The Story of South Africa's Most Insane Factory Fords // Cortina XR6 + Sierra XR8

[@ThrottleAddiction]

Here in Australia, we put 4.1 litre straight sixes in Cortinas. They have a bonnet/hood with a hump in the middle to house the taller 6. We also had Holden (GM variant) Toranas, which were the same size car with a 5.0 litre V8, 4.2 V8, 3.3 6 cyl, 2.8 6cyl and 1.6 4 cyl - as well as the Chrysler Centura with 3.5 and 4.0 litre sixes. Back in the early 70s, Leyland Australia fitted a six cylinder into the Marina. Handled like a sack of potatoes, but went well.

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

We had the 4 cylinder Morris Marina a 1.3 ( 1275 engine same as the Mini ) and a 1.8 a de tuned MGB engine , my Dad had one in 1981 no good in the wet and snow it handled like you said a sack of potatoes, sluggish going up the hills and mountains in Wales

[@stevepearce6689]

You forgot the understeering into a tree and woeful handling and lock up rear wheels under breaking but in a straight line wahoo !

[@billeves4627]

​@@shaun30-3-mg9zs I had a 1750cc manual Marina coupe super deluxe for my first car.

[@Gokizzmass]

all the above were factory fitted to normal models as well.

[@kjlovescoffee]

We got your delicious 4L I6 Falcons imported in the 90s (and IIRC early 2000s), including the XR6. But not - boo hiss - the XR8.

[@unbottledgenie4914]

When I was a kid, my Dad would Buy xr6's just to fix them up and restore them just to do it all over again. So a significant portion of my life was spent in these cars. They are really awesome.

[@skadonkza]

Yoh that sounds like the dream. My goal is to be able to drive one someday

[@unbottledgenie4914]

@@skadonkza I was looking for one recently and I just couldn't find one. Also I just found your content today. Keep up the good work man.

[@AntiN00bster]

I had a very similar childhood. My Dad owned I believe 5 XR6's by the time I was 8. He'd buy them, modify the crap out of them, then either crash them or sell them. Ultimately he had an accident in his favorite one and it left him paralyzed from the chest down. But he'd still go on to buy just one more, where he'd hop out of his wheelchair onto the ground to be able to still work on it. 😂Mechanics will be mechanics hey.

[@ronaldbaatjes2470]

The 3.0 S deserves a mention.A worthy successor to the brilliant Cortina Mk3 Big Six.

[@stevewayne1359]

I still think the Mk3 Big Six is a far better looking car than the "box shape" XR6. One of my classmates dad had a metallic blue with white vinyl roof back in the 70's, never forgotten that car, it was stunning. I worked for Ford in 1981 (in between finishing school and going to the Air Force for national service). Our local Traffic department had a "fleet" of XR6' and the XR6 interceptor was released that year too ... a total overkill ... triple-downdraft 42 Weber carbs, hot cam and other suspension upgrades.

[@SeanGavin-rf5vd]

And way before these was the Ford Capri Perana V8

[@lourenscoetzee9817]

And don't forget the mk. 2 Cortina Perana V6

[@chuckselvage3157]

Capri V8 should have been their go to world touring car. In Australia we didn't get the V8 Capri but some people did put 302 and 351s in them.

[@ricoolivier]

Don't forget about the Chevrolet Can-Am... A built for "track" Firenza... 5.0 v8

[@jhonistein5347]

It's not a Ford don't want to know.

[@ryanallen2122]

My neighbour still has the red Capri V8 and it is still beautiful as it was back in the day he sold his cortina XLE Big 6 both are stunning to look at

[@MrBonger88]

My dad work for Ford in Port Elizabeth in the 70’s and 80’s. His cousin worked in the department that dealt with employee cars. As an employee you got to choose a car equal to your grade. Because of his cousin he got first dibs on higher grade cars. As a kid I remember my dad driving a bunch of 1600 sports, an RS2000, an XR6 Interceptor and and XR8. There was also a Granada Ghia here and there. Good times

[@romanoguttadauro6116]

Very good video mate. I'm originally from England now living in Florida and own a Merkur XR4ti so I get all of the angles of your Ford Triangle, the XR6 Cortina and the XR8 are monsters and a truly unique vehicles to South Africa. I'm a young 58 and it's obvious that you are a younger generation who shares the same passion (Nice to see). The day when simplicity stopped around the late 80's and 90's the day of carbs instead of fuel injection those older set ups just did it for me the sound of twin Webber carbs opening up and the suction of air and the sound it makes is something else, coupled with a big bore exhaust it is something special. Cheers for sharing your enthusiasm. looking forward to your next video.

