DFB's Image Collection

[DFB FGXR6]

Don't ask me why, but many years ago, I started collecting digital press images for all things Ford. All are stored on a hard drive, most of these images were freely available, either published on their website or circulated around the local press outlets. For the most part, many of the images still exist on the web, surprisingly though, many have also disappeared.

The collection is divided into several categories -

- Falcon/LWB/FPV, which is then divided into separate folders for model series.
- Fiesta/Focus/Mondeo, again in model series.
- Ford 1998 - 2023, covering all other models such as Escape, Mustang, Laser, Cougar, Explorer ect.





As mentioned, some of these images have disappeared from the web, so this thread will be my way of getting them back into the wild, especially the stuff that predated the digital era.

[Franco Cozzo]

Have you got anything from the MA/MB Mondeo and LV Focus XR5? Especially the Focus XR5 in that orange color - mint cars.

[DFB FGXR6]

Starting things off, from the era of my first car, the AU III Falcon.







The Havoc Body Kit, not many fitted, although the side skirts and rear bumper were fitted to most AU III XR8's.





The AU III Falcon SR, the special value pack used to keep the line ticking over. They were a parts bin special, using AU II Futura 75th Anniversary wheels, XLS Ute seat trim, spoiler, body colour mirrors and door trims.















The fabled Cabin Tidy.





Always loved the XR6 VCT ST, these had a number of premium options fitted at Tickford across the road. Only 125 made and available in Blueprint, Liquid Silver, Venom and Silhouette. $7800 of value for $2500 extra.

[PG2]

Hi DFB

If you want to, I could organise to have any that are not already, hosted in the gallery area of AFF.

[DFB FGXR6]

The Pursuit 250!















These two were taken at Tickford, again, rarely seen.





The Pursuit 250 was the T-Series of the Ute range. Using the 5.6 Windsor in auto or manual, only 250 were made between Feb 2002 and September 2002.

In this case, Ford/Tickford decided to keep the XR8 front styling compared rather than the T-Series spec, it also debuted the side skirts and rear bumper cladding that would appear on the BA FPV Utes that appeared in early 2003. Note with these images, the car was fitted with Azzurro's, from memory, the production cars had the TS50 five-spoke wheels.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Have you got anything from the MA/MB Mondeo and LV Focus XR5? Especially the Focus XR5 in that orange color - mint cars.

I have a fair bit on MA and MB Mondeo, which I'll do next. For now, yes, I also have plenty of Focus stuff as well.

LT Focus XR5 Turbo, with the hero colour called Electric Orange.















LV XR5 Turbo -




From the same period, anyone remember the Focus CC...................

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

The Pursuit 250!

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These two were taken at Tickford, again, rarely seen.

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The Pursuit 250 was the T-Series of the Ute range. Using the 5.6 Windsor in auto or manual, only 250 were made between Feb 2002 and September 2002.

In this case, Ford/Tickford decided to keep the XR8 front styling compared rather than the T-Series spec, it also debuted the side skirts and rear bumper cladding that would appear on the BA FPV Utes that appeared in early 2003. Note with these images, the car was fitted with Azzurro's, from memory, the production cars had the TS50 five-spoke wheels.

I can't get over how ugly their uniforms are, that purple colour and polos

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I can't get over how ugly their uniforms are, that purple colour and polos

I was given a pair of overalls from the FPV era, much nicer looking with the classic FPV blue.

[DFB FGXR6]

By special request, the MA series Mondeo.



The MA Mondeo arrived in late 2007, predating the FG Falcon, and in some ways, previewing some of its styling cues. Initially, the range consisted of the LX, Zetec, TDCi (which was a separate model based on the Zetec) and the XR5 Turbo. Only the sedan and hatch were offered, the wagon would come later.

The base engine was the anemic 2.3 naturally aspirated four cyinder, paired with a 6-speed auto. The 2.0 TDCi was likewise anemic for power and paired with a 6-speed auto (later diesels had the wet clutch PowerShift). The manual only XR5 Turbo had the 2.5 turbo five cylinder from Volvo.







Boot capacity and versatility was the hallmark of the hatch, you would be surprised what these cars could fit in.



This generation of Mondeo was heavily criticized for the plain interior. Having lived with one, materials were quite cheap and some lower panels were poorly fitted. Ours also had issues with panel alignment on the rear hatch, rubbing through the paint where it met the bumper.

