Ford Falcon Au Bad Stigma?

[BA-XT]

Right now.... buy a low km AU Series 1.

Find the 15 inch hubcaps, and any accessories that were available at the time from the dealer. Grab them.

Detail it, clean up the engine bay / chassis. Replace any aftermarket parts with original Ford Genuine (leads are a good example)

Whack on the grandpa spec headlight covers, lambs wool seat covers, number plate protectors, boot protectors ect.

Drive on warm weekends and park in your shed.

These things are getting more popular buy the year... yes I was joking a bit.... bit how often do you see a 100% original AUI getting around now?

If I had room I'd grab a low km Forte, and AUIII Fairmont Ghia with all the fruit.

[ebv8]

Originally Posted by BA-XT

Right now.... buy a low km AU Series 1.

Find the 15 inch hubcaps, and any accessories that were available at the time from the dealer. Grab them.

Detail it, clean up the engine bay / chassis. Replace any aftermarket parts with original Ford Genuine (leads are a good example)

Whack on the grandpa spec headlight covers, lambs wool seat covers, number plate protectors, boot protectors ect.

Drive on warm weekends and park in your shed.

These things are getting more popular buy the year... yes I was joking a bit.... bit how often do you see a 100% original AUI getting around now?

If I had room I'd grab a low km Forte, and AUIII Fairmont Ghia with all the fruit.

i'm on it
its no AU1 Forte but the next best thing (the Phase 2 you could say)
113,000km and a few months ago it was a granny's pride and joy

[Citroënbender]

Mmmm... Lambswool number plate covers! :p

The picks would be a Congo Green S3 XR6/8 ute in manual, a V8 Fairmont Ghia, and the lowest trim spec sedan to receive a V8, see if there is a six seater variant. Like the ‘55 Chev “businessman’s coupé” which could be bought with a full boogie driveline.

[hackney]

AU XR8s are starting to go up quite nicely!Try and find a nice one can be a challenge.

[Cav]

One of Yap-Hoon's finest AUs for sale on FB

$1,500
About This Vehicle
Driven 280,000 km
Automatic transmission
Exterior color: Silver · Interior color: Black
Good condition
Seller's Description
Ford falcon xr6 tickford Manuel 17 inch rims needs new intake but will include and replace for right offer looking at swapping for a boat







I can help with the purchase, for a fee of course.

[Poetic Justice]

I still have a soft spot for the AU.

Dad had an AU2 Fairmont Ghia V8 new and I had it for a while when he was done with it.

I'd still love to have a T3, though I don't think my wife will be so enthused for it. She isn't mad for the EL, lol, but the Jeep does the trick!

[roKWiz]

CB wrote.......
Like the ‘55 Chev “businessman’s coupé” which could be bought with a full boogie driveline

Alabama's Moonshiner option pack.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by ebv8

i'm on it
its no AU1 Forte but the next best thing (the Phase 2 you could say)
113,000km and a few months ago it was a granny's pride and joy
image
image

bAUtiful

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by jphanna

it has been suggested that when the AU was being conceived......Ford Aust was on the back of an unprecedented 15 years at the top....or near the top of the aussie sales charts and financially at their peak in local history.

forgetting the styling, that as we know was not accepted......the engineering that went into the AU, is the reason why TODAY......it is renowned as one of the toughest aussie cars ever built. even the Holden faithful, admit the AU is bullet proof for strength.

no one can take that away from its history.

It's funny, I've been going back and forth between FG, SY, ED and XW and I reckon the 15 years at the top somewhat rests on the design of XD-E-F and EA-B-D-F-L - a big wide low car with acres of room in the dash, and simple. It sold and sold and sold, keeping top spot while Holden caught up in the width and size (modeling VT on EB in core dimensions?) You would keep doing ball joints but the simplicity of the rear end meant not too much expensive total rebuilding, like with our IRS. So they were no-brainer long term ownership propositions. They had cool features like front bench seats to use all that width practically.

Engineers kept gradually improving E Series (eg head gasket) resulting in the AU. Tickford added bespoke suspension tunes and hotter motors to customise very fine drivers cars out of a family sedan. But with AU design jumped the shark, as the company decided what their target market would have. As much as I love the AU, it's a little more enclosed and claustrophobic up front (bangs head) compared to ED which is wide, and spacey and what Australians liked. Imagine if they had continued the Falcon design strengths with the robustness?

