1970 Ford Fairlane ZD 302 V8 from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
My one and only Ford
Faults:
Radiator totally clogged up on the first trip, which was interstate. Had it disassembled, cleared and reassembled for $30 at a small town service station.
Cast iron radiator hose stub snapped off due to rust on first trip. I fashioned a bung from a cork obtained at a country cafe and stopped it up.
Leaking from tailshaft oil seal.
Needed a total respray, the paint was truly awful.
Automatic was fairly jerky, especially when selecting reverse.
General Comments:
Big, meaty, grunty thing. I had been driving a company car, and when I moved back to my home state of Victoria, needed a big, cheap vehicle in a hurry. The ZD Fairlane was purchased from a radiator specialist for $1000, which is hilarious because all the problems I ever had with the car were related to the radiator.
It has a huge rear seat and a yawning chasm for a boot, and everything I owned fitted into it. Except my timber bedframe, which went onto roof racks.
Really only bought it for this one trip, after which it sat outside my parents' house without registration until one of my cousins offered me $800 for it.
So this is what it's like to drive a classic muscle car? Ho hum.
Plus point is that apparently anyone with a little mechanical nous can repair them, since it's very low tech and there's plenty of space to work.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th June, 2010