LX Interior -













Zetec / TDCi interior -





This XR5 Turbo is finished in Tonic, which does nothing for it in my opinion.







Was always intrigued by the dual dump pipes on the early XR5's. On the later diesel Titanium, these had a single dump pipe.





XR5 Turbo Interior. The later Titanium models had the same excellent seats.

[Adamz Ghia]

This is going to be my favourite thread! Love this stuff, especially anything AU!

[DFB FGXR6]

Returning to the AU, in this case the LWB Fairlane and LTD. These images cover all three series, although its debatable whether there was an official AU III Fairlane/LTD, however if the car in question is fitted with side skirts, then I generally call it an AU III.

At this point I will point out that on this same hard drive, I have spreadsheet documenting every single special edition Falcon/Fairlane/FTE/FPV/Territory going back to the early 90's. This lists the additional extras and any other relevant information. The same spreadsheet also has a section for the various running changes made over those years and when they appeared.





Who remembers the Millennium Edition Fairlane? These came with Tickford wheels, sinister looking "smoked quartz" black bezel headlights, an alarm system, Millennium embossed front leather seats and additional wood trim. They also offered 2 years free servicing. At the time, this model represented $3800 of additional value. Only 250 were made between December 1999 and April 2000, offered in Sparkling Burgundy, Liquid Silver and Congo Green.



In November 2000 to May 2001, Ford offered the Fairlane Ghia 75th Anniversary model. Offered in two tone paint (Liquid silver or Silhouette over Meteorite) or single tone paint (Monsoon Blue or Sandstorm). Included were 17'' Elegance wheels, LTD Howe leather trim with embossed 75th Anniversary logos, floor mats, woodgrain MOMO steering wheel, 10-way power front seats with driver memory seats & wing mirrors. At the time, RRP was $51,115.

























The following images are ones I lifted from the Ford website waaaay back in the early 2000's, they are pretty small because of that.



















My favorite of all AU series Fairlane's was the AU III Sportsman in Barossa Red, such a lovely colour, and the Elegance wheels really suited the car.

[DJM83]

Amazing collection.
And rolling change info with FG at all, similar to the BF you have listed.

[FTE217]

Its like watching the new model Falcon or Fairlane release all over again, oh the days gone.
Wonderful to see DFB, the amount of info and time you have spent on filinf so much is amazing.
Great viewing Thanks.

By the way I actually liked the Mondeo, the high end models, thought it was a good looking Ford.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Such a shame I can't see the pics on my work computer. Makes this the biggest tease thread on AFF!

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Its like watching the new model Falcon or Fairlane release all over again, oh the days gone.
Wonderful to see DFB, the amount of info and time you have spent on filinf so much is amazing.
Great viewing Thanks.

By the way I actually liked the Mondeo, the high end models, thought it was a good looking Ford.

We had a MC Titanium in the family, one of the very first offered with the Ecoboost engine and wet-clutch Powershift. The best thing about that car was how excellent it was at highway speeds, Mondeo's were designed for long distance European roads. Because the Titanium had the old XR5 suspension and wheel setup, the body control was superb, the ride firmish but very settled on the highway. The brakes were suuuuuper dusty but had excellent initial bite, steering was typical Ford from the time, as in excellent.

The only thing I didn't like was how characterless the engine was, both in sound and the flat power curve. The dual clutch behaved itself, but wasn't all that fast shifting, nor did it have that syrupy smoothness you got from a torque converter Falcon.





The Midnight Sky colour was very interesting, it looked like any other grey you've seen, but in certain light it had a purple hue to it. Sorry, very dirty in this pic.



This was also one of the first locally available Ford's with a large "screen" in the dial cluster.





The seats were firm but excellent for long distances.



Mondeo never had a chance when sold next to the Falcon, in many cases, the Mondeo was the better car. For me, I actually considered the Mondeo back in 2007, but went with my heart and chose the new FG Falcon instead.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Amazing collection.
And rolling change info with FG at all, similar to the BF you have listed.

As requested. FG right through until FG-X.

Much of that was written at the time or filled in with many hours of research. Because they are screen shots, some of the images have duplication, I did that so you could read each section properly.

[DFB FGXR6]

The EL Falcon.

