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eBay Find: A 1988 Ford Falcon XF Ute That Is A Long, Long Ways Away From Home!


eBay Find: A 1988 Ford Falcon XF Ute That Is A Long, Long Ways Away From Home!

Ever since the day I saw the 1975 Ford Fairmont that a pilot I worked with pull into the hangar parking lot, I’ve dreamed of bringing in something Australian to drive. I knew it was possible…the pilot told me the story on how he had purchased his all-black Ford…and through some of the forums I frequented, I even chatted with some people who sent cars back and forth across the Pacific Ocean. I only had two problems: I would have to figure out which car I wanted, and I pretty much assumed that I was too broke to make it happen. You can’t help finances, but I could never settle on a car, either. I wanted a third-gen Aussie Falcon, like most people do, then I saw a Holden Torana that a guy I know in California bought as a project. Then I got to set eyes on a 340 Six-Pack powered Valiant Charger VH, painted up to look like a Hemi-6 car. Recently, I’ve been going after reasonably-priced and import-legal aged utes.

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What I wasn’t looking for when I stumbled upon this 1988 Ford Falcon XF Ute wasn’t an Australian anything whatsoever. I was actually doing a quick paw through eBay and had been searching for Ford Rancheros. The XF isn’t exactly a first-choice selection if you are going to bring a Ford over from Australia: in 1982, the company quit putting V8 engines into the Falcon range, much to the annoyance of the Ford faithful. In place of a proper eight is a carbureted 4.1L inline six hooked to an automatic on the column. No, it’s not sporty, but utes weren’t really viewed as a sporty car…they were viewed more often than not as a light-duty truck and usually treated as such.

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That being said, this Falcon presents about as well as a nearly 30-year-old car should, especially since it’s trip across the pond (it’s currently living near the Washington/Oregon border). It could use paint and some minor bodywork, the stock wheels were ditched for wheels you’d normally find on a late-60s Mustang GT or Torino, which look great on the car, and as for that six…well, after thirty years, we are more than sure that it’s due for a rest. We’re torn between a built old-school small-block Ford and a Coyote swap. Send the ute to the paint booth for a new color…we’re thinking Bright Regatta Blue with blackout trim, like a late 1980s Mustang GT. What do you think?

eBay Link: 1988 Ford Falcon XF utility

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5 thoughts on “eBay Find: A 1988 Ford Falcon XF Ute That Is A Long, Long Ways Away From Home!

  1. Ian Mol

    Another for sale in Nashville for $19K- V8 and Rare, Chrysler UTE in Atlanta for $12K

  2. RK

    I’d like a 80s Australian F150, looks just like U.S. model but RHD.

    This car is just fugly no matter how rare or interesting…

  3. john t

    these are extremely common for sale in Australia, good running rego’d examples can be as low as $500. Plenty of 5 speed manuals, and if you’re looking for running gear why not a later Barra 6 – even the crossflows in these can be turbo’d or drop in a later turbo 6. Have a search on gumtree.com.au – theres a bazillion available

  4. Michael

    Hey, I live next to this guy! His name is Lawrence and he’ll import you anything you want from Oz, that’s his business. (Aussie Cars Limited) He has a sweet legit XB Falcon GT in Plum that I’ve drag raced against.

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