Fairmont Wagons - How many were made?

prn31 · 23-09-2011, 03:54 PM

The AU Fairmont Wagon was the last luxury wagon that Ford made - from the B Series onwards, the Futura was top of the tree.

Having recenly bought an AU2 Fairmont Wagon and seeing how few were for sale I'm curious to know how many of the various models were made:

AU1, AU2 and AU3 I6 - probably only produced in the 100s

AU1, AU2 and AU3 V8 - probably not more than a couple 100 for the first two and probably less than 100 for the AU3.

Does anyone actually have production figures for these "sleeper" classics..?

JG34JA · 27-09-2011, 09:51 PM

I'd like to know the answer as well, and these are the last "upper spec" Ford wagons made.

madwag · 27-09-2011, 09:58 PM

Where they offered with a manual trans?

Mr Hardware · 28-09-2011, 10:32 AM

you might be right prn31, but if you compare an AU fairmont wagon to a BFIII Futura wagon, i think you'll find just about the only thing missing from the futura is woodgrain and an analogue clock
and you can retrofit the analogue clock

prn31 · 28-09-2011, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

you might be right prn31, but if you compare an AU fairmont wagon to a BFIII Futura wagon, i think you'll find just about the only thing missing from the futura is woodgrain and an analogue clock
and you can retrofit the analogue clock

I believe the Futura bowed out with the BFII. The only BFIII wagon was a Falcon XT...

**Mechan1k** · 28-09-2011, 11:17 AM

Have seen a AUIII Fairmont V8 wagon ... on LPG as well.
Owner loved it ... used to tow his caravan everywhere with it.
Had the MED Variable mixer on it too ... it went much harder on LPG than it did on petrol.

Only one I have seen out in the wild.

**rayban76** · 25-10-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Have seen a AUIII Fairmont V8 wagon ... on LPG as well.
Owner loved it ... used to tow his caravan everywhere with it.
Had the MED Variable mixer on it too ... it went much harder on LPG than it did on petrol.

Only one I have seen out in the wild.

Mines a AUIII Fairmont Wagon (duel fuel) ... mine goes pretty good on both fuel but goes much better on petrol.

Ive been told that there were not many AUIII Fairmont 5.0L Wagons made

blueoval · 25-10-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayban76

Mines a AUIII Fairmont Wagon (duel fuel) ... mine goes pretty good on both fuel but goes much better on petrol.

Ive been told that there were not many AUIII Fairmont 5.0L Wagons made

Indeed. Your wagon is very rare. It would probably fetch a higher price than what most AU's are worth today out of the rarity factor for an enthusiast.

**rayban76** · 25-10-2011, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueoval

Indeed. Your wagon is very rare. It would probably fetch a higher price than what most AU's are worth today out of the rarity factor for an enthusiast.

Yeah I have already had some pricey offers lol... she's not for sale though lol....

blueoval · 25-10-2011, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayban76

Yeah I have already had some pricey offers lol... she's not for sale though lol....

You got that right. Here is the only one available for sale on car sales atm.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...spx?R=10990683

But if I was in a market for an AU fairmont wagon, I would certainly look at this.

Mr Hardware · 28-09-2011, 11:38 AM

Also they're not that rare - there's a bloody dozen on carsales just at the moment, and two of those are V8's!

blueoval · 28-09-2011, 11:45 AM

If Ford had of made the B-series ghia wagon in V8 I would have owned one by now. A wagon is so handy to have these days.

This looks tasty

But priced a bit high.
http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...1562&silo=1011

Mr Hardware · 28-09-2011, 12:50 PM

well that's just it, isn't it.
it seems like everyone wants a manual V8 LTD G8E wagon
but everyone wants to pay ex-taxi prices for them....

blueoval · 28-09-2011, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

well that's just it, isn't it.
it seems like everyone wants a manual V8 LTD G8E wagon
but everyone wants to pay ex-taxi prices for them....

yeah, cake and eat it too. I know what your saying mate.

Mr Hardware · 28-09-2011, 01:48 PM

Yes, you're right on that one.

**rayban76** · 26-10-2011, 12:42 PM

They are a nice car

blueoval · 26-10-2011, 03:37 PM

Who knows. I never would have thought XC and XB falcon coupes would be as much as they are today, 10 years ago. I had the chance to buy a good condition coupe 10 years ago for 10k from a mate and thought that was too much then. Unfortunately you never know what prices will do to some models of cars out there.

**rayban76** · 27-10-2011, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueoval

Who knows. I never would have thought XC and XB falcon coupes would be as much as they are today, 10 years ago. I had the chance to buy a good condition coupe 10 years ago for 10k from a mate and thought that was too much then. Unfortunately you never know what prices will do to some models of cars out there.