The EL was just before my consciousness of cars, in fact I don't think I have even ridden in one, let alone drive one. The EL was the last revision of the EA265 platform the debuted with the EA model that launched in 87/88. By then, most of the bugs had been ironed out, think head gaskets, schizophrenic central locking and suspect handling traits.

Styling wise, I much preferred the EL over the EF, mainly because Ford reintroduced a grill, even if it was fake. The EL also welcomed back the Falcon GT as a limited-edition model, with performance that didn't match the suggestive styling. Even still, I would happily have one in Sparkling Burgundy.

To me though, the ultimate EL would be the late series XR8, which stole the upcoming AU models 185 kW Windor V8, as well as various AU paint colours. The added (fake) grill also made it look more aggressive.



























































These last two put together for the 50th Anniversary of the Falcon, Ford releasing an image each Friday to represent the various Falcon's over the years.

[FTE217]

Yes the EL was nice looking model in Ghia'a and XR's, the XR8 twin front light was a very nice design and gave it a strong presence.
I was so hanging out for the GT comeback and I warmed up to its finished look BUT that damn lacklustre V8 really disappointed and took away its moment to really shine and compete against Holden let alone some of us interested buyers.
I went back looking to consider EBGT's that overall did look nicer but again not enough grunt !

[DFB FGXR6]

Who remembers the Explorer? A car from a time when Ford would actually take a gamble on making a certain group of vehicles from the US market in RHD. The Explorer didn't have much of an impact on the Australian market, but in the US, this was a pivotal model for Ford and the entire US car market in general. You may not realise this, but the very first Explorer is credited as one of the very first SUV's, a vehicle that while it could go offroad, was more geared towards on road driving.

The first Explorer's in Australia were dubbed the UN and UQ and were only available in 4.0 V6 form. (The US also had the 5.0 Windor V8) Manuals got the ancient OHV 4.0 V6, the 5-speed auto's had a SOHC 4.0 V6 that produced the same power as the Aussie SOHC Intek Inline 6, 157 kW. That 5-speed auto would actually reappear on the FG Falcon in 2008 to 2010.

My English teacher in high school had a red Explorer, fittingly, her sons also played soccer.

[DFB FGXR6]

In 2001, Ford launched the UX model Explorer, which while looking quite new, was actually a heavily facelifted version of the model that went before it. The 4.0 SOHC V6 was joined by the 4.6 SOHC Modular V8 which produced 178 kW.

The styling was still mistakenly American, very F-Series like. Fun fact, the taillights on these Explorer's ended up on the FG Falcon Ute in 2008.

Like the original Explorer's, this model retained the full ladder chassis, the following generations would change to a monocoque chassis shared with the Taurus. That also meant no more V8.

[anobserver]

Fondly remember the el series, employer at the time encouraged road safety with a days training on the skid pan.

Also got to drive an el wagon on regional trips, was lucky to miss the speed trap on the way in from the regional airport. With all the rear weight, was a little surprised it got sideways on a newly moistened curve. Took it a bit easier after that little scare.

Looked at an ef xr6, but at about 4 years old the dealer was asking 15k for it (dont recall the mileage).

I found them solid and reassuring, but not inspiring. Hope im not sounding dismissive, as i so wish we were still building something here.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by anobserver

Fondly remember the el series, employer at the time encouraged road safety with a days training on the skid pan.

Also got to drive an el wagon on regional trips, was lucky to miss the speed trap on the way in from the regional airport. With all the rear weight, was a little surprised it got sideways on a newly moistened curve. Took it a bit easier after that little scare.

Looked at an ef xr6, but at about 4 years old the dealer was asking 15k for it (dont recall the mileage).

I found them solid and reassuring, but not inspiring. Hope im not sounding dismissive, as i so wish we were still building something here.

Not at all. I think we all look back at Falcon very fondly, but you have to remember, they were always designed and manufactured to be a low-cost vehicle.

The EL was also from an era before the idea of sedans needing to be "sporty". Sure, there were sports models, but the core engineering focused on durability and low cost. I think that changed with BA and onwards, where the focus was on a more engaging and refined driving experience.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

The EL Falcon.

