aussie ford zephyr's

[castellan]

I don't know much about these zephyr zodiac consul cars.

What was the go with these.

I think in the 1959 zephyr MK II, you could option disk brakes and a 3 speed auto.
I remember my mum nearly bought a zephyr. one of the last Aussie made type. i think it had a 155 ci motor. my brother's mate had one, and it performed well.
Does anyone know the history of these cars. only mainly about the ones we got in Australia.

Were they a better car then the Holden's in them days. how!

Was ford the 1st to have a automatic transmissions in aus.
I know the XK falcon got a 2 speed auto in 1960.
But was it a zephyr or a customline or a galaxie that we Aussies first got an automatic transmission car. or was GM the 1st.

[Bossxr8]

The straight sixes were SOHC I think and apparently went quite well in the day. Way better than the Holdens did.

[Fairlane]

English car, was at one stage going to be made fully here instead of the Falcon. Was pretty exxy even in the days of the old Imperial Tariff preference.

Zephyr was a big 4
Zodiac was a small I6

There was also a ute

Australia got the Mark 1, 2 & I believer the 3's, 4 was a Europe only job that got replaced by the Tannus/Granada

Pretty sure Customline had Auto in Australia before the Zephyr, first Auto in Australia though was probably a Buick

[JG66ME]

A lot of incorrect posts here.

Mk1 & 2, Consul is four cylinder, Zephyr and Zodiac is six cylinder.
Mk 3 you get the Zephyr 4, Zephyr 6 and Zodiac.
All of he above inline engines and no OHC. All available in Australia.

Mk 4 Zephyr 4 is a 2 litre V4 Essex. Zephyr 6 had a 2.5 or 3 litre Essex and Zodiac all had 3 litre V6s, same as the Capri mk 1. Mk 4 not available in Aus but sold in NZ and Africa.

All replaced by the Mk1 Granada series in 1973.

[ehast13]

Zephyr had a McPherson Strut front end.

Way faster than a comparable Holden.

My first car was a new FC ute. It did 85mph flat out. I got a repco 'supersport' exchange engine and it was timed at 96 mph. I got a Zephyr Ute in 1961 and it did 97mph standard!

Mk2 Zodiac claimed an extra 10hp than Zephyr.

The consuls had a slightly shorter front and 4cylinders only.

The Zodiac was kinda like the Fairmont Ghia of the Zephyr

It was quicker, better handling, braking than the first few falcons. It had a nice short throw manual that was miles ahead of the falcons' big long throw shifter. Disc brakes were offered on the last of the Mk2's.

The Mark 3 was a beauty. Look back at old footage of armstrong 500's and you'll usually see a mk 3 on the front row or two.

[foxtrot3]

Hi check http://www.freewebs.com/zzocm/index.htm for the melbourne club cheers md

[xtremerus]

Mk3 and Mk4 had 4-speed boxes too, on the column though.

[ebxr8240]

Here is the Mk 2 and Mk3 Zephyrs on Beach hop N.Z..
The Mk2 is my brothers car...
This mk3 has a V8 conversion..
The Mk 4's had four wheel disc brakes and IRS rear suspension..
All Zephyrs are 6 cylinders .. The Consul was the 4..
The V4 didn't make it to N.Z thank goodness.. Though it did come in the Transit and 2Ltr Capri..
Bottom is the Zodiac Mk4...Same engine as the 3Ltr Capri ..
This engine had the combustion chambers in piston like the 1600 Kent engine..
Could suffer from over heating if laboured ..

[JG66ME]

Originally Posted by xtremerus

Mk3 and Mk4 had 4-speed boxes too, on the column though.

Mk4 Zodiacs got 4 on the floor as well.

[castellan]

I have found they have a borg warner DG auto from 1961 so what is that a 3 speed auto or 2 speed.
ehast13 them zephyr ute's look good to. must of been rare as hens teeth.

[XAVEE8]

A few more sites with plenty of info

http://www.galeforcezephyrs.com/

http://fordczzmkll.webs.com/

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...rzodiacconsul/

[ehast13]

Dunno, I never had an auto. Auto's were pretty rare in those days as they were miles behind a manual (unlike today's ZF six speed?)

[JG66ME]

2 speed auto was available on mk 2 Zephyr and Zodiac

[mik]

the mark 4 looks very much like a 1968 cd Cortina except with dual head lights, as for the Customline my dad had a late 50`s model with an auto .....not sure how many speeds.

