A Friend bought a 78 Fairmont brand new. Can't remember $7,000 or $9,000. Parked it up the Cross we went clubbing. Came back couldn't find it and had to Sail the next day for 6 months overseas. Reported Stolen got the Cheque. Then when we returned went clubbing looked around where we thought the car was nothing then looked at the vacant lot next to Tada! The Car was there perfect condition just a few cobwebs. Started straight away never mentioned again.
Absolutely top notch presentation. I'm gobsmacked at the amount of variants and option packs. The Cobra was simply gorgeous. Took years off them. That American was a godsend. Thankyou immensely.
You can clearly see that the driver turns more aggressively with all the other vehicles and does it smoothly with the Kingswood and makes its body roll seem much less hahaha
@@markbehr88 You have to laugh at the advertising industry back then . They obviously figured no one would notice so, let's run with it 🤣🤣 P.S I'd love to see your NU Fairlane mate . It looks gorgeous .
Love your videos Mark. Apparently Chrysler felt the need to address the CL Valiants' handling after Holden fired the first shot, So,t hey sent a Valiant to America, so the engineers at the big factory could help them make the old girl go around corners.. The US Engineers drove the CL, and said it was the best handling large car in the Chrysler fleet. They were unshure why, anyone would want anything better than that. So, the Aussies did it themselves. When the wee finished, the CL handled much better... When it came to naming the option, Chrysler had a bit of a sense of humour.. The upgrade was basically Chryslers version of RTS.... So, they called the mandatory option "ME2" (Me too).
In the early eighties big cars were cheap around melbourne...I could have gotten an as traded XC Cobra for 5 grand...This was before i finally found my T code 351 GXL at another yard...witch was only 3 grand in mint condition...cheers...i also had a GS ute for work...Loved those utes with the coupe doors...!
Brilliant cars the XC Falcons. The ad from 1978, using people as witches hats and driving between them to show an audience how well a car handles. Dunno how they even pulled that off but they did and it succeeded. Not something you'd get away with doing now that's for sure. I was quite intrigued with the little known fact you mentioned about the silver Falcon show van and Ford stylist, Peter Arcadipane (assume thats the correct spelling). I did read something about that years ago somewhere but have no recollection but I'm sure people hotted up their Falcon vans to conform to that look of that particular show van. I think I've seen photos of similar vans customised to that look. I wonder what ever happened to Peter Arcadipane. Sounds like he was quite the legendary stylist.
Thanks. I remember the ad at the time and it was a very exciting, compelling response. Peter ran Mercedes Benz global styling for a while and actually styled a car I own (ep on the channel) - the CL500 with the cantilever roof. Great looking car. 👍
@@markbehr88 Ah righto. Yes it would've been. So Peter Arcadipane spent time styling Mercs. That's interesting. Never heard of a cantilever roof before.
I owned a 1977 XC in 1997... she was baby blue with a white vinyl roof. 4.1 and 3-speed manual. Interesting thing, I found out the gear ratios in the manual and auto were identical.
I was working for Stillwell Ford when these XC Falcons were the current model in 1978 , Stillwell decided to get a batch of white sedans with V8 engines and paint cobra colours on them and put spoilers on them to make them into 4 door cobras
Mark my uncle had a red xc the same as the yellow one in you pictures 4:1 4 speed monza red and he kept in inside I think it was the most amazing car and I use to love going up to his place to look at it I think I was only in my early teens I couldn’t believe when he sold it as it still looked like new I think this car was what Made me a ford person as my dad never bought a Ford 👍👍
I found it amazing to see the much more modern looking Cortina mark 4 being sold alongside XCs in a 1977 dealership photo. Also how the modern looking dealership format was already around in the early 70s and didn't change much by the 2000s.
I had a GXL FMX 9 inch Auto. Can’t exactly remember the trim but she was like a midnight Blue metallic. Sadly sold her many moons back. But I do have the XC Panel van. It has 351 4v Clevo Auto9 inch Canary yellow. But she is very very rare and beautiful. I don’t think the 351 c 4v is original. I was offered $55,000 k 14 months back but declined as she has been in my life for 30 years. 178,012. Kms. Very nice example. Cheers Dave.👍👍🇦🇺
The wagon or van shown atat 3m20s in brown looks a lot like a 1970 or so American dodge dart. Ty for these videos. I, as an American love seeing these. I've never seen anything like this otr here in the US. If it wasn't for mad max, I'd never even know these existed I always thought yall aussies had the same ford's as we had or maybe the brits.
I bought a 1977 Fairmont gxl from Peter Warren Ford Fairfield brand new for $10500. It was a 4,9 engine, 4 speed transmission. It also had the sunroof option. I traded it in on a new F150 from Thompson Ford at Parramatta in 1979. The GXL was very smooth and quiet to drive. Thanks for the video, brings back memories.
Other than the Toranas the kingswoods were very ordinary after the HQ . The XA XB XC fords were very good cars for the day, roomy powerfull and oh that wrap around dash.XD XE XF were great cars as well
In the Ford book the XC hardtops were at the bottom of the range in sales as people were falling out of love with big two door cars. Either the Cobra would be built or all 400 body shells would be sent to the foundry to be melted down and made into something else. The release of the XC Cobra was a stroke of marketing genius for they all sold extremely quickly. Peter Wherrett said that the GXL was not a GT but the performance came very close with the 5.8. The P6 LTD Silver Monarch with it's plum velour interior the people at Ford head office said it was hideous and that it would never sell. But Peter Gillitzer said "don't underestimate the bad taste of the buying public". He was right too, it sold. A friend of my dad had a GXL Fairmont with headlights that were half full of water when brand new.
Yes, it was a great way to move the body shells plus give us a great collector car too! I really like the P6 LTD, incl the Silver Monarch. It was quite Bordello on the inside but still looked sumptuous so people bought it, albeit it was fairly low volume versus the standard LTD. They did two renditions of it. The initial Silver and then a Ghost gum grey. 👍
When cars were made properly beautiful cars love this video and it’s content my grandfather was a ford man he also had a vintage wrecking yard with hundreds of fords from T and A models right through to xd same with Holden’s from the 48 -215 fx through to Vb crumble doors and he put all the fords up on the hill and put all the chevs and holdens in the wet parts of the property lol my favourites were the 64 compact Fairlanes and the tear drop head lights 36 37 ford coupes and Ute old bill said to me when I was a boy fords are better have better engines and bigger brakes and more room inside and longer suspension travel than holdens boy
I had a 77 Falcon, just a standard one with light green metallic paint and a tan interior. It went extremely well, steered well and was comfortable. Always started first time. I paid $1,500 for it when it was 7 years old. I drove it across Australia with no problems at all. I kept it for a few years and sold it for $500 with a blown head gasket. Very happy with that car.
I remember seeing the XC Fairmont with square headlights for the first time as a kid and thinking how cool it looked. Up until that point I’d only really seen round headlights on cars. As for the Cobra, I reckon it would have to be the greatest looking Australian muscle car of all time - maybe with the exception of the FG FPV F6 variants.
Here is the latest episode in the Falcon history series. Make sure you check them all out - from XK to XC. And keep an eye out for future episodes by Subscribing and hitting the notification bell. Please also give a like 👍 for the Falcon that was 1977’s most popular car plus the 1977 Bathurst 1 - 2 Winner. Thanks for watching. 👍
Ah excellent description of a very popular model. The XC Falcon was the first model that ever outsold the rival Holden in a Complete Year, not just a month. It won 1-2 at Bathurst in 1977, and it offered the biggest range of body types, engines, transmissions, trim levels and more. It was the first European influenced model, albeit on a heavily American flavoured Australian built base launched a number of years earlier.
How was it European influenced? Handling maybe, but fail to get that vibe. To me it's American flavoured but with a more restrained Aussie flair. I think we made the best looking regular cars in the world.
@@jamesfrench7299 More American influenced but with European elements creeping in - rectangular lights on Fairmont, blackout on series 2 instead of silver or chrome. More subtle elements like that before XD 👍
I get it now. The mildly facelifted XC of 1977 was considered a stopgap model I read, the first appearance of the blue oval badge on a Falcon, in the grill, was what really stood out and looked really smart and modernised it quite a bit. Basically the HX competed with early XC and the later XC must have been a response to the HZ model. Chrysler were late to the show with the CM taking over from the CL, with it's own surprisingly good handling improvements which the final few months of the CL also recieved. The result was three good looking choices in the later XC, HZ and CM for such a short period of time. The Chrysler made up for it's late offering by lingering around longer.
