G’day Mark, Here is a story that is etched in my memory regarding XE. My friend & I were car fanatic & remember the XE well, his dad bought one second hand. Anyway my friend & I rode our bikes one hot Sunday arvo through the paddocks where Sunshine end & road to Cherry Lane in Laverton to watch the Sunday arvo illegal street drag racing. Get there about a dozen cars & my good friend John was there with his VF Valiant Hardtop with a 383 Big Block from a Phoenix dropped in & this thing was the car to beat. Racing was going on then out of no where an unmarked XE police car rolled up. That burnt orange colour, black chin spoiler & Fairmont Gaia Headlight, cops roll up get out in there uniform those funny horse riding pants, told us all to cram down just passing bye. That XE looked menacing, & the police asked who has the fastest car & everyone pointed to John & the police wanted to run John. Seriously we were blown away they wanted to shake down the XE & John accepted. Burnout , I remember the XE was manual they just dumping the clutch & smoking the rear the police. Now John isn’t silly, his Valiant would have blown away the XE but he let the police win but just according to him. Cops do a U Turn come back thank us & told us they will be back in half an hour & no one should be here, have fun next 20 minutes then piss off. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it, & when I catch up with John even he can’t believe it. The days before Smokey 1 & Smokey 2. Then another XE story, local garage owner on Hampshire Rd Sunshine, Nick actually bought a ex XE V8 351 think 5 speed interceptor but white in colour. This thing was tough, lowered, LTD rims on it & exhaust note , & the idiot changed all the front & rear & put XF panels & rear lights etc because he liked the look of the XF. Those are my XE stories, great memories & great video as per usual Mark thoroughly enjoyed it. I can tell you the Police back in the 80’s were okay & we respected them & they were fair as well. You would get a police officer drag racing you these days forget it. Cheers Louis Kats 👍

Dropping the V8 left a whole generation of Ford fans out in the cold. It took a long time for them to come back. Some never did. The XE deserved the success it had. Ford Australia put a lot of good work into the XE update, mostly mechanical, but with minor styling improvements that made a big difference. The XE forced Holden to do some significant equipment upgrades to the VH (mid way through) like cloth seats on the base SL models because the XE GL had cloth, and standard central locking on the SL/E (despite central locking & power windows still being optional on the XE Ghia). The XE S pack with the optional wider headlights from the Ghia (with driving lights), chin spoiler & blacked out chrome was a tough looking car. It one-upped the Commodore by offering a “sports” option in the wagon too. I always saw the bigger Ghia headlights and smaller bonnet droop as the 80s version of the 70s twin headlight premier front compared to a kingswood. Whoever came up with that at Ford was a genius.

I remember finding a ESP for sale in a car yard, 5.8L 4 speed manual in silver( no charcoal) Was only $12,000 and I slapped down a $50 deposit on it. I got the VIN and SIDO number. Rang Ford Australia and wanted to check its authenticity before buying. Got my $50 back. Was a ESP but a 6 cylinder . Further up the road was an ex police highway patrol car 5.8L 4 speed GL in white. This was $10,000. By the time I looked around it and walked to the sales office it was sold. So I traded the XE Spack I had for a XF Fairmont Ghia , in a way I was glad but in hind site I always wished I could find and buy a Monza red /charcoal ESP 5.8L manual. To this day they are still a very distinctive and eye catching car.

The Ghia ESP was my absolute favourite from this model

I still own an '82 XE Fairmont Ghia with a 302 Windsor V8. Excellent car that I'll never sell.

My favourite Falcon. Had 2 XEs - a GL wagon with 4.1L 6 and later a Fairmont Ghia with 4.9L V8 (302 Windsor). Lovely tourers. Took them all over the country. Then moved to an EF 6 which was in a completely different league as far as power and refinement. Now have a BA RTV ute with the mighty Barra. Thanks for the memories!

My dad had an XE. Really great car. When he bought it he got the optional headlight protectors for $60. I managed to break one as well as the headlight lens it was supposed to protect. So I had to also buy a new lens. The lens cost $7. Paying $60 for bits of plastic to protect $7 glass lenses didn't make all that much sense to me...

