BY DAVID MORLEY + PICS MOTOR ARCHIVESHOLDEN AND HSV were giving Ford
some terrible stick back at the end
of last century. Not only was the AU
Falcon a seriously homely son-of-a-
bitch, the GM jokers had the mighty
5.7-litre Gen 3 at their disposal. And
they weren’t afraid to use it. Clearly,
something had to be done. The Ford Tickford Experience
(FTE) was that thing.
Even though it sounded like a post-folk blues band, the FTE
deal was Ford’s counter-punch to the all-conquering HSV. But
right from the off, you kind of suspected Ford was deliberately
aiming low. Where, for instance, was the wild body kit? Where
was the sky-high power output? Where, in hell’s name, was the
sexier XR Falcon front clip with its four headlights in place of
the dowdy Fairmont nose?
All good questions at the time, but the reality was that the
TE50 and TS50 (and the long-wheelbase TL50) were much
more subtle cars than the HSV hot-rods. And these days, when
a bleedin’ Hyundai hatchback has 202kW, the fact that the FTE
cars couldn’t stay with a Clubsport in a straight-line just doesn’t
seem to matter so much any more.
And let’s not forget that it was the FTE cars that introduced
us to a local version of paddle-shifters (they were actually
buttons and fairly useless, but anyway...) as well as a hand-
made, alloy-headed version of the lovely old Windsor V8. And
what about the locally developed 5.6-litre stroker that was as
tough as anything else local doing the rounds in the first years
of the new century?
Meanwhile, with their bigger brakes, firmer suspension and
restrained presentation, these cars have emerged to represent
the best of the pushrod Ford V8s. That they were based on the
maligned AU didn’t do them much good back then, but now, as
the AU is being remembered as the best steering Falcon ever,
that grown-up demeanour is really working for them.
BODY AND PAINTWORK Lots of FTE’s cars were painted in
(restrained) metallic colours at a point in history when Ford
hadn’t really cracked paint tech. As a result, the paint fell off a
lot of these things, so don’t be surprised to find that many of
them are sporting a fresh coat of colour. If not, make sure youTO
FTE
TS50
choiceofgood
onesfrom$20K➜
TS50VITAL
CHECKSd motorofficial f motor_mag^113’ 99
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