Really great Mark! Our XC wagon was such a faithful workhorse. There's a photo in our album of my wife sound asleep in the front bucket seat. Great seats, great mechanical's (once the pollution gear was removed) only ever put a clutch in it. Not so much as a wheel bearing. Simple to own and simple to fix back when life was simpler.. :)
🥝✔️ Great article, MB. Interestingly, Mad Max was filmed after 1979, and the Concorde front end known as a "Monza" front end, was used. Had Ford used this already promoted low drag front end clip as the basis for the fortified Falcon Cobra, and had the roller rockers and Steel crank been homologated on 30 cars, Ford could have met the A9X GM& P race car full on for the Australian Touring Car Championship. The 4V engine and all the high performance four bolt block parts were still able to be used under the homologation production. For the Falcon Hardtops to falter so sadly in a line with such pedigree for 78 and 79 was like a declaration of surrender after some of the best Ford wins on the race track.
I can't believe they picked on the 240K. It had aircon, AM AND FM radio with a cassette. Bucket seats, IRS with a price point better than the Kingswood. The CL and CM Valiants handle quite well once one learned how to drive them. Loving the vids. Should do one on the Victa ads!
To me , I think the XC series Fords were the Best looking cars around at the time , and STILL look Good to this day . That includes the ZH Fairlane too . It was absolutely TRUE that the HZ RTS Holdens handled better than just about ANYTHING else at the time , in the weight class , obviously .
Great vid well done mate!, always liked the XC's they were the last and the best of the 70's big Fords in my opinion, had a 302 C4 auto XC Fairmont wagon back in the early 90's and what a lovely comfortable riding thing that long wheelbase wagon was and way more practical than the silly SUV things we get now, I wish I kept it but unfortunately you cannot hold onto everything. I can attest that the ADR27A engines fitted to the HX Holdens were bloody awful, my father had a new HX Kingswood as a company car and it was a pig, hard to start, no power, constant tuning issues and drank like you wouldn't believe, fortunately the company picked up the fuel tab. As with most big 70's Holdens it was strong, comfortable and well-built but those engines really let the car down, Ford and Chrysler did a much better job of making their engines ADR27A compliant. I always found it interesting that Holden didn't compare the HZ to their previous models when they were sprucing Radial Tuned Suspension, guess they didn't want to embarrass themselves, and yes I love Fords response, especially at the end where they give the witches hat the boot.
Was a fantastic car, hated the 6 but the 351 Cleveland is a great engine. They rusted really bad but its not hard to fix . Great car and the fairlane is a beautiful car.
This presentation is awesome, I was a 1st year apprentice at Ford in 1977 and the XC is still one of my favorite Ford cars. I loved the Cobra's but I have a soft spot for the GXL 5.8 Coupe. Subscribed and liked
Watching that ad with the TE cortina performing poorly. I had one as my first car, worst handling and bump steer I’ve ever experienced. Great as a first car though, you could get out of shape at 20kph, so much fun when 17!
First I saw any glimpse of the XC rebuttal ad was excerpts included in a 1980s Ford ad campaign("we're moving with you" jingle) and remember wondering what that was from. Only saw the original ad thanks to YT many years later. Seeing excepts in the 80s ad made it look tantalising seeing that mean looking front clip looking at you as it swayed side to side. What a badass visual. Re the Holden RTS ad, you can clearly see they're not gentler with the steering inputs in the Kingswood compared to the others, especially the poor 4.1 Cortina lol where wheel is being flicked around!
@@jamesfrench7299 I think “Ford Australia - We’re Moving with you” is circa 1980-2 (XD/XE). Yes, re the harsher steering inputs - throwing the cars more offline. Although the HZ was a good handler for sure to be fair.
Great information. I like Ozzy cars, I was in Oz as a backpacker in 2011 and had an AU Ford Falcon Forte waggon. I toured around in it up and down the East coast then went East to West from Mel to Perth before going home to UK again. The Ozzy cars of the 60's and 70's are really interesting, this XC Falcon seems to be American mid sized bodied with a mix of American and European styling elements. The Cobra does have a hint of Euro Ford Capri on the grill but American Ford Torino about the body shape. The Ozzy cars seem to have had the best of both worlds with decent power plants compared to the usually gutless Euro Fords and mid sized American bodies with Euro styling highlights here and there. The American cars of this era were often full of gimmicks and quite chintzy with too much chrome etc, but that is my opinion. The wagon is nice, although in my opinion looks better with the dual round headlights instead of the square ones. Although I had a 1999 AU Falcon in Oz its all I could afford, what I really wanted was an FG XR6 Turbo 😃.
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Agreed many Australian cars took the best of the US and Europe. Your AU Forte wagon would have been bullet proof. I have a V8 AU Fairmont wagon (eps on the channel) and love it. 👍
Thank you Mark. I started the video yesterday and had to stop. I was going to say this generation Falcon looks like an American Ford on the front end styling. Thank you for explaining the headlights. It did not look good with the single units. It looked better with the quad/four unit design. The Sundown van must have competed with the Holden Sandman. The series is interesting as we see just how much Ford Australia diveraged from American Ford. It is sad how Ford and GM used to be so global in terms of reach, now they are not. I see Ford was sharing parts between models like Holden. Thank you for the informative well thought out video. The RTS was a Pontiac thing. It seems it was a Holden thing too. Thank you for mentioning Holden. The commercial at the end was interesting.
Thanks Olds98. Agree the history is fascinating. Duncan McRae had replaced Jack Telnack as head of Ford Australia Design and he had a stronger US theme running through the cars, especially the Fairlane and LTD (I will do those later). 👍
@@markbehr88 Thank you for explaining the design influence. Yes, you clearly see American Ford. I see Grand Torino, Mustang and Maverick in the designs. Jack Telnack as you know did the Taurus and Able in the 80's. He turned Ford North America around. I look forward to see Fairlane and LTD. I expect to see Lincoln design cues.
Enjoyed the mini XC Documentary Maybe of interest .. 4 only XC FALCON 500's sedans were ordered by Nsw Police - Assembled in Dec 1978 .. T code 351 FMX K- MAC Lowered SUSPENSION 4 Wheel disc brake Tramp rod on 9 inch 2:75 ratio Dual cross over exhaust GS grille Twin mirror Interceptor - unmarked. If you were fortunate .. the build sheet is still taped under the glovebox tray compartment .. Cheers.
worked for a Ford dealer in the time. One owner had a 351 bronze with parchment roof Fairmont GXL. Great looking car. The other had a red 351 Coupe with all options, 4 speed manual. Drove that from time to time. Had to sell when the XD's came out, which was regretted by all as only 6 cylinder. Traded a Phase 3 GTHO on the coupe, which I think was listed for $14000. It sat around in rural NZ for some time, and then one day it was gone. Never seen again. Always thought the XC's were the best looking cars, esp the bronze GXL Fairmont.
I had a very early production Falcon 500 4.1 auto, bought new in September 1976. ADR 27A was an unmittigated disaster in terms of decreased performance and increased fuel consumption. It was bad for Ford and worse for Holden; their six was a pig of an engine. The Falcon's PBR brake booster was subject to an early recall, the pressure-limiting valve being sometimes installed back to front, which caused wheel lock-up problems. Bonnet catches were an issue, too. The flat face of the standard instruments meant that they could become unreadale in certain sunlight conditions, plus the oblong headlamps where fitted were prone to premature rusting of the reflectors. Those negatives aside, they were good long-distance cruisers, though the spare wheel placement was rubbish; the Leyland P76 did that far better. Interesting that Holden crossed-shopped the Kingswood against the Datsun 240K, as we at Datsun didn't really see them as being direct competitors. The 240K was definitely well-equipped for the day and went very nicely. I remember taking one out from Datsun Distribution at Braeside, down what is today the M11 to Frankston and being quite impressed with the car. The Skyline which followed it was even better.
Good info. Thanks. I agree the 240K was not really a direct competitor. More someone who wanted well equipped and couldn’t afford Euro or didn’t want the reliability issues.