The EL was just before my consciousness of cars, in fact I don't think I have even ridden in one, let alone drive one. The EL was the last revision of the EA265 platform the debuted with the EA model that launched in 87/88. By then, most of the bugs had been ironed out, think head gaskets, schizophrenic central locking and suspect handling traits.

I need to correct the bolded information, EA Falcon was EA26 and not EA265. Would be grateful if a Moderator could alter that if possible.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Who remembers the Explorer? A car from a time when Ford would actually take a gamble on making a certain group of vehicles from the US market in RHD. The Explorer didn't have much of an impact on the Australian market, but in the US, this was a pivotal model for Ford and the entire US car market in general. You may not realise this, but the very first Explorer is credited as one of the very first SUV's, a vehicle that while it could go offroad, was more geared towards on road driving.

The first Explorer's in Australia were dubbed the UN and UQ and were only available in 4.0 V6 form. (The US also had the 5.0 Windor V8) Manuals got the ancient OHV 4.0 V6, the 5-speed auto's had a SOHC 4.0 V6 that produced the same power as the Aussie SOHC Intek Inline 6, 157 kW. That 5-speed auto would actually reappear on the FG Falcon in 2008 to 2010.

My English teacher in high school had a red Explorer, fittingly, her sons also played soccer.

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My one experience fixing a Ford Explorer was some really fat woman come in complaining that the electric seat stopped working,

What it was, she was too heavy for the electric motor and with a bit of age on the motor, it kept popping the fuse.

Wouldn't play up when we had the car, when she took it, no fail - blow fuse

I love the later 2001 onwards models with the 4.6L V8, they look tough as between this and the GMT400 'Holden' Suburban are the two SUVs I'd happily own.

[ford71V8]

Funny you mentioning the taillights on the Explorer being re-used.
I was in traffic and was looking at the rear of one just the other day.
The taillights caught my attention - I could tell I had seen them before maybe, was thinking the early Territory's but nah not quite right and he drove away at that point.
And here you are filling in the missing info :-)
The whole rear looks a little SX Terry.

[FTE217]

The Exploder 1st 2 gens, even though the sales weren't huge here the aftermarket loved them, POS sold alot of product
I felt sorry people owning one when I saw them on the road haha

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by FTE217

The Exploder 1st 2 gens, even though the sales weren't huge here the aftermarket loved them, POS sold alot of product
I felt sorry people owning one when I saw them on the road haha

Can't say I'm surprised to read that.

[DFB FGXR6]

Returning to the AU Falcon, and the captivating T-Series.

Thinking back to when the T1 was one sale in 1999, I don't even have much recollection of the T-Series or even FTE. I of course knew about the XR6 and XR8, Falcon GT even, but the T-Series? Completely unaware. And that right there was one of the key reasons the T-Series, at least in T1 and T2 guise, didn't fire................no one knew what it meant. Naturally, there were other reasons; the lack of stylistic muscle combined with the overall AU Falcon's shape, a lack of headline power numbers, the most powerful engine saddled to the 4-speed automatic........................

But there were positives, ones that seemed to get lost in translation. Despite not having visible exhaust tips, the sound of the Windsor won many fans, especially directly compared to the choked up 5.7 GEN III V8 in the Holden and HSV opposition.

Steering, Ford really did good work with the AU Falcon's steering, to the point where I believe the AU was the finest of ALL Falcon's for steering feel and response. And the chassis, in particular the double wishbone IRS that positively transformed any Falcon it was fitted to. That IRS made the Holden's archaic semi-trailing arm setup look and feel like a joke................replacing chopped out rear tyres because of that design was no joke though. Brakes, well, they were much better than any Falcon up until that point.

The range consisted of the TE50 and TS50, both at that point based on the Fairmont/Fairmont Ghia, along with the LWB TL50 based on the Fairlane. The TE and TL used a 200 kW version of the Windsor, the TE could be had in auto or manual, the TL was auto only. The TS50 gained alloy heads and various valve train, intake and exhaust improvements to produce 220 kW. The catch was that engine was auto only. In a first for the Aussie market, the auto did have a manual shifting function via steering wheel mounted buttons. TS and TL also got a much nicer set of front seats.

Market positioning with the T-Series was vastly off point though. FTE/Tickford were aiming these cars at executives, people who may have grown up with GT's in their past and now wanted something more discrete. Well, that was the theory.

