the non-controversial Falcon Ute PICTURE thread

[Joe Dirt]

What's wrong with this?

I'm sure the Ute has it's fans and place, but for some reason it reminds me too much of a rabbit pickup.

 

[MyTrac]

...its not very attractive..?

 

[snoranger]

What's wrong with this?

It looks like something my dog left on the lawn that I have to go clean up before a party.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Ahahaha!

 

[MyTrac]

Idk why anyone would ever drive that.......

 

[WidgetTrac]

Subaru Baja, lol!!!

I bet one of those things would be an absolute blast to drive, maybe on road but especially off. TTRemember the racing seats with grab handles in back!! Yea, attitudes about safety were different back then, but damn we had fun!

The wheelbase & track on those things was like a modern ATV, but highway-capable, fuel efficient, and with seating for 4, or 2 plus a bed almost as big as a ST's. On paper, it sounds like a winner - but in reality, cars are not like puppies...

people will buy ugly puppies because somehow it makes them cute.

NC, no, I meant a real one from aus - still looking. ever seen a TX Cadillac?
Since the Ute bed is as wide as Torino-based 'cheros, i'm thinking the whole package must be closer to vic/marauder size than Taurus or stang.

Joe, 3 things: needs to be 1" or so higher in back, needs 2" or so wider rubber in back, and maybe loose the grille pony cuz it's not a Mustang, just a mean wagon!
is it real or p'shopd?

pictures are deceiving. I remember the rabbit pickup - the bed looked twice as long as wide, and very boxy. The cab was chopped straight off in back. The Ute is about the same height, but like 50% wider, and longer in the cab & nose, double the weight ,double the payload...

A rabbit pickup would literally fit in the back uf the Ute! (with tailgate down, of course)

MyTrac, no, the Mustang-wagon is not attractive next to a real Mustang, but for a station wagon it's pretty tough lookin I think. If there another wagon you think is better lookin, then post tha pix, bro - more is more!

Now, if you just think all wagons are stupid because only boring old slow married people with stupid snotty kids drive them, then you are partially right. When a person gets to the age where they realize the Mustang or z28 is just too small inside to carry things you need to carry, there are several choices. If you need to drive rough roads and Trails, then an SUV is the answer. If you need even more room and/or don't go offroad, a minivan is the answer. If you somehow manage to reach this advanced age in life - without - becomi.g boring or slow, then a wagon is the answer. You can drift in a wagon. You can road race a wagon. You can autocross a wagon. Wagons are for hot rodders who need to carry stuff, or "stealth" builds that are crazy fast but look normal. Sleepers.

I guess they're different personality types - minivans have taken over because these days, even young people have a little slice of "boring slow old person" deeply embedded - like I said, attitudes about safety are different now. We used to have a lot of fun, but maybe people are different now... Afraid to go fast. The way the law cracks.down now, im not surprised - im scared too!

 

[WidgetTrac]

Steve, do you have a thread somewhere on your transit connect? If not, post some pix here or start a new one somewhere for unconventional types, pls!
Also interested in what you did to your trac suspension wise and anything under the hood?

mine 2x4 trac is currently on an old set of Mustang wheels with 3" drop blocks and t-bar untwist to level - the short tires with 4.10 gears are something everyone should experience! blown body mount bushings and a back seat &bed full o crap keep me from getting too crazy with it for now, but even after I got used to the Mustang rolling stock, the difference in handling before/after doing the drop was pronounced. In a good way. Even with old shocks and a rattly cab, the combination of 5.5" lower sprung mass plus an effective 17% torque multiplication make for a completely different driving experience. In a good way! I can almozt omagine that with everything fixed and some adjustment it might see some track time, but actually it will soon be headed higher, not lower...

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Chevy still makes the El Camino in Australia, looks the same as this only without the bed being separate.

 

[ncranchero]

Steve, do you have a thread somewhere on your transit connect? If not, post some pix here or start a new one somewhere for unconventional types, pls!
Also interested in what you did to your trac suspension wise and anything under the hood?

I don't think I have a T.C. thread anywhere. Not too much to get excited there about. It serves it's purpose as a delivery vehicle. People bully it, laugh at it, call it names most of which I can't repeat here. My daughter calls it the handi-van (i.e. handicap), a friend says it looks like a rolling ballcap. Have 109K miles on it with no problems at all. It's basically a Focus with a van body.

My Trac? Same as you did, 3" blocks and a 2.5" TT drop in front.

 

[OffTrac]

I have been trying to convince my wife our next vehicle purchase needs to be a TC for her interior design business. She's fighting it because "it's so ugly." I've tried multiple pitches and different angles but no luck so far.

 

[ncranchero]

Some rimz and maybe a wrap and they can be made reasonably sharp. From a business aspect they're spot-on. Easy maneuverability, 25+ mpg, HUGE interior only limited by it's 6' cargo bay length. Easy to get into and out of and frankly more comfortable than my Trac, more leg room than my last E250. Frankly even at the end of a 500 mile day if I'm running to the store or on an errand I go in it instead of my Trac.

This is equipment to outfit 5 Chargers with lights/consoles/etc.

UPS, ADT, Safety Clean, Siemens, most Ford dealerships ........ all using them.

