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Love these videos, i loved these Fairlanes . Easy cars to repair and loved driving them. Would have to have a Cleveland, definitely one of the best engines ever made. I can't help myself but id have to build that Cleveland into what they should be. Ford always built beautiful cars. Was a shame when they dropped the Cleveland. I loved my 351, the thing was a beast.

These were the early Barras in the day. They were fantastic engines that you could never kill. You can easily get big power from these. Ive always had CL V8S and they are fantastic. They need a 4bbl on the 318s . The 360 is the best but it was detuned because of the pollution standards in the usa . The 340 gets the the credit . I have a 450hp 360 and my mate has a 550hp one. Stock they are low compression with a tiny cam. Would love a VG , nice and compact car that looks great.

Congrats on you getting your Cadillac Seville back. Glad to see you travelling Cadillac Style again. Cadillac had some issues in the 1980's: one of them being engines. They finally get that correct with the 4.5 and 4.9 liter V8's based off the 4100 V8. Then there was the Northstar V8 we all know the story there.

The biggest factor for the rarity to be seeing this generation Fairlane/LTD around these day is due to their attrition to rust. I still want one, only because my Dad painted them in the factory here in Brisbane.

In 1974 my first car was a XL auto. Paid $7 for it with 3 months rego and a heap of rust . Drove Sydney to Brisbane twice in it and never missed a beat.

18 - 19 seconds to 80kph is appalling! The 4cyl VC commodores we had in NZ did it in 10 and they were a slow car.

Good job Ray and Mark! I love to see old cars rescued and maintained. Don't know if you Aussies have heard of "Cash for Clunkers", a program the US government concocted in 2009 to get old cars off the road. They were giving people $4500 to trade in old cars. They would the pour silicate into the oil, causing the engine to seize. It was a damn shame some the nice cars some people brought in. My dealership took in a beautiful 1985 Seville with only 28K miles on it. I intentionally took it out and drove it and it ran out and drove beautifully. The Delco Moraine rear calipers on those are problematic, they also used them on F bodies, I recently replaced them on my 82 Z28 and the pedal got nicely firmer and higher. I hadn't even realized they were sticking. Sorry for the book, just some thoughts from a car guy!

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Great work Mark, I loved the 2 door pacer with no badges just stick on stripes and decals, it made it so clean and tidy. The blue was my pick.

Your father's (now yours) galaxy is absolutely beautiful.

Always such an odd design; when i first saw these, i always felt they would look better if Cadillac had not put the box section on the boot, but left it like a swoop design

Great photos Mark. I had a VC Ute, VJ car and a CM Regal over the years. All good cars that preformed well. But I always carried a torch for my P76. The Valiants although rugged and reliable never won my heart. Dave.

They shared A LOT with the Ford Fairmont.

I had a neighbor who lived in an apartment building who had a '79 Ford Mustang Indy Pace car.

Thanks Mark. I found your Force 7 video. What a privilege to have driven one. I also have a hand book. Dad took us to Leylands when we visited Sydney in 1983 on holiday from Adelaide. We were travelling in a white P76 Executive. A great car. Dad thought it was an opportunity to buy service parts for his car from the factory and I found the stack of books and bought one which I still have. I was 17 at the time. I was totally hooked. I still have a P76 not currently on the road. And two Leyland tractors. And would love to have a Leyland truck. Subscribing right now. Cheers Dave

Do you know Stellantis is going to be a Hemi inline 6 into the new Charger in 2027, in addition to the EV charger coming out this year??

Hi Mark I enjoyed this Randy recomend you so I came over I've been watching Randy since he first started came a long way good luck God bless

I thinking cars from Randy it good on your channel. I look forward to see on this channel. Good luck.

Hi Mark, The Caddy is alive and running, sounds sweet as well, I knew these Cadillac Seville are front wheel drive but I didn't know the engine is a 4.1 litre, I was thinking at lest a 4.8 but more like 5.0, 5.5 or even a 6.0 litre. Looks like a smooth drive more like sailing and the road very effortless. I like the two tone paint work brown with I think bronze in colour, the big grill gives it that Rolls Royce look about it and the chrome work looks stunning, by this time in the early 1980's cars had more plastic than chrome but that what make this Seville a classy car just like a Rolls Royce Silver Spur in my opinion. Your mate Ray has done a brilliant job getting the car running well, I bet your happy too. As always a great video, catch you soon take care

Came over from Auto Auction Rebuilds to check out this channel awesome content very informal.