Now I don't have an AU (I am AU-less) but even having had them in the family, getting into the E series recently blew me away at how much space it had, how wide, how good vision. No wonder they sold.

[BA-XT]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

It's funny, I've been going back and forth between FG, SY, ED and XW and I reckon the 15 years at the top somewhat rests on the design of XD-E-F and EA-B-D-F-L - a big wide low car with acres of room in the dash, and simple. It sold and sold and sold, keeping top spot while Holden caught up in the width and size (modeling VT on EB in core dimensions?) You would keep doing ball joints but the simplicity of the rear end meant not too much expensive total rebuilding, like with our IRS. So they were no-brainer long term ownership propositions. They had cool features like front bench seats to use all that width practically.

Engineers kept gradually improving E Series (eg head gasket) resulting in the AU. Tickford added bespoke suspension tunes and hotter motors to customise very fine drivers cars out of a family sedan. But with AU design jumped the shark, as the company decided what their target market would have. As much as I love the AU, it's a little more enclosed and claustrophobic up front (bangs head) compared to ED which is wide, and spacey and what Australians liked. Imagine if they had continued the Falcon design strengths with the robustness?

Now I don't have an AU (I am AU-less) but even having had them in the family, getting into the E series recently blew me away at how much space it had, how wide, how good vision. No wonder they sold.

Interesting post. I always thought I was just imaging things when I remember working on the E series thinking that they just seemed bigger inside than my BA and th AU's. But don't every model falcon have the same floor pan?

[roddy1960]

So , as most of you know , probably only too well I own the same AUll from 2003 to now and the FG XR6 .. The FG is awesome , she beaut to drive , she looks great , and she's a car I always wanted from day one in 2008 when they were released .

Guess what , so was the AU .,I have exactly the same feeling for my AU every time I drive the old girl . Nothing special either , no added on bits , paint is pretty ordinary, a bit of an oil leak here and there , a bit of a squeak in the sway bar rubbers , slightly sagging rear suspension but bloody heck she's so reliable ,so trustworthy and so easy to fix on the odd occasion something needs attention.

I can honestly say where I live there are a heap of AU's still getting about and only a couple of VT Commodores...Says it all for me.

The AU is in your blood or it isn't . Dare to say AU's are one of the most talked about Aussie cars of all time. Mine stays with me forever .

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

It's funny, I've been going back and forth between FG, SY, ED and XW and I reckon the 15 years at the top somewhat rests on the design of XD-E-F and EA-B-D-F-L - a big wide low car with acres of room in the dash, and simple. It sold and sold and sold, keeping top spot while Holden caught up in the width and size (modeling VT on EB in core dimensions?) You would keep doing ball joints but the simplicity of the rear end meant not too much expensive total rebuilding, like with our IRS. So they were no-brainer long term ownership propositions. They had cool features like front bench seats to use all that width practically.

Engineers kept gradually improving E Series (eg head gasket) resulting in the AU. Tickford added bespoke suspension tunes and hotter motors to customise very fine drivers cars out of a family sedan. But with AU design jumped the shark, as the company decided what their target market would have. As much as I love the AU, it's a little more enclosed and claustrophobic up front (bangs head) compared to ED which is wide, and spacey and what Australians liked. Imagine if they had continued the Falcon design strengths with the robustness?

Now I don't have an AU (I am AU-less) but even having had them in the family, getting into the E series recently blew me away at how much space it had, how wide, how good vision. No wonder they sold.

Originally Posted by BA-XT

Interesting post. I always thought I was just imaging things when I remember working on the E series thinking that they just seemed bigger inside than my BA and th AU's. But don't every model falcon have the same floor pan?

It's the sloping A pillars and steeper windscreen that does it. It brings the windscreen and roof a lot closer to the drivers head, which gives the impression that it's a lot smaller dimensionally inside. Which might be the case in headroom dimensions, but in terms of width etc at floor level they would be roughly the same.

Made them worse to get in and out of as well.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

I can honestly say where I live there are a heap of AU's still getting about and only a couple of VT Commodores...Says it all for me.

The AU is in your blood or it isn't . Dare to say AU's are one of the most talked about Aussie cars of all time. Mine stays with me forever .

There are heaps of well kept examples getting around here. Inland cars don't have the rust problem of coastal ones.