G'day Mark, Great story on the XC my second favourite after the XA especially the Falcon GS with the 4 lights & scoops just look awesome. My introduction to the XC was about 1978 or 1979 as a 8 or 9 year old at my neighbour house party being all Greek in Sunshine, John who was alot older than all of us because he had his licence at the time, flared pants looked like Barry Gibbs with his hair rolls up to the party in his new car his parents bought him. A XC Falcon Cobra Hardtop. Upto that point cars were cars to me but when that blue & white machine came around the corner from Hampshire Rd into Benjamin Street & the noise & how cool John looked I wanted to be John from Altona. Still etched in my memory it was the most beautiful car I have ever seen up until then. Then my uncle got a Fairmont 5.8 wagon that was gorgeous throughout the 80's. All the Sunshine Boys that would cruise Bouverie Street Carlton in 1988 & 1989 all had XC's. Fairmont GXL Fairmont Hardtop's GS Hardtop's About 10 XC's in the gang all tough back in 88 & 89 XC's were not cheap. I was only guy into Mopar's, Bouverie Street, Carlton lots of memories lost my licence 25 months & my dad's van impounded for 7 months. Yeah XC hardly see them these days back in the 80's everywhere. Love the series Cheers Louis Kats 👍
As a kid, I always wanted a GXL. In '89, I picked up a heavily optioned '77 Fairmont GS in Steel Blue with a 4.9 auto. The only options missing were the 5.8 and long range tank. It had it all fast glass, factory sunroof, air, 4 wdb, lsd, twin exhaust, GXL wheels, and so on. It was a great cruising car.
@@markbehr88 Not so much, I only had it for a few months when a 'mate' crashed it into a fence. It was totaled. Took the insurance money & bought an XA GT with it. 👍
A very interesting video. I’m a Holden man but I think the XA-XC were quite handsome cars especially the more sports styled units. If I remember correctly the Sundowner also came with a two piece horizontal tailgate like the Holden Sandman. Most Ford panel vans came with barn doors on the back but I can’t remember if the tailgate was an option on all the Ford panel vans or was just it the Sundowner. RTS certainly made a huge difference on the HZ over the previous HX and the difference on the upper control arm is quite obvious when you compare the two but why did Holden have to go to Germany to get it developed, couldn’t the engineers here figure it out. Cheers.
An apprentice I worked with in 1978 drove into work one morning driving a Cobra. He said his dad bought two cobras one for him and one for his dad. Can’t remember his name but he said driving he was always being pulled over by police.
Great video Mark, and boy oh boy what I would give for those cars to be put on sale again, this stuff today, yes its safer and all that nice stuff, but these old girls are the go, great video, can't wait to watch the one on the XD and XE if at all possible.👍
I always enjoyed my XC and XD, with the XD in particular striking me as a most handsome design. The front indicators set the entire vehicle apart from all others. My XD was the Fairmont variant, which could be driven to Melbourne to Sydney and take the trip in its stride, leaving me and my passengers relaxed, and comfortable. Those large supportive seats were like armchairs, giving plenty of thigh support. Something missing in the Commodore, which always felt like a pencil to drive. In addition, the XE panel van, when unloaded, went like shit off a shovel, with many of my passengers thinking the motor was a 5 litre V8. The advantages of lightweight count for a lot. I wished for a rally pack interior with the sexy steering wheel and the full instrumentation, as a young Turk.
Hi Mark, hope your well, anther good looking Falcon XC. Nice smooth looking car space is plenty in the Estate/wagon, I thought the head lights were very similar to the UK Ford Granada Mk1 ( which was also produced in Germany for the LHD market ) a good in depth on this car as the older models available as Hard top ( coupe ), Ute (pick up) , Van, I must say it is a nice looking car, I know I've said this many a time it's a shame we didn't get this range of Fords in Wales or the UK. There is a pick (1:23 in to the video) Falcon Wagon with a UK reg plate ( WBM 842 S ) that tells me it's a 1977-78 the letter on the end of the plate "S" which is a 77-78. As always your the one I turn to for cars in Australia, Catch you soon Take care 👍
Iv never thought much of the XCs but I found a new respect for them and didn't know of all the variations. Also I've always wanted to know if the ad with all the racing champs lined up was real or staged? They seem to move as much as cardboard cut outs but when the falcon flies past Moffat his pants move in the wind
Great presentation learned alot. The only thing that Ford suffered from in the V8 variants was the transition from the top bottom tank radiators, in the XW & XY to the crossflow radiator in the XA series Falcon. Of course that decision eventually led to the demise of the V8 as they mostly suffered head gasket problems .
Another great vid Mark Cheers👍. I love the XC GXL's I remember in around 2002 i think it was my brothers friend bought a dark blue XC GXL from Sid ellis motors in Braybrook for $300 the body was rusty but it ran & drove. It was a 302 & C4. He ended up selling it to my neighbour at the time who took all the running gear out & scrapped the body
@@markbehr88 my fish love the helium 3 and 4 in the motor's. V8s are like prawns and lobsters crayfish and crill. They capture moonlight and use it. Which is helium 3 and 4. Love forfs
I remember the Radial Tuned Suspension package 📦 pioneered by Holden. In my native New Zealand 🇳🇿 it also was a feature on the GM ( NZ ) assembly line with the smaller UK sourced vehicle known as the Vauxhall Chevette ( code 202 ) known as the "Enduro". New Zealand only built CKD kits with ohv motor from smaller capacity Viva ( hb holden torana ) range. No ohc slant for the Chevette in NZ. A few retro swaps may have taken place from the UK sourced Bedford CF range. Looked like TE Cortina had the most body roll, however, this was a different car with that large falcon six engine. We in New Zealand got a variety of engine displacement in NZ from both UK & Australia. The Kent, Pinto, Cologne & Falcon. PS - that falcon engine made an appearance in a few places over the ditch in NZ too with the locally imported Transit. Thanks for the Ford Falcon XC review, I believe I counted twelve variations to the theme. BTW - it was New Zealander Denny Hulme whom raced the smaller capacity Chevette locally. A more austere model was called the Chevanne. ❤
FANTASTIC...Mark , you are amazing doing these awesome and informative vids ...Huge Ford fan and owned at least one of each main letter designation... I had a 1975 XB Ute , 1984 XE GL , 1996 EF Futura , AU Futura (still got her 21 years on ) Bought a 2001 build in early 2003 , a 2003 BA Fairmont Ghia and traded that in March 2016 bought my gorgeous April build so one of the first 2008 FG XR6's... All six cylinder cars ,, All beaut cars .. Had also a Ford Telstar (1986 AS) three different Escort cars and a .1.3 litre Escort panel van ... Blue all the way .....Will look forward to the AU and FG vids especially ...Thank you so much...
Thanks very much Rodney. Very kind of you and glad you are enjoying the series. Wow, you have certainly had a great selection of Fords! Like the Shannons ad I made with the XM Squire “Like Dad, I’ve always been a Ford man” 👍
7:24 you know it'd be funny to know if the XC cobra is what inspired the mad max car, as the bodywork honestly looks so close its ridiculious, like the mad max car always came across a combo of the XC and the Holden Comodore, the race car they used at Bathurst is where they got the flares from, with a more aerodynamic front and then the drag scoop like its a great combo, regardless of where they got the idea from, but I've always thought of the XC basically being the interceptor in factory form. and if they do another film, they should have him just find one in the desert and roll with that lol and you actually saw the XC van in person? jesus that's pretty cool! and you gotta consider that thing looks just as out there today as it did back then, which I would say is very much a styling win
Waited a long time for the XC vid Mark, worth the wait. I had the XC Falcon 5.8 GS Rally Sport, white with back vinyl roof. A great cruising car, and glad for the bragging rights. Also had the XR 170ci, XA Fairmont 302, EB2 Fairmont , Fairmont EF2, FG G6E, all great cars in their own right.
What a great, great episode Mark!! It also helps that the XC is easily my favourite of the third generation Falcons and possibly my actual overall favourite. I think my Falcon preferences have a pattern thus far -- XP, XY, XC -- the last iteration of each generation (although the insipid and uninspired XF ruins that pattern.....). Just how good do the GXLs and GS packs look!!! A point of trivia -- the Citroen importers (the name slips my mind) were considering bringing out an ad for their large car at the time (could have been the CX) doing a slalom ad but on three wheels! (Due to weight distribution and the oleo-pnumatic suspension found on higher spec Citroens, they could drive along quite happily with a rear wheel removed). I wish they had've gone ahead with that!! And a second point of trivia -- the headlight from the GXL was also used on an Australian produced aftermarket fairing (La Parisienne???) for the Honda Goldwing. It definitely stood out..... Looking forward to the XD episode. Late 1978 to early 1979 represented such a quantum shift for Australian cars with the focus moving from American-inspired cars to European.
