Interesting video on the Barra Motor

[Papa Smurf]

[GASWAGON]

4.0 litres of pure bliss!!!!

Thanks Broadmeadows/Geelong factories.

I'm going to keep my BF3WGN (now with Redback extractors, Hi flow Cat and exhaust system and BPRD CAI) and try and drive it until the almighty 1 Million K's the LPG Taxi's have been getting out of the these Barra engines.

I only do 100-200k's per weekend so i still got about 20 years before she'll need to be rebuilt which i'll do myself when i'm about 60 LOL!!!!

p.s....the comments in the clip made about the 'balance' of the straight 6 engine/crankshaft are 100% correct.

1,5,3,6,2,4 all the way for me forever!!!!

[EBSXR6]

When the engineers were developing the engine Jaguar and BMW were about the only companies building large capacity 6cyl. DOHC engines. Jaguar was part of the Ford family so that was easy access to their technology.

Ford Australia engineers also had a loan of an 6cyl BMW M5 for about a year to as a donor car.

[bangm001]

My mates old man has a 7 series BMW and when he popped open the bonnet for me to have a look (Twin Turb), i said straight away that looks like my barra!

[Falcon SXR8]

Originally Posted by bangm001

My mates old man has a 7 series BMW and when he popped open the bonnet for me to have a look (Twin Turb), i said straight away that looks like my barra!

Knowing bmw guys he would have had a heart attack that you even mentioned a falcon motor while standing near him.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

When the engineers were developing the engine Jaguar and BMW were about the only companies building large capacity 6cyl. DOHC engines. Jaguar was part of the Ford family so that was easy access to their technology.

Ford Australia engineers also had a loan of an 6cyl BMW M5 for about a year to as a donor car.

When the Barra was in development Jaguar were in the midst of replacing their I6 with the V6.

From memory the Barra valvetrain and combustion chamber design was actually copied from the Duratec V6 used in the Jag S type. Used that basic setup and adapted it to suit. If I can remember that correctly.

[GO FURTHER]

One thing is for certain... The Barra is the best engine Australia has ever produced, bar none.

[Olbucko]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hJ6O1qnMmak?

Interesting video but he got his history and picture of original Falcon engine totally wrong.
The great grandfather of the Barra was a 144 ci short stroke OHV six, developing 90HP (67Kw) designed by Ford in 1958 for the 1959 Falcon in USA and in Sept 1960 in Aust. It shares the same bore centres as the Barra, but not much else The 250 version, first used in the XY, has the same stroke and a slightly larger bore than the Barra. Development of the engine in the USA stopped in the late 60s. Ford Aust. did all the development work after that.

Attached is picture of XK engine bay

[OzJavelin]

I was *NEVER* a fan of Ford 6-cylinders. V8s yes, but Ford never seemed to do 6cyls properly.
I don't dislike 6cyls, as being a Mopar fan I had more than a few Hemis (265s mainly).
I grew up in my late teens in the no-V8 Fords era with hopeless, wheezy 4.1s lumbering around in XFs. Probably nice cars, but very uninspiring.
I never owned an E-series, but bought a near-new AUII ute .. but it had to be a V8. That SOHC 4.0 just reminded me too much of the old 4.1.
I then jumped the whole B-series, and my wife bought an near new FG ute .. and I remember her first words to me that it "seemed just as fast as your VY SV8"? Hmm, I wasn't 100% convinced in that, but I was VERY impressed with the performance, torque and solid feel of even the low-spec 4.0 EGas DOHC Barra.
I'm a now a convert. Love the power and simplicity of the Barra. Its truely the very, very worthy successor to the old Hemi six.

[Chopped]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

One thing is for certain... The Barra is the best engine Australia has ever produced, bar none.

What about the Holden Starfire 4 though

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by Chopped

What about the Holden Starfire 4 though

There's one in every crowd.