Hi Mark, thank you for this channel, I’m now 54yo my Dad was a new car salesman for various manufacturers, predominately Holden and Ford back in the day, but he did sell new Leyland's and Datsun's (Nissan), most of the 70's and 80's Aussie hero cars I’ve ridden in. The majority of these cars I can relate to. The one for me that got away was the 1972 XA Coupe Superbird 302 V8 that I bought for $2000 in Frankston, Melbourne in 1987. The one I miss the most is the 1974 Landau that I owned for 8 years but had to sell to keep the house ($8000 in 1997, sold $20k 2005). A handful of 1970's Fairlanes and Ford Panel Vans thrown in for good measure. Some good times. 😀👌

The NSW Highway Patrol made good use of these units!

Here is the latest video in my Falcon history - the XE. I hope you enjoy it. Please be sure to Subscribe and give the episode a 👍Like👍. Thanks for watching.

In 2005 I had an early XE S-Pack 4.1 carburetted auto sedan, bought from a mate. It drove like a bucket of lard, acceleration was leisurely, but it was pretty bullet-proof; no rust, either.

Like ya channel bloke. I lost count remembering how many falcons I've owned, including wreaks given or very cheaply acquired in order to keep the fleet of staff cars going for the boys and me. Love the Ute's. I gave an XB coupe away in Perth 1998. Took it from the side of the road after it sat there fir weeks abandoned. Checked its legality and it wasn't stolen. A baby blue six cylinder. Good condition. My friend got busy with it. Then gave it back. I left it and a free 302 V8 out of a free farmland with a flatmate while travelling the world. He sold the coupe minus doors guards grill and dash panel...plus the V8 for $200. Oh my my my. Silly me. No thats the way it was and we loved it. We were and still are blessed. Jason

My parents purchased a new XE Falcon GL with quite a few options. My lasting memory of it was that the drivers backrest was just a bit crooked and if you drove any distance you ended up with a bad back. Even as a young fellow around 16 or 17 it would impact on me. I seem to recall we weren't the only XE owners with that problem at the time. I can only assume whoever made the front seats, had a jig out of alignment. It seemed to be how they were made and it was only the drivers seat. My other memory was the car had a shorter steering column then XD and was really a pretty breathless car in standard 4.1 trim. With the air on, you pressed the accelerator and you were greeted with lots of engine and fan noise and then sometime after that, it would start to move. Very much a touring car that didn't really like to be hustled. I don't recall liking it very much and I thought the XD was a more handsome car even back then. Later we had an EL which was a much nicer car in every respect.

When 6 cylinder XEs were still fetching 8-10 K in the used car market I came across a 1982 XE 302 V8 with 4 on the floor X pack wagon with factory 2 inch lift private sale for $2,800 . It had factory A/C but no power steering and being a country car it had plenty stone chips and a cracked wind screen.. I fitted a new screen , fixed the paint and drove it for 10 years before trading it on an EF Falcon wagon...

Another top well researched piece of history. I remember as a young 17 yo old dropping into South Auckland Motors NZ dealership and seeing a twotone charcoal in the flesh 302 4 speed manual ESP sitting on the showroom floor. That car had a lasting impression on a young bloke that carrys on to this day. What a piece of rolling art that thing was.....

Another great video Mark and thanks for reiterating what I keep saying every time someone keeps going on about Ford dropping the V8 in the XE, they weren't selling and you don't make a profit operating a factory to make an engine that nobody was interested in buying, despite what some self proclaimed experts have said over the years Ford did not lose business by dropping the V8 they were still the number one seller regardless just like Holden were number one with no V8 in the 50's and most of the 60's as well, the people that bought them didn't care. Everyone goes on about the the loss of the V8 in the XE but the EFI six cylinder never gets the recognition it deserved for being the huge advance that it was, after all it was only one model before (XD) where the six cylinder still had single barrel carburetors and manual chokes. In 2024 we've taken fuel injection for granted for decades but in the early 80's it was a revelation for an Australian made car to have electronic fuel injection and all the benefits that go with it. They may not have had the grunt of the V8 but in every other respect they were better. Despite what some like to think having more grunt isn't always better, I recall a motoring magazine (cannot remember which one) tested a six cylinder XE ESP and a V8 ESP side by side and the only advantage the V8 had over the six was more straight line grunt. In every other respect the six cylinder was the better driving car, it was more agile, handled, steered and braked better, when driven on a road that exploited the six cylinder cars advantage it was just as quick as the V8.