Thanks very much for your comments and info. I also own some Citroen GS models and one of the episodes on the channel has a foreign ad where they are driving a slalom on three wheels! Agree a huge transition coming up for XD episode. 👍👍
Hi Peter. So nice to have you on the channel and thanks for the compliments. I am a Subscriber to Peter’s channel and thoroughly recommend it to others. 👍
The HZ may have handled, but it certainly didn't go! The 202 was wheezy and the Trimatic was troublesome. The 253 performed like a six from the era, and a modern four would blow the doors off it.
Yes, it is fair to say the engines in the Holdens needed more work. The eventual injected 5 litre V8 in the VN was excellent and would have been great in the HZ and WB series along with the Turbo 700 auto trans.
The son of one of my dads friends won a Brand new Camira when they were first launched. Immediately traded it for a 4.9l Cobra.Crashed and destroyed that over in under 2 weeks.Hate to think what it would be worth nowadays!
After the XC toppled the HX in sales something had to be done and the HZ obviously was Holden's response. Personally though I thought the HX's dashboard was way better than the XC's all black plastic effort. Yes the Ford reply add with the witches hats was very clever. Very video enjoyable to watch Mar. Cheers.
Holden also featured one of the first multifunction stalks which carried on in the Commodore. Holden were always in front of Ford with interior design.
True that. But the XB Falcon was weird in it approach in putting the horn on the indicator stalk. I noticed that Chrysler just used the same system as the Galant with the VK Valiant with wipers and headlight flashers/dimmer being stalk controlled. The Valiant was first with hazzard flashers however. Dashboards though? Holden for sure and their GTS dash was even better (although losing a bit of exclusivity with the HZ matt black treatment) and the Deville and Caprice where miles ahead of the Fairlane.
Don't know what Holden were thinking with a horrible strip speedo after HQ's more modern looking dash effort. It didn't even have a temp guage, making do with a warning light. Better than nothing I suppose. I was always impressed how the XC had white reverse lamps while the other two persisted with amber. It was a nice touch. I agree, the HX dash was light years ahead of the XCs which looked nearly a decade out of date.
Mark...the white 351 GS sedan you did a short video on and mentioned it might have been a cop car ?...it could also have been a Moffat special... maybe ?...cheers.
Hi Mark, good video. I have a memory that the XC marked a return to the blue oval Ford logo and the F O R D style was banished. I remember reading that was a ruling by Edsel II when he arrived at Ford Australia. Do you recall if this was the case?
A Friend bought a 78 Fairmont brand new. Can't remember $7,000 or $9,000. Parked it up the Cross we went clubbing. Came back couldn't find it and had to Sail the next day for 6 months overseas. Reported Stolen got the Cheque. Then when we returned went clubbing looked around where we thought the car was nothing then looked at the vacant lot next to Tada! The Car was there perfect condition just a few cobwebs. Started straight away never mentioned again.
Ha hah. Great story 👍
Rust Ford no sealants ever used on all models buckets
@@glenncrane1651 Rust was a problem. That’s why the survivors are worth big $.
I can understand that I lose my car just going to the shopping centre.
@@chrispbacon3042 👍😀
The Cobras were marketing genius.
Agree 👍
Absolutely top notch presentation.
I'm gobsmacked at the amount of variants and option packs.
The Cobra was simply gorgeous. Took years off them. That American was a godsend.
Thankyou immensely.
Thanks James. That’s very kind of you 👍.
You can clearly see that the driver turns more aggressively with all the other vehicles and does it smoothly with the Kingswood and makes its body roll seem much less hahaha
Yes. That was my observation too. Plus the Cressida was at a much lower speed. 👍
@@markbehr88 You have to laugh at the advertising industry back then . They obviously figured no one would notice so, let's run with it 🤣🤣
P.S I'd love to see your NU Fairlane mate . It looks gorgeous .
Good cars the XC series. Thank you.
Agree 👍
Love your videos Mark. Apparently Chrysler felt the need to address the CL Valiants' handling after Holden fired the first shot, So,t hey sent a Valiant to America, so the engineers at the big factory could help them make the old girl go around corners.. The US Engineers drove the CL, and said it was the best handling large car in the Chrysler fleet. They were unshure why, anyone would want anything better than that.
So, the Aussies did it themselves. When the wee finished, the CL handled much better... When it came to naming the option, Chrysler had a bit of a sense of humour.. The upgrade was basically Chryslers version of RTS.... So, they called the mandatory option "ME2" (Me too).
I love that story. Thanks 👍👍👍. I knew they upgraded it but didn’t know the details.
In the early eighties big cars were cheap around melbourne...I could have gotten an as traded XC Cobra for 5 grand...This was before i finally found my T code 351 GXL at another yard...witch was only 3 grand in mint condition...cheers...i also had a GS ute for work...Loved those utes with the coupe doors...!
Those were the days hey! 👍
Brilliant cars the XC Falcons. The ad from 1978, using people as witches hats and driving between them to show an audience how well a car handles. Dunno how they even pulled that off but they did and it succeeded. Not something you'd get away with doing now that's for sure. I was quite intrigued with the little known fact you mentioned about the silver Falcon show van and Ford stylist, Peter Arcadipane (assume thats the correct spelling). I did read something about that years ago somewhere but have no recollection but I'm sure people hotted up their Falcon vans to conform to that look of that particular show van. I think I've seen photos of similar vans customised to that look. I wonder what ever happened to Peter Arcadipane. Sounds like he was quite the legendary stylist.
Thanks. I remember the ad at the time and it was a very exciting, compelling response. Peter ran Mercedes Benz global styling for a while and actually styled a car I own (ep on the channel) - the CL500 with the cantilever roof. Great looking car. 👍
@@markbehr88 Ah righto. Yes it would've been. So Peter Arcadipane spent time styling Mercs. That's interesting. Never heard of a cantilever roof before.
@@BlairSauer yes. Smaller at the base of the C pillar than the top. Copied from the Pagoda model. 👍
Man I'd love for my XC wagon to turn half as good as in that ad at the end
@@blackwolfthedragonmaster 👍
I owned a 1977 XC in 1997... she was baby blue with a white vinyl roof. 4.1 and 3-speed manual.
Interesting thing, I found out the gear ratios in the manual and auto were identical.
Really? I did not know that re the ratios? I had a 4.9 Fairmont auto. Cool car. 👍
I was working for Stillwell Ford when these XC Falcons were the current model in 1978 , Stillwell decided to get a batch of white sedans with V8 engines and paint cobra colours on them and put spoilers on them to make them into 4 door cobras
I think I may have seen the odd one of those getting around? 👍
Wow that must’ve been neat! It would’ve been nice to have REAL 4 door performance sedans during that time here in the states.
@@staffy73 Yes, our cars were pretty good I reckon.
Mark my uncle had a red xc the same as the yellow one in you pictures
4:1 4 speed monza red and he kept in inside
I think it was the most amazing car and I use to love going up to his place to look at it
I think I was only in my early teens
I couldn’t believe when he sold it as it still looked like new
I think this car was what Made me a ford person as my dad never bought a Ford 👍👍
I found it amazing to see the much more modern looking Cortina mark 4 being sold alongside XCs in a 1977 dealership photo.
Also how the modern looking dealership format was already around in the early 70s and didn't change much by the 2000s.
I had a GXL FMX 9 inch Auto. Can’t exactly remember the trim but she was like a midnight Blue metallic. Sadly sold her many moons back. But I do have the XC Panel van. It has 351 4v Clevo Auto9 inch Canary yellow. But she is very very rare and beautiful. I don’t think the 351 c 4v is original. I was offered $55,000 k 14 months back but declined as she has been in my life for 30 years. 178,012. Kms. Very nice example. Cheers Dave.👍👍🇦🇺
@@patrickaussieMilartry Very nice Dave. Your GXL would have had a corduroy type cloth interior. 👍
The wagon or van shown atat 3m20s in brown looks a lot like a 1970 or so American dodge dart. Ty for these videos. I, as an American love seeing these. I've never seen anything like this otr here in the US. If it wasn't for mad max, I'd never even know these existed
I always thought yall aussies had the same ford's as we had or maybe the brits.
Glad you’re enjoying the channel 👍
I bought a 1977 Fairmont gxl from Peter Warren Ford Fairfield brand new for $10500. It was a 4,9 engine, 4 speed transmission. It also had the sunroof option. I traded it in on a new F150 from Thompson Ford at Parramatta in 1979. The GXL was very smooth and quiet to drive. Thanks for the video, brings back memories.
