Motor Australia – May 2019

THESE TICKFORD FALCONS HAVE EMERGED TO

REPRESENT THE BEST OF THE PUSHROD FORD V8s

check the horizontal surfaces (roof, bonnet and bootlid) for
early signs of the clear-coat becoming milky or opaque. That’s
a sure sign that the paint is breaking down.
Ford’s build quality wasn’t great either, so make sure the
panels line up, the crease-lines flow into each other and that
the doors haven’t sagged. The slightly domed roof of the donor
AU also seems susceptible to denting, so check it carefully.
MECHANICAL Plenty of XR8s from this era enjoyed a drop of
oil between services, but an FTE car shouldn’t. That’s because
the stockpile of Windsor V8s Ford was sitting on had been
there for years and random engines developed a bit of rust in
the bores that meant they were worn before they’d even been
started the first time. FTE’s solution was to strip the engines
down, hone the bores and put it all back together as good as
new. (The tighter-budget XR8 didn’t get the same love.) But
you know what? A compression test would still be on our list
of things to do before any money changed hands.
Don’t be put off if the later TS50 you’re looking at doesn’t
have the alloy heads that bumped output up to 220kW.
These heads were basically a stop-gap measure until a locally
modified cast-iron head became available, and they were
phased out as the local items came on line.
Speaking of local rarities, the 5.6-litre stroker needs a close
going over by a specialist, as stuff like the crankshaft was a
specific unit made only in small numbers for this very car. You
won’t be tripping over them at Repco.
Make sure the automatic transmission picks up gears

from Park promptly and that there’s banging or thumping

onupshifts.Acarwith170,000orsoontheclockcouldbe

readyfora newfour-speedautoasthisseemstobeaboutthe

standardlifespan.

ThebiggerbrakesfittedtotheFTEstuff(beforetheSeries

2 when the entry-level TE50 reverted to Falcon XR8-spec

stoppers)needspecificpadsandrotors,somakesurethere’s

somemeatleftinthem.If not,you’relookingata decentbill

toreplacethem(althoughaftermarketreplacementsareone

solution).Reconditioningthecalipersis definitelycheaperthan

replacingthem.

INTERIORThebigwatch-outhereis theelectricalgear.Not

necessarilythestereo(althoughwe’dstillcheckit)butmore

intrinsicstufflike thedigitalreadoutsforthetrip-computer,

odometer and climate-control gear. There’s more of that

sortofgeargoingonintheup-specTSandTL50swiththeir

high-linedashboard,butit allneedstobecheckedforcorrect

operationas missingdigits and readoutsthatintermittently

fritzoutwillspoilthemagic.

While you’re there, havea look at theleather trim.Back

in 1999 thecolouredleatherinsertsmighthavelookedgreat

(althoughI don’trememberthatbeingthecase)buta couple

ofdecadesofground-infilthmighthavethemlookingpretty

sad.Carseatsareusuallyblackordarkgreyfora goodreason.

If youwanta pieceofFordAustralia'sV8history,wereckon

now’sthetimetopounce.

ONE

Leatherwasstandard;

optionstolookfor

includethecostly,

biggerBrembobrakes

TWO

The5.6-litrestroker

wasa localbrewwith

a one-offcrankshaft,

camandintake.It

made250kW/500Nm.

Sub6.0sec0-100km/h

anda low-14.0sec

quarter’sthepay-off

THREE

A totalof 841 T-Series

wereproduced

between 1999 and

2003,T3byfarthe

mostpopular

FOUR

InT3guise,TS50

gottheFairmont

interiorwhileTE50

wasfulltaxispec.

Youboughtit forthe

engine,though

➜

01 02

03 04

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