Australian Cars In The UK

[TripleRich]

Larger Mk2 Granada with a V8?  Yes please!  Did any make it, I've never seen one?

[RoadworkUK]

I think I'm right in saying that, although there's an overwhelmingly strong resemblance, the Falcon and Granada didn't actually share any common panels. 

I have an '81 Australian Ford range brochure heading this way soon. Rather looking forward to it.

[jonathan_dyane]

Why is everything shit now? Why does every territory have to be filled with the same anodyne shit? (Rant over, rhetorical question that does not require an answer).

[Mrs6C]

My brother had what I seem to remember was a Ford Fairmont coupe from the early 1970s, with a Cleveland 351 motor. It was loud in many ways, being bright yellow in colour. His young children called it the 'Banana Car'. I drove it once or twice. I may have some photos of it somewhere...

[JeeExEll]

^ Triplerich, I've never even seen a pic of a Granada-shaped Falcon on UK plates. 

I remember seeing Australian cars being available in the new car price listings in mid-70s Motor, Autocar, etc, and the ad pages usually showed who the suppliers were.

Could be worth a look through late 70s to 1990s UK mags if anyone has any. There may also be some scanned UK magazine road tests or comparisons involving imported Australian models on line. (Trigger?).

[sheffcortinacentre]

AC cars imported fords in late 90's-00's for funeral trade the co-op where big customers (Sheffield have some 17plts).

The where sold as verte as they weren't allowed to use the ford names as they'd have to be type approved etc.

Mine is an 02 AU2 in Burgundy,that silver one is very close reg to mine ( last 3 letters are different). There are quite a few over here.

Funnily enough there's someone who works at a garage about 1/2 mile from me that has a blue Holden Ute of similar age.

A garage in Ross on Wye seems to deal in Holden's unfortunately I'm never in the area when its open.

Mines pure lpg & costs roughly the same to run as the 2.0 petrol P100 I had its done just under 45 k miles from new..

Great tow vehicle.

The mk2 Granada shape has front struts & leaf sprung solid rear axle & prob shares very little with it.

[Asimo]

I briefly worked at Chrysler in Coventry in 1976 and the bigwigs all had Chrysler Valiants in their managerial parking slots.

I got the impression they were only imported so that these guys didn't have to drive (Simca)  Chrysler 180s.

I've never seen a "UK" Valiant since. 

[Asimo]

2 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

A garage in Ross on Wye seems to deal in Holden's unfortunately I'm never in the area when its open.

Really?  That's my home town and I had no idea. Do you have a name?

PS Just been "face-timing" my wife who is on a road trip in Australia. She has a rented Quashkai. Which is disapointing.

[sheffcortinacentre]

No but its just up road from supermarket with petrol station ( Morrisons?) ,Sorry only go once a year to Cortina day in June in Monmouth.

This will be long winded.

We come up from Symonds yat turn right at roundabout keeping petrol station on right.

We then enter Ross & have to turn left on one-way system, at bottom of hill we turn right ( there's a yard with I think catering trailers or similar) we go few 100 yds then at junction turn right ( when you look left there's a garage opposite & slightly up hill) then , the supermarket is further down on left.

It seems to reg have half doz Holden's in its yard.

Hope that helps if not pm me.

[Saabnut]

2 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Saabnut could your Valiant have been the body shape which ended in 71? Around very late 80s, 1990ish, I did some on-site work at an engineering workshop in Stonehaven. Was based there for a couple of weeks living in a B&B and remember an old 2-door hardtop Chrysler Valiant driving around, right hand drive obv, but it was the shape from before 1972. I think it was red, quite rough looking, but great to see on the street.

This body shape 

Yes, that will have been the same car. It was brown, and I bought it with a few days MOT and no brakes thinking I could sort the brakes. Never did due to the rampant rot I found underneath, but I wish I had perservered with it as I liked it a lot.

[chaseracer]

Didn't end well for this Valiant in 'The Professionals'...