@@petermallow Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. Very cool. I had a standard XC Fairmont 4.9. Wish I still had it. A GXL would be much better though. 👍
@@markbehr88I meant to write F100. I still own an F150 1987 assembled at Ford Brisbane plant. I bought it in 1990. Cheers.
@@petermallow Very cool. I have an 86 F250 XLT Lariat with the 460. Episode in the channel. They are great trucks. 👍
@@markbehr88 Thanks, I'll check out the video.
👍
Other than the Toranas the kingswoods were very ordinary after the HQ . The XA XB XC fords were very good cars for the day, roomy powerfull and oh that wrap around dash.XD XE XF were great cars as well
I agree Bill. Great cars 👍
In the Ford book the XC hardtops were at the bottom of the range in sales as people were falling out of love with big two door cars. Either the Cobra would be built or all 400 body shells would be sent to the foundry to be melted down and made into something else. The release of the XC Cobra was a stroke of marketing genius for they all sold extremely quickly. Peter Wherrett said that the GXL was not a GT but the performance came very close with the 5.8. The P6 LTD Silver Monarch with it's plum velour interior the people at Ford head office said it was hideous and that it would never sell. But Peter Gillitzer said "don't underestimate the bad taste of the buying public". He was right too, it sold.
A friend of my dad had a GXL Fairmont with headlights that were half full of water when brand new.
Yes, it was a great way to move the body shells plus give us a great collector car too! I really like the P6 LTD, incl the Silver Monarch. It was quite Bordello on the inside but still looked sumptuous so people bought it, albeit it was fairly low volume versus the standard LTD. They did two renditions of it. The initial Silver and then a Ghost gum grey. 👍
When cars were made properly beautiful cars love this video and it’s content my grandfather was a ford man he also had a vintage wrecking yard with hundreds of fords from T and A models right through to xd same with Holden’s from the 48 -215 fx through to Vb crumble doors and he put all the fords up on the hill and put all the chevs and holdens in the wet parts of the property lol my favourites were the 64 compact Fairlanes and the tear drop head lights 36 37 ford coupes and Ute old bill said to me when I was a boy fords are better have better engines and bigger brakes and more room inside and longer suspension travel than holdens boy
Thanks very much. He sounds like a character. 👍
I had a 77 Falcon, just a standard one with light green metallic paint and a tan interior.
It went extremely well, steered well and was comfortable. Always started first time. I paid $1,500 for it when it was 7 years old. I drove it across Australia with no problems at all.
I kept it for a few years and sold it for $500 with a blown head gasket. Very happy with that car.
@@bossdog1480 Wish they were that cheap now! 😀👍
The Cobra will always be my favourite Falcon
Understandable. They are pretty cool. 👍
Gorgeous cars.
Agreed 👍
The XC Falcon was a smart looking car, they were very comfortable and great for long trips.
@masteryoda498 Agree. I had a Fairmont V8 as my first car. 👍
Another great video Mark. Appreciate the work.
Thanks very much 👍
I remember seeing the XC Fairmont with square headlights for the first time as a kid and thinking how cool it looked. Up until that point I’d only really seen round headlights on cars. As for the Cobra, I reckon it would have to be the greatest looking Australian muscle car of all time - maybe with the exception of the FG FPV F6 variants.
@@davodrums Certainly cool looking cars. My first car was a 4.9 V8 Fairmont sedan. 👍
Here is the latest episode in the Falcon history series. Make sure you check them all out - from XK to XC. And keep an eye out for future episodes by Subscribing and hitting the notification bell. Please also give a like 👍 for the Falcon that was 1977’s most popular car plus the 1977 Bathurst 1 - 2 Winner. Thanks for watching. 👍
Ah excellent description of a very popular model.
The XC Falcon was the first model that ever outsold the rival Holden in a Complete Year, not just a month. It won 1-2 at Bathurst in 1977, and it offered the biggest range of body types, engines, transmissions, trim levels and more.
It was the first European influenced model, albeit on a heavily American flavoured Australian built base launched a number of years earlier.
Thanks. Great summary! 🙏
How was it European influenced? Handling maybe, but fail to get that vibe. To me it's American flavoured but with a more restrained Aussie flair. I think we made the best looking regular cars in the world.
@@jamesfrench7299 More American influenced but with European elements creeping in - rectangular lights on Fairmont, blackout on series 2 instead of silver or chrome. More subtle elements like that before XD 👍
I get it now. The mildly facelifted XC of 1977 was considered a stopgap model I read, the first appearance of the blue oval badge on a Falcon, in the grill, was what really stood out and looked really smart and modernised it quite a bit.
Basically the HX competed with early XC and the later XC must have been a response to the HZ model.
Chrysler were late to the show with the CM taking over from the CL, with it's own surprisingly good handling improvements which the final few months of the CL also recieved.
The result was three good looking choices in the later XC, HZ and CM for such a short period of time. The Chrysler made up for it's late offering by lingering around longer.
@@jamesfrench7299 Yes, you got it 👍
Those homologated XC Cobra's would be quite valuable now.
Absolutely 👍
Really great Mark! Our XC wagon was such a faithful workhorse. There's a photo in our album of my wife sound asleep in the front bucket seat. Great seats, great mechanical's (once the pollution gear was removed) only ever put a clutch in it. Not so much as a wheel bearing. Simple to own and simple to fix back when life was simpler.. :)
Thanks. Agreed. Those wagons were terrific cars 👍
Fairmont GXL- what a machine that was back in the day!
Agreed 👍
🥝✔️ Great article, MB. Interestingly, Mad Max was filmed after 1979, and the Concorde front end known as a "Monza" front end, was used. Had Ford used this already promoted low drag front end clip as the basis for the fortified Falcon Cobra, and had the roller rockers and Steel crank been homologated on 30 cars, Ford could have met the A9X GM& P race car full on for the Australian Touring Car Championship. The 4V engine and all the high performance four bolt block parts were still able to be used under the homologation production. For the Falcon Hardtops to falter so sadly in a line with such pedigree for 78 and 79 was like a declaration of surrender after some of the best Ford wins on the race track.
Mad Max was filmed in 1977 and released in 1979. Mad Max ll was released in 1981.
@@noelgibson5956 Thanks!
Well said!
I can't believe they picked on the 240K. It had aircon, AM AND FM radio with a cassette. Bucket seats, IRS with a price point better than the Kingswood. The CL and CM Valiants handle quite well once one learned how to drive them. Loving the vids. Should do one on the Victa ads!
I do like the 240K. I think Holden felt they were losing sales to those types of cars (they were and so was Ford and Chrysler). 👍
I read the 240z was more expensive than a 4.2l Hq premier
@@rjbiker66 The 240Z yes but the 240K similar $ to the Holden. 👍
I had the XB wagon and later the XC sedan special edition. Loved the XC , left the XB for dead.
Interesting. I liked both but expect the XC would be the better car in many ways. 👍
Great video, I never released how many different opinions were available back then , I own a 77 XC falcon wagon with a 351 , love it 👍
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Please check out the full Falcon playlist. 👍
I owned a xc gs rally pack for ten years, fantastic car.
They were 👍
To me , I think the XC series Fords were the Best looking cars around at the time , and STILL look Good to this day . That includes the ZH Fairlane too .
It was absolutely TRUE that the HZ RTS Holdens handled better than just about ANYTHING else at the time , in the weight class , obviously .
I agree with you. I have a ZH and love it. There will be a series on Fairlanes down the track 👍
Great vid well done mate!, always liked the XC's they were the last and the best of the 70's big Fords in my opinion, had a 302 C4 auto XC Fairmont wagon back in the early 90's and what a lovely comfortable riding thing that long wheelbase wagon was and way more practical than the silly SUV things we get now, I wish I kept it but unfortunately you cannot hold onto everything.
I can attest that the ADR27A engines fitted to the HX Holdens were bloody awful, my father had a new HX Kingswood as a company car and it was a pig, hard to start, no power, constant tuning issues and drank like you wouldn't believe, fortunately the company picked up the fuel tab. As with most big 70's Holdens it was strong, comfortable and well-built but those engines really let the car down, Ford and Chrysler did a much better job of making their engines ADR27A compliant.
I always found it interesting that Holden didn't compare the HZ to their previous models when they were sprucing Radial Tuned Suspension, guess they didn't want to embarrass themselves, and yes I love Fords response, especially at the end where they give the witches hat the boot.
Was a fantastic car, hated the 6 but the 351 Cleveland is a great engine. They rusted really bad but its not hard to fix . Great car and the fairlane is a beautiful car.