[@michaeld7409]

Interesting for a european to learn. In Europe we had the Sierra XR4i which was powered by a 2,8Litre V6 producing 150HP. This car also featured the twin rear spoilers which again were taken over Into production from the Ford Probe III Concept car from 1980. This concept was very close to the later production Sierra.

[@robvandenheuvel128]

Thank you for the wonderful trip down memory lane. My friends and I attended every race meeting at Kyalami, the close rivalry in Group 1 was the main attraction, with Tony Viana in his big 745i, Arnold Chatz in his GTV6 and Sarel in the “Beast” (aka XR8). At the time we did not realise how lucky we were to witness history in the making

[@udxpierre]

Was thinking the same!

[@johnnyeveritt5695]

DON'T forget Willie Hepburn .... Also driving * The Beast * ! 🤙✊️👊💫💥

[@Gozar111]

Cool channel! Test drove the XR 8 with my dad when I was a kid. Remembered that the gearbox and the engine were not a great match.

[@bkj3845]

I remember back in 1986 Willie Hepburn's "animal" what a beast that car was!!

[@dionoliveira4058]

Willie Hepburn was the original "inventor" developer of the v6 engine used....after he showed it around they said no and a few years later came out with it themselves

[@montystruwig7301]

Great video and some good memories! My father had a Granada Perana, which I bought from him with my "danger pay"when he bought a Fairmont GT for towing purposes. I then sold the Perana in favour of a 3.0S. In 1984 I bought my first and only new car, a Cortina XR6 TF edition but with the X-OCET conversion. Still own that car today, even though I modified the intake manifold for 336IDF Webers. Also owning a Cobra replica that I had built, still sporting a Fairmont GT engine but I had added 4 side-draught Weber carbs to it. Then also waiting in the garage is a GT40 "kit Car" done by KCC that is awaiting completion. Off course I am adding a Perana 302 engine to it but topped with 302 Cleveland heads and the obligatory 4 down-draught Webers, of the IDF type, since I cannot afford the IDA's. The manifold still needs to be built too! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKGaqaunbrNogZo

[@vicbittertoo]

what happened to the Fairmont ?:)

[@montystruwig7301]

@@vicbittertoo It was unfortunately sold and had gpne to Australia

[@Turshin]

Nice you should drop a 3.8 liter supercharged Essex engine (tbird SC motor). I stroked mine to 4.2 liters using a f150 crank. With a bigger supercharger and other modifications I make 430hp and 500torqe to rear wheels.

[@trevorjones9744]

Great video love the styling of the Cortina’s XR6 , Ford Australia had the TF Cortina. 4.1 litre straight 6 , power to weight was an awesome car, Ford Australia & SA had a lot in common

[@richardwales7825]

The 4.1 Cortinas were a rocket in a straight line, but come to a corner and understeer was woeful. My father had one. V6 would be much better balanced.

[@martinlagrange8821]

I grew up with seeing lots of Super-Fords, in junior school in Cape Town. I am glad you mentioned the Cortina XR6's, the 'Mitchell's Plain Speedsters' which are the ancestors of the later racers - Evolutions of the XR6 were (often beaten up) old Cortina XR6's which would have a V8 dropped into them to become the getaway vehicle of choice of those with highly questionable occupations....

[@adrian_thee_dj]

Truly impressed with the quality of this video bro , keep at it 💯

[@philtucker1224]

I remember arriving at my sister’s home in Pretoria from the U.K. in 1979 and seeing a 3.0 Ghia Ford Cortina. I can tell you it was love at first sight back then!

[@shaun30-3-mg9zs]

Great video, I wish we had the Cortina XR6, I do love these cars, the biggest engine we had was the 2.3 GLS or 2.3 Ghia which had the V6 engine. The Sierra had the 2.8 V6 engine in the XR4i 3 door or the later XR4x4 same engine but four wheel drive. And in 1985 came the Sierra RS Cosworth a 2.0 DOHC 16 valve turbo. All the best from Wrexham, WALES

[@frazerguest2864]

My late Father had a dark blue 2.3 Cortina Ghia, followed by a Fiesta Supersport, followed by an early XR4i. Our next door neighbour had a 2.8 Capri, next to him the old guy had a two-tone 2.8 Granada Ghia X, and the guy across the road had an Alpina E21 3-Series. I’m sure it was all one-upmanship for tossing the car keys in the fruit bowl at parties, but it was a pretty cool cul-de-sac to live on, especially come November and following the Lombard-RAC around for a week with my Dad and my Uncle.

