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The first and second generation Ford
Falcon range (XK thru XY), were visually very much designed after
the American Falcon product with a boxy, squared look typical of
automobiles of that period. When Ford
announced it was discontinuing the U.S. built Falcon range in March,
1968 - but with the popular car still a
major competitive product in Australia - it was decided to design and
manufacture a completely new Falcon
for Australian roads.
Ford Australia assigned American Jack Telnack with Australian designers
Brian Rossi and Alan Jackson
the task of coming up with a brand new car to lead the third generation
1972 Falcon line-up.
The result was a spectacular departure from the previous models with
bold curving body lines that brought
the car design right up to date for the time. There was a new,
distinctively shaped front grille and bonnet with
a wraparound 'aeroplane' dashboard for the driver with comfortable
high-back seating. The XA model looked
faster, sportier and arguably more desirable than its direct 'large car'
competitors - the Holden HQ and
Valiant VH models, both of which still had an older, squarer look about
them.
The new XA Falcon range featured the usual body types from previous
models - the 4-door sedan and station
wagon with the commercial ute and panel van, but now there included the
reappearance of the 2-door Falcon
Hardtop (Coupe) not seen since the XP Falcon 2-door ended production in September,
1966. The boldest design
of the
range, the new Falcon Hardtop bore wide 'coke-bottle' hips to take the
fat racing rubber needed in the
national touring car racing championships so important to car sales back
in those days.
The XA model series also featured new options lists available as
customer add-ons or fitted as standard
on the venerable Falcon 500, Futura, Fairmont and ultimate GT series.
Power front disc brakes were now
standard on the higher market Futura and Fairmont series.
The XA model was built in Australia from December, 1971 through to
September, 1973 at two Ford plants -
Broadmeadows in Melbourne and Eagle Farm in Brisbane.
Complete-Knock-Down (CKD) kits were shipped to
New Zealand for assembly as sedans and wagons with CKD utility kits sent to
South Africa. Total production
was 152,609 XA Falcons including the GT series.
Body Style Commonality
Of the five body styles in the XA Falcon range, all of them shared the
same 'look' with the same front grille,
bonnet and fender panels up to the front doors. The sedan and hardtop
had the same overall length of
4737mm and the commercial range ute and van also had the same overall
length of 4864mm. The sedan
and wagon shared the same 4-door front and back doors with the 2-door
hardtop, ute and van having
the same doors across that range.
One notable difference is the hardtop, seen as a sports coupe, which had
a distinctively lower 'turret' height
compared to the other four body styles. Whereas the sedan, wagon, ute
and van all have a 604mm centre-
windscreen height, the hardtop has a 546mm centre-windscreen height. A
difference of 58mm (2.28 inches).
This means hardtop windscreens are unique to that car whereas the other
four body styles had the same,
and so interchangeable, windscreen glass.
These body style commonalities carried over into the XB and XC Falcon
range.
Date of Introduction
24 February, 1972
Period of Sale
March, 1972 - November, 1973
Australian prices at time of introduction
Falcon Sedan: $2,750.00
Futura Sedan: $3,290.00
Fairmont Sedan: $3,770.00
Fairmont Hardtop: 3,925.00 |
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"Born
on the Wind..." was a
Ford marketing campaign for the new XA Falcon range in 1972
(above left) with
the Melbourne Herald newspaper running a full page advert promoting the
new car on 29 March, 1972
as "A real driver's car" and "The supreme road car"
(above right). |
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| BASIC XA SPECIFICATIONS |
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Hardtop |
Sedan |
Wagon |
Utility |
Panel Van |
| Length: |
186.5 inches
(4737mm) |
186.5 inches
(4737mm) |
196.1 inches
(4981mm) |
191.5 inches
(4864mm) |
191.5 inches
(4864mm) |
| Width: |
77.5 inches
(1969mm) |
74.8 inches
(1900mm) |
74.8 inches
(1900mm) |
75.6 inches
(1920mm) |
75.6 inches
(1920mm) |
| Height: |
51.9 inches
(1318mm) |
53.9 inches
(1369mm) |
54.6 inches
(1387mm) |
54.6 inches
(1387mm) |
63.5 inches
(1613mm) |
| Wheelbase: |
111 inches
(2819mm) |
111 inches
(2819mm) |
116 inches
(2946mm) |
116 inches
(2946mm) |
116 inches
(2946mm) |
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The all new XA Falcon ready to tackle
the Aussie outback! |
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| FALCON Standard |
The basic no-thrills, cut price series
version for low-end market buyers carried plain 'Falcon' badges
and came
without most of the factory fitted extras found on the higher grade XA
series. Items such as power windows and
air conditioning were not available unless a higher capacity engine
(250ci and up) was optioned. The sedan and
wagon
were also assembled via CKD
kits in New
Zealand. CKD kit utes were also assembled
in South Africa
being marketed
as the Ford Ranchero. The GS Rally Pack was not optional in
this series except for the panel van.