Yes, the V8’s were the pick. Rust was a problem for sure, which is why the survivors are big $$$. 👍
This presentation is awesome, I was a 1st year apprentice at Ford in 1977 and the XC is still one of my favorite Ford cars. I loved the Cobra's but I have a soft spot for the GXL 5.8 Coupe. Subscribed and liked
Thanks very much and I appreciate the sub and the Like too 👍
Watching that ad with the TE cortina performing poorly. I had one as my first car, worst handling and bump steer I’ve ever experienced. Great as a first car though, you could get out of shape at 20kph, so much fun when 17!
Yes, the handling was like a lead tipped arrow. 😳👍
Had a 1978 Fairmont Sedan and wish I had it today.
Yes. I had a 77 V8 Fairmont 👍
I had a Fairmont 4.1 litre. Slowest car I've ever driven. Great videos man.
Thanks very much. They were a lot better with the V8’s 👍
Wow those ads were a flashback. I hadn't seen or thought about them since they first aired. Ford really came back with a slap down 😆
Glad you liked them 👍
First I saw any glimpse of the XC rebuttal ad was excerpts included in a 1980s Ford ad campaign("we're moving with you" jingle) and remember wondering what that was from. Only saw the original ad thanks to YT many years later. Seeing excepts in the 80s ad made it look tantalising seeing that mean looking front clip looking at you as it swayed side to side. What a badass visual.
Re the Holden RTS ad, you can clearly see they're not gentler with the steering inputs in the Kingswood compared to the others, especially the poor 4.1 Cortina lol where wheel is being flicked around!
@@jamesfrench7299 I think “Ford Australia - We’re Moving with you” is circa 1980-2 (XD/XE). Yes, re the harsher steering inputs - throwing the cars more offline. Although the HZ was a good handler for sure to be fair.
@@markbehr88 And the Cortina six was certainly not haha.
@@jamesfrench7299 Ain’t that the truth! 👍
I had a 351 4 speed GXL back in the day what a great car!
You lucky duck 👍
Good stuff , the GXL was nice .
@@mikldude9376 Thanks 👍
Cars were cars back then and ford rules, excellent doco mate
Thanks Tony. I agree. Great cars back then. 👍👍
Great information. I like Ozzy cars, I was in Oz as a backpacker in 2011 and had an AU Ford Falcon Forte waggon. I toured around in it up and down the East coast then went East to West from Mel to Perth before going home to UK again. The Ozzy cars of the 60's and 70's are really interesting, this XC Falcon seems to be American mid sized bodied with a mix of American and European styling elements. The Cobra does have a hint of Euro Ford Capri on the grill but American Ford Torino about the body shape. The Ozzy cars seem to have had the best of both worlds with decent power plants compared to the usually gutless Euro Fords and mid sized American bodies with Euro styling highlights here and there. The American cars of this era were often full of gimmicks and quite chintzy with too much chrome etc, but that is my opinion. The wagon is nice, although in my opinion looks better with the dual round headlights instead of the square ones. Although I had a 1999 AU Falcon in Oz its all I could afford, what I really wanted was an FG XR6 Turbo 😃.
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Agreed many Australian cars took the best of the US and Europe. Your AU Forte wagon would have been bullet proof. I have a V8 AU Fairmont wagon (eps on the channel) and love it. 👍
A lovely little video a great car.
Thanks very much. 👍
Thank you Mark. I started the video yesterday and had to stop. I was going to say this generation Falcon looks like an American Ford on the front end styling. Thank you for explaining the headlights. It did not look good with the single units. It looked better with the quad/four unit design. The Sundown van must have competed with the Holden Sandman. The series is interesting as we see just how much Ford Australia diveraged from American Ford. It is sad how Ford and GM used to be so global in terms of reach, now they are not. I see Ford was sharing parts between models like Holden. Thank you for the informative well thought out video. The RTS was a Pontiac thing. It seems it was a Holden thing too. Thank you for mentioning Holden. The commercial at the end was interesting.
Thanks Olds98. Agree the history is fascinating. Duncan McRae had replaced Jack Telnack as head of Ford Australia Design and he had a stronger US theme running through the cars, especially the Fairlane and LTD (I will do those later). 👍
@@markbehr88 Thank you for explaining the design influence. Yes, you clearly see American Ford. I see Grand Torino, Mustang and Maverick in the designs. Jack Telnack as you know did the Taurus and Able in the 80's. He turned Ford North America around. I look forward to see Fairlane and LTD. I expect to see Lincoln design cues.
@@OLDS98 I agree. Plenty of those styling cues in there. 👍
I always love the coupe & its a pity Ford didnt make a coupe in the Ba F.P.V G.T man that would have been awesome
Yes. There was an AU Coupe show car someone did back in the day. Nothing on the XA to XC hardtops though 👍
I like the GS hood scoops offered for some models.
Yes the GS pack was terrific. Holden should have done something similar.
Enjoyed the mini XC Documentary
Maybe of interest .. 4 only
XC FALCON 500's sedans were ordered by Nsw Police - Assembled in Dec 1978 ..
T code 351
FMX
K- MAC Lowered SUSPENSION
4 Wheel disc brake
Tramp rod on 9 inch 2:75 ratio
Dual cross over exhaust
GS grille
Twin mirror
Interceptor - unmarked.
If you were fortunate .. the build sheet is still taped under the glovebox tray compartment ..
Cheers.
Thanks Nathan. Very interesting. Check out the Playboy edition episode too if you haven’t already. 👍
worked for a Ford dealer in the time. One owner had a 351 bronze with parchment roof Fairmont GXL. Great looking car. The other had a red 351 Coupe with all options, 4 speed manual. Drove that from time to time. Had to sell when the XD's came out, which was regretted by all as only 6 cylinder. Traded a Phase 3 GTHO on the coupe, which I think was listed for $14000. It sat around in rural NZ for some time, and then one day it was gone. Never seen again. Always thought the XC's were the best looking cars, esp the bronze GXL Fairmont.
Great cars hey? 👍
Awesome video. Thank you
Thanks Nick! 👍
I had a very early production Falcon 500 4.1 auto, bought new in September 1976. ADR 27A was an unmittigated disaster in terms of decreased performance and increased fuel consumption. It was bad for Ford and worse for Holden; their six was a pig of an engine. The Falcon's PBR brake booster was subject to an early recall, the pressure-limiting valve being sometimes installed back to front, which caused wheel lock-up problems. Bonnet catches were an issue, too. The flat face of the standard instruments meant that they could become unreadale in certain sunlight conditions, plus the oblong headlamps where fitted were prone to premature rusting of the reflectors. Those negatives aside, they were good long-distance cruisers, though the spare wheel placement was rubbish; the Leyland P76 did that far better.
Interesting that Holden crossed-shopped the Kingswood against the Datsun 240K, as we at Datsun didn't really see them as being direct competitors. The 240K was definitely well-equipped for the day and went very nicely. I remember taking one out from Datsun Distribution at Braeside, down what is today the M11 to Frankston and being quite impressed with the car. The Skyline which followed it was even better.
Good info. Thanks. I agree the 240K was not really a direct competitor. More someone who wanted well equipped and couldn’t afford Euro or didn’t want the reliability issues.
Keep them coming, please
Thanks Barry. I will. Keep watching and Subscribing 😀👍
Love the XC hardtop. Best looking Aussie car ever, IMO.
Just wished that the Falcon Hardtop had a wider rear track, otherwise it would be perfect.
@@nigelbritton964 you could fit some pretty wide tyres to it though! 👍
Me too. I would love a 5.8 Fairmont.
I remember this stuff everywhere. Now you don't see base models.
That’s right 👍
G'day Mark,
Great story on the XC my second favourite after the XA especially the Falcon GS with the 4 lights & scoops just look awesome.
My introduction to the XC was about 1978 or 1979 as a 8 or 9 year old at my neighbour house party being all Greek in Sunshine, John who was alot older than all of us because he had his licence at the time, flared pants looked like Barry Gibbs with his hair rolls up to the party in his new car his parents bought him.
A XC Falcon Cobra Hardtop.
Upto that point cars were cars to me but when that blue & white machine came around the corner from Hampshire Rd into Benjamin Street & the noise & how cool John looked I wanted to be John from Altona.
Still etched in my memory it was the most beautiful car I have ever seen up until then.
Then my uncle got a Fairmont 5.8 wagon that was gorgeous throughout the 80's.