That is so true....

prn31 · 17-12-2011, 12:30 AM

Well, considering I asked the question in the first place I might as well try and get an answer from Ford, so that is what I did.

I originally sent an email and was told to call 13FORD, which I did. Michael thought it was an unusual request but said he would get back to me in a couple of days, and true to his word he did.

The easiest part of the search was identifying the total number of Fairmont wagons - of course they have their own product code - 18262. So here are the total figure per series:

AU 2,239
AUII 1,721
AUIII 741

When it comes to extracting the number of V8s it getsa bit trickier:

AU 163
AUII - (unknown - can't be extracted from data available)
AUIII 44 built in 2002, unknown number in 2001.

Michael was able to tell me that for the AUIII (available Nov 2001 to Sept 02) 136 were built in 2001, leaving the remaining 605 built in 2002 of which 44 were V8s, that is 7.3% of this series Fairmont wagons are V8s.

If we look at the original AU we find that remarkably 7.3% of total production was V8s - just like AUIII V8s built in 2002.

So if we extrapolate (yes, I got a credit in business statistics at Uni

) the 7.3% to the AUII figure and add 7.3% of AUIII 2001 figures (an additional 10 units) we get the following:

AU V8 163
AUII V8 126
AUIII V8 54

Are these the rarest AU models? I think so.

And while I thought my original ride was rare:
- 2000 AUII Fairmont Wagon in Liquid Silver

Then the vehicle I just bought is even rarer"
- 2001 AUIII Fairmont V8 Wagon in Silhouette

I got the full drum on my V8 from Michael, but I will leave that for another post...

**rayban76** · 17-12-2011, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prn31

Well, considering I asked the question in the first place I might as well try and get an answer from Ford, so that is what I did.

I originally sent an email and was told to call 13FORD, which I did. Michael thought it was an unusual request but said he would get back to me in a couple of days, and true to his word he did.

The easiest part of the search was identifying the total number of Fairmont wagons - of course they have their own product code - 18262. So here are the total figure per series:

AU 2,239
AUII 1,721
AUIII 741

When it comes to extracting the number of V8s it getsa bit trickier:

AU 163
AUII - (unknown - can't be extracted from data available)
AUIII 44 built in 2002, unknown number in 2001.

Michael was able to tell me that for the AUIII (available Nov 2001 to Sept 02) 136 were built in 2001, leaving the remaining 605 built in 2002 of which 44 were V8s, that is 7.3% of this series Fairmont wagons are V8s.

If we look at the original AU we find that remarkably 7.3% of total production was V8s - just like AUIII V8s built in 2002.

So if we extrapolate (yes, I got a credit in business statistics at Uni

) the 7.3% to the AUII figure and add 7.3% of AUIII 2001 figures (an additional 10 units) we get the following:

AU V8 163
AUII V8 126
AUIII V8 54

Are these the rarest AU models? I think so.

And while I thought my original ride was rare:
- 2000 AUII Fairmont Wagon in Liquid Silver

Then the vehicle I just bought is even rarer"
- 2001 AUIII Fairmont V8 Wagon in Silhouette

I got the full drum on my V8 from Michael, but I will leave that for another post...

Nice work prn31, its great to know that my wagon is one of 44 built in 02, now if I could fine what number build mine was lol....

You've done a great job on this, well done mate.

madwag · 17-12-2011, 02:05 AM

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/ford-fairmont-2001-11594671?cr=6&vertical=Car&Range=Price:Min,Max~1&e api=2&silo=Stock&sort=default&VNAV=A&__N=1216%2012 46%201247%201252%201282%204294966463%204294966280% 20246&distance=25&find=wagon|CarAll&keyword

doesn look half bad, low kms and yeah

T3man · 17-12-2011, 02:34 PM

When I was searching to buy a v8 AUIII Fairmont wagon a couple of years ago there just wasn't anything available.

So I settled for the 6 which is still a nice enough place to spend your time; especially when you put a complete T3 TS50 interior into it.

However after a while the kW challenged wagon started to drain me so there is a 220kW T1 TS50 motor about to find it's way in. The only decision I'm agonising over is whether to bolt my spare TR3650 to it or leave the ESS auto. As it already has a 3.7 rear end I'm thinking the auto will give me enough performance (at least for a while LOL).

Well done on researching the production figures - certainly among the rare Fords in the world.

prn31 · 19-12-2011, 02:16 PM

Thanks T3man and rayban76.

If you asked me 12 months ago about AU Fairmont wagons I would have given you a blank stare. But as they necessity is the mother of invention.

I had been driving my historic race car (a 1975 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT in case you're asking) to and from the track for almost ten years. I didn't always make it back (S&%t happens as they say!) but I prided myself on not needing a tow car. You see I got around in an original Honda Integra Type R.