[@uv77mc85]

The cosworth had more power than the xr8 from an engine less than half the sise. Seems silly having a 5.0 engine making 215 hp

[@CS_247]

I grew up in the 80s in SA. I was lucky enough to have a 75 Big Six, followed by an XR6, and then an Interceptor . Man i loved them....❤ And the Essex V6 was a great motor, i put them in everything from VW Kombis and Toyota bakkies.

[@MartinJones123]

I've never even heard of the XR6 and XR8 badge used on anything other than the Australian Ford Falcon... Interesting video 👍

[@paulhoogeveen7353]

@@MartinJones123 XR8 I believe was originally used on a Sierra.

[@robertleadwood]

​@paulhoogeveen7353 yeh then ford Australia though hey were bringing back a v8 let's call it that since south africans used it as a one off and we no longer used GT so we just added XR6/8 for inline 6 sixes and v8s.

[@AsandaMlonyeniRSA]

Come on bro,are you serious,I mean the XR6 was quite popular,the XR8 was a bit rare

[@MartinJones123]

@@AsandaMlonyeniRSA In which countries was the XR6 badge popular?

[@chrissmith2114]

Lived in SA during the 1970's and remember driving a Ford Cortina Savage, a huge engine in a Cortina, the bonnet used to twist when you blipped the throttle.

[@ChrisSuperTube]

As far as I remember the XR8 engine was sourced as a marine spec unit to bypass sanctions at the time. Still cannot believe a family friend tossed the keys of his to this then-uni-student in the mid 90's to take it to our motorsport club annual car show on campus. My dad had an XR6 at the time. Yes, the XR8 was fun to drive. Being a fairly light car made the package all the more energetic.

[@barrybester5491]

Another great video there, thanks! I drove an XR6 Sierra in 1995 and very soon realised what a brute it was, so can only imagine what the XR8 must have been like. Keep up the great work!

[@skadonkza]

Thanks so much, yah I really have a dream of driving a 6 or 8 Sierra, so unique to have a rear wheel drive accessible car at that time

[@5801160052086]

XR6 was an amazing car, had one in 1994

[@williamschaefer4462]

Great info, here in America, people are not as familiar with the Ford brand being as global as it is, in fact, we don't even get a sedan or coupe anymore ... except from Tesla or foreign brands. Great content, keep it up!

[@archlab007]

The South African: "A 5.0 LITER V8!" The American: "Nice Little Engine!" All joking aside, you South Africans do have some great cars. when I visited about 15 years ago I was really impressed with what you had that we didn't have. Also, in Cape Town, I Saw a 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback just like mine. When I saw that, I was truly in love with your country!

[@dalroyboy1230]

South African: "Light weight!" American: "You weigh cars?"

[@Turshin]

​@@dalroyboy1230😂😂😂😂 right.

[@robertleadwood]

The 5.0(Windsor's) were called wheezers in Australia. Great sounding but terrible flowing heads and then we switched to mod motors which weren't that successful, coyotes and Cleveland's were the best v8s in aus ford(351w wasnt had either)

[@lopezlizimo1236]

​@@robertleadwood Do you perhaps know anything about the Telstar Coyote, my father had one in South Africa, white top grey bottom, but I can't find any info on it online, it came from factory with a red stabilizer bar in engine bay.

[@o0Donuts0o]

American: “This is a 6.7L V8” South African: “What does it do at the wheels?” American: “210K!W” South African: Laughs in 300KW 1.6L Oh.. and leaf springs.

