Yours truely on an automotive podcast!

Thanks for the pictures and comments about those cars...a Nissan-powered Hokden, WOW, never heard of that. If you wanna put up pics of these Chrysler cars from the 70's feel free, I love being educated on cars I don't know about!

Btw I love your Falcon and REALLY like that bright blue version you posted. I follow a guy on YouTube from Australia called Motoring Box and he just got THAT version and he's a great follow

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Klasse Act said:
Thanks for the pictures and comments about those cars...a Nissan-powered Hokden, WOW, never heard of that. If you wanna put up pics of these Chrysler cars from the 70's feel free, I love being educated on cars I don't know about!

Btw I love your Falcon and REALLY like that bright blue version you posted. I follow a guy on YouTube from Australia called Motoring Box and he just got THAT version and he's a great follow

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WARNING - THREAD DERAIL INCOMING -

I have been lucky enough to own four Falcon's and driven more than I can remember. Australian Falcon's came in various body styles over the 56 years it was in production including sedan, wagon, utility, van, hardtop coupe, long wheel-base sedan and extra long-wheel base sedan. They had pretty basic origins but evolved through the years and were so very suited to the Australian market.

My first car was this second hand 2001 Fairmont Sedan. The color was called Barossa Red and it really rewarded effort -



The Fairmont made way for a brand new FG Falcon XR6 in 2008. I factory ordered this car, Ford at the time offering various options to help buyers personalize their vehicle. The FG Falcon was a new generation model in 2008 so it was quite special to be driving the latest model. Pictured here on an epic trip to Mt.Panorama, Bathurst -



In 2012 I added this Tickford TS50 to the collection. This was a boyhood hero car of mine and was Fords fastest Falcon in decades. These had hand built Windsor V8's that were stripped, fitted with a stroker crank taking capacity from 5 to 5.6 litres. This car was furiously thirsty, sounded great and had commanding road presence. It was the best handling Falcon ever!

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The TS50 made way for my XR8. This was to be the final evolution of the Falcon before Ford closed the local factory and retired the nameplate. This model was fitted with a hand assembled Coyote V8, with a supercharger added for good measure! I adore this car, it is the classic definition of a wolf in sheep clothing. Subtle looks but with a 500 hp beast lurking under the hood. I factory ordered this car too, I was not going to miss out on having a piece of Ford history. Pictured here before I drove it out of the showroom in 2014.

The current fleet looks like this, the XR6 and XR8 joined by a Mustang in 2017.







In reference to the bright blue version I posted yesterday, that model was released in 2002 as the BA Falcon. It represented a massive comeback for Ford with the Falcon, being heavily restyled and re-engineered with new suspension and new engines across the range. At the time, Ford put a lot of marketing effort into its release, engaging with fans and re-investing in racing. It was a pretty exciting time to be a Ford fan.



As requested, this is the Valiant Charger -



And because I'm a generous lad, the Holden Torana XU1 -

 
DFB....thank you for all the effort here in the posts

Quick question though, how does a blown Coyote only have 500 hp I'll be listening to the current podcast once I get out on the road today, my buddy Hectour listens at the same time and then we discuss it, need to record THOSE conversations....hot takes

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Klasse Act said:
DFB....thank you for all the effort here in the posts

Quick question though, how does a blown Coyote only have 500 hp I'll be listening to the current podcast once I get out on the road today, my buddy Hectour listens at the same time and then we discuss it, need to record THOSE conversations....hot takes

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Very complicated question.

When this engine debuted in 2010 in the Falcon, it was released in two specs - a 315 kW / 422 hp for entry level versions and a 335 kW / 449 hp for the GT.

At the time, it was acknowledged that these were pretty conservative figures, many vehicles were dyno'd with those figures at the WHEELS! This raised a lot of attention at the time by owners and the press.

There were a couple of factors at play. Heat management was an issue, an inter-cooler was developed but not fitted, most likely due to cost. The solution was to limit power when pre-determined temperatures were reached. The other reason to limit power was due to durability. In higher hp tunes, it was discovered during testing that strengthening of the firewall would be required to meet durability targets. The actual strengthening wasn't the problem, but the cost to have it crash tested and validated was. The thing is, the power levels stated in the brochure were the minimum the engine would produce, under the right temp conditions they had the ability to "overboost", allowing for extra performance but not overheating or compromising the body. During the last few months of production, the engineers responsible for the engine basically came clean about the engines true potential, the 449hp version would reach about 500 hp and later Sprint and GT-F models could reach up to 550 hp.






Perhaps there is going to be an Aussie Falcon podcast special now. :laughing:
 
DFB, any other "unique" Aussie vehicles you'd like to share with the group...anything, even something small, RWD, etc. This is the way I learn. I know the one year Commadore had the Buick 3800 V6 put in longitudinal but was it blown?

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Klasse Act said:
DFB, any other "unique" Aussie vehicles you'd like to share with the group...anything, even something small, RWD, etc. This is the way I learn. I know the one year Commadore had the Buick 3800 V6 put in longitudinal but was it blown?

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Holden used the Buick 3800 V6 as the base engine for the Commodore and variants from 1988 to 2004, and yes, mounted longitudinal.

Early versions were horribly rough and noisy, in my view a complete dog of an engine that GM only used because it was cheap to make. On the plus side, it was an incredibly durable, reliable and fuel efficient engine that when combined with the short 1st and 2nd gear, was very responsive off the line. So responsive that many drivers could unintentionally light up the rears, often on slippery roads.

The updated to Ecotec specification in 1995 was smoother and quieter, but still hardly a sweet engine. The supercharged version was an option across various models too although it was pretty tame power wise.





Although I have a Ford bias, there is no escaping the fact the 3.8 V6 was dated when it debuted in the Commodore in 1988 and was positively archaic in 2004 when it was replaced by the GM HFV6 (Alloytec in Australia). Keep in mind that the 3.8 replaced the smooth Nissan sourced 3.0 inline 6, something that really highlighted the backward step Holden made.
 
I believe I'm coming up again in 2-3 weeks, a BS session

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My next appearance drops this Tuesday

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