[castellan]

The aussie made 1956 customline got a 3 speed auto. the first of what is called a FMX i think. just that it's smaller than the falcon FMX. from what i can work out. there is 4 sizes with a cast iron case from 1951 that were made.
I think the zephyr MK III got a 3 speed auto. the first of the borg warner 35's called a DG B/W.

I have info on the aussie made 1963 wolseley. it came with a B/W 35 it has only L & D not L S D on the stick like some falcon XR falcons. and maybe XP?
In a test it saying, if ya pull the shifter back to 1st it will go into 1st at 8 MPH and no higher. then if ya hold it flat in 1st and if you wont to get 2ed you have to pull the selector back to L and it will hold 2ed.

The 1963 fairlane only had a 2 speed auto. and the falcon only got the 3 sp auto in the 1965 XP. and the ford galaixe got the 3sp C6 in 1966 i think. and holden's 1st 3 sp auto was in the 1960 EJ to 1964 EH then only 2speeds until the traumatic 3sp auto 1970 HG.
Anyone know more about this stuff.

[Super Snake]

That car brings back memories.
Dad had one. And as a kid, I remembered the floor in the back was rusted through and I could see the road passing by.
He had the car for a long time, and ended scraping it.

[foxtrot3]

Hi From memory the DG (in the MK2 ) was a 3 speed dual gate (L+D)and it had a lock up torque converter just like lots of cars now but rare in those days and the MK3 had a bw 35 again just like early falcons and also dual gate, that is above a certain speed pulling it to low would drop it from 3rd to 2nd then when the speed droped right down from 2nd to 1st. cheers MD

[last fairlane]

How many mistakes in one post as I recall
for a start it was 1957 and Ford 7a Customline had a 'Fordomatic" 3 speed
(where do you think we got the "FMX" name from) Chrysler had a manual overdrive you could also get a Standard 10 ( think Triumph) with push button clutch on top of the gear stick
Holden got 3 I repeat 3 speed auto in 1961 with the EK and then 2 speed with the HD/HR and back to 3 speed in the HK but not the V8s they were 2 speed I had the pleasure of winding out a brand new HK Premier 307 "5 Litre " to 75 MPH in first gear but still couldnt get away from a BMW 2002
Zephyr had BW 35 in 1961 along with Wolsely and Austin Freeway and Mk 2 Jags
Falcons on debut were 2 speed air cooled transmissions they werent conected to the radiator
and dont forget Valiants had auto from 1962 push button "Torque flite"
3 speed
thats my recollections
thanks John

[castellan]

FORD use the name's
cruse-o-matic
ford-o-matic
But that has nothing to do with what actual auto trans that is actually in it.
As i see it the customline auto is not a FMX. but the first of what was to become a FMX, but smaller. how good it was or performed i don't know.
The 2 sp in the falcon XK-L-M-P were 3rd rate rubbish.
The 3 sp B/W35 from what i can work out there is 2 versions in the XR falcon the std one has L S D and the one called cruse-o-matic has L and D ONLY. but both are B/W35 auto's. and this was a option on 6 cyl and 289 V8. and with the cruse o if i am right you could take off in 2 ed gear for snow or mud?

And as far as i know in the XT-W it's the same with the 6 cyl but they had a L S D selector. and the V8 may of got the C4 auto. but i am not 100% sure when the first falcon got the C4 auto. i think it was XW, when ford was boasting of a "DRIVERS AUTO" one that you could use like a manual with the T BAR.
Now with this C4 auto, like the B/W35 with the cruse option, you could take off in 2ed if you wanted to. but the B/W35 was not a drivers auto, but a grand par's auto. how it performed. and in std form FMX and C6 auto's can't match a C4, for spirited driving style.

[castellan]

Yes last fairlane.
1961 EK is a 3 sp auto.
The EJ to EH may even be called a 4 sp auto. weird how it works.
Holdens had 2 sp powerglide from HD to HT in 6 cyl and all V8's and also in the HG 350. were as all other HG got the trumatic 3 sp auto.

Valiant RV1 & SV1 were a fine auto. do you know when valiant went to the B/W35 in the 6 cyl. I am thinking maybe the VH.