[@iftar9158]

Great video. I am lucky enough to own a Cortina XR6 and it is a truly special vehicle

[@ismailsayit-ty5wm]

Lucky bugger.... Beautiful car 🎉

[@WillHartzenberg]

I loved this. Well done! But as a child in the 80's I must remark that you REALLY short change the Sierra XR6. IT WAS FABULOUS! For the same money, there was NOTHING that came close to it. My dad had one and it could smoke any Merc or BM or VW that was remotely priced in the same region. The XR6 was actually more of an icon than the XR8 since XR8 were rarely seen and XR6's were the working class hero of SA

[@cryharder1877]

We have a red XR6 here in secunda, pristine condition, what a beauty

[@johnnyeveritt5695]

NOOIT; ek se ! Have you brought back memories from the Mid-80's thru to the Early-90's ... or WHAT ? ! I was indeed fortunate in owning 2 x XR 8's ( # 111 + # 127 ) ! I cannot begin to describe .... Eventually sold both and then purchased a * Pre-Owned * imported Ford Bronco [ Eddie Bauer ] / Fuel-Injected V8; running around @ 22-23 L / 100 Kms ! Aaaaah Yes : The VERY good ol' days .... Now sedately ensconced within a Ranger 3.2 Diesel Bakkie ! 🤙😆

[@nathan-dx2ph]

We need more classic cars reviews .. fords Datsuns etc... and how they were used here in SA... just so nostalgic viewing such contents. # instant subscribed aswell

[@eddrake5290]

First car I drove (at 14yrs old), the 1400 Deluxe sedan, the version of the bakkie. Fun times.

[@gregwaugh8069]

Some awesome cars from Australia made it to SA as well

[@JohnSmith-rw8uh]

Fairmont GT. Chervrolet/Holden SS basically a Monaro, with 308 or 350. the Holden Statesman/Kostantia with 308 and 350

[@andyaclean]

how did you guys manage to keep your blacks to tame?

[@JohnSmith-rw8uh]

@@andyaclean maybe you should return to Europe

[@philipstrydomstrydom1821]

I was fortunate enough to have driven the XR8 and XR6 when they were released. Awesome experience.

[@ianelliott229]

New subscriber. Very interesting. When I’m back in Cape Town I might go looking for one of these. So accurate about muscle cars. Love the cat too😂

[@benmorey6002]

Similar story in Oz. We got the cortina, but instead of the seiara we got the XR Falcon range. Cool vid

[@BvDyck101]

I just randomly came across this channel and really enjoyed the video. It's weird to me that South Africa has such a rich automotive history, yet so few local KZbin channels make introspective car content like this. I subscribed ☝️👍

[@zakithibuthelezi255]

Agreed! Its a crying shame and James aims to change that!

[@beansandsausages]

Just found your channel bro - loved hearing about these SA market fast fords - here in the UK we had a selection of awesome fast fords in the 90s but I'd never heard about the XR8 - what a legendary car! Keep up the great content bro.

[@promerops]

Perhaps I misunderstood you, but, if you're going to travel from Dearborn to Dagenham, Cologne and Port Elizabeth (as was) across the Pacific Ocean, you're going to need one of those big engines! Thanks for the video. Home builders, in the 60s and 70s, also dabbled in dropping V8s into Mk1 Cortinas and Essex V6s into Mk1 Escorts!

[@SabotsLibres]

Jeff Uren in the UK was re-engining Mk2 Cortinas with the Essex V6 many years earlier (late 60s) under the name Savage.

[@chrisbiewer-rallye-info]

Fantastic! In Europe we don't know these cars, yet there have been exchanges between Europe and South Africa, which may nicely add to your video. - Well, the Sierra XR8 needed a double rear wing, but it seems identical to the rear wing we had on the Sierra XR4i. Which was first? - Between the Mk2 Escort RS1800 and the RS200 was a gap in Ford's world rally program. There should have been the groupB Mk3 Escort RS1700T, but after several delays it was decided with RWD only the Escort RS1700T could not compete with the Audi quattro. The project was canned and the cars built so far made it into the South African Rally Championship named as simply the Ford Interceptor (without additional names as Cortina or here Escort) and I understand it was quite successful, too. - And while waiting for the ever more delayed Escort RS1700T, Ford Germany actually bought a South African Ford Cortina XR6 and rallied it in Germany (where the Cortina was called Taunus). Ford UK tried a similar trick, but their car must have been a conversion as the British Cortina XR6 only had 2 doors, but was technically and XR6. I don't think South Africa ever had a 2-door XR6? Anyway, shame I can't add links here on KZbin, but if you google Michael Werner Ford Taunus and Julian Raymond Ford Cortina, you should find some nice surprises

[@therealmudafuka7200]

holy shit I found a golden channel

[@andyjames2082]

As I'm sure you are aware, Australian cortina's had a choice of in line sixes from 3.3L to 4.1L quite zippy!

