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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Ford XE Falcon (1982-1984)

As the fuel crisis eased, Australians moved away from the downsized Commodore back to the traditional full-size Falcon. In 1982, for the first time in more than a decade, the XE Falcon, with its Watt’s Linkage coil-sprung rear suspension and fuel-saving diff ratios (4.1 litre models) eclipsed its Holden rival in terms of sales.



Ford Falcon remained number one seller in Australia until 1988, when Holden returned to the full-size Australian sedan design. Manual transmission was available in 3-speed column shift (in 6-seater vehicles) or 4-speed floor shift, with a 5-speed floor shift also available with the base 3.3 litre engine. Auto transmission was 3-speed, column or floor shift.

Ford’s Australian-manufactured ‘Cleveland’ V8s were discontinued in 1982. During this period, Ford Australia also built a quantity of 4-bolt 351C engines — similar to those used in NASCAR at the time — for race purposes in Australia. With the 351′s local race career ending in 1985, the remains were shipped and sold in the United States.



The last V8-powered Australian Ford Falcon passenger car to be manufactured was a silver 4.9 litre (302C) Ford XE Fairmont Ghia ESP sedan, VIN # JG32AR33633K, in November 1982. Ford Australia continued to make remnant stock of the 5.8 litre (351C) engine available in Bronco and F-series vehicles until August 1985.

In 1983, the 4.1-litre EFI six-cylinder engine was introduced to replace the 4.9-litre V8 but initially produced 111 kilowatts (149 hp) and 325 newton metres (240 lb·ft) of torque, well down from the 149 kilowatts (200 hp) and 415 newton metres (306 lb·ft) previously produced by the 5.8-litre V8.



The XE range consisted of nine models marketed as follows:

Falcon GL Sedan

Fairmont Sedan

Fairmont Ghia Sedan

Falcon GL Wagon

Fairmont Wagon

Falcon Ute

Falcon GL Ute

Falcon Van

Falcon GL Van

A new version of Ford’s S-Pack option was available for Falcon GL sedan, wagon, ute and van (all then badged as Falcon S) whilst a new version of the European Sports Pack (ESP) option also remained on offer for the Fairmont Ghia sedan.

Limited edition models followed, including the GL-based Falcon X-Pak sedan and wagon in late 1982, the Fairmont Ghia Limited Edition sedan in late 1983 and the GL-based Falcon Eclipse sedan and wagon in early 1984.



The XE was a facelifted and revised version of the XD Falcon with external differences restricted to a new nose, new rear bumper, and taillights. The biggest technical change was the introduction of a four link suspension system incorporating rear coil springs on the sedans. Wagons, utes and vans retained the rear semi-elliptical leaf springs as used on XD models.

The XE Fairmont Ghia ESP (option 54) was a optional pack that was chosen by the purchaser when ordering their new car, it varied in trim, styles and motors… examples of some ESP upgrades are, two-tone Charcoal-accented paint or base Ghia paint, Scheel-brand front bucket seats or ghia Seats, 5.8L Cleveland V8 or 4.1L EFI Crossflow, 3 speed C4 auto or 4 speed single rail manual. Most ESP optioned ghias are easily distinguishable from the Fairmont Ghia, however, many Option 54 Fairmont Ghias look so similar to the Fairmont Ghia that most second hand owners do not realise they have a ESP as there is no code on the compliance plate to distinguish this, the only way to know if a Fairmont Ghia is a TRUE ESP is to write ford with the compliance details and Ford will then track the cars original purchase order and look for “option 54″ on purchase order, the only common part of a XE ESP was the differential and rear brakes, “Option 54″ included LSD and rear disc brakes as standard.


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