Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 With prices reaching the ridiculous the much maligned 4 door is now being considered as a more viable option and achieving more appreciation of their own style. Uniquely different rather than less of a looker than their 2 door counterparts. Coming from a different country my personal perspective and that of the local market differs from that of the UKs. All sports models big and small were offered in both 2 and 4 door versions so as to counter the mindset that a Ford had to be 2 doors to be sporty. Often it can be all in the delivery to make that 4 door a head turner in its own right. So lets see just how stunning those 4 doors can be! I will kick the thread off with some Cortinas Mk1 Mk2 Mk3 Mk4/5 (Aus TE/TF) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexican Gerbil Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 A few I’ve spotted this year plus a local mates more door MK2 Escort Seems to be plenty Tina’s out there. I do know someone converting an Mk1 Escort from a 4 to a 2 door. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltamal Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 My 4 door Mk3, it's fitted with a 2.9 12 valve tweaked Cologne, 190 @ the wheels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anglia58 Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 mk2 escort 1977 1300 autmatic , shortend 3.22 capri axle, 7 1/2 revolution wheels with 185 and 205 tires, daily driver, will be green on the outside, the enginebay and underside are already green, easy to put the shopping on the back seat, great car, work in progress, cheers marcel 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeEm Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 This was mine. Loved it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 That has a Limo class look about it SmokeEm. I would have kept that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Heer Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 1 hour ago, SmokeEm said: This was mine. Loved it! granada looks the Biz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeEm Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 18 minutes ago, Rally Pack 2000 said: That has a Limo class look about it SmokeEm. I would have kept that. So would I if I'd had a garage. Unfortunately, when I parked it up for winter that year, I detailed the hell out of it inside & out and when I pulled the covers off in October to warm it up and check levels etc, the seat belts had gone furry with mould as had the seats and dash! I was heartbroken. I cleaned it back up and it was on Ebay later that day. A huge part of me wishes I had tried to rent a private garage somewhere but alas I sold it to a farmer on the Isle of Wight. (He still has it I believe) I'll never own such a mint car again now that prices have rocketed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colr6 Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Smokem couldn't hold on to his own breath under water, let alone keep a car.....lol.........he's the only private individual I know who has a traders insurance policy for the amount of cars he goes through! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 5 hours ago, Mexican Gerbil said: I do know someone converting an Mk1 Escort from a 4 to a 2 door. That's sad in a way. In the case of 4 door Mk1 Escorts is that they require a fine balance to make the look flow past the rear doors. Unlike many other OldSkoolFords that look equally good in 2 and 4 doors, the Mk1 4 door Escort is hardest of them all to achieve. Its just that even a average Mk1 2 door still looks pretty good. But it can be done with a little effort, its just about finding the right combination of ride height, wheels and finish. I hope to see more of them making their mark as more begin to appreciate them. One tip for Mk1 Escorts is to loose the chrome strips that surround the windows of both front and rear doors that appear on several models. This just draws more attention to them and makes everything look fussy. The Mk1s have the advantage of sharing the same chrome gutter strip between both 2 and 4 door so unlike the Mk2 this doesn't draw a different line down the C Pillar due to the number of doors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 1 hour ago, SmokeEm said: So would I if I'd had a garage. Unfortunately, when I parked it up for winter that year, I detailed the hell out of it inside & out and when I pulled the covers off in October to warm it up and check levels etc, the seat belts had gone furry with mould as had the seats and dash! I was heartbroken. I cleaned it back up and it was on Ebay later that day. A huge part of me wishes I had tried to rent a private garage somewhere but alas I sold it to a farmer on the Isle of Wight. (He still has it I believe) I'll never own such a mint car again now that prices have rocketed. I had lichens growing on my Mk2s windscreen rubbers once through lack of washing. Had the big ones up to 20mm. They weren't classics back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexican Gerbil Posted July 23, 2018 Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 11 minutes ago, Rally Pack 2000 said: This ones gorgeous ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 1 minute ago, Mexican Gerbil said: This ones gorgeous ? I think so too. Vivid colours is also key to that head turning 4 door Mk1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 The Australian 4 Door XD Falcon of 1980 The uniquely Australian XD Falcon model was available in 3.3L/4.1L Straight six or 302/351 V8s. Supposedly unique but I can't help getting this nagging feeling I have seen it somewhere else before? Probably just my imagination. Anyways, next something completely different from around the other side of the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accord83 Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 V8 you say? Sometimes it's very difficult to like you Southern Hemisphere people!? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 1 hour ago, accord83 said: V8 you say? Sometimes it's very difficult to like you Southern Hemisphere people!? Yep big ones too none of this small Rover stuff. Note the 5.8 Litre badges on the front wings. The rear doors aren't so much for access to the rear seats but as to add weight to rear to balance the lumps up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accord83 Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 I guess you don't have many friends..... Your rapidly losing this one.?