Hi Mark, the California specification Hook & Tow HT4100's had HEAPS more anti-pollution gear on them compared to what was called the " 49 Staters" , go back to the intro year late 1979 as a new 1980 model, many of the different division GM cars with bigger engines ALL were fitted with the Oldsmobile division 5.7 litre 350 ci V8's for EVERY California delivered car, REASON was simple, it delivered the best gas mileage and the lowest level of pollution whereas all the Caddy Seville's for the other 49 states all had the correct 368 ci or 6 litre de-bored version of what had been the 8.279 litre or 501 ci V8 from late 1960's, same as the engine in your 1968 Eldorado which has the earlier 472ci 7.7 litre version same as the engines in my two 1970's monster sized '72 & '74 Fleetwood Broughams. With my black '74 having 712,000 kilometes on its original un-rebuilt engine, in my 43 year ownership 610,000 of those have been clocked up by me. Additionally in the other 49 state versions , you could get a horrible gutless Oldsmobile 350ci V8 diesel, or you could get the BEST choice, the Buick ONLY division bigger 4100 V6 (a larger version of the 3800's V6's we had in our Aussie Commodores) as the 4100 V6 and 3800 V6 GM engines are deemed to be possibly the best long-life engines mankind has ever built. Go back a few years there was a hire car operator who had a collection of old GM cars, Caddy's, Chev's, Buicks & Ponti's, however he had what had been pretty new at the time, a mid-1980's factory Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine on NSW hire car rego it had a factory fitted Buick 4100 supercharged V6 which as a hire car had racked up an a few years nearly a million kilometres, before committing to a what was then costly RHD converted brand new limousine he had done his "engine homework" to give himself the very best chance of engine/powertrain longevity. AS in the USA these GM Caddy division small block 4.1 litre V8's the HT4100 were soon known derisively as the Hook & Tow 4100's as they were always breaking down. Hopefully given seldom and light use it should now give no problems. Back 43 years ago when I was a 26 year old looking to buy my first Cadillac, OR some other decent USA car, after my new WB Holden Statesman Caprice had been stolen, I went to see Frank Tonitto and ran thru my list of possible options, Frank stated if you want the very best most reliable American cars ever made by that time pick anyone of ONLY these three consecutive year model Cadillacs, 72, 73, 74 and ONLY buy a REAR wheel drive Fleetwood Brougham version the best of the best. So mine are a 72 & a 74 Fleetwood Broughams and Frank was correct, flawless trouble-free use stretching 40+ years. I have a "silent" laugh at people who have restored some kind of vehicle & say and yeah I fitted a Ford 9 inch diff to it, and I think yes a little baby size one, as the standard factory diff in my 2 Cadillacs is a 13+1/2 inch one bigger than in many trucks. Strange thing is that in the USA now very few actual 2 or 4 door saloon or coupes are made, and no station wagon cars at all, and what cars are made, plus imported ones sold all have still to be strictly compliant to fuel used AND pollutants released to the atmosphere, HOWEVER, "trucks" DO NOT have to comply to any of those rules and can guzzle fuel and pollute the environment to hell and what do most Americans buy now BIG pick up "trucks" eg Ford F150 pickup "truck" (really just a big ute) or the station wagon version eg GMC or Chevvy Suburban and all of these use way way more fuel than my now 50+ year old giant sized Cadillacs do, rut since they are rated as "trucks" they get away without having to comply with ANY of the environmental and pollution laws. Same here in Australia, so now our roads are filled with Sensationally Ugly Vehicles (suv's) and Tradies Utes (trucks) & few nice new cars.

7:09 that red Sigma wagon looked pretty smart on the showroom with the alloys and roof spoiler but the plum coloured Cordia took me back to 1988 and cruising in my mates 1985 plum coloured Cordia Turbo...that thing was a rocket.

New subscriber here. Heard about you from Auto Auction Rebuilds. Indiana/USA here.

