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So they are effectively a Granada are they? I never really drew the parallel, although they do have a similar look to them. The chap across the road from me has an XE Fairmont wagon, effectively the same shape, but with a facelifted front end, it is simply HUGE. The Ford Falcons (the base version of the LTD) has been an australian only design from about 1972. The 60s cars were based on the US Falcons but with significant changes from about '65/66 onwards The 79-86 era cars (The one in Darren's first post) have nothing to do with the European Granada MK2, apart from similar styling. They are significantly bigger and are body on frame straight 6/V8 cars. The current Falcon is still an Aussie designed RWD car. You are most likely to see a new one in the UK as a hearse or funeral limo, as they are one of the few RWD platforms left to build on, now that Volvo have gone FWD, and Jaguars/Mercs are too expensive for many firms. Have a look at the cardinal and dorchester on this website: www.coleman-milne.co.uk/colemanmilne/do_funeralVehicles |
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Saru
Part of things
No Brand Loyalty
Posts: 460
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Two things spring to mind: 1) Why would you bother when you could buy a UK-Spec Granada? Are they much bigger or anything? 2) They have a very odd rear door/wheelarch relationship  Any pics of other LTDs would be cool ;D I know that other people have touched on this, but to be clear: 1) An LTD (or a Fairlane which is just a lower-spec of the same car) is freakin' massive. They are longer, higher and wider than an early 80s BMW 7-series, for example. I would say that they are Volvo 740 wagon sized, if not bigger. 2) Because Ford.AU are cheapskates (I kid, I kid because I love) they used the short-wheelbase falcon doors on the long wheelbase cars. The Fairlane and LTD are built on the wagon wheelbase, hence the "gap" between the door and the arch. IIRC someone mentioned something about body-on-frame with regard to the current Aussie Falcons, Fairlanes and LTDs? If that means monocoque, then yes; if that means separate chassis, then no. My Dad had two Fairlanes in the same body style as the one in DarrenW's first post as company cars. Both had the 4.1L 6 with 3-speed slushbox. The first one, in about 1986 was Gold with fawn velour interior and the 2nd one was a silver "Sportsman" edition which meant different material on the seats and dark grey body cladding below the rubbing strips. The silver car had a full-on electric dash with bar-graph tacho and so on. The silver car also had all the 80s luxo-barge features you could want including auto-swivelling A/C vents, illuminated locks on the doors, cruise-control buttons on the steeringwheel etc etc etc. This was in 1987 so all of those features were a big deal. |
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1974 Saab 99 EMSI bought a new car. It's 35 years old. My friends said I was mad. We'll see.
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'Any pics of other LTDs would be cool ;D' My LTD ![]() [/img]http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/album_photo.html?c_photo=84159684 |
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^^^^^^^ Linked correctly below Cool car BTW   |
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Last Edit: Nov 8, 2006 12:58:55 GMT by Deleted
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our local funeral director has just bought a fleet of of aussie ford fairmonts and he loves them, much better than his granadas he says.
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"quote hairnet"
I'm not paying nine pound for a pi$$!
[/quote]
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our local funeral director has just bought a fleet of of aussie ford fairmonts and he loves them, much better than his granadas he says. I would have thought the aussie Fords would be more robust than the Mk3 Grannys/Scorpios, which always seemed to me to weather the years a lot worse than the Mk2s, possibly due to thinner metal? |
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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TRhe LTD at the beginning is a XD base .Most ,if not all,were 6 cylinder powered as the V8 engine wasn't being made by Ford at that time .Ford Australia used to make it's own engines and these are the desirable thin wall ones known to Ford Cognocenti as the "mexican Block" ...made in Melbourne Australia.  Ford sold hundreds of thousands of XD's .Possibly the most reviled car on the road ,you can buy a good rust free runniing car for a few hundred dollars and it's not unusual to be offered a free one occaisionally. That being said,Australia taxi fleet was al XD falcon at one stage as Ford offer a 'Taxi pack' with the bigger wheels and heavy suspension. A mate had the contract to service the trannys* in Sydneys taxis and made millions from it.He then started a wrecking Biz and his biggest turn over items were XD falcon bits so he bought all the old cabs.Hundreds of them.... ;D ;D * thats "automatic transmissions" not 'gender nonspecific' persons.... |
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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Saru
Part of things
No Brand Loyalty
Posts: 460
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ROFL @ mercmad. Lovely work, sir!
Falcon taxis still blow trannys after about 200,000kms, according to the drivers I've spoken to recently.
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1974 Saab 99 EMSI bought a new car. It's 35 years old. My friends said I was mad. We'll see.
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Nov 20, 2006 21:33:28 GMT
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I know a guy in e yorks has that lovley mint seventies mid met green LTD landau coupe MINT mint. my eyes popped out when I saw it. he acquired it in a swap for a moggie minor unbelievably. hands off as its mine next. stumm. prob no better a weirdo oddball example of big 70s coupe-ness could be had unless you were to chance upon a Leyland P76 Force 7 I very much doubt! Or a CROWN coupe |
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Last Edit: Nov 20, 2006 21:34:10 GMT by tonyCROWN
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Nov 20, 2006 22:13:09 GMT
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Unless I'm very much mistaken thats another YANK Ford LTD. |
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Nov 21, 2006 16:42:02 GMT
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i used to own one of only 7 Ford Fairmont GT's imported from oz to the uk, same shape as that orange falcon (mad max's beasty was a falcon) but slightly up specced, mine was rusty and dented by the time i got it, but it had a big block 460ci motor fitted in it and a detriot locker in a 9" ford rear and American racing 5 spoke magnessium alloys on it, was a beast with cherry bombs and scaffold poles for exhausts, and it weighed just over 2 tons and still managed to eat my mates well built 3.1 triple carbed mk1 capri for breakfast.  8mpg on a run though. :S |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Nov 21, 2006 16:56:48 GMT
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our local funeral director has just bought a fleet of of aussie ford fairmonts and he loves them, much better than his granadas he says. I would have thought the aussie Fords would be more robust than the Mk3 Grannys/Scorpios, which always seemed to me to weather the years a lot worse than the Mk2s, possibly due to thinner metal? mk2 grannies were the first car ford had computer designed, they were not 100% sure of their technology so they were over engineered as far as body strength went, built TOO tough as it were, its one of the reasons banger racers love em, and tracks have to have non ford days to let any one else have a chance. I managed to ram an irritating person up the  in one of my mk2's hard enough to bend the boot on his cav salloon onto the floor and wedge his back wheels so the wouldnt turn, it cost me two headlights two indicators, a smashed plastic grill and a flattened bumper, it didnt even bend the bonnet, and when my cousin hit the back of the same car in his (new) sierra, it lifted my back bumper up just enough to chip one back light, but his sierra was flatened enough to push the rad back onto the water pump. here is the offending vehicle, and you better believe it got abused to get it as dented as it was. (note the CB arial nailed to the door) and both headlights still without glass (hey, they carried on working so why bother? ahhh they were the days)  |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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cardo
Part of things
Posts: 49
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Nov 21, 2006 17:04:44 GMT
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The Fairmont you had didn't happen to be blue did it?
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1995 Mercedes W124 E300D Wagon
1990 Eunos Roadster 1600
1993 Eunos Roadster 1800 Hillclimb car
1997 Eunos Roadster 1800 B2 Ltd
1999 Lotus Elise Sport 135
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Nov 21, 2006 17:54:44 GMT
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nope, it was orange with the bottom foot or so covered in underseal black to stop bits falling off. |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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8mpg on a run though. :S