All the Sunshine Boys that would cruise Bouverie Street Carlton in 1988 & 1989 all had XC's.
Fairmont GXL
Fairmont Hardtop's
GS Hardtop's
About 10 XC's in the gang all tough back in 88 & 89 XC's were not cheap.
I was only guy into Mopar's, Bouverie Street, Carlton lots of memories lost my licence 25 months & my dad's van impounded for 7 months.
Yeah XC hardly see them these days back in the 80's everywhere.
Love the series
Cheers
Louis Kats 👍
Great memories hey Louis. They were certainly more plentiful back then too. Great days 👍
@@markbehr88 👍
As a kid, I always wanted a GXL. In '89, I picked up a heavily optioned '77 Fairmont GS in Steel Blue with a 4.9 auto. The only options missing were the 5.8 and long range tank. It had it all fast glass, factory sunroof, air, 4 wdb, lsd, twin exhaust, GXL wheels, and so on. It was a great cruising car.
Very cool. My first car was a 1977 Ford Fairmont XC sedan with the 4.9 V8. No power steer though.
Had an XC Fairmont GXL351, beautiful car.
Lucky you 👍
@@markbehr88 Not so much, I only had it for a few months when a 'mate' crashed it into a fence. It was totaled. Took the insurance money & bought an XA GT with it. 👍
@@sentimentalbloke185 a sad ending but at least you got an XA GT out of it. I hope you didn’t let your mate drive that one? 😀
@@markbehr88 nope. lol
@@sentimentalbloke185 😀👍
Thoroughly enjoyed that Mark. Thank you
Thanks very much 👍
A very interesting video. I’m a Holden man but I think the XA-XC were quite handsome cars especially the more sports styled units. If I remember correctly the Sundowner also came with a two piece horizontal tailgate like the Holden Sandman. Most Ford panel vans came with barn doors on the back but I can’t remember if the tailgate was an option on all the Ford panel vans or was just it the Sundowner. RTS certainly made a huge difference on the HZ over the previous HX and the difference on the upper control arm is quite obvious when you compare the two but why did Holden have to go to Germany to get it developed, couldn’t the engineers here figure it out. Cheers.
Thanks. Glad you liked it. Yes re the Sundowner rear doors. Ford offered either for their vans as far as I recall? 👍
This went very well!
Thanks 👍
XC falcons were the best
@@Magpie_Mark92 I like the XC too. 👍
I still drool over Group C XC hardtops like Carters Moffats and Johnsons reverse Cobra !
They were some of the best looking race cars ever made. 👍
An apprentice I worked with in 1978 drove into work one morning driving a Cobra. He said his dad bought two cobras one for him and one for his dad. Can’t remember his name but he said driving he was always being pulled over by police.
Lucky bloke. I hope he still has it! 👍
Great video Mark, and boy oh boy what I would give for those cars to be put on sale again, this stuff today, yes its safer and all that nice stuff, but these old girls are the go, great video, can't wait to watch the one on the XD and XE if at all possible.👍
Thanks very much Jamie. I agree. Terrific cars. Stay tuned (Subscribed) for the XD, XE and more 👍.
Thanks Mark, will do mate, thanks for your hard work on the XC cars, I grew up with the XC, XD, XE era, and I love the things 👍
@@jamiebeverley9705 My pleasure 👍
I always enjoyed my XC and XD, with the XD in particular striking me as a most handsome design. The front indicators set the entire vehicle apart from all others. My XD was the Fairmont variant, which could be driven to Melbourne to Sydney and take the trip in its stride, leaving me and my passengers relaxed, and comfortable. Those large supportive seats were like armchairs, giving plenty of thigh support. Something missing in the Commodore, which always felt like a pencil to drive. In addition, the XE panel van, when unloaded, went like shit off a shovel, with many of my passengers thinking the motor was a 5 litre V8. The advantages of lightweight count for a lot. I wished for a rally pack interior with the sexy steering wheel and the full instrumentation, as a young Turk.
Yes,I love the XC and XD too. If you look on my short videos you’ll see a very rare XD 5.8 van. So cool. 👍
@@markbehr88 Yeah, I have checked out a number of your other shows. It takes me back. Very high calibre work, thank you.
@@Steven-p4j Thanks very much. 👍
Nice Work! An associate had a Fairmont GXL 351 back in the day, can confirm 4 wheel discs and a 9" diff, mean machine...
Thanks. That was the “GT power pack”. Very cool. 👍
Hi Mark, hope your well, anther good looking Falcon XC. Nice smooth looking car space is plenty in the Estate/wagon, I thought the head lights were very similar to the UK Ford Granada Mk1 ( which was also produced in Germany for the LHD market ) a good in depth on this car as the older models available as Hard top ( coupe ), Ute (pick up) , Van, I must say it is a nice looking car, I know I've said this many a time it's a shame we didn't get this range of Fords in Wales or the UK. There is a pick (1:23 in to the video) Falcon Wagon with a UK reg plate ( WBM 842 S ) that tells me it's a 1977-78 the letter on the end of the plate "S" which is a 77-78. As always your the one I turn to for cars in Australia, Catch you soon Take care 👍
Thanks Shaun. Glad you liked it. I thought you might like the UK wagon pic 👍
Excellent episode Mark. This Falon series is a must watch.
Thanks very much 👍👍
Iv never thought much of the XCs but I found a new respect for them and didn't know of all the variations. Also I've always wanted to know if the ad with all the racing champs lined up was real or staged? They seem to move as much as cardboard cut outs but when the falcon flies past Moffat his pants move in the wind
Glad you liked it. It was the actual drivers in the TV ad. 👍
Hi Mark thanks for the presentation.Too bad the Cobras had the 27A engine 😐anyway they still looked great.
Yes. Nothing that some basic mods wouldn’t fix. Thanks for the compliment 👍
Great presentation learned alot. The only thing that Ford suffered from in the V8 variants was the transition from the top bottom tank radiators, in the XW & XY to the crossflow radiator in the XA series Falcon. Of course that decision eventually led to the demise of the V8 as they mostly suffered head gasket problems .
Thanks very much 👍👍
Another great vid Mark Cheers👍. I love the XC GXL's
I remember in around 2002 i think it was my brothers friend bought a dark blue XC GXL from Sid ellis motors in Braybrook for $300 the body was rusty but it ran & drove. It was a 302 & C4. He ended up selling it to my neighbour at the time who took all the running gear out & scrapped the body
Thanks very much. Sadly, many met that fate, which is why survivors are worth $$$$ now. 👍
@@markbehr88 yes unfortunately:(
@@chrisF351 😢
thankyou
Glad you liked it. Check out the other Falcon history videos on the playlist. 👍
@@markbehr88 my fish love the helium 3 and 4 in the motor's. V8s are like prawns and lobsters crayfish and crill. They capture moonlight and use it. Which is helium 3 and 4. Love forfs
I remember the Radial Tuned Suspension package 📦 pioneered by Holden.
In my native New Zealand 🇳🇿 it also was a feature on the GM ( NZ ) assembly line with the smaller UK sourced vehicle known as the Vauxhall Chevette ( code 202 ) known as the "Enduro".
New Zealand only built CKD kits with ohv motor from smaller capacity Viva ( hb holden torana ) range.
No ohc slant for the Chevette in NZ.
A few retro swaps may have taken place from the UK sourced Bedford CF range.
Looked like TE Cortina had the most body roll, however, this was a different car with that large falcon six engine.
We in New Zealand got a variety of engine displacement in NZ from both UK & Australia.
The Kent, Pinto, Cologne & Falcon.
PS - that falcon engine made an appearance in a few places over the ditch in NZ too with the locally imported Transit.
Thanks for the Ford Falcon XC review, I believe I counted twelve variations to the theme.
BTW - it was New Zealander Denny Hulme whom raced the smaller capacity Chevette locally.
A more austere model was called the Chevanne. ❤
Thanks for the info and glad you enjoyed the video. Radial Tuned Suspension was actually a feature that came from Pontiac- even down to the badge. 👍
Holden borrowed the RTS term from Pontiac usa. They had introduced RTS a few years earlier with similar handling improvements.
