Happy Birthday Barra!

[roddy1960]

It's a beautiful thing the mighty Barra.. I think why it's become a truly great engine is involving the reason behind the thread title and that it's been around 20 years. In that time it has gained popularity and not just in Australia . Also there is a Billett verson of it now too .

It's inherently loaded with torque at any spec level , it's durable/reliable and capable of rocket ship distances , it's very upgradeable to cope with big power increases if done correctly and from personal experience it's surprisingly economical if driven sedately ..

Something else too . The older engine that the Barra succeeded, the good old Intech / VCT was in many ways near as good in a similar way , especially in regard to reliability . Once again I speak from personal experience .

The way we dealt with the beaut Ford V8's over the decades is amazing but a core of why the Falcon here in Australia lasted so long was I'd say was as much because of the inline sixes and how we developed them into truly wonderful powerplants you could rely on .

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

When Ford began developing the 4 Valve head for the 6 Cylinder BMW and Jaguar were the only companies building larger capacity inline 6s with 4 valves per cylinder.
Ford owned Jaguar at the time so had access to their knowledge and i.p.
Ford Australia Engineering Department were also lent a BMW M5 by a Melbourne Dealer the engine was dismantled as part of the development process.
A bad design feature on the Barra, the Alternator should have been located above the Power Steering Pump.

Imagine if Ford had have built a block out of a lightweight metal.

How about these Barra's that feature during this vid............https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqQ3WPMmiQ

Yep i sold mine 3 yr's ago now and i aint ever getting another one ,but yet just this morning it still pops up in my Newsfeed !!!

[vixf6]

My Barra list

2004 XR6 TURBO
2008 G6E
2011 F6
2011 XR6 LIMITED EDITION

CURRENT

2013 G6E
2014 SZ1 TERRITORY

Window switches may fail, diff bushes may crack,, power steering may leak onto alternators,
But!! The Barras never failed nor had any issues not once not in all those cars and 500000 plus km
I will continue to seek low km versions until petrol is banned

[DFB FGXR6]

Happy Birthday Barra!

As an Aussie, I am immensely proud of that engine! It may have evolved from American origins and made by an American car company, but let's not beat around the bush here, that was an Aussie engine. When I talk about the Barra with my American friends, they are so blissfully unaware of its existence.

This was an engine so thoroughly suited to it role in life, one that could take the punishment dished out by a variety of owner types and still beg for more. It could tow the a.se out of a boat, sit on the highway for hours in near silence, be driven nearly 24/7 as a taxi or be thrashed to within an inch of it's life by a young P-Plate driver. I often joke that Falcon's basically fall apart around their engine, which many would probably agree with.

I have driven all three of the major forms of the NA Barra, the original BA, the updated BF version and the last FG generation. I like each for different reasons;

The BA was waaaay smoother than the Inteck it replaced but pretty harsh sounding over the last 1,000 rpm. It also felt more "cammy" than the others, having a more pronounced step up from about 3,500 rpm.



The BF was much more refined, the engine tone smoother and deeper after several tweaks to improve the engine tone. That would be the first time Ford actually put effort into the way their Inline 6 sounded.

The FG was another several steps forward in refinement and engine tone. The new inlet manifold and carefully designed intake ducting really did wonders for how the Barra sounded. With 98ron fuel, it's also very torquey and has no trouble turning rubber into wispy blue smoke.



For one reason or another, I have only ever experienced the Turbo Barra once, an then new BA XR6 Turbo Ute with me as the passenger. I want to add one to my collection one day, but prices just don't make sense at the moment.

I have always wondered what else Ford could have done with the Barra, could it have had a future if all things were conductive to further generations of locally produced cars. In my mind, I have this fantasy idea of a smaller, lighter Barra. Perhaps with an alloy block and a reduced stroke to bring the capacity back a little, say 3.5 liters. Direct and Port injection and a higher redline, maybe 7,000 rpm. Teamed with the ZF 8 Speed or the Ford 10 Speed, I have visions of a lusty, rev happy engine with a lovely intake snarl.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

When Ford began developing the 4 Valve head for the 6 Cylinder BMW and Jaguar were the only companies building larger capacity inline 6s with 4 valves per cylinder.
Ford owned Jaguar at the time so had access to their knowledge and i.p.
Ford Australia Engineering Department were also lent a BMW M5 by a Melbourne Dealer the engine was dismantled as part of the development process.
A bad design feature on the Barra, the Alternator should have been located above the Power Steering Pump.

Imagine if Ford had have built a block out of a lightweight metal.

During the late AU period where prototype Barras were being built, they ran a few Barra alloy blocks through the block machine line just to see what would happen with the tooling. The softer alloy clogged it up, so the whole line would have needed to be upgraded. Beyond that I have no idea why it never went into production. Most likely cost, and it would have taken away a big chunk of the casting plants business.

CGI would have been the best compromise, but again it would have been big dollars making the ancient casting plant capable of making CGI blocks. If it was even capable at all.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I have always wondered what else Ford could have done with the Barra, could it have had a future if all things were conductive to further generations of locally produced cars. In my mind, I have this fantasy idea of a smaller, lighter Barra. Perhaps with an alloy block and a reduced stroke to bring the capacity back a little, say 3.5 liters. Direct and Port injection and a higher redline, maybe 7,000 rpm. Teamed with the ZF 8 Speed or the Ford 10 Speed, I have visions of a lusty, rev happy engine with a lovely intake snarl.

It was planned to have a future, before the closure was announced. It had been engineered to pass the next 2 emissions steps, with and without direct injection. It just needed to be able to pass those tests after the required km, as those next emissions steps require the engines to still pass those tests after a set number of kms. Work that would have happened over the following years, before it was no longer required due to production stopping.

I'd say the 10 speed auto would have been picked up if it continued, being a Ford built trans.

Such a shame we never got to see it.

They did trial a smaller capacity version, 3.2 I think. But it made stuff all difference to economy so there was no point continuing with it. There was also a prototype LPi Turbo ute, which was a rocketship apparently. They just didn't sell enough turbos to justify doing an LPi version though.

I wish they would release all the info they had on future plans, but I reckon they are trying to leave it in the past. Hopefully some day it happens.