In reality, people wanted POWER and wanted everyone to know they had POWER. That whole philosophy worked wonders for Holden and HSV, both giving customers what they wanted. Ford and Tickford sort of had a bet both ways, the XR's aimed at a younger audience and much more overtly styled. The T-Series aimed at a more mature audience and more discrete. I think history shows that in the later years, fast Falcon's sold better when they looked fast too.

The original show car -



























































I'm guessing roping in Mark Taylor as a brand ambassador played to the "successful gentleman" persona FTE were going for.

[DFB FGXR6]

The T2 T-Series mirrored the wider Falcon AU II update, bringing a range of improvements to equipment and refinement.

For the T2, Tickford focused on making the T-Series more identifiable with two tone bumper treatments and a wider range of colours offered. Model designations were also added to the side skirts and engine cover. On TE50, you could also choose between Cloth, or Charcoal, Vivid Blue or Vibrant Red leather trim with a matching Momo Steering Wheel and gear shift. TS and TL kept the good seats in either Charcoal or Aubergine.

All models now had the 220 kW alloy head Windsor and the 5-speed T5 manual was now available on the TS50 after being strengthened to suit the more powerful engine. (Some very late T2's reverted to cast iron heads, this was in line with the 220 kW engine becoming standard on the XR8). The TE50 did however lose the premium brakes for the upgraded standard Falcon system, although they could be optioned, joined by red calipers.

Sadly, I don't have a lot of T2 images.

This would have been my T2 spec, TE50 in auto, Venom Red and the Vivid Red interior, Auzzuro's and Premium Brakes. I would easily have one of these in my fantasy garage.

[DFB FGXR6]

And so, we arrive at the T3, the moment where Ford FINALLY drew a line in the sand and gave the people what they were asking for!

By the time the T3 went on sale in late 2001, I was a fully-fledged Ford boy. The T3 was my "poster car", I remember counting down the days until I could go and buy Wheels and Motor magazine to read the reviews and drool over the pictures. This poster came in a later edition of Motor and hung on my wall for a long time................



With the T3, Tickford finally gave the AU chassis the power it deserved. I have said this before, but my T3 TS50 was easily the best Falcon I have ever driven. For some reason, the combination of engine-chassis-brakes-tyres was in balance with this car, where in later models the balance was out of kilter.

Stylistically, while the car used the same bumpers, they were capped with more aggressive lower halves, both front and rear. The grill and side skirts were new, as were the TS and TL 18-inch wheels. The TE and TS also got that huge wing. At the time, Ford actually had to get head office approval for the ride height of this car. The TE actually reverted to the XR interior with blue dial faces, losing the Fairmont center console and door trims. The TS50 also reverted to XR seats and could be had with the red or blue colouring, but retained the white dial faces. TL50 remained unchanged except for the wheels.

While Tickford went balls out with the styling, let's be real here, the T3 was all about the engine. Stripped from a crate engine and rebuilt using numerous locally designed and manufactured parts, the old Windsor was taken out to 5.6 liters and 250 kW and 500 Nm. That huge intake plenum also meant it has some lungs at the top end of the rev range. The T3 also went to dual square exposed exhaust tips, that let the world see where that glorious noise was coming from. I loved how this engine chugged along at idle, the wild cam making the car rock on its haunches. The only drawback to this engine was the less than smooth running and the horrendous fuel consumption. You pay to play. So much was the torque this engine produced, a new Tremec T45 5-speed manual replaced the T5, a special adaptor plate machined to allow the new gearbox to mate to the old engine.

The T3 also heralded the arrival of proper brakes on a Falcon, 4-piston Brembo calipers all round, even braided stainless steel lines. My car had the Brembo's, one of the highlights of the car.



































































My TS50 was bought in 2012 from the original owner, it having been sold alongside the BA FPV GT. That car was in the signature colour Blueprint, Vivid Blue Interior, Brembo Brakes, ESS Auto and Premium Sound. If I was to spec one today, it would be a TS50 in Narooma Blue, Manual, Vivid Blue Interior, Brembo's and Premium Sound.

The T3 was a moment in time car, the point where Tickford were let loose to go and fight Holden and HSV with both arms swinging. It also previewed what was to come. Not many get to meet their boyhood dream car, let alone driving or owning it. My T3 ownership was brief, but one that I'm grateful for.