[@robertgarland9342]

Well there you go I actually learnt something today. I never knew that Ford put a V8 into a Sierra body. I always assumed the Sierra was a 2 Lt 4Cyl Turbo.

[@wyrazowfkp]

Sierra had 1.3 1.6 1.8 2.0 and 2.3 inline 4 SOHC "pinto" / 2.3 = lima only in South American made, also 2.0 EFi, 2.0i 16v Cosworth Turbo later 1.6 an 1.8 cvh (1.8 also injected sfi) and 2.0 dohc 8v (carb or efi) 2.3 diesel from Peugeot (later 1.8 turbodiesel Ford engine) 2.0 2.3 2.8 V6 (also 2.8i) 3.0 South Africa, 2.8 carb Venezuela, later also 2.9i and 3.0i There were a lot of engines to choose from :)

[@DVTREALMAN150]

100% part of my ultimate car collection.

[@magpieblue]

Stumbled across your video, possibly because of my interest in 80's Fords, the Capri, and the Essex V6, though who knows what weirdness goes on in that algorithm! Your video was fantastic! Really well scripted and presented, very sincere and friendly. Really like your style and how you feel about the story. It feels like sincere passion rather than just picking up a random topic. Bonus points for background cat and the moment where you rolled into "...and absolutely fucking send it", both of which were moments that made me smile especially. I enjoyed the topic because it's already something I'm interested in but know very little about. I just long to find a South African Essex V6 with EFI which was only on a small number of Transit Ambulances in England, but now I have an XR6 and XR8 on my dream car wishlist :) Thank you creating this video and putting your effort and honesty into it.

[@zakithibuthelezi255]

Fascinating stuff man. Was not aware of the two nation element that went into these classics. Keep them coming please!

[@paulf9487]

A friend of mine had a Rover V8 converted mk3 Cortina in the early eighties, a fast, if scary, car in its day.

[@SeansYTEntertainment]

Sean from Roodepoort, a fellow petrolhead. Love your work, please keep it going! (My Dad once had a Ford Sapphire Auto - huge fun to drive)

[@jeremywentworth1833]

As I'm English looks like there's a few XR8s here in the video they had British registration plates. We got the most powerful Sierras from 86 when the Cosworths were launched & nearly 40 years later they are still adored starting with 220bhp from the 2.0 Turbo with some standard models like the Roush Sapphire Cosworth with 320bhp. Biggest Cortina engine we got in Europe was the cologne V6 in the 2.3 Ghia. Every British family at sometime owned a Cortina Capri Escort & Fiesta.

[@-Lucky-Six-]

i live in a nice reasonably quiet town East coast UK.back in the late 80s the owner of a local tyre place owned a cortina XR6 it was a unicorn car all the petrolheads knew he had it but it rarely came out i was lucky enough to see it a couple of times certainly made my mk5 cortina 2.0 look shabby!!

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

People talk about the Mini but Ford's will always be Britain's true national car.

[@jeremywentworth1833]

No can't agree Mini is iconic like the mini - skirt with 60s fansion & Ford haven't made a car in the UK since the late 90s . After making Transits for all world markets it was sold even that stopped well over 10 years ago.

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

@@jeremywentworth1833 still the Escort, Cortina and Fiesta (up to mk5) resonate with British people in a way no other cars ever will. Before the 1970s the British Market was a free for all amongst various local companies, and after the 2000s it's been dominated by varius competing foreign brands. The time between like 1970 and 2000 roughly saw Ford in a position of dominance that will never be replicated it felt as though almost every other car on the road was a Ford and people still considered them a British marque on account of their English name and their famous plant at Dagenham.

[@jeremywentworth1833]

​@@indiekiddrugpatrol3117I have to admit every British family have had a member whos owned an Escort . My 1st car in 1990.was an 87 E reg Mk4 1.6 DGL my mum also had 2 a Y reg 83 1.3GL between 2 Fiestas an 84 A reg 1.3 Ghia followed a 6 months old 86 D reg XR2 followed by a 91 H reg Escort XR3i My Dad had 2 MK2 Cortinas an E reg 67 GT which I think was a 1.5 then a G reg 1600E . My brother had a W reg Mk4 Cortina 2.0Ghia. Dad also had several Capris & my brother had 4. So your right in British classing Ford's as British. Not even the Transit is built here Southampton made them for all markets now it's Turkey. I worked in the Automotive industry for 20 years or so until 05 as a metrology technician in a Rover foundry.

