The secret Franken-dore and other auto misfits

[brismike]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Might aswell jump on the bandwagon. Here's an ad on the Chevrolet Constantia, and Kommando. (Based off the HK)

HaHa .. you gotta laugh at this in the third last paragraph .. "We thoroughly enjoyed playing with the electrically operated windows and heater."

Wow ... they must lead very boring lives lol!

[kendallRTV]

I remember a XF prototype that was an All wheel drive turbo 6 that was written up in a mag once.

[dave351cid]

Originally Posted by loftie

I found these - but from reading 'wiki' - for what its worth... it says that the running gear was exactly the same?? just the badges were different??

Anyone know anything about them???

i used to own one of these nissan utes. .

it was just a XF falcon ute with a couple of stickers and a grill badge.
first weekend after i got it i decided to remove nissan stickers , one small one on each front guard as per pics and a large NISSAN across the tailgate. next was to fix the grill , that dodgy looking oversize nissan badge that looked like it was stolen of the back of a 4x4 . 2 x selftapper screws later and it was gone. and guess what i found ? the original ford oval badge still in the grill. just needed a wash. only other nissan part was the center plug in the steering wheel said nissan instead of ford. ohhh ....... and the plastic wheel covers.
and on the ID plate it read "Nissan ute by the Ford Motor Company." and "XFN" instead of the normal "XF ".

as for the running gear they were identical to any other ford however i think that limited slip diff were standard whereas lsd were an optional extra for falcons.

mine was the equivelent to a GLS version with Tbar auto, buckets, etc. but was about $3000 cheaper then the same thing with ford badges.

had it for about 7 years . was a great ute.

[Nikked]

[kendallRTV]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Argentinean Falcon



All the dies got shipped to Ford in Argentina in the late 60’s and they kept making then.

[dylancox]

Originally Posted by kendallRTV

Argentinean Falcon



All the dies got shipped to Ford in Argentina in the late 60’s and they kept making then.

Is that what happened to the ex-Australian dies, or were they the USA ones?

[kendallRTV]

Originally Posted by dylancox

Is that what happened to the ex-Australian dies, or were they the USA ones?

Aust dies shipped to Argentina according to a mag article I read in the early 90’s

[Falcon_Crazy]

Originally Posted by kendallRTV

I remember a XF prototype that was an All wheel drive turbo 6 that was written up in a mag once.

AAT Twin Turbo AWD XF S Pack
0-100 in 6.6
0-15o in 15.49
Standing 400 - 14.84
Cost $75K

XF s Pack Supercharged
0-100 in 8.65
0-15o in 18.13
Standing 400 -
Cost $52K

The supercharge was a project of Modern Motor. There was another AIT Turbo XF which ran similar times to Supercharged one.

I will dig out mag and see if i can scan

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Brazen

There was also a Toyota Lexcen version of the VT Commodore developed before Toyota decided to build the Avalon in Victoria instead.

Also an EA ute and panelvan developed and canned.

FG wagon was fully designed but not given the greenlight (would love to see the designs).

As an aside I dont think a VN with 2.0l would be that bad, it only weighed around 1300 or so Kgs, about the same as a modern Corolla.

Imagine driving a newer than VS Commodore, badged up as a Toyota Lexcen. The only way I'd drive a late model commodore... I'd rather have 3 silver ovals than a gay lion in a circle. Can someone photoshop a VE with Toyota Lexcen badging just for laughs

[last fairlane]

Dont forget the Lonsdale (SA) engine plant
that got sent to Austria and the 245 Hemis ended up as Jeep
High output 4.0 Litre = 245 ci with fuel injection

also but not quite the same FE LTDs sent to England
351 auto and all the bells and whistles
where petrol was 3 times the price of here
that worked yeah

John

[RAPID_BA]

I know of a VL commodore with a VK rear end. VL 3.0L motor and VK rear end. It had a bootlid spoiler as well to cover up that it didnt have the VL commodore rear lip. Not sure if it was factory, but the guy had it for years, he swore it was factory.

I called it the minotaur.

[Bossxr8]

Project Capricorn. Was due to replace the XF in 86/7?

FWD based on a stretched Mazda 929 platform. Got as far as full size clays before it was rejected because they couldn't get the proportions right, as it was Falcon length but still as skinny as the 929. After it was ditched they extended the run of the XF and the EA turned up a year or 2 late, due to the time wasted on it. Also goes some way to explain the poor quality of the EA as it's development was rushed to get it into production.

Did I mention it was also a hatchback.

[OzJavelin]

Originally Posted by last fairlane

Dont 245 Hemis ended up as Jeep
High output 4.0 Litre = 245 ci with fuel injection

Jeep inline 6-cylinder is based on the old AMC 232/258 .. Which came out in 1964. The Aussie Hemi 6 looks like the AMC engine .. Not the other was round.

