Australian Ford Falcon

[72Chero]

Years 1972-1979
Body Styles 2d Fastback Coupe
Engines 302; 351
I chose to include the Australian version of the 70's Torino for no other reason that how awesome they look. There were three different "generations" of this car between 1972 and 1979- the "XA" in '72-'73, the "XB" from '73-'76, and the "XC" from '76-'79.
As far as the coupes go, they were all 2-door fastbacks and came from the factory with that gnarly "Mach-I" style hood. Since Australia did not follow the same emissions standard as the US at the time, the factory engines were also much more powerful than their American counterparts. The Falcon's 302 and 351 engines made 240 and 260 horsepower and 305 and 355 lb-ft of torque! By the late 70's the power did drop slightly, down to 202 horsepower and 268 lb-ft for the 302, and 217 horsepower and 317 lb-ft for the 351. That's equivalent to our 400's and 460's from the same era!

In 1978, a special "Cobra" version of the Falcon was released as a limited production of 400 units and came standard with special alloy wheels, scoops, and spoilers. The only available color scheme was white with blue racing stripes.

[xafalcongs]

Years 1972-1979
Body Styles 2d Fastback Coupe
Engines 302; 351
I chose to include the Australian version of the 70's Torino for no other reason that how awesome they look. There were three different "generations" of this car between 1972 and 1979- the "XA" in '72-'73, the "XB" from '73-'76, and the "XC" from '76-'79.
As far as the coupes go, they were all 2-door fastbacks and came from the factory with that gnarly "Mach-I" style hood. Since Australia did not follow the same emissions standard as the US at the time, the factory engines were also much more powerful than their American counterparts. The Falcon's 302 and 351 engines made 240 and 260 horsepower and 305 and 355 lb-ft of torque! By the late 70's the power did drop slightly, down to 202 horsepower and 268 lb-ft for the 302, and 217 horsepower and 317 lb-ft for the 351. That's equivalent to our 400's and 460's from the same era! In 1978, a special "Cobra" version of the Falcon was released as a limited production of 400 units and came standard with special alloy wheels, scoops, and spoilers. The only available color scheme was white with blue racing stripes.

Hi Chero,

I brought in a Sept-Oct 1973 build XA "Fairmont" GS hardtop in 2002. Fairmont was the topline trim on the Aussie Falcons since the XP Falcon/Fairmont in 1966. The XA/B/C body style was built from 1972-78 and then the European Ford Granada inspired XD Falcon debuted in 1978/9. From 1972-78 there were only 22,067 hardtop Falcons built....and these were hardtops as there was no B-pillar between the door glass and the rear quarter windows. Also, the XA/B could be bought with the 170hp 2V 250 I6. This was a tall deck version of the 200 six and is more of a big brother to the US 200 and a cousin to the US 250. The great thing about the motor is that is came with a cylinder head that had a removeable alloy intake manifold. Classic Inlines here in the US is now casting up a very modern version of the head and offer 3-4 different intakes. BTW, here is a link to pics of my XA:

http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h203/xafalcongs/

--J

[pdw72]

Here is one of his pics:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h203/xafalcongs/DSCN0097.jpg
Love them Falcon's, very nice looking one you have there, cool color:D

[72Chero]

So very nice.... they are definitely cousins to the ranchero.... welcome aboard... Love the color....

[xafalcongs]

So very nice.... they are definitely cousins to the ranchero.... welcome aboard... Love the color....
These are cousins to the US unibody cars. It shares a lot with the 68-73 Fairlane/Falcon/Mustang/Cougar/etc.... I used Global West upper/lower control arms for 71-73 Mustang and most of my suspension parts are for those era cars.....it's a mix bag of Pro-Motorsport Engineering, Global West, and RRS. The diff is a 8.8 coverted to leaf springs, with 31 spline axles, rebuilt/blueprinted Traction-Loc, 9" outer bearings/retainers, Cobra rear disc brakes, alloy girdle style diff cover with cap stud kit, and fully welded axle tubes (a must have).

[72Chero]

I absolutely love the XA's they are so cool.... the Utes are so awesome I wish Ford would take that concept and bring it back stateside..... that would be so cool....

[XA351GT]

These are cousins to the US unibody cars. It shares a lot with the 68-73 Fairlane/Falcon/Mustang/Cougar/etc.... I used Global West upper/lower control arms for 71-73 Mustang and most of my suspension parts are for those era cars.....it's a mix bag of Pro-Motorsport Engineering, Global West, and RRS. The diff is a 8.8 coverted to leaf springs, with 31 spline axles, rebuilt/blueprinted Traction-Loc, 9" outer bearings/retainers, Cobra rear disc brakes, alloy girdle style diff cover with cap stud kit, and fully welded axle tubes (a must have).

Thanks for the link to here J,
We share our love for the XA styling,a bit of the minority as most people are drawn to the XB due to it's Mad Max connection. here's a link to my XA
http://community.webtv.net/XA351GT/AUSTRALIANFORD
Tommy

[xafalcongs]

Thanks for the link to here J,
We share our love for the XA styling,a bit of the minority as most people are drawn to the XB due to it's Mad Max connection. here's a link to my XA
http://community.webtv.net/XA351GT/AUSTRALIANFORD
Tommy

Hey Tommy,

Mitch L. is on here now also.....he's torinojones.

--J

[pdw72]

That too is a beautiful Falcon, I don't really know the difference from an XA or XB, never seen one in person either that I can remember but since seeing Mad Max for the first time, have been in love with Aussie Falcons as well as other Aussie cars I know so little about. I just watched a movie called Two Hands last night starring Heath Ledger, it has a Falcon and a few other Aussies in it.

[Daffy]

I see a lot of familiar lines there... I like it...Wish I had one of those...I love to confuse folks trying to figure out what it is..http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Daffy427/Roadsterbigbobber007.jpg

[72Chero]

Welcome Tommy.... that car wears that black flawlessly.... absolutely beautiful......

[xafalcongs]

I see a lot of familiar lines there... I like it...Wish I had one of those...I love to confuse folks trying to figure out what it is..http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Daffy427/Roadsterbigbobber007.jpg
Humm, I think it needs a hood scoop or something....

[xafalcongs]

That too is a beautiful Falcon, I don't really know the difference from an XA or XB, never seen one in person either that I can remember but since seeing Mad Max for the first time, have been in love with Aussie Falcons as well as other Aussie cars I know so little about. I just watched a movie called Two Hands last night starring Heath Ledger, it has a Falcon and a few other Aussies in it.
Look at my photobucket and at Tommys site and those are XA Falcons. These have the classic Ford "w" nose and vertical side marker lights like the 68-69 Fairlane....funny Ford used these same design cues on the Euro/Asian Cortina and on the Tuanus of that same timeframe. The XB Falcon has a front end that looks almost identical to a 71-73 Mustang. There are lots of minor differences. The XA has door handles that are set into a stamped recess in the door skin while the XB Mustang. The interior trim has many little differences much and there were several running changes in the drivetrain. The major improvements tot he XB over the XA were factory rear disc brakes, and the multifunction turn signal switch. The XB had a modern style turn switch that also controlled the flash-to-pass AND the horn.