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_109690-Chrysler-Valiant-VE-1967.html

[Mrs6C]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

My brother had what I seem to remember was a Ford Fairmont coupe from the early 1970s, with a Cleveland 351 motor. It was loud in many ways, being bright yellow in colour. His young children called it the 'Banana Car'. I drove it once or twice. I may have some photos of it somewhere...

I couldn't find a photo of the actual car, but my brother says it was a Ford Fairmont XA coupe, with 400hp and the air filter out of the bonnet and 4 exhaust pipes out from under the side of the car behind the rear wheels, both sides. It was canary yellow with black pinstripes and black vinyl roof.

It looked something like this:
https://www.autozworld.com/autos/ford/fairmont/1972-ford-fairmont-xa-coupe-4702.html

 

[Richard_FM]

Thanks for the feedback, one of the undertakers near to be as a fleet of Fairmonts. 

Where I work isn't far from Stockport crematorium so it's common to have a funeral procession past.

[MorrisItalSLX]

8 hours ago, Amishtat said:

A mate of mine has this but I'm ashamed to say that I don't know what it is other than a Holden.. 

That would be a Holden HR Special Station Wagon, one of my favourites (and a 1967 on an E reg I believe).

2 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

I think I'm right in saying that, although there's an overwhelmingly strong resemblance, the Falcon and Granada didn't actually share any common panels. 

The only thing shared between the XD Falcon and the MK2 Granada was the headlamps.

[sierraman]

Somewhere I’ve seen the adverts for a Ford Fairmont as an import so I’m assuming a few have made it here. 

[cort1977]

Love proper Australian cars.

When we lived there we had a BF Falcon wagon on pure LPG.  It had the same engine as sheffieldcortinacentre's ute i think, a 4.0 litre straight six (the Barra engine) with a green cam cover like the sierra sapphire cosworths.

It was a lovely old thing, simple but comfy with great AC, loads of space and more than enough power.  Brought both my kids home from the hospital in it.

 

 

Obviously all the 70s XA and Xb coupes are super cool but my personal favourites were the pretty rare Chevrolet Impalas built in small numbers in RHD in the late 60s and also the tiny number of Caprice's in the mid-70s.

Just realized this post is nothing to do with Australian cars in the UK but hopefully someone will find it interesting.

[adw1977]

I have a 1974 model year Chrysler range brochure, which is notable for containing many Hillmans and Simcas and very few Chrysler badged cars - Flickr link

One page includes the CH, Valiant Regal and Valiant Charger:

And here's a Glass's Guide from 1979 - the GCR column is the second hand retail price in May 1979:

[sierraman]

http://www.aus-ford-uk.co.uk/html/where_are_they_now__.html

Heres some awesome info on U.K. aus Fords. 

[dollywobbler]

Well guess who now wishes he had shipped his Ford Fairmont back to the UK. They are great old buses, all torque and no technology.

[davocano]

The father of a schoolfriend had an XA Falcon wagon with the 4.9L V8. This was in 1980 but I've no idea if it was officially imported.

[flat4alfa]

On 1/26/2020 at 2:24 PM, MorrisItalSLX said:

I recall a thread here a while ago where some shitters attended a banger race (Stan Woods Memorial?) that had a Holden HQ wagon go around the oval, it stood out to me as it had a seemingly rust free tailgate which is quite the rarity.

I looked but could not find

I assumed it was this one 

Year is right for HQ, but it was fitted with the later HZ front 

[flat4alfa]

There was this one

Although I'm not convinced it's a Monaro. 

Definitely HQ front, but because of the four headlights it's either a genuine LS Sedan (unlikely) or a Premiere (most likely)

[flat4alfa]

This Holden FB, posted photo 2011

 

[quicksilver]

On 1/26/2020 at 12:36 PM, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Not surprising you saw a Falcon ute near Buckingham @bramz7, they were imported by a company based in Thorton which is halfway between  Buckingham and Milton Keynes. I think they were all LPG too. 

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2002/5/27/lpg-first-drive-the-verte-tempest-a-truck-that-s-a-gas-gas-gas/11442/

just found this , didn't realise they were only LPG and not petrol and LPG, also didn't remember they sold them as Vertes, seems they were 15 years too soon for the green revolution.

