front end looked much better, although I still have a soft spot for the XF tail lights - just a unique design.
Personally I'd go for an XF Ghia or silver anniversary edition over the others.
I remember when the XF Falcon was just released i rode my bike to Binks Ford Footscray just to go and see what it looked like i was like 14 at the time and well loved what i seen it was well worth it. ..
Love all fords but the xf has a special place in my heart she's so pretty plus I love the stripey lights haha 😅
I'm almost done restoring my 84 model. Cost me 13k and the 4.1 died on the way home. Virtually rust free and 38 years old
Some observations of the XF. Fairmont offered no power window option like the XD and XE. Series II more rust prone than the series I. Series II had coloured bumper uppers, series one was black uppers.Fairmiont Ghia had nicer trim than the Fairlane. The LTD had the best of both.Power windows were much nicer with the previous models classy chrome tab switches than the cheap looking rocker type.The digital dash of Ghia/Fairlane/LTD was very comprehensive, more so than the one used in the next generation EA/NA.Still looks amazing today.XF Falcon carried over the XE Fairmon't's full wheel covers. EA Falcon carried over the XF Fairmont's slightly revised version.Clever way to continue getting mileage out of the tooling! Read that Ford put in cheaper grade wiring into the XF compared to the XE to save money and this manifested in problems for owners.XF series II had an electronically controlled feedback carburettor set up similar to the CM Valiant's ELB. Kind of a rudimentary EFI like system of sensors and computer control for carburettors.
As a kid...my hero car was the Ghia with all its tech and luxury. Couldn't give two shits about whether it had a V8.
I have a 1985 xf 25th anniversary model...
Me too. Great cars!
Would the XE be the second facelift?
The XFs people will remember the most would be the utes, they stayed in production until 1993 while the sedan and wagon got replaced with the EA
I had a second hand one exactly like the white one except it had air/ steer/ efi in it I don't know why it it efi but i wasn't complaining now i am looking for one but you forget about that prices gone trough the roof ..
8:44 nah mate those are just stockies, would look good on 12 slots though. Love the XFs but these guys were too caught up on the fact they didn't have a V8, the 250 Crossflow is still a great motor. I got my XF for $3500 in 2015 and these days here in NZ they're going for around 10k for a good one. Still alot of them around NZ too, guy around the corner has two of them and a ZL Fairlane, a mate has one and my cousin has one
you guys should do a club tv episode on the ford telstar
How come the XF Falcon was NEVER offered with a V8 engine option like the previous generations were? (apart from the XP Falcon)
A combination of low V8 sales, new emissions laws and improved 6 banger technology.
It's not like the v8 boys were missing much, when they bought the Windsor back out again in the EB the XR6 was actually quicker than the XR8, with all of about 8kw separating the two.
Sorry, but the FE LTD came with an electric moonroof/sunroof. Its fuel injected donk was also more modern/reliable & sophisticated than the old FD's carby V8.
As for the XF, did it not outsell every single Commodore model in history? And possibly every single Falcon model? Those things were everywhere. The characteristics these guys are criticising in this vid are exactly the things the Aussie public loved about the XF.
And morons seem to forget that the *vast majority* of Commodore & Falcon sales have always come from the entry level 6-cylinder models, not bloody V8s. Here, the XF's ~100kW & 300+Nm vs. VK's 86kW &
JohnoEAL it was the enthusiasts and the P platers who decided the XF was an uncool car, because it lacked a V8 or even a turbo six. It may have won the battle for sales in the ‘80s, but lost the war of winning hearts and minds of enthusiasts as a used car in the ‘90s. Enthusiasts are who keep cars alive as they age. Not enough people cared about the XF as it aged and they’ve faded away, while surviving V8 and turbo Commodores of that era now fetch big money
John EL...in the USA, South Africa and in Europe, Ford didnt give in to a bunch of Corporate Mamon loving Gormless Morons like Ford Australia did. While it is totally true that the Cleveland V8s Autolite, Bendix and Carter carb un-reliability and gasoline consumption were the whole reason for the stella sucess of the six packs, the whole concept of a strong body shell, and proper better than European 2.8 V6 performance was an anathema to the engineering team. The two bullsh!+ statements in 1982 by Bob Murray was that Ford Australia believed their were very few V8 die hards around, and that 4.9 and 5.8 engines werent what would win the sales race. Well....they were Wrong. Holden got all Fords V8 sales, and the x-flow six fast became the most latent dinosaur pile-up on the highway. Ford Australias engineers killed off any support to AIT, Mike Vine, Bensons , Ray Hall and the brilliant turbo sixes because of the huge penny pinching of axle, gearbox drive train and chassis down grades between 1982 to 1984. In the USA, you could get a C5 behind your 3.3 litre Fairmont or an AOD behind your 4.2 or 5.0 liter ĹTĐ, but Ford Australia used carried over 265 Valiant and then the 232/258 AMC Borg Warner autos or the dreaded single rail Sigma 5 speed. The XF had the coolest apointments, but the sad old uni body couldn't hack the racking loads of sustained work...especially the Watts link sedans. When tested by a French proving ground tyre and suspension engineer, the 4.1 litre EFi was the biggest disapointment...big capacity should have ment big power. Good Years Alain Bucheft called the Falcon 4.1 a lazy mans car...great for traffic, but deviod of any other appeal. The 1.6 Camira and in line engined Commodores were dynamically excellent, as good as the best but missing European engine appeal. Ford should have slapped another 2 cylinders on the 1.6 or 1755 cc BDA Cosworth and made an early day 2.6 litre RB26ET Nissan engine. The whole Falcon engine program killed off a generation of thinking, discerning young performance minded people from ever buying a Falcon again. 9 years of grey slurry gruel was what a 4.1 or 3.3 XF represents to any sane, thinking person. One little optional turbo on a shallow deck 3.3 to get the hood line down, and a 4 speed auto, and it would have sold even more than 65000 cars a year. Ostler and Wright... are Right. Ford Australia alienated customers by it "Cardigan and knee high sox" anti performance stance. Not Sexy like the XD....