[@iainherridge6253]

And in Australia they put the falcon straight 6 in the Cortina!

[@oldbloke204]

Not to mention the Chrysler Centura that also ran 6 cylinders in some of them.

[@PeterEmery]

@@oldbloke204 Very true, a Centura with the 265 ci motor was a real beast, the best Ford could do was 250 ci.

[@robertleadwood]

​@@PeterEmerywell after 250cubes you might as well get a v8 😂

[@PeterEmery]

@@robertleadwood Tell that to the now-defunct manufacturers.

[@TGB_Entertainment]

My dad used to take kids (including me) in the late 90's early 2000's from Turfloop to Polokwane for school in a Ford Sierra SUV, the first car I imagined myself driving in. The memories are priceless.😅

[@BadAl27722]

cool video. I remember watching Tony Viana in an Alfa GTV6 racing against the XR8 Sierra's at Kyalami. Good old days when I was just a young warthog

[@delahayenator]

Cool! Never knew he also raced in Alfas. Only saw him in his various BMWs.

[@moosa9850]

A Ford Sierra XR8 named the Animal left many street racers on holiday down the N2 from Somerset west to the Airport. Bliksem, those were good times.

[@ismailsayit-ty5wm]

Very nostalgic video, fam had an interceptor , remember the blue stripes

[@oomstu]

Great video, well articulated too. Those were the days nê. Next hopefully something similar on XR3 /Twincam 16v / GTI?

[@ronnymaeko9789]

Great video, love all the contents💯👍🏿

[@skadonkza]

Thank you :)

[@Dbnite.wp8184]

Great video bro. I drove both the XR6 Cortina and Sierra, it was awesome back in the day.

[@ritss1583]

Never owned a xr6 or xr8 but I had a sierra 3.0 irs. Beautiful car. Loads of power after just branch and exhaust. Nice tone too

[@desmondbello4144]

That Essex V6 was built & produced in engine plant of Dagenham, Essex (UK) My late uncle & my father both worked the plant in Dagenham & would regularly go work where they were building these engines. I have some wonderful photos of them in the plant close to when they retired. EDIT: The XR on the cars built in the UK (Fiesta XR2, Escort XR3 & Sierra XR4) it stood for "Extra Rally" or "Xtra Rally" Bit like BMX meant Bicycle Motocross. Although with the cars this was never its official means in the name.

[@lloydtucker]

So to answer your technical question on the xr6 with 3 dual port carburettors basically means that each cylinder gets its own carburettor and similarly so with XR8. My understanding with the XR8 is that Ford SA was unable to purchase the Mustang so we made our own. I have seen in the late 1990's a Sierra XR8i I wondered how that compared to the XR8.

[@wyrazowfkp]

In Europe we had that in the X pack Ford Capri from the mid 70s ..... 3 carbs on the 3.0 180 HP The XR8 had 4 bbl carb -- so 1 port for 2 cylinders

[@SabotsLibres]

The Cortina/Taunus had coil springs from the TC generation (Mk 3 Cortina) so leaf springs had already been thrown out ten years before the XR6 appeared

[@johnjones4825]

All good and well that you say 118kw. Just remember, back in the 70s, Alfa's 2 litre was (according to, I think, Car magazine and other things I've read), outputting 112kw. This was down rated later to 102 for fuel economy. I transplanted a 2 litre into a '71 Giulia 1300, what a monster! Viva, Alfa!

[@delahayenator]

The 2.0 Alfetta had 130hp if I remember correctly in twin dellorto setup. Don’t know about the IE version

[@johnjones4825]

@@delahayenator Hp and kw are different. 112kw converts to 150hp! The later 102kw is closer to your 130hp, so, according to my limited knowledge, you are probably correct. I think the Alfetta saw the introduction of the down rated engine, the 105 series Alfas had the more powerful engine.

[@delahayenator]

@@johnjones4825 not sure about that. No emissionstuff going on back then in EU. Maybe in the US?

[@johnjones4825]

@@delahayenator South African versions, I'm not sure about world wide. We had serious fuel restrictions in the 70s here. We don't have legislated emission control either. Anyway, I owned both versions of those cars (a 105 series 2litre Berlina, and the later Alfetta 2litre GTV) The Berlina felt much quicker and was definitely more torquey. More than that. I can't say, it was too long ago!