Great, Mark! I believe I just saw a 69 XL GT convertible! 😳

I crushed these by the hundreds in sims, just a dime a dozen rubbish in the 80’s. Mind you I always maintained they should have collected the parts for resale instead of the lousy $100 a ton of scrap, could have got way more per car that way.

Fantastic footage, I even loved the Magna shots

This is so wonderful to see, but also so sad to think of how we've been produced to poxy chinese EV SUVs. It's a crying shame.

The NF Fairlane 5L V8 drives like a dream but a gas guzzler & great to sleep in

Old blokes like Ray's workshop can't exist anymore. I've never worked in a place that can just sit on cars for months on end to replace injectors, brakes, fuel tank etc. Rent costs too much for a factory as does labour. Unfortunate though.

Finally a reference to Adam from rare classic cars. You guys should get together for a live stream.

I'll have an XA Interceptor thanks ! Any idea why they were getting rid of them with negligible k's on them ?

I've preferred the FG-X rear end, but preferred the FG front. I would have to buy both and do a cut & shut!

We had a blue/grey wagon from 1964 when I was born. Was a big family car.

I’m still not sure about the boot. I don’t hate it, but I’m not entirely fond of it. It’s like the front needed to change away from the traditional box and triangle bonnet design to make a statement like the rear, but they forgot. Still didn’t cause it to flop though, so it didn’t scare off too many buyers. It’s a bit like the Bangle-butt 7 series in that respect. The paint is a very nice combo, and probably the best colour choice for this model (although I also like the 2 tone silver/grey one that I’ve seen in Sydney). I really like these complimentary 2-tone paint schemes where the accent colour is carefully selected, and isn’t just silver for the 2nd colour. Like when Holden did the VS Caprice, they came up with similar shades for the upper & lower that work really well together. I watched the episode that Adam Wade did where he interviewed Wayne Kedy about the design. I’m sure you’ve already seen it. Wayne has a lot of good inside info from the era that he’s been generously sharing with the world. Good to see people like Ray still exist, and you got it back on the road with confidence.

Holden sold those cooling system pellets when VNs were new. They were also supposed to help with minimising the galvanic action in the cooling system, which was concerning for many owners as it was the first commodore with an aluminium radiator core. Doing chemistry and engineering science at that time, it puzzled me that there was all this concern all of a sudden, when the Holden V8 had mixed aluminium and cast iron for 20 years…..

5:51 I love that photo. When I first met my wife’s Nan, she quickly worked out that I like Holdens. She proceeded to tell me that when they were first married, her late husband assembled grilles for 48-215 Holdens. And now there’s a pic! And they’re assembling grilles.

Nice mix of personal photos, brochure shots, media photos, and archive shots. There’s a lot of us who have collections of photos from years gone by - perhaps people should send them to you to make compilations? I watched it twice just to see everything I missed the first time. It could easily have been twice as long (time wise) but then you’d likely get complaints, and it doesn’t fit the TH-cam algorithm….. I recognised the CL Valiant brochure shot (towing the Millard van) as I’ve always remembered it since I was a kid (except my grandfather bought his CL to tow a larger Viscount van). Some of the traffic shots I’ve seen before, in old NSW RTA (DMR) stuff that I looked through a few years back when a relative passed away (he worked for the DMR all his life). The ex-cop XA ad was interesting. My aunt used to drive an ex-cop 351 4-speed XC in the early 80s. I never got to ask my uncle how he found that car - whether it was an auction or a car yard like Lahoods who used to flip them into the used car market. I noticed the FPV photo - were you still there in ‘09 or gone by then?

My Dr owned a white XR6 ef such a beautiful car his wife was driving it one day I stopped her in car park I said why is left mirror smashed she don hit a reflective post on narrow out back Rd He was a great Dr served as Dr at Bathurst for many years told me 5years ago he gave dick Johnson his Dr uniforms for his museum at Yatala QLD

Known as wog chariots

Thanks Mark - I like your laissez-faire attitude to repairing these US "treasures". A pleasant memory of this car was on a 1982 6-week road trip in the US with best-mate. When we got to New York we looked up a relative of my then Canberra girlfriend. He worked for Hilton Hotels in NY, and his father was the GM of the Waldorf Astoria. Our new mate arranged a car from the hotel to go upstate NY to his parent's house, with his then girlfriend and a few bottles of wine. The car was the Cadillac Seville, lovely ride on the freeways, and we had a drink while being driven - happy days! I have my doubts over all these years that the Touring Suspension is making a difference, and as for the dashboard computer, good luck. As Adam points out Cadillac/GM went through a horrible time transitioning from the glory days of the 50/60/70's to the '80's with fuel/emission issues (not to mention quality control), and the brand has never really recovered IMO.