@@rjbiker66That’s exactly right 👍
How good was that concord van ❤❤
Yes. Very cool. I just bought a 1/43rd scale replica of it. 👍
FANTASTIC...Mark , you are amazing doing these awesome and informative vids ...Huge Ford fan and owned at least one of each main letter designation... I had a 1975 XB Ute , 1984 XE GL , 1996 EF Futura , AU Futura (still got her 21 years on ) Bought a 2001 build in early 2003 , a 2003 BA Fairmont Ghia and traded that in March 2016 bought my gorgeous April build so one of the first 2008 FG XR6's... All six cylinder cars ,, All beaut cars .. Had also a Ford Telstar (1986 AS) three different Escort cars and a .1.3 litre Escort panel van ... Blue all the way .....Will look forward to the AU and FG vids especially ...Thank you so much...
Thanks very much Rodney. Very kind of you and glad you are enjoying the series. Wow, you have certainly had a great selection of Fords! Like the Shannons ad I made with the XM Squire “Like Dad, I’ve always been a Ford man” 👍
Great show fantastic 🚘 cars
Thanks Nick 👍
Great video as always, Mark. As someone who grew up in the 1970s, they bring back a lot of memories. Any plans to do a Holden series?
Thanks David. I will definitely do Holdens and Chryslers in the future. 👍👍
7:24 you know it'd be funny to know if the XC cobra is what inspired the mad max car, as the bodywork honestly looks so close its ridiculious, like the mad max car always came across a combo of the XC and the Holden Comodore, the race car they used at Bathurst is where they got the flares from, with a more aerodynamic front and then the drag scoop
like its a great combo, regardless of where they got the idea from, but I've always thought of the XC basically being the interceptor in factory form.
and if they do another film, they should have him just find one in the desert and roll with that lol
and you actually saw the XC van in person? jesus that's pretty cool! and you gotta consider that thing looks just as out there today as it did back then, which I would say is very much a styling win
Even some of the work done by Herb Grasse and also Brian Rossi, Peter Arcardipane would be the main influences I guess.
One of my early cars as a 19/20 yo. Fairmont GXL 4.9. Green all over til i put the black vinyl roof on it. To have that back in the driveway...
Good memories hey Kim 👍
G'day Mark. Another ripper video. Nice looking car. I've heard of the Ford XC Falcon.
Thanks Jason 👍
@@markbehr88 How crazy is that? A yank such as myself using Aussie lingo, eh? 🤣
@@jasoncarpp7742 soon, you’ll be putting “a shrimp on the barbie”. (We don’t really do that). 😀👍
@@markbehr88 ROFFL! 🤣
Waited a long time for the XC vid Mark, worth the wait. I had the XC Falcon 5.8 GS Rally Sport, white with back vinyl roof. A great cruising car, and glad for the bragging rights. Also had the XR 170ci, XA Fairmont 302, EB2 Fairmont , Fairmont EF2, FG G6E, all great cars in their own right.
Thanks very much. Glad you liked it. Sounds like you’ve had some really nice Fords over the years? 👍
Great video. Brings back lots memories
Thanks Phil 👍
What a great, great episode Mark!! It also helps that the XC is easily my favourite of the third generation Falcons and possibly my actual overall favourite. I think my Falcon preferences have a pattern thus far -- XP, XY, XC -- the last iteration of each generation (although the insipid and uninspired XF ruins that pattern.....).
Just how good do the GXLs and GS packs look!!!
A point of trivia -- the Citroen importers (the name slips my mind) were considering bringing out an ad for their large car at the time (could have been the CX) doing a slalom ad but on three wheels! (Due to weight distribution and the oleo-pnumatic suspension found on higher spec Citroens, they could drive along quite happily with a rear wheel removed). I wish they had've gone ahead with that!!
And a second point of trivia -- the headlight from the GXL was also used on an Australian produced aftermarket fairing (La Parisienne???) for the Honda Goldwing. It definitely stood out.....
Looking forward to the XD episode. Late 1978 to early 1979 represented such a quantum shift for Australian cars with the focus moving from American-inspired cars to European.
Thanks very much for your comments and info. I also own some Citroen GS models and one of the episodes on the channel has a foreign ad where they are driving a slalom on three wheels! Agree a huge transition coming up for XD episode. 👍👍
Great video, l owned both a xb and xc, the xb was definitely my favourite.
Thanks very much. I hope you’ll check out the others on the channel 👍
Damn Mark, that was brilliant. Thanks for the work you put into this presentation!
Hi Peter. So nice to have you on the channel and thanks for the compliments. I am a Subscriber to Peter’s channel and thoroughly recommend it to others. 👍
The HZ may have handled, but it certainly didn't go! The 202 was wheezy and the Trimatic was troublesome.
The 253 performed like a six from the era, and a modern four would blow the doors off it.
HZ 202 with extractors made a big improvement
Yes, it is fair to say the engines in the Holdens needed more work. The eventual injected 5 litre V8 in the VN was excellent and would have been great in the HZ and WB series along with the Turbo 700 auto trans.
@@markbehr88 202 was 6pot for us poor blokes formula HQ 6pot was for boy racers good aussie fun
@@Eric-kn4yn yes. They could be made to go but out of the box were pretty slow (unintentional rhyme) 👍
Czech skoda selling well here australia could have done same or better with our auto industry its sad
Great Video Mate
Thanks Costa 👍
Great stuff Mark I look forward to the next video
Thanks very much. Check out the Falcon history playlist. I just uploaded the EF and all the Falcon models in between are there. 👍
A great time when people drove cars not imitation 4wd's - SUV's
Across the ditch in New Zealand, Harry Firth Holden & Fords pop up occasionally 😊 with the 4wd conversions ❤
Spot on 👍
Fantastic work, Loved it!
Thank you 👍
Nice work as always Mark. I love the XA/XB/XC models.
Thanks very much Dan 👍
Great Video! I actually own the black XC Fairmont Wagon pictured in your video. Very informative keep up the great work!
Thanks very much. Lucky you re the Fairmont wagon. Nice car 👍
The son of one of my dads friends won a Brand new Camira when they were first launched. Immediately traded it for a 4.9l Cobra.Crashed and destroyed that over in under 2 weeks.Hate to think what it would be worth nowadays!
He had great taste for the trade in. Poor abilities for the drive in 😀👍
After the XC toppled the HX in sales something had to be done and the HZ obviously was Holden's response. Personally though I thought the HX's dashboard was way better than the XC's all black plastic effort. Yes the Ford reply add with the witches hats was very clever. Very video enjoyable to watch Mar. Cheers.
The sports dash on the Holdens was good ala GTS. Yes, love the old ads too.
Holden also featured one of the first multifunction stalks which carried on in the Commodore.
Holden were always in front of Ford with interior design.
@@jamesfrench7299 Yes re the multi function stalk although I much prefer the XA cockpit dash to the HQ dash for example or the HJ strip speedo.
True that. But the XB Falcon was weird in it approach in putting the horn on the indicator stalk. I noticed that Chrysler just used the same system as the Galant with the VK Valiant with wipers and headlight flashers/dimmer being stalk controlled. The Valiant was first with hazzard flashers however. Dashboards though? Holden for sure and their GTS dash was even better (although losing a bit of exclusivity with the HZ matt black treatment) and the Deville and Caprice where miles ahead of the Fairlane.
Don't know what Holden were thinking with a horrible strip speedo after HQ's more modern looking dash effort. It didn't even have a temp guage, making do with a warning light. Better than nothing I suppose.
I was always impressed how the XC had white reverse lamps while the other two persisted with amber. It was a nice touch.
I agree, the HX dash was light years ahead of the XCs which looked nearly a decade out of date.
Mark...the white 351 GS sedan you did a short video on and mentioned it might have been a cop car ?...it could also have been a Moffat special... maybe ?...cheers.
Possibly. Most (if not all?) the Moffat specials were 302s as far as I am aware. Like the Goss specials. 👍
You were right...all 302 GS falcons i checked the moffat Ford forums...The 351 sure would have given them more street cred...hey !
@@romemancer7905 Yes, not sure why they didn’t offer it as an option? 👍
The XC also got a new dashboard and interior trim.
Yes. That is true. I let the pictures do the talking for the dash. The GXL had the corduroy interior as mentioned. 👍
Hi Mark, good video.
I have a memory that the XC marked a return to the blue oval Ford logo and the F O R D style was banished. I remember reading that was a ruling by Edsel II when he arrived at Ford Australia. Do you recall if this was the case?
Thanks. Yes, that’s correct. It was one of the first Ford cars in the world during the 1970’s to adopt the Ford logo. 👍
The GS front is the best looking imho. Prefer it to the single, or square lights, but there all cool as.
@@Timoth_666 Yes the GS looks terrific. 👍
i loved my 77 bathurst homologated coupe. still have not driven a better car,
Very nice machine! 👍