Brilliantly put together again Mark

As I've alluded to previously, my first car; a cream GL sedan with four speed manual and 3-3 six with absolutely no options fitted whatsoever. It was built in December 1983. I bought it in 1990. Kept her five years. It was very comfortable. To lift it's appearance, i fitted XD Ghia rims, a hood ornament on the bonnet and similar badging on the C pillars. I fitted a then fancy radio/cassette player that lit up like a Christmas tree at night, but kept her otherwise factory. It was a fantastic open road car, and very quiet....... something i didn't always appreciate. It lacked the XD's throatier sound, but was more pleasant thanks to the new viscous fan design. The XE ESP 351 manual was peak square Ford in my opinion. I'd love a red one with gold snowflake rims and grey interior. Falcon sales hit their peak during the XE/XF years. After then, the decline began. The XE ute and van never had V8's fitted ever. There's been conjecture that some V8 XE's snuck out of the factory during 1983, but gosh.......has anyone ever seen one? If they were built, Ford certainly wouldn't have told you about them. To wrap up......a great model spoilt by the V8's early departure.

This is the car I grew up in the back seat of. It was an X Pack I think in the gold/metalic brown colour. When I was 10 it drove the 5 of us to perth and back and dad ended up rolling the odomiter all the way back to 0 before it was retired.

I was in the public service for a little while around 83/4. I had a period were I needed to drive between various locations and was able to sign out a car to do so. One of the cars I was allocated was a base XE Falcon with 3 on the tree. I got the hang of it pretty quickly and got to like driving around the city in the 3 speed. It was different but quite pleasant. I wouldn’t mind a 3 speed classic now, for one thing it would be a fairly efficient anti theft device!

Another great video Mark. Really enjoying the series. Looking forward to XF and EA, the latter of which my Dad got one of the first off the line, about a week before the highly secretive launch! I remember driving in it past the local Ford dealership that still had all the teaser livery covering up the windows. People were trying to peek in to get a look, meanwhile I’m leaning over honking on the horn as we drive by 😂

I still remember the Whatts link adverts on the Tele and thinking oooooooo, so cool to a thirteen year old. Another great video thanks Mark.

Hey Mark. From memory, the XE after the V8 demise also had a turbo charged version of the fuel injected engine, these were a rocket ship that in power and torque would out do the previous 4.9L and close to the 5.8 version.

Enjoying this series. Ford Australia's big mistake was in exiting motor sport in the late 1970s for a whole decade. They mastered the boring family car and taxi fleet image no doubt about that, but they also gave GMH free reign to win big on track.

Thank you so much for this. My memories of how significant this car really was had faded a lot. The photos just brought it all back of this first new model Ford Falcon I was aware of from it's introduction. . In one of the side on pictures I could really see the likeness of the Rover SD1 inspired front. The XE really brought that bodyshape forward, giving it a more substantial image and the best long distance cruiser yet in the Ford Australia stable. Your narration was a joy to hear.

Great vid, i didn't realise so many different models. Dad had creamy yellow ute with 4.1lt six, 3 on the trèe manual, bench seat. My brother had orange Fairmont but weird package six seater, 4.1lt six with column automatic, it had Ford logo badges on side of the boot. Both of these XE were more powerful n efficient to my Holden VH SLX six but my had better suspension especially of road off at high speeds.

Interesting video keep them coming. Loved the ESP

Are you planning on doing a separate vid on the LWB models Mark? Keep up the great work mate.

I always lusted after a Fairmont Ghia ESP.5.8, fully optioned.couldn't afford one then,sadly can't now.scheel interior, those beautiful "snowflake alloy wheels". oh sigh.

Cheers again Mark great historical series on my favourite cars great stuff mate

I had a 1984 Snow White XE 4.1 auto sedan. We did many long trips in that car with three children and it was a beautiful highway cruiser. Just quite effortless. But the lack of power steering at parking speeds was oh so heavy. Thank you for the series. So many great memories.

Personally, I'd love the contemporary manual TF Cortina Ghia - either engine will do. Maybe a future episode? Cheers.

I had a 3.3 xe and it was a very economical car , very reliable I regretted trading it.

Another great video

The XE sedans actually had a 6 link Watts link rear suspension, not 4 link and not 5 link as some say it had. They mention 6 link in the ad at the end.

The XE IMO is one of the best looking Falcons, along with the EA-EB & FG.

Awesome videos mark... I love the XA super bird to, my grandfather had a blue one..