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 11 minutes ago, accord83 said: I guess you don't have many friends..... Your rapidly losing this one.?? LOL I think the XD is the best looking of our Falcons even over the 2 door coupe classics of the previous years. The design ripped off (cough) ...... um I mean inspired by the Mk2 Granada, add some Yank muscle and voila an Australian family car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anglia58 Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 hi, an other mk1 4 door, it's a 74, build 15 years ago, was a 1100 4 speed, now a 1300 automatic so my mum could drive it, the roof is 2 pack paint, the rest is 1 pack witch was already 35 years old when i used it, it needs a respray, i will get it back in oct, my mum will stop driving, i think this one looks like a faster luxurious car, cheers marcel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMEscort Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 12 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said: LOL I think the XD is the best looking of our Falcons even over the 2 door coupe classics of the previous years. The design ripped off (cough) ...... um I mean inspired by the Mk2 Granada, add some Yank muscle and voila an Australian family car. Re: "add some Yank muscle" Sorry. All production V8's sold by Ford Australia were Australian manufactured V8's and had many upgrades and improvements over the US manufactured counterpart. In 1968/69 Ford Australia bought the patterns and tooling from Ford USA to manufacture the castings and forgings for the 351 cu inch V8 to be fitted to the XY Falcon. Soon after Ford Australia started manufacturing the 302 cu inch V8 which I understand Ford USA did not manufacture at that time. This was based on the 351 however had a shorter stroke than the 351. In 1972/73 Ford Australia bought worn out patterns and tooling from Ford USA. Ford Australia then added further improvements to the worn out tooling by adding gussets and strengthening into the castings. The engines produced were heavier and stiffer than the predecessors. In 1979/80 as part of the XD Falcon project (Similar shape car to the European Granada) Ford Australia designed and manufactured the pillar block engine block which was even stiffer than the previous. Also from memory Ford USA only offered the 2V cylinder head where Ford Australia offered the 2V and also developed and manufactured the 4V head. The Australian Ford V8 engines have long been highly sort after by enthusiasts from all over the world, including the USA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunS Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 I still love 4 door escorts, they remain the ultimate sleeper cars in my view. My work in progress ....couple years now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 8 hours ago, PeterMEscort said: Re: "add some Yank muscle" Sorry. All production V8's sold by Ford Australia were Australian manufactured V8's and had many upgrades and improvements over the US manufactured counterpart. In 1968/69 Ford Australia bought the patterns and tooling from Ford USA to manufacture the castings and forgings for the 351 cu inch V8 to be fitted to the XY Falcon. Soon after Ford Australia started manufacturing the 302 cu inch V8 which I understand Ford USA did not manufacture at that time. This was based on the 351 however had a shorter stroke than the 351. In 1972/73 Ford Australia bought worn out patterns and tooling from Ford USA. Ford Australia then added further improvements to the worn out tooling by adding gussets and strengthening into the castings. The engines produced were heavier and stiffer than the predecessors. In 1979/80 as part of the XD Falcon project (Similar shape car to the European Granada) Ford Australia designed and manufactured the pillar block engine block which was even stiffer than the previous. Also from memory Ford USA only offered the 2V cylinder head where Ford Australia offered the 2V and also developed and manufactured the 4V head. The Australian Ford V8 engines have long been highly sort after by enthusiasts from all over the world, including the USA. Sorry but a few of your details aren't quite right there. V8 Supply to Australia was originally a completely an American affair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_335_engine#351_Cleveland Quotes "During the 1969 Model year, Ford of Australia imported approximately 17,000 302 Windsor and 351 Windsor V8's. However, the 351 Windsor was phased out for 1970 in favor of the newer 351 Cleveland. The 351 Cleveland engines continued to be imported from the US along with the 302 Windsor V8. Both the low-performance 351C-2V and the high performance 351C-4V were imported with the vast majority of the engines being the 351C-2V" Even when Ford USA phased out the engines it took Ford Australia some time to get up to speed to even take over production needing to stockpile parts from the USA. "Initially, the cylinder blocks were imported from the USA, while the remaining parts were manufactured in Australia at the Geelong Ford Foundry. In 1973, Ford of Australia received word of the fact the Ford of USA was stopping production of the 351 Cleveland engine after the 1974 model year. As a result, Ford of Australia placed an order for approximately 60,000 engine blocks to act as a supply until Geelong could start producing its own engine blocks." 4Vs were being imported before Australia even decided to take over any production of any version so cant lay completely claim to its original introduction either. In fact when the USA completely ended production Australia only offered a 351 2V version. Where some confusion may arise is that when Ford Australia did start to offer a 4v it only ever used the 2v head design with small ports. I would have imagine the bigger port 4v by the Americans were probably more sought after than small port Australian stuff. USA motto - "Bigger is better" (even when its not) "Australia only produced one style of cylinder head for the 351 engines, a 2V head with small ports and open chamber cylinder heads. As a result, the Australian 351-4V engines used the 2V cylinder head. This required a unique 4V intake manifold with the smaller 2V ports, unlike the American 351-4V intake manifold which used the large ports. No 351C built in Australia used the large port cylinder heads or closed chamber combustion chambers like the US build 351C-4V engines." Its true that the 302 Cleveland was an Australian only found engine but its was simply a stroked version of the original American Cleveland design even using the same block as the 351 and only represented 10% of overall Cleveland production in Australia. The design aim was as an economy model. 4.9L economy. Hilarious! Its not very sought after though and considered the least desirable incarnation. You can certainly say that Ford Australia played a valuable part in prolonging the life of these iconic engines and some of the cars they blended with can be labelled as unique Australian Muscle Cars. However the 351 Cleveland Engine, was originally fully designed and built then fully imported and then partially imported from the USA with full production only shifting to Australia out of necessity. You could credit Australia also out of necessity that they improved the engine weaknesses as they developed in earlier designs but there was never great changes where one could claim a 351 "Geelong" LOL. To describe it as anything other than "Yank Muscle" and claiming it to be Australian seems to be a bit plagiaristic. Its still safe to call a Nissan Micra built in the UK as a Japanese car and my Escort Twincam as British regardless that Ford Australia put it together poorly and painted them in bright colours. In the case of the iconic Ford 351 I'm sure the USA is still considered its home regardless that it was forced to immigrate at one point and now where the majority of parts still come from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pack 2000 Posted July 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 Sporting Australian Mk2 4 Doors, Rally Pack / RS2000 and 2L Ghia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexican Gerbil Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 2 more from today’s wet car show 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyspencer Posted July 29, 2018 Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 my last mk1, another one I wish i'd kept. I sold it a few years ago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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