1974 Ford XB Fairmont Hearse Wagon

Description

Ford’s XA Falcon was seen as a radical departure when introduced in 1972, with plenty of sheet metal reflecting the passion for big cars at the time.  The XA was the first Falcon to be entirely designed and built in Australia and was also the first to offer both a hardtop coupe and long-wheelbase station wagon derivatives.  Ford updated the Falcon range in November 1973, the new XB series chiefly notable for having front disc brakes as standard (power assist was standard on models from the Futura upwards).  The XB could be identified by the new bonnet and honeycomb-type grille treatment, reprofiled front and rear bumpers and wraparound tail lights while the engine line-up included both six-cylinder (200/250cid) or V8 (302/351-cid) powerplants.  An XB Fairmont became the 2,000,000th Ford built in Australia when it rolled off the production line on the 11 November 1975.  These were good times for the Blue Oval, with the XB Falcon knocking Holden’s HQ off the top spot for passenger car sales in the first half of 1974. A XB-model Ford Falcon wagon formed the basis of this Hearse conversion.