Transporting the race car annually to the Phillip Island Classic required some logistical skill, but there were enough Alfa punters doing the same to make it financially viable. Not this year - it was expensive and problematic. When I decided to travel to Queenland in July to race (Lakeside and Morgan Park) I bit the bullet and decided to buy a tow vehicle and borrow a friend's trailer. The common consensus for a cheap tow vehicle among the Alfa racer brigade was a Falcon wagon with the AU2 being the best bet for features as well as price.

So I started looking and stumbled on a two owner Liquid Silver AU2 Fairmont wagon. I wasn't really looking for a Fairmont, but it was there in reasonable condition and it got the thumbs up from my mechanic. We gave it a thorough going over including transmission service and separate transmission oil cooler and towed the Alfa to Queensland and back and it didn't miss a beat.

Since then I've spent a bit of time and money fixing things and improving the car, but I felt that it would never be a great car condition-wise and it wasn't worth spending a lot of $$ on it.

I came across the Fairmont AUIII V8 wagon on ebay and wasn't looking at buying it, but as the price came down it started to look more attractive and it had some of the features - Momo wheel and T-Bar the, warm charcoal interior that I really liked. Also I had never owned a V8 and I promised myself that one day I would, even though a lot of people believe that the I6 is a better tow vehicle.

So I went and looked at this 2 owner AUIII V8 and it was in much better condition than my AU2 and it had plenty of extras that I could either sell or keep - like Pacemaker extractors and a Hayman Reece heavy duty tow pack with electric brake, etc.

Plus I knew they were rare - mine was built in December 2001, so would be one of a handful of 2001 AUIII V8s built. Michael at Ford was able to tell me of it's history (I did have the log book) and that the only Factory Option was #42, a High Capacity Cooling System. I beliieve the Tow Pack and cargo barrier were fitted by Bayford of Coburg, Vic.

The AUIII V8 needs a good service plus sorting out of the ABS/Traction Control and the 6 CD stacker and a few other minor things, but it's a great carg and $50K cheaper than its modern day equivalent - the Commodore SS Sportswagon. I love it, and yes, I still have my original (2001) Integra Type R that I've owned since new...

Paul

Mr Hardware · 19-12-2011, 05:33 PM

Nice writeup, paul. So a sunroof wasn't an option? Oh maybe it was a stealership option not a factory option

MarkT83 · 04-01-2012, 11:06 AM

Ive upgraded to an AUII Fairmont wagon as a daily its a nice ride. I use to drive a EBII 5.0 Fairmont Ghia Wagon one of 28 built and the last of the Ghia V8 Wagons. Would love to jump into a AU/BA Ghia v8 wagon if they were built.

**rayban76** · 05-01-2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkT83

Ive upgraded to an AUII Fairmont wagon as a daily its a nice ride. I use to drive a EBII 5.0 Fairmont Ghia Wagon one of 28 built and the last of the Ghia V8 Wagons. Would love to jump into a AU/BA Ghia v8 wagon if they were built.

That would be nice Mark, however they are still a great car and you'll be very happy with the upgrade

TrixieV8 · 17-01-2012, 07:24 PM

hey guys, new to this site i thought i would share my new toy. It is a nice example AU 1 fairmont wagon v8. I just bought it have been looking for one for a while. If only i could fix my rear doors from unlocking i would be a happy man.

**rayban76** · 18-01-2012, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrixieV8

hey guys, new to this site i thought i would share my new toy. It is a nice example AU 1 fairmont wagon v8. I just bought it have been looking for one for a while. If only i could fix my rear doors from unlocking i would be a happy man.

Hey there TrixieV8, youve got a nice car there, I love the Fairmont Wagons, you'll have to start a build thread and upload some more pics of her so we can see.

In regards to your rear door, is it the L/R rears or the tail gate, either way it would be th eactuator that will probably need to be replaced, the plastic cogs in them tend to go.

Ray

TrixieV8 · 18-01-2012, 07:11 PM

Thanks RAY, Its seems to be both rear doors can open when doors are locked, Now to work out is it both or just the one actuator.

ruamoku · 16-10-2012, 10:36 PM

Hi all, new here too. I just bought myself a Liquid Silver AUII V8 Fairmont wagon here in NZed.
It's got a factory fitted Tickford Sports Suspension Pack, Tickford 17" wheels and certainly sounds the bees knees, better than my '96 XG Longreach PanelVan.
They really are nice looking wagons.
It's got a 6 stack CD under the passenger's seat, a system not mentioned in the owners manual that came with it, don't know much about these wagons, except that they're pretty rare, but I've fallen in love with it - a keeper.
Will post a few pics when I can drag myself out of the driver's seat.