You sure have a lot of very nice cars Mark, they must take up a lot of time & space. I've got to find a place with double garage & parking when I move out of [bloody lol] Canberra. The Seville is a very odd looking car, 💯% American styling, no question. Any news on the Renault? I always thought they'd look the same driving backwards. _Sort of in grief over the Copen, but I got a stupid amount of fun out of her for 6yrs & only ever had to service her. She's on consignment at GoGarage in Sudney. They'll sell the Alto later on & I'll start again._

I love these Sevilles and even have an old Tomica model I've had since I was 8 yrs old ( dad bought for me back in 1982 ) I'd love to see your collection up close Mark, you've got so many nice old examples ( OZ n US ) that is truly unreal. Thanks again for sharing your passion 👍 Happy Australia Day for tomorrow too mate 🇭🇲

Good comparison with the Cadillac and the Toyota Century

Why did they go to front wheel drive

Rays maybe a bit like car wizard! & wonder about the spend $, like the car design compared to seville sedan its back in style chers

Great effort

David Ford was the excellent drivetrain engineer who had the uneviable task of informing the whole press in the pre embargo Australian Journalist release 1983 EFinengine release that the 4.1 2bbl carb output was never 105 Kw, but actually 98 Kw, because the figures were now standard New South Wales emission standard compliant. The EFi engine went to press with 111 kw. Ford showed the 1590 trailer acceleration figures as a guesture of extreme openess, a credit to Fords geniune honesty. The unloaded/unladen 4.9 litre acceleration figures where not shown in Fords press release and promotional literature. Simply, there were other issues like of the 1981 New South Wales tune being unquoted, which had an H code engine with an undisclosed power reduction, not the P code 140 Kw engine. The key is that early 1490 kilo 4.9 ZJ Fairlanes and the 1435 kg XD Fairmonts were 17.4 and 16.9 second quarter mike cars, figures quite different to Wheels Castlereagh Drag steip figures. The 4bbl 4.9 and C10 automatic is a fine engine, with great performance and reasonable economy if you don't dip into the secondaries. I've seen two aberrations on long wheelbase Fairlane and LTD performance, the Chris Gribble 17.3 second wet road 1/4 mile test of the ZH 5.8 in Wheels 1979, and the Mike Stahl Modern Motor March 1983 test of a 4.9 FD LTD doing an 18.7.second quarter mile. An EFi 4.1 ZJ Peter Robinson and John Wright tested in Wheels 1983, 17.8 seconds.

Mark there was many V8 Fairmont Ghia ESP built after November 1982, Ford simply put the 4.9L and 5.8L on the EFI production line and quietly shipped them off to the dealerships who were told not o market them directly only to sell if customer requested v8 power. I myself has a 1983 XF Fairmont Ghia ESP 4.9L April 1983 build, bought it 2nd hand from Fury Ford (Parramatta Road Guildford which of course no longer exists and is a large shopping/movie complex opposite Toohey's Brewing (lion Nathen) facility) way back in 1987. As for Fairlane getting 35ci V8, there could be a few that were made early on, a lot of the then Government fleet were EFI based as were Federal Govt ones. Also the carby versions in NSW were equipped with extra emissions controls on them thus dropping peak power to 98kW. As for Watts Link coil springs, in terms of live axle rear suspensions go they are the best and still used today in the Ford Everest.

Remember the name George Freeman? The SP bookmaker from Sydney? He lived in Yowie Bay when I was about 12. His son used to get around in the same model Caddy but it was silver. Can’t recall if it was RHD or not. Sounds like an aftermarket exhaust to me. Cadillac wouldn’t release a car sounding like that in the 80’s.

Very eclectic looking classic. Just loving these mate. Made my Saturday night! Have fun.