[@blairo15]

Great channel mate. Keep up the great work. Can't wait for the next one.

[@tonybaartman327]

Good video, thank you. Looking forward to your Perana video

[@dirkpieterse3179]

Shadong. You are so observant!! The South African Cortin'a''s did came out with multi-link suspension and Panhard rod stabilizer,

[@garyburchgb]

In Britain and europe, the cortina, Sierra, capri and Granada had cologne v6 engines from the late '70s on. The Essex v6 was used in the zephyr, zodiac, Granada and Capri from the mid '60s. There was a company in britain called savage that used the Essex engine for a conversion on the mark 3 cortina in the '70s. I think the boss was Jeff uren.

[@etiennegregoire3091]

When you said Boss 308 is when i tuned out. Really Boss 308 !!

[@aetfggdgdfgret]

Sierra in America was sold under the brand called Merkur. And they were sold with a Inline 4 engines. They raced them in Trans Am series. And because of South African V8 versions, the rules of Trans Am allowed them to use V8 engines in their race cars.

[@hendo337]

The Merkur Scorpio had a V6. Real shame both Merkurs didnt have a 5.0 HO option, the Scorpio was crazy expensive so it should have had a V8.

[@okayynutty]

Great writing, great storytelling 🤝🏾

[@DR-te8mc]

Back in the day, my pops had a Gunston orange 30 and at some stage a sierra XR6 . I loved the XR6..

[@rinelsing8110]

I was fortunate to have driven a Sierra XR6. It was an absolutely powerful and beautiful super Ford. The Sierra XR6 could easily reach 220 km per hour and hold that speed all day long. It handled well too. The engine was so refined, thanks to generations of development. Truly a pocket rocket of it's time. ❤

[@GeorgeTadman]

From the uk thank you, i never knew that those 2 cars came from South Africa, an a BIG THANK YOU for creating those 2 beautiful cars

[@sufyaankriel9241]

A great video... I remember that there were models of Fords that had the Ghia branding as well as Cosworth... it'd be great if you could pick up those and include them in a later video to show where in the Ford timeline they sit. But yeah... as others have indicated, there were other V6s and V8s previously, but they were rare vehicles in comparison..... A properly souped up Ford of that time was a proper super car killer 👍👍

[@alastairwatson3201]

A fascinating video, bloke. I’m surprised that you didn’t add the Alfa GTV 3.0 to your list of awesome SA cars, as they’re legendary. I didn’t know about your Cologne-powered Cortinas, or the Sierra XR8, but we Aussies did bung 3.3 and 4.1 litre straight sixes into our Cortinas. However, they were just towing cars, really; they weren’t highly modified from standard like your versions.

[@SANDSCORCHER]

4:55 Simple premise Each cylinder gets its own choke/venturi and fuel supply, rather than six cylinders having to share a meagre two. More air and fuel into each cylinder, on demand, means more power and more torque production. It’s why non fuel injected performance motorbikes have a separate carburettor for each cylinder 👍🏻

[@QuotableMango]

South Africa has some amazing exclusives. My favorite has to the Fiat 131 Racing which initially was meant to have a production run of 100 cars but they only ended up building 16. The parts for the rest of the production line sank off the coast of Nigeria. The head of Fiat motorsport at the time was Gigi who used to be an Abarth works mechanic and when he was working on the Racing he put a few Abarth bits into it including the steering wheel.

[@lukeabrahams1893]

Quality vid here 🔥🔥 Well done

[@oldtighthead2459]

We had an Escourt XR 3 also is SA

[@Nomad_Audio]

Awesome video my guy! You deserve more subscribers.

[@DavidRutherford-ux4em]

I saw those rwo xr8's drag racing in front of the Henry Ford museum while on vacation . It was years before they started selling merkoors in America.

[@victorbitter583]

Those Cortinas came with a 4.1L straight 6 here in Aus. Fuggn Beasts. Wagons were a hoot. Cheers.

[@arcadesunday4592]

Great video. I've been following SA specific builds for some time now. Ford definitely up there at the time.