There was no two-door
hardtop offered in the XA Falcon Standard series. Taxi kits were available for sedans. |
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| BODY STYLES |
Sedan, Wagon, Utility, Panel Van |
| STANDARD FITTINGS |
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Engine: |
130hp 200ci (3.3L) Inline 6 Cylinder / 1V /
HC |
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Transmission: |
Manual 3-spd Column Shift (Partial Synchro) |
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Other Fittings: |
Front Bench Seat |
| STANDARD RPOs |
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03 -
Seatbelts |
Mandatory. |
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61 -
Styled Exterior R/V Mirror LHS |
Ute, Van only. |
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66 -
High Ride Suspension |
(Heavy Duty Suspension) Wagon only. |
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Good images of Falcon Standard series are
hard to come by as they did not usually feature
in Ford sales brochures. This one comes from a rare
1972 brochure showing the single
hub cab wheels and basic 'Falcon' badges. |
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| FALCON 500 |
The 500 series was essentially the
main XA Falcon series offered to buyers although for reasons unknown it
was not
available with the commercial panel van. There were only a few factory
added Regular Production Options (RPOs)
over the Falcon Standard series but the customer optional extras were
far wider making the Falcon 500 the entry
level
series promoted in Ford sales brochures.
The sedan and wagon were also built via CKD kits in New Zealand,
first
at the Seaview plant in Lower Hutt then
at the new Wiri plant in Manukau, Auckland. The first XA Falcon 500
rolled out in June, 1973 (reg. GM5367 /VIN. ML23NM 20457 C) being
registered on 16 August, 1973. The utility was
also
built from CKD kits in South Africa
and marketed as the Ford Ranchero.
Taxi kits were available for sedans. |
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| BODY STYLES |
Hardtop, Sedan, Wagon, Utility |
| STANDARD FITTINGS |
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Engine: |
130hp 200ci (3.3L) Inline 6 Cylinder / 1V /
HC |
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Transmission: |
Manual 3-spd Column Shift (All-Synchro) |
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Other Fittings: |
Front Bench Seat |
| STANDARD RPOs |
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03 - Seatbelts |
Mandatory. |
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09 - Tonneau Cover |
Ute only. |
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19 - Reclining Bucket
Seats
xxxxx |
Mandatory RPO for Hardtop only.
Foldaway Centre Console Armrest with column shift. |
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61 -
Styled Exterior R/V Mirror LHS |
Ute only. |
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66 - High Ride
Suspension |
(Heavy Duty Suspension) Wagon only. |
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The new XA Falcon 500 was the base line
series available with a wide variety of optional upgrades,
this one has the optional full wheel covers fitted for Ford promotional
purposes. |
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The new XA Falcon 500 ute was a popular
choice in the early seventies for both Aussie and Kiwi tradies. |
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The all new Falcon 500 Hardtop featured
inward sloping tail lights that became renown for collecting dust and
dirt.
Fairmont and GT coupes had the addition of a plastic honey-comb grille
fitted to the rear panel below the boot line. |
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Ford Australia exported Falcon ute CKD
Kits to Port Elizabeth, South Africa where they were assembled at a
local Ford plant for sale to South African customers. Marketed as the
Ford Ranchero, the ute came as either a
six cylinder with plain Ranchero badges or a 302ci V8 with
Ranchero 500 badges. It had an automatic gearbox
as
a standard fitting and came with full wheel covers, unique floor
trim, door armrests and courtesy door lamps. |
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| FUTURA |
A few steps up the comfort list was the
XA Futura which, for added cost, came with the much better 250ci engine,
front
power disc brakes, styled full wheel covers, carpets and a cosy
fold-down centre armrest on the bench seat.
The Futura was only offered in the sedan range and taxi kits were
available for operators wanting
to go that
one
better for their customers. |
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| BODY STYLE |
Sedan |
| STANDARD FITTINGS |
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Engine: |
155hp 250ci (4.1L) Inline 6 Cylinder / 1V /
HC |
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Transmission: |
Manual 3-spd Column Shift (All-Synchro) |
| STANDARD RPOs |
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03 - Seatbelts |
Mandatory. |
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05 - Power Disc Brakes
(Front) |
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14 - Full Wheel Covers |
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20 - Front Bench Seat /
foldaway Centre Armrest |
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39 - Carpets |
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Full wheel covers were one of the standard external features on the XA Futura. |
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| FAIRMONT |
The top regular luxury option was the
Fairmont which had all the Futura standard fittings but added the much
desired, for the time, automatic transmission and very swish reclining
front bucket seats. Where auto column
shift was fitted a centre console armrest was added to finish off the
seating look. Although the inline six engine
and
column shift was standard, many customers who opted for the Fairmont
could also afford to go one better
with
an eight cylinder motor resulting in many Fairmonts being built sporting
front fender
'V8' engine badges.
This series was not available in the commercial ute and van range and
was not factory taxi optional. |
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| BODY STYLES |
Hardtop, Sedan, Wagon |
| STANDARD FITTINGS |
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Engine: |
155hp 250ci (4.1L) Inline 6 Cylinder / 1V /
HC |
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Transmission: |
Automatic 3-spd Column Shift (Cruisomatic) |
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Other Fittings: |
Front Seat-Belt Stalks |
| STANDARD RPOs |
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03 - Seatbelts |
Mandatory. |
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05 - Power Disc Brakes
(Front) |
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14 - Full Wheel Covers |
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18 - Roof Rack |
Wagon only. |
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19 - Reclining Bucket
Seats
xxxxx |
Mandatory RPO for Hardtop.
Foldaway Centre Console Armrest with column shift. |
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39 - Carpets |
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66 - High Ride
Suspension |
(Heavy Duty Suspension) Wagon only. |
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85 - Dual Action
Tailgate |
Wagon only. |
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A flash new example of an XA Fairmont
with full wheel covers and optional vinyl roof. |
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XA Fairmont wagon with full wheel covers
and the rarely seen RPO 86 front vent windows. |
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