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Project Capricorn. Was due to replace the XF in 86/7?

FWD based on a stretched Mazda 929 platform. Got as far as full size clays before it was rejected because they couldn't get the proportions right, as it was Falcon length but still as skinny as the 929. After it was ditched they extended the run of the XF and the EA turned up a year or 2 late, due to the time wasted on it. Also goes some way to explain the poor quality of the EA as it's development was rushed to get it into production.

Did I mention it was also a hatchback.

Looks a bit like a Sierra....

[Bossxr8]

Very similar to the Telstar too, which was a restyled 626.

[lil'fez]

Originally Posted by kendallRTV

I remember a XF prototype that was an All wheel drive turbo 6 that was written up in a mag once.

it was in motor magazine...it was black and the sexiest bodykit and wheels (HUGE 17" wheels for a road car in 1986 haha) they used it for a caravan towing world record before it was written off in (germany?)
i kept that mag for years....

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by kendallRTV

I remember a XF prototype that was an All wheel drive turbo 6 that was written up in a mag once.

There's an old thread on that car; AWD 268Kw Twin Turbo XF

[RAPID_BA]

Do some of the e series and even au's fitted with boss bulges fit into the frankenstein theme?

[2011G6E]

I always wanted a Mazda Roadpacer with an absolutely wild 20B three rotor rotary in it...that'd give some of the V8 guys a bit of a fright...

There was an interesting story in a motoring magazine back when "badge engineering" was all the rage and abominations like the "Nissan Ute" were around. It told of a guy who bought one and turned up to the pub to be laughed at by his mates for buying it instead of a proper Falcon ute. he shut them up by saying "Well, if I bought it from Ford, i'd have a 12 month/20,000km warrantee, but because I bought the exact same car badged as a Nissan from a Nissan dealer, I get a 2 year 40,000km warrantee instead..."

Apparently it worked in the other direction with the "Ford Maverick" (Nissan Patrol) and other Jap cars made into "Fords" and "Holdens" by swapping badges...buy it from Ford or Holden instead of Toyota or Nissan, and your warrantee is automatically cut in half over the original car...

Oh, and that twin-turbo Falcon...I know a guy who has dozens (literally...he calls them "carton of beer cars" for the price he paid for most of them) XF Falcons, and one in a shed, a red one, with one of those motors in it. It isn't four wheel drive, but it has the same engine with the well-designed plenum chamber and twin turbos. I'll have to get him to take pictures of it and I'll post them up some time. He always wondered what it was and who wuld have went to the time and effort to cast up a manifold like that to match the alloy valve cover.

[T3ts50]

I remember being in the Middle East last year and seeing a Buick with a VR/VS rear end. Not too sure what it was called though.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by brismike

HaHa .. you gotta laugh at this in the third last paragraph .. "We thoroughly enjoyed playing with the electrically operated windows and heater."

Wow ... they must lead very boring lives lol!

You have to remember what year it was. Hell, it wasn't all that long ago that even electric windows and air con were options in stuff like Fairlanes and Statesmans here...back in 1982 when I started driving a mate had picked up a 1979 Ford Fairlane Marquis and we all marvelled at the 'leccy windows, electric seats, and other features of it. Ended up being the brides car at my wedding...I turned up in an XY-GT...

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by T3ts50

I remember being in the Middle East last year and seeing a Buick with a VR/VS rear end. Not too sure what it was called though.

Holden was exporting their cars to the middle east for years, rebadging them as Caprice and Lumina.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/891/hold...-ve-commodore/

[block58]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

Holden was exporting their cars to the middle east for years, rebadging them as Caprice and Lumina.

[FalconXV]

http://performancedrive.com.au/top-1...dnt-know-0123/

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by kendallRTV

Aust dies shipped to Argentina according to a mag article I read in the early 90’s

Somebody petition ford to do the same in October. Imagine FG-X Falcon living on in Argentina.

[malazn mafia]

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...esman-deville/

Isuzu Statesman Devil. They even somehow squeezed the lame lion into the centre of what resembles a Cadillac badge

[MethodX]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...esman-deville/

Isuzu Statesman Devil. They even somehow squeezed the lame lion into the centre of what resembles a Cadillac badge

Ah love those HQ stato's, 308 and 350 yes please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrm1SHNsfs

Here is one found... bring it home...

[rjr]

Originally Posted by MethodX

Ah love those HQ stato's, 308 and 350 yes please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrm1SHNsfs

Here is one found... bring it home...

I saw one of those Statesman's on Instagram a while back and I thought then I had never heard of them.

It looks like the one in your video.