[@neilfoodguy8667]

In Australia, we put a 4.1 L in line 6 (Australian built) in the production Cortina’s. I don’t think we could ever buy a Sierra in Australia unfortunately but we did race 2 lte Cosworth Turbo version Sierra’s in our National Touring Car championship and they dominated until the Nissan Skylines came along .

[@carza355]

Great video! Few corrections the XR8 also had custom Ronal wheels, the front of the car was substantially modified to fit the radiator so much so that the Essex V6 water pump had to be used for clearance purposes. Me, I'll stick to my Capri Perana! Also the rear spolier on the XR8 was from the XR4 in europe and the gearbox was the T5 which was from the Mustang.

[@buxvan]

In the U.K. you could have a mk4 cortina with a 1.3 litre engine. It was absolutely Gutless ! Then they put the same engine into the Sierra.

[@jamest5149]

I’m used to work on a XR8 for a friend. XR4i on steroids. Great fun brut of a car… just very thirsty. Sounded awesome.

[@MithunKalan]

i remember seeing an interceptor when i was a laaitie. i was going to sunny park in pretoria and we passed through quagga. it pulled up next to us at the robots. the sound was something ill never forget. i was about 7 at the time.

[@YusufPetersenCPT]

Ford was such a powerhouse in SA that Xr6 engine was one of note.. you didn't mention how they slapped it in the VW T3 kombi called it the JT3000

[@fred3527]

In the 80's the XR6 and XR8 where very popular because they had amoungst the biggest displacement engines and often had two more cyclinders than the competion. The down sides where; a) very heavy fuel consumption, b) didn't handle, c) not the quickest cars in spite of the large engines. I had a standard Alfasud Sprint Veloce 1.5 (105hp), 4 cyclinder, that would smoke an XR6 traffic light to traffic light, and handled way better. In the Group 1 racing series of the time, the 3l, 6 cyclinder Alfa GTV6, would genrally triumph over the XR8's 5l V8. The Alfa engine couldn't match the muscle of a NASCAR 5L V8, but it's light weight and superior handling gave it the edge around the track. The XR8 had a huge Ford Racing Dept behind it, whiles the two Alfa's (a bored/stroked 2.5, minus fuel injection plus carburetors), had only a manager (Sampie Bosman) and 2 mechanics in a small workshop in Booysens.

[@Kaboom_3]

Thank you for this video. Great work

[@andresullivan6473]

I owned a Ford escort RS 2000 BDA motor works convertion that car was a beast

[@alvingovindan6339]

My dad bought a brand new sierra in 1984. I clearly remember seeing the XR8 at Kempster Ford when we went to fetch our new car. That double wing - I remember asking my dad if that was our car!! Sadly it wasn’t

[@loveitorleaveit6868]

I like your cat 🐱

[@MadMax351]

Australia 4.1 XLE inline 6 Cotina my dad had one with an airplane fuel pump which he could turn of and on, He used to turn it off at the local shops and make it to our house just before it ran out of fuel in the fuel lines the but the best part was the small on and off switch was in the handbreak boot the switch toggle had been broken off so you just had to use your thumb to roll the switch on and off and made it impossible to feel a switch, Which is why it was never stolen even when he used to leave the key in the ignition on the footpath outside our house. Ps that thing was faster then the standard holden V8's of its time.

[@meetim2931]

The XR6 you describe looks exactly like the TE Cortina in Australia. That came with a 4.1L straight-six 4-speed option that was very popular with young hoons. Fast as stock, and super-fast when modified.

[@nboy7]

Great video. You should consider doing one on Basil Green himself.

[@skadonkza]

It's on it's way :)

[@neilstephen2282]

Great video thanks

[@CaptainKedah]

You got a New Subscriber from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦

[@markwheatley5191]

Nice one mate, cheers.

[@DossyDriftsDVS222]

Interesting to hear the XR6 and XR6 use outside of Australia

[@mullerandre95]

Basil Green is and was the big daddy of V8 powered Ford's in RSA. The Capri and Grenada Perana's were the pick from Ford. The you had a Koos Swannepoel with his Kent and BDA powered Ford's that went like stink.

[@P_FamilyJAR]

Here in Australia we had the TC to TF COrtinas (Mark 3 to Mark 5 in English parlance) have the 3.3 litre straight six and the 4.1 litre straight six engines for the upper models - the base engine was the 2 litre Pinto

[@sinconormabelane7242]

Great content you're making here dude. Just subscribed

[@skadonkza]

Thanks so much :)