Mark, Falcon/Fairmont V8 production ceased in November 1982 (at the Broadmeadows plant), however as the V8 production continued on at the Eagle Farm plant for the Fairlane and LTD (this is evidenced by the Ford Press release issued on 25 November 1982). LWB V8 production ceased at the of end of December 1982. Ford production figures back this up as well (354 ZK V8 Fairlane's and 14 V8 FD LTD's produced in the month of December 1983). That is, zero V8 production for Falcon, Fairmont, Fairlane and LTD from January 1983 on wards. BUT, in the 1983 production report, I remember seeing scribbled down at the bottom in the Notes section, shows "21 of 4.9 V8 Fairmont's produced in the month of January 1983" - this was not shown in the monthly columns though. Lastly, 351 Cleveland only production/installation continued up to August of 1985 in the F100, F250, F350 and Bronco's. The very last were 16 of two wheel drive F350's and 11 of four wheel drive F350's manufactured at the Broadmeadows Truck plant in 1983. Post this, it was only the 5.0 EFI Windsor used other than the very last 4.1 litre 6 cyl powered 4x4 F350 manufactured in September 1983.

Thankyou. Ive learnt that the Ghia had wider headlights. I was 9 when the XE came out .

The series continues. This is getting interesting. Several points I wanted to make. This car seems smaller on the exterior. The front end styling and side styling looks like a 1980's Honda Civic or Accord. I saw the right hand drive American Ford LTD at the autoshow in the photo. I did not know they sold our LTD in Australia.I thought they did not. That was sad they dropped the V8 engine. That was a mistake. We still had V8's even if they were undepowered. It seem the fuel crisis was a global thing. I know it hit hard in the United States. I liked all the photos as well. I am looking at the details in the photos. I enjoyed them all especially of the Australian Ford LTD. Thank you for mentioning Holden and talking about them as well. Thank you for the video and putting the information together.

Hi Mark, The XE is basically a continuation of the XD still a nice looking car with a face lift and a the UK Granada the introduction of the 5 speed gear box in 1982 in the UK fitted to the Capri and the Escort but not the Cortina as it's production was coming to an end in October to be replaced with the new jelly moulded Sierra that had a 5 speed box. It was a shame that Ford was ending production of the V8 engine like you said a big loss for Ford customers, I like the look of the Falcon ESP and the Ghia. Good Falcon Ads at the end As always a great video Take care👍

Been looking forward to this part! If I had a choice, I’d go for the Fairmont Ghia with all the trimmings! The Ghia was luxurious and smooth! But the XE ESP however, was a huge step up from the XD variant. 9:37 A beautiful machine! Well done Mark!

I cannot vouch for all the XE,s but i do know that weber carb on the XF,s had a linkage on it that only opened the second barrel about half way. A quick zap with a mig welder filled in a slot and restored full throttle!.

Looking forward to the XF Mark.

Hey Mark. Lovely looking car. 🙂

Great vid Mark, i love the XE ESP's

I have a real soft spot for the XE, as my first car was a XE Spack in sno white with red/ maroon stickers. Had air con and Armstrong power steering. Absolutely loved that car to bits. Interesting things about the XE Headlights made by Hella ,the XD was Bosch. S pack had blackout between the rear tail lights and a rubber bib spoiler Spare wheel now mounts vertically on the RH boot well Exterior door handles still failed New rear brake caliper design. Made by PBR and aluminium in construction. Now you didn’t have to dismantle the rear axle to replace the brake rotor. Introduction of the Girlock colette caliper. Aluminium construction Could also still have cast iron PBR front caliper. The 4.1L EFI used analogue electronics 4.1 EFI inlet runner tubes are not unique to each cylinder mean they could be changed around, Dick Johnson made a turbo Grand Prix version in case the V8 was ruled ineligible for Bathurst. The T5 was for 3.3 L only and 5th gear was in the aluminium extension housing. Common issues Starter motor had heat stoke on hot days as they aged Rust in rear boot well Lifter noise Rear spring over time would sag but the easiest fix was to put 3” lowered springs on the front. Reported at the time that the drop down bonnet would cause overheating , which was BS , most of the air was drawn from under the bumper . Voltmeters and oil pressure gauges were inaccurate on everyone of them , fuel and temp and low fuel light could be relied on.