 

[OffTrac]

I showed her how we could wrap it with her business logo. She likes that idea. The only real downside (beside her opinion on the looks) is the 6' cargo space. She needs to be able to transport couches and when the couches are in the price range she deals with, hanging out the back is not an option. I had to agree with her there and that may be the deciding factor. I'm still not opposed to a box truck E450 or similar to use as a delivery vehicle only, whereas the TC was more of an idea for advertisement/daily business use. We may just wrap the Edge.

 

[WidgetTrac]

I have been trying to convince my wife our next vehicle purchase needs to be a TC for her interior design business. She's fighting it because "it's so ugly." I've tried multiple pitches and different angles but no luck so far.

You could try reverse psychology, like "challenge" her to come up with a paint scheme that will make it look cute, professional, or just basically show off her design skills. maybe shor her the ones above and point out that she could probably come up with something way better...

Mention how things that are different or unusual tend to get noticed more...

Have her test-drive one, and then a full size van, make sure the test includes stops at places where parking and tight maneuvering are required... Also, be sure to make impatient huffing sounds and tell her shes doing it wrong when shes parking, then yell at her until she cries for not parking exactly between the lines, even if she did.

Just kidding about that last part - I don't know why I thought a woman could park a van.

Okay, I was kidding about that part too, what I meant to say was... I don't know WHERE "those kind of comments come from! ", but I cant ever resist a punchline. my personal motto is to treat all people with kindness at all times if they are smaller, weaker, or female. If it's man who's an even match or bigger then sometimes there are special cases.
anyway, I hope people understand the humor, for some reason the idea of giving someone such horrible advice just makes be bust my gut laughing so hard, metaphorically speaking...

Seriously though, turning radius and thd resultant maneuverability ARE an important consideration - businesses usually use the back door for deliveries (insert joke here) which might mean backing around a corner, or reversing down an alley in a large vehicle where a small one could turn around and zip on outta there.

Make sure YOU get behind the wheel during test drive, and pull some fast moves, just to demonstrate how it can do things she might not feel comfortable doing in an unfamiliar vehicle, like stopping or turning in "real time", right when you decide you want to do it. In my e150 turns and stops have to be pre-planned, and leaving a stop I feel like im just taking a dollar bill and tossing it out the window....

 

[OffTrac]

All good points to consider. Her last vehicle was a lifted Tahoe, though, and she learned to drive in a Suburban and Silverado (even pulling a boat sometimes) and gets some time in on the John Deere 5205 so big vehicles are in her comfort zone. We kontry, lol.

For the manual labor jobs, she'll likely have someone else doing the delivery and loading but I did want to her realize the point about driving it around regularly as a rolling advertisement.

She didn't take well to vinyl wrapping the Edge, lol.

BTW, those jokes are right up my alley. Gets me in trouble sometimes but I can't help myself.

 

[theluke19]

I'll just leave this here:

Image courtesy of http:/ /luxicar.com

 

[WidgetTrac]

is that a 'roo guard?

NC, here ya go, not a muztang--ranchero chop job, but a '74 Ute with a front that looks inspired by the 71-72 stang...

Looks better this way:

this looks older and maybe more similar to a merc cyclone front...

Hugh, in that case get er whatever she wants - ur lucky! Mine has had 327cid Chevy luv, el Camino ss, 5.0 stang, aerostar all before I knew, then Lt1 z28 and trac, and she has brout the z28 and MY stang back witj light abrasion sideways on the front plate holder & bumper cover, like sliding sideways vrry fast and the nose tags the wall is my best guess. The van I noticed one day the metal front bumper had a dented area... "sun was in my eyes across from...", so I go & look. it wasn't hard to spot the place - looked like she crossed road, hopped curb, flattened sign, uprooted buried railroad tie (which dented bumper), and pushed dumpster 6 or 8 feet. The trac has cracked fiberglass... "I was inside the store", yep, ...and in the mounty let's just say the right rear tire takes a beating from rubbing against and running over curbs on right turns.

Oh well, at least the mounty looks better black side of the tires out.

 

[WidgetTrac]

This bumper looks pretty sturdy too, but not so road warrior! Ute looks lifted.

or make your own RV:

Roflmao!!!

But yeah, that would be great for small skid units and things on forklift pallets - I wonder if the $500 1-ton package is dually..?

NC, have you looked for ways to pep it up - any aftermarket intake, exhaust, etc. being made yet?

 

[LONO100]

that pic reminds me of when i was a teenager and our next door neighbor had a subaru brat. all of us kids in the neighborhood used to clown that car every time we saw it. one day my dad said, you know, ronald regan loves that car. i would say "wow, he probably let that one out after he became president."

 

[Sedition]

This bumper looks pretty sturdy too, but not so road warrior! Ute looks lifted.

or make your own RV:

Roflmao!!!

But yeah, that would be great for small skid units and things on forklift pallets - I wonder if the $500 1-ton package is dually..?

~The top pic is a Falcon RTV which is your standard falcon lifted with a factory rear diff locker.

~The bottom pick is the one metric Ton Falcon Ute with an aluminium tray (tradesman model). Even the Falcon utes with the Tonneau on the back are rated to carry over a ton.

~I have never seen a dually one of these with 4 wheels all on the one axel but they do make a 1.75T model with a double bogey on the back (4 wheels on 2 axels) with a "rocker type" suspension setup. I'll see if I have a pic of one lying around here somewhere and post it.

 

[Sedition]

Here is one at a car yard. They are popular with people towing 5th wheeler caravans. It is a well known fact here in Australia that a falcon can tow anything.