Well you learn something new every day! I've lived my whole life in Buckingham but never knew about this, nor have I ever seen one of those Falcon utes here or anywhere else. I do have a vague memory of someone in Tingewick owning an AU Falcon XR6 or XR8 back in the 1990s though. The Coleman Milne funeral cars are Fairlanes, the posher version of the Fairmont, and seem fairly numerous; Co-op Funeralcare had a fleet and my grandmother made her final journey in one accompanied by matching limos. I remember not being sure what they were at the time but concluding they must be Aussie because RHD.

 

Here's one of those Aussie Chrysler Valiants sold new in the UK. They were offered here as replacements for the big Humbers but I don't think many were sold.

WYH 7H - 1969 Chrysler Valiant by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

And something a little more modern, a Holden Maloo. DVLA says made Dec 2004 and registered Jul 2005.

V8 MLO - 2004 Holden Maloo 285 R8 by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Don't forget The Sweeney Valiant. This appeared in two different episodes , once as the transport of probably offensive, these days , stereotype Aussie armed robbers, all cans of Fosters and shagging everything  that moved, cheeky ockers. Played by famous Australians Patrick Mower and George Layton.

[overrun]

22 hours ago, jonathan_dyane said:

Why is everything shit now? Why does every territory have to be filled with the same anodyne shit? (Rant over, rhetorical question that does not require an answer).

When I was a kid, my family emigrated to Oz, including two lots of aunties and uncles, cousins.

It was a wonderous time for me, as we arrived last, and the rest of the family already had cars. A Nissan Pintara, a Falcon Ute, these were totally alien to me and I loved them.

My dad had an E80? 4dr Corolla, the one with the angry looking tail lights, then an N13 Pulsar hatch with roo bars.

Next door had a Bronco, down the road I remember a Valiant Charger I think.. so interesting back then.

[Cheezey]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

I looked but could not find

I assumed it was this one 

Year is right for HQ, but it was fitted with the later HZ front 

I vaguely mind someone on retro rides having that a while ago. 
 

Edit: found it

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/98884/re-holden-kingswood-mad-hilda

[NorfolkNWeigh]

3 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Well you learn something new every day! I've lived my whole life in Buckingham but never knew about this, nor have I ever seen one of those Falcon utes here or anywhere else. I do have a vague memory of someone in Tingewick owning an AU Falcon XR6 or XR8 back in the 1990s though. The Coleman Milne funeral cars are Fairlanes, the posher version of the Fairmont, and seem fairly numerous; Co-op Funeralcare had a fleet and my grandmother made her final journey in one accompanied by matching limos. I remember not being sure what they were at the time but concluding they must be Aussie because RHD.

 

Here's one of those Aussie Chrysler Valiants sold new in the UK. They were offered here as replacements for the big Humbers but I don't think many were sold.

WYH 7H - 1969 Chrysler Valiant by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

And something a little more modern, a Holden Maloo. DVLA says made Dec 2004 and registered Jul 2005.

V8 MLO - 2004 Holden Maloo 285 R8 by Adam Floyd, on Flickr

 

That XR6 or 8 you remember might have been more than one car! There were a few around during that time at Tickford , possibly someone from Tickford lived in Tingewick.  I remember seeing a red one parked outside the AM works in Tavistock street next to Jackie Stewart's Scorpio .

i often wondered if they were sent home, scrapped and crushed or sold on- they alwYs had normal UK plates rather than trade plates.

[quicksilver]

There could have been more than one and the Tickford connection makes sense. The one I remember was black or dark blue with red body trim so definitely not the one you saw, and the young me had no idea what it was: I'd heard of XR2, 3 and 4 but never XR6 so I knew it was some odd Ford but didn't know what.

[overrun]

36 minutes ago, Cheezey said:

I vaguely mind someone on retro rides having that a while ago. 
 

Edit: found it

http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/98884/re-holden-kingswood-mad-hilda

Yeah, I know the lad, lives up here. Shame I never saw it in person. @Jikovron may be able to offer some info?