Those 3.3 litre engined falcons were just awful. I remember I worked for city ford back then. Terrible the V8’s ending. That when I started cheating on the falcon with commodores;)

Mark, you're the best source for Falcon Facts (remember that EF falcon ad on TV Falcon facts?) and i love how you include the falcon ads at the end.😊

Esp two tone 351 ripping car aggressive look and body style lovely cars

It's a pity that its successor, the XF was such a sad car ! It didn't look as good or went as good as there was no V8. There really were no hero cars in this model. Only a couple could appeal to collectors and that was the Fairmont Ghia and the S Pack, both with the EFI 6. Go the Red XE ESP with Gold Snowflake wheels, what a legend. These are pulling big money now.

I think the XE is the best-looking model of that whole basic body shape.

Back when Ford could do no wrong. The XE sure had a lot of noteworthy improvements, but the biggest thing in my opinion was reducing the diameter of the steering wheel and getting it out of your chest.

Ford Australia did continue to sell the remaining V8 stock they had left well into 1983 for Fairmont Ghia ESP they just did not advertise that, the 302c V8 (Cleveland version only made in Geelong) and 351c V8 were installed on the "EFI" line until there was no more carby versions left (which was reported to be in late August early September of 83'). How many? around 180 302c (all 3-speed autos) and 75 351c (all 4-speed manuals), also NSW and VIC police managed to get there hands on them in Falcon pursuit spec (claim was around 25 for each state).

Hi Mark, good informative video. I like how you titled it " Leadership." With the full stop on the end. Was that a deliberate play on Paul Keatings '96 election campain slogan?

So missed the train on getting a $500 special s pack in the trading post back in 1998

I think Dicks green car was the absolute best ever race car I am quite sure I remember seeing it for sale for $35k in 87 or 88 I never liked the flat center console in the xe

The LTD was the only ever Ford falcon derivative to have metric rim and tyres

Weber venturi carbs... all carbs have a venturi, thats how they work! 😅

I start at ford's in September 1983 and they were still assembling the V8 in Geelong may be they were going to be spares but I was sent to the engine plant from the press shop to help out for the day and my job was assembling the heads for the V8

Any chance of doing a bf series review? I have a bf xr6 and absolutely love it!

Forgive me but just wondering what car is in the foreground at 3:09 ? not an xa, p5 or zf?

I have see in books Spotlight on Ford Falcon 121kw in the EFI 4.1 NOT 111kw 😮😮😮

My xe on gas was awesome. But a big rust hole in wiper cowl...

I had a Falcon Fairmont. Brilliant vehicle . 👍🇦🇺🦘

The power increase in XE 6pot may have eaten into ford V8

You forgot the Dick Johnson (Blue) Grand Prix Turbo

I am the proud owner of a genuine matching numbers XE ESP charcoal over charcoal 4.9 V8 auto. It is NOT for sale

Wonder if that last XE V8 is still around?

At the time, my engineering friends and I were wondering why Ford could not build a modern 4 litre V8. 426cc per cylinder is optimal and Ford had the facilities and skill-set to create it. There was only one Australian car to carry an alloy V8.

It looks like a 1986 honda accord mixed with a 1993 ford tempo.

Too bad that Ford didn't turbo the 250 six to cover for the V8 being hooked... Would've been good to see Fords blowing away Brock Dunnydores. Lol.

hows this for another used car lot memory...bog stock white XE GL Wagon at the back of a ford dealers lot...5.8 litre and auto with 4 wheel disc brakes 900 dollars !!!

The V8 may well have gone into Falcon until 1984. A lot of people think that the Fairmont Ghia you show was the last in 1982. Well that may well have been the ceremony but I have see evidence of later Falcon V8s. At the start of this video there is a rusty V8 S Pack wagon from 1984 showing 5.8 badges. I find it credible. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ftaGabti1K7QcmQ.htmlsi=mWPAKQBbKuZI-_QP

Monumental mistake to drop the v8 it hurt them all the way up to the BA by that time Holden had inherited a few generations of followers that seen there old man and grandfathers drive v8 powered commodores

FORD stopped making the V8 as a business decision. FORD decided to use the V8 engine plant to make TELSTA engines instead of V8 engines.

I drove them as a taxi..thirsty, and gutless on LPG..terrible car

At high school my teacher owned a brand new xe fairmont ghia it was a wow factor as most of my family owned fords i also loved another teachers 1979xc GXL 5*8 certainly beautiful aussie fords 👍👍cheers stephen from QLD🤠🐨🦘✌️

Yeah look the 6 cylinder models you wouldn't piss on em if they were on fire. ..but I've driven some decent V8 ones...it wasn't until the legendary Intech VCT 6 cylinder was released in the legendary AU that you'd contemplate going V8-less 😛👍