on four wheels: All Ford Day 2011 Part 3 1980 to 2011 - XD, XR6, XR8, FPV, GTP, AFP Pursuit XR6

Monday, March 28, 2011

All Ford Day 2011 Part 3 1980 to 2011 - XD, XR6, XR8, FPV, GTP, AFP Pursuit XR6

Here is Part Three of my photo essay on this years All Ford Day. Sadly, there were very few XDEF Falcons in attendance, and as already mentioned - overall numbers of spectators and cars were down this year, probably due to the weather. I thought of driving my XR8 Faker Panelvan in to add some balance!

Tough, plain XD with an unusual shaker

Still earning its keep, towing one of the racing cars on display.

EF XR8 Falcon

I like the intake setup - impressive underbonnet work

Rarer than a Phase 3 - the EB XR8 Sprint

Ford really dropped the ball with the initial launch of the AU Falcon, it had strange styling, a bizarre ride height and so-so finish. The only real hits were the XR8 and the Ute. Many people bought aftermarket ute grilles for their sedans, and this was also the last appearance of the four headlight XR front.

Im thinking underbonnet heat may be an issue with the modern Falcon

Nice supercharger. Very neat installation.

XB bonnet nostrils are still being seen on customs, this is on a BF ute

The ORSM car club from Melbourne used the All Ford Day as an opportunity for a club run - from Melbourne. They had a trouble free run and did the trip in about 8 hours. 8 hours is reasonable. I know one person who did the Canberra Melbourne run in 6 hours and ten minutes.

One of the ORSM guys polishing his ride. This is a scarce car, a non-XR, non-FPV, non-Tickford V8 Ford. By making the V8 an up-market option, Ford are making another business mistake.

While I appreciate the aesthetics of under-bonnet plastic, as a person whose most recent car was built in 1988, I cant help but think, where do I squirt the 'start ya bastard' spray....

Modern interpretation of the Phase 3 shaker poking through the BF bulge

Force8 ? Is this the updated Leyland we never saw ?

Low, black, fast. Epic.

The AFP had one of their pursuit cars on display. The officer attending was quite affable and answered lots of questions I had regarding the cars fit-out.

Apparently this black plastic square at the base of the boot lid just appeared when the car came back from the workshop one day. No one knows what its for...