#fordfalcon

A powerful symbol of Australian automotive history, this Ford Falcon V8 engine muscle car embodies classic design.

Explore iconic Australian-made Ford Falcon muscle cars.

This is a direct X model I built to look like the Australian Mad Max movie car. This is an Australian Ford Falcon. Yes, we had Ford Falcons here in the states too, but they didn’t look like the Australian ones. The Australian ones looked more like a Torino than a Falcon. This was designed and rendered in direct X 9. It is compressed as well. #madmax #fordfalcon #DellSweet #RadSandbox #3dmodels…

A classic Ford Falcon FG muscle car, showcasing its powerful design.

Although SUVs are now ubiquitous on Australian roads, there was a time when the wagon was the first choice for Australian families. With the release of the XK Falcon in November 1960, Ford Australia introduced a wagon body style. The XK wagon was based on the American counterpart, but the Australian version featured a shorter rear body, to better suit Australian roads and conditions.

XK Falcon Wagon For most of its production life, Ford focused on lower trim levels, except for some limited production models, such as XL Squire, with simulated woodgrain panelling, XF Fairmont Ghia, the ED and EF XR6. The Fairmont held its place as the highest-spec variant until the introduction of the BA Falcon, when the Futura took over as the top trim level. Ford Australian made available a V8 option on wagon variants from the XA (March 1972) until the XE (82-83). With Ford removing the V8 option from the XF onwards, the V8 option was again made available on the EB Series II (August 1991) and continued until the AU, but it was only available in Fairmont variant and was a limited production run (~120-160 vehicles).

Ford Falcon XF Fairmont Ghia Wagon

Ford Falcon EF XR6 Wagon

Ford Falcon XL Squire Wagon With the release of the AU wagon, Ford changed the axle position, with the shock absorbers moved outboard, providing additional real estate. Structural changes were required over the EL predecessor, with the rear floor being redesigned, allowing a plastic petrol tank and the relocation of the spare tyre underneath. The AU wagon in base Forte trim weighed 83kg more than its sedan sibling, which was 26kg lighter than it’s EL wagon predecessor.

Ford Falcon AU Futura Wagon Moving forward to 2008 with the release of the ‘kinetic’ FG Falcon, Ford continued the wagon, but using the older BF wagon body style, naming it the BF MK3. This model could trace its roots back to the 1998 AU model. Rumours were Ford continued to offer the wagon due to their large Telstra contract, supplying white wagons. The BF MK3 changes were limited to ESP for petrol powered variants, flip key, warm charcoal carpet and the removal of the Futura model.

BF MK3 Falcon Wagon Wagon sales continued to decline, due to market switch to SUVs and the introduction of the Territory. Finally in March 2010 Ford announced the end of the wagon variant, with the last wagon coming off the line September 2010. Sales of Falcon sedan and Territory had remained relatively stable from 2008-2010, but wagon production in these three years halved. While Ford never released official wagon sales figures, the XF Falcon wagon was likely the best-seller, as the XF series overall recorded the highest sales of any Falcon model. In total Ford Australia manufactured a total of 714,982 wagons, over 50 years of production. As an owner of a 2008 MK2 wagon, I see it as a staple food, meat and three veg. It’s not fancy, but it’s solid, practical, and you know exactly what you’re getting. Even though Territory was a far bigger seller than Falcon wagon, I now see more BA/BF wagons than the Territory. I assume Falcon wagons owners know they can’t replace their wagons, while a Territory can be replaced by another SUV.

My last update on our BF MK2 Falcon Wagon, affectionately known as “Lister of Smeg”. was Oct 2023, with 383k on the odometer. Up until this time Lister had provided reliable and fuss free motoring. This all changed when the LPG converter failed, leaving me stranded after dropping my son off to school. Not knowing any better, the car was towed to Knox Ford, which was only five minutes down the road. A week later Ford had replaced the converter, all spark plugs and the rear discs as they were low. From this point onwards the engine didn’t run as smoothly as it had in the past, providing an occasional backfire on startup and a rough idle.

I understand why people move old cars on, as there’s a sense of frustration when you can’t get the car to perform as it should. I found a local LPG specialist (who still looks after a small LPG taxi fleet), they had a good look but couldn’t find anything wrong. Just over a year went passed and it was now Dec 2024, with 404k on odometer. I kept putting up with the loveable Lister, but thought it was now too hard to fix, given the LPG fleet is in steep decline, hence it’s hard to find an LPG specialist. Finally, Naomi said, let’s just get this fixed, as she had been given a recommendation, AG Automotive in Lilydale. To put it in perspective, a trip to Lilydale was the same distance as driving to the CBD. As we had nothing to lose, we drove to Lilydale and dropped Lister off. After recounting our story, the words came back, “You didn’t take it to Ford, as they have no idea how to fix LPG vehicles”. Two days later AG Automotive called, communicating he was all fixed after replacing the stepper motor. The stepper motor accurately adjusts the flow of gas via the o2 sensor. Apparently, it’s common practice to replace the stepper motor when replacing the LPG converter. From this point on Lister started to behave like he should have from new, now idling well, performance felt stronger, whilst fuel economy improved. I started to regain confidence in him again, but moving forward to Jan 2025, my confidence was again shattered, as he developed a rough idle, worse than before and started to stall at idle. The only mechanic I could get to, was the local specialist, who looked at the car previously and said everything was ok. This time he took it for a drive, and on return said there was something wrong, likely the stepper motor needed to be calibrated. He had the stepper motor out, calibrated and back in within 20 minutes and then disappeared around the block. To my surprise Lister was again back to normal, but I kept on thinking when is he going to break again. It's now April and surely a trip to Canberra will confirm if Lister is fixed. My confidence wasn’t great, but to my surprise he went like clockwork. One of the things I did notice on this trip was the removal of more LPG bowsers, at Tallarook & Holbrook and while in Canberra, the service station we normally go to, was out of LPG. The e-gas BF wagon has 116 litre capacity, and according to Ford provides for up to 900km of range, enough to get from Melbourne to Canberra. I topped up in Wodonga, given the price and availability of LPG prior to driving into NSW. While stopped at the APCO Service Station in Wodonga, we spotted a rare Hillman 16 on the back of flatbed truck.

Stopping at Holbrook for lunch, can highly recommend “The Ten Mile Café”. It has large indoor and outdoor sections. They provided excellent service, combined with quality produce and great coffee. What else can you ask, especially in a town the size of Holbrook.

On the way back, we stopped in Gundagai, as we love the Coffee Peddler Café. Opposite you can see the impressive Gundagai Theatre.

I’ve always loved the main street in Gundagai, this time we stretched our legs and went for a walk, and found a shop called Junque & Disorderly. I couldn’t help myself from purchasing a 1973 Mercedes W115 220D Ute, 1:43 scale for $12.