[last fairlane]

yes I beleive it was when the first "hemi" came out they went to an Aussie motor and trans as well as diff
and maybe it was also a bit cheaper to go with the Ford pattern which BW was already making instead of the Val stud pattern
also has any one heard the story about the Hemi engine plant sent over to Austria back in the eighties to the Jeep plant if you get a chance have a look at an early 90s Jeep and check out the donk it looks a lot like a 245 Hemi motor with EFI attached to it and the badge 4 Litre high output 245CI = 4 Litre
just what Ive heard and seen
thanks John

[last fairlane]

Which one was more advanced (Australian model only)
1952 Mk1 Zephyr ----------------- Fx Holden 1948/52
one piece curved windscreen ------ 2 piece flat windscreen
swinging pedals -------------------through the floor pedals
macpherson strut front end---------king pin front end until 1965
floating axle back end -------------keyway and key hubs
indicators (little orange arms)------ none (hand out the window)
stop and tail lights (2) -------------stop and tail lights (1)
3 box shape-----------------------humpy shape
12 volt system--------------------6 volt system
convertable available--------------ute and panel van available
Zephyrs were 100 Pounds ($200) more expensive than a Holden
and even then
they were advertised as "Australians own car"
which got people in
these are some of the things I recall from owning five
Zephyrs and a couple of Consuls from Mk1 to Mk3
both cars were crude compared to today but horses for courses
in my eyes nothing has changed except we have Falcons
and they have Commodores
thanks John

[castellan]

Yes a mate bought one of those jeep's new. and that is what the dealer told him. that it was the old 245 hemi motor basically.

$200 back in 1952 = $2000 or more in today's money.

So the RV1 to VF valiant's don't have a B/W diff.
I thought they were the same. what are they?
Do you know if there a deference between the XK-L-M-P falcon diff, to the XR-T-W-Y B/W diff. John.
I think there is a 7.5 inch and a 7.75 inch B/W diff in the XA-B. weather it's just in the crown wheel? i think the 3.23 ratio were 7.5 inch and the 3.27 was a 7.75 with extra teeth in the ute's. there is bugger all in those ratios and even in 1993 the XG longreach got the 3.27 and the 1993 sedan got the 3.23 ratio. and then there is the 4 star centers in the XRGT & some ute's like XR-T had that std. but i don't think from the XW on got that center. but XG on do.

[Monkey]

Wish i still had my Mk3 Zephyr
4speed manual, power assit disk brakes all in 1964

[SpartanMcDoodle]

I got a mk II zephyr I've had for 10 years now. it was the first car I ever bought and I will eventually pull it down and rebuild it. The shape of these cars are pretty good and have the potential of being a very nice cruiser.

[ebxr8240]

Originally Posted by SpartanMcDoodle

I got a mk II zephyr I've had for 10 years now. it was the first car I ever bought and I will eventually pull it down and rebuild it. The shape of these cars are pretty good and have the potential of being a very nice cruiser.

Please please don't custom it though..

[Pedro]

Small piece of absolutely useless information ... The Mk1 Zephyrs had the same clutch as the 4 cylinder Consuls and used to trash them regularly due to the disparity in horse power. When I was an apprentice, my boss and I working as a team, could change a Zephyr clutch plate in 20 minutes.

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Wish i still had my Mk3 Zephyr
4speed manual, power assit disk brakes all in 1964

Seriously...When my mates and I got our drivers licenses in the mid/late 70's the typical first car of choice in NZ in those days was either a Mk 3 Zephyr, PA Vauxhall or a Valiant (AP5, AP6 or VC) ....I went a bit more upmarket and bought a TC Cortina.....The mates who bought the Mk3 Zephyrs or the Vauxhalls always complained at them being off the road...some new problem every week with them....Yet the Valiants by contrast just wouldn't die which says a lot for the toughness of the Aussie 6's versus those made by the Poms.

The Zephyr was a common site on our roads in the 60's and 70's and will always be remembered

[torbirdie]

Originally Posted by castellan

Valiant RV1 & SV1 were a fine auto. do you know when valiant went to the B/W35 in the 6 cyl. I am thinking maybe the VH.

Not sure exactly, can remember the torqueflite badge on the ve, but the vf definitely came with the bw35

[ebxr8240]

Comparing a mid 60's model to a 70's car is a little unfair ??
Besides back then the Cortina would be fairly new..
Plus the difference in engine size.. 2.6 against 3.3 or 4.1..
Not that the 3.3 was a grunt machine...