1962 Ford Falcon XK 'Windowless' V8 Panel Van

Description

With Holden winning the sales race in Australia in the 1950s thanks to its locally produced models, Ford's Australian arm desperately needed to come up with a car of their own to compete on a level playing field and the compact new Falcon, about to be launched in the States, provided the perfect solution. Although of similar dimensions to the contemporary Holden FC, the new Falcon was far more modern looking, being lower, wider and instantly made its rival look distinctly old fashioned. Ford built a new plant at Broadmeadows in Melbourne to assemble the new Falcon, dubbed the XK series when launched in September 1960, and offered the car in two series, the basic version and better equipped Deluxe. Although essentially a right-hand drive version of the American model, the Aussie Falcon did have heavier duty rear suspension and larger tyres to cope with local conditions. The range was extended to include both utility and panel van versions in May 1961 and the initial 144-cid six-cylinder supplemented by the option of a more power 170-cid Pursuit motor. Transmission choices included a three-speed column shift or two-speed Fordomatic automatic. As with the wagons, the utility and panel van versions (known as the Sedan Delivery) lacked the extended rear overhang of their American counterparts and used the four-door front doors rather than the longer two-door units used by the Ranchero and US sedan delivery. When production of the XK Falcon ended in August 1962, 68,413 units had been sold.