Ok, within the next fewm onths im looking at buying a shiny new car, V8 hopefuly. Somewhere between the 1990-2000 mark, for under 20k.

I was just wondering, are the Ford V8's any good, cause ive heard they arent. Im just doing a little homework, looking for known problems (like heads)

Im looking for a 5ltr V8 manual (yeah good luck) and im not too fussy on ford or holden, i hear holden have the better 8, but being a big big ford fan id rather stay true, but for a better car, im willing to stray. (ofcourse ill stay a ford fan)

Thanks.

The heads are only a problem on the 6 cylinders - the V8's have cast iron heads that last forever. Biggest problem with the 5.0's seems to be fuelpumps - I have a 550k+ 96 Fairlane that still pulls 116rwkw and has never been opened. These things will go forever if you give them good quality fluids, regular oil and filter changes and don't abuse the crap out of them all the time.
Shane

hi
i agree with Mrlandau i have a 92 eb xr8 it hes close to 300,000 kms
and it still runs sweet. no oil leaks no rattles and it doesnt blow any smoke.
i give it a bit of a thrashing with no problems at all.
although i change oil and filter every 5000 kms. also keep trans serviced.
i think a ford v8 is the way to go.............................................

Harmonic Balancer's often kill themselves but otherwise no major problems, besides fuel pump as MrLandau pointed out.

A good cond. AU1 -2 XR8 should fetch under/around 20k, depends on the dealer, or seller.

My newness to v8 windors at least tells me they are a very good motor, but just like any car have a few things that just happen, wear and tear, nothing unusual anyway. Not a problem car,

Even a BA XT V8 will sell for 25K. if you can save a bit. there alot newer than an AU.

Keep in mind a few genlll's have opened up and repaired under warrenty, piston slap, oil pump drive and incorrect sump manu etc Most....These would be in your price range..

Mine is mostly stock and has only passed 104K on the odometer. It doesn't squeak, rattle or leak. In fact lifting the bonnet only shows dust on the engine and very little else - it still looks pretty clean after that mileage and it has a satisfyingly effortless lope when cruising at the speed limit. From the time I purchased it, my engine has been rock solid and shows no hint of changing. I'm quite happy with my choice.

IMO the Holden 5.0 tends to be a bit stronger across the rev range, especially torque from idle (although that could be something to do with gearing).

Holden 5.0's are more prone to oil leaks and ancillaries can tend to be a fair bit noisier than the ford V8's.

The holden cabins and plastics in general are nowhere near as high material or build quality as the Ford cabins and plastics. So many rattles and squeaks from inside 100k holdens, and yet my 165k EB barely makes a sound. Case in point, mate of mines completley untouched VS Calais has about 20 different, completely annoying rattles and sqeaks and it has done no country miles (harsh roads), and that car would be otherwise considered micky mouse. (Oh yeah his stereo and cruise buttons on the steering wheel are all busted up, which is a common problem on VR-VS berlina, calais, statesman).

The styling of, and whilst this is entirely subjective, the EB-EL Falcons is much more appealing than that of thier counterpart holdens. With regard the AU's, unless it is an XR, I would seriously consider a Commodore, as I regard the non-XR AU's as one of the ugliest cars on the road. (Before all the AU owners get all bitter and twisted by this comment, its only my opinion).

Having driven a hell of a lot of both these Holdens and Fords, I would go for the ford (especially if at least five years old). You can spend money on motors and gearboxes and diffs to make a truly tough ford, but you may never locate and fix all the squeaks and rattles in your Holden.

Not to mention, if the Holden's seem quicker off the line, in stock form they're not, its pretty well line and ball.
But the way you sit in a Holden gives you the impression that you are travelling faster, (cause you sit lower in comparison to the dash).
Another couple of things to remember is, Ford haven't had any problems with the 5.0l's like Holden have had with their Gen series of motors.
In stock form a Holden 5.0l already has 65mm Throttle Body, and other parts that would give it more performance than a Ford, but they aren't any quicker.... So if you spend a little bit on the Ford, you will see better results than the exact Holden package.

I am biased on this topic, but considering my mates 200,000km Auto EL Futura 6, would beat my mates 90,000km Manual VS SS in a straight line race, that wouldn't impress me, if i owned a Holden 5.0....

Thanks for the input everyone

As i said, id rather stay true to the blue oval, we'll see what happens, cars in Qld seem to be a little cheaper than Vic so i might get something pretty good.

be carefull about that as queensland laws are alot lighter than nsw and vic and i think they can still wind back the kilometers

You'll find that with the exception of XRs and specialty models like ED XR8 sprints, fairlaine by tickfords etc.... the Ford 5L is the same combo from EB through to EL...

The E7TE heads on these engines leave a lot to desire in terms of performance... but theres absolutely nothing wrong with the quality of em. Same can be said for the HO intake manifold.... What this combo does provide is great torque from the word go... you'll just find that there is little to be gained sing-songing up around the redline. Unless, of course you are compressing the air being fed to the engine.

There's more aftermarket parts for the efi windsors than you could shake a credit card at... as for reliability - ive never heard a bad word said about em...

Only problems ive had with mine are the water pump (reasonable to expect them to give up the ghost after 10 years/170k IMO) and the aforementioned harmonic balancer. Good toolkit and a weekend is more than enough to rectify these problems tho.

hmm, id rather not buy something thats been wound back.

I might try and go for an EL 5.0ltr, my uncles mate had one, and it wasnt a bad car.

I need something loud enough to drone out the crappy sound of lancers, civics and skylines around surfers.

Well i've only done 40,000kms driving my EL V8, its now sitting on 165,000kms and i haven't had a problem with it yet (touch wood).
Definately can't fault it, thats for sure.

Dave