@@bafg182 Still plenty of XF Falcon utes kicking around the place, although they're not the $350 specials they were 5 years ago. XF S-packs and especially Fairmont Ghias are starting to come up in price as well.
They'll never reach the collectabilty of the Commodores because they made about a squillion of the things but there definitely are a group of XF enthusiasts out there.
HI YOUR CAR IS DA BEST
we had the 3.3L 5sp XF sedan....im a holden man.. says it all.
My dad bought a Fairmont Ghia a years ago before I was 15 im now 21 this year. We eventually stripped the car but it was cool the xf fairmont ghia.
Hi Joe, thanks for your comment and happy 21! My parents used to have a Fairmont Ghia too, it was so comfy to go on road trips, not to mention how fuel efficient they were. - Andres.
When did you ever know about its headgasket
I like your car, Cesare, too bad Ford couldn't transfer something like that Stateside, they made us drive granny-grade Crown Vics and Mercury Marquis. At least the gave us the Mustang GT 5.0.
To the naysayers, your comments haven't aged well. A Fairmont Ghia with the EFI 4.1 and 3 speed sold at Shannons Auctions in 2021 for $21500. Beautiful car.
Couple of my mates had them as there first cars we thrashed the fuck out of them tough as fuck even used to take em on the beach and kane em shit cars good times.
Hi everyone, I have an xd 1979 with a 393 Cleveland aloy heads hydraulic roller cam with 5 speed tremec etc. The car is in excellent condition. If anyone is interested please let me know and I will send my details to them.
Almost sounds like the D i built; 393ci with two 1050 dominators, Jericho 4 speed, full floating 9".
@@maxrockatanksyOG pretty similar max I got 750 db with 5speed Tremec and 4.11 9inch diff.
My uncle had an xf race car if you look up "Anthony bool xf race car" it'll be the first image. She was a good girl but a ol one at that. He sold that and bought a ba race car
I had the exact same car in snow White s pac wagon
There used to be HQ Holdens everywhere. They went. Then there were XF’s everywhere. They went. Now is see allot of clapped out AU Falcons.
I see a lot of clapped out VTs over AUs tbh, sure, I see lots of those, but most are the Fairmont variants around here, whereas there's a lot of clapped out VT & VX meth'd out bogan cars here.
The only thing that stops AUs is rust .. AU is one of the best cars australia ever built ..
Identical to my 2nd car in 1998
People , Fuck The V8. Turbo , Turbo & Turbo . Holden did it. The Ford i6 is *bliss* when Turbo is part of the hardware ! 😯
there are no highlights in a XF Falcon
Just didn’t cut it with the fans for obvious reasons…..
Problem with the xf was Ford never offered a v8 version! That was their demise !! The Holden commodore vl left it for dead!!!!
Yeah left it for dead....everywhere except where it matters.....sales.
I liked the xd & xe better xf looked abit boring but then ea falcons were worse
They look better as a Grenada!
Still a poorly engineered car either way!
I owned one for 10 years, trust me, I know of what I speak!
Yeah a "poorly engineered car" that went forever and was as tough as nails.
The hilux of falcon, only hilux could use a lawnmower motor and they'd still sell, Ford got lazy. However I drove one still comfortable, roomy and easy to use,handle ok, lazy torque and reasonably reliable, I'd still have one over a modern day diesel hilux, if it had a modern lpg system and to me more collectable and comfortable than any hilux or for that matter ranger, thou that doesn't say a lot, oh and you wouldn't be able to go 4 wheel driving once every 5 year's
I had a 1987 Fairmont Ghia, very average quality, multi port efi ran rough, used rediculous amounts of fuel and no power. Those mazda pods never worked properly. The body flex was terrible, overall pretty average Australia car. Never bought a Ford again.
I had one. utilitarian, boring. XF and performance in a sentence must include the words like lacks
My old man had one, and I had one. Terrible cars and should never be collectible. Can't believe we made the same mistake twice.
They’re usually frowned upon by ford tragics because the were NEVER a good car and didn’t have a v8 option. The ratio of vk vl owners compared to xe xf is not ever going to be even. Most xe xfs were used and abused long ago and discarded.
@@captainkaos754 Not saying they were a great car but you can't write them off as a bad car either. The family car when I was a kid was an XF, Dad's RT Edwards service van was an XF panel van, the car I did my learners test in was an XF S-pack ute. All three of those cars are still around. I've got an XF ute that put in 720,000kms towing horse floats around QLD, it was still a great driver 'til I thrashed it to death in the early days of having my Ps.
Yeah please dont waste a video on the xf falcon
Do your history everyone the first XD Falcon they got from a Peugeot french shit box Design
European ford Granada actually
The XF has to be the most boring Aussie Ford ever built.
A droopy nose and no V8.
Great boat anchors though,until they rust away.
BCT it’s like it was solely aimed at the taxi industry, and people who saw cars like they saw their their toaster every morning-an appliance that gets the job done.
This makes me laugh the XF is nothing but a ree hash of the XD nothing special.
It makes me laugh do Shannon see them come through the auctions No that's because they are to s*** and they were s*** the day they left the factory at Geelong rust buckets cheap plastic interior and a gutless 6 cylinder engine... Besides that they weren't bad 😂😂
Broadmeadows, geelong did engines and stamping
you guys should do a club tv episode on the ford telstar