1962 Ford Falcon Pricing and Specs

It sounds like you have a very odd vehicle, Ian. All the information I've ever seen tells me that the BA Falcon range was released on September 30 2002 (not October as many believe) and that the Boss 260-powered XR8 didn't hit showrooms until early (January) 2003. Which makes your BA XR8 with a 2001 build-date a real anomaly.

Possibilities include your car being a very early prototype that escaped the crusher (which was the fate of most prototypes) and is possibly an AU Falcon bodyshell that has been converted to BA Falcon panels. The two models shared a lot more metal than they appear to, which was the clever part of Ford's update of the AU to BA.

But here's another clue: From memory, the AU Falcon used a conventional compliance plate rivetted to the car's underbonnet. But the BA was (I think) the first to use a sticker rather than a stamped plate. If your car has a stamped plate rather than a sticker, that suggests it has AU Falcon origins.

The ULEASHED decal on the bonnet is another mystery and is unlikely to have been a Ford Australia addition. Which makes me wonder if perhaps the car wasn't an early BA Falcon XR8 mock-up that was used for promotional purposes, say, for a race-team.

You used to be able to contact Ford Australia and quote the car's VIN which would enable the car's origins to be traced, but I believe that service has been discontinued. There are also online VIN decoders that might give an answer, but since it appears this car is a one-off, maybe it won't recognise the VIN. It all sounds intriguing, so please keep us in the loop.

All the information I can find on this car suggests that the towing limit (with a braked trailer) is 1600kg, not 2000kg as suggested by your source. At which point, you'd need to be pretty careful you didn't inadvertently overload the car by adding a toolbox or other gear to the trailer.

The Mondeo is not really the ideal vehicle for towing heavy loads as it's front-drive layout means it doesn't have the traction a rear-drive car does when towing. A slippery boat ramp, for instance, might pose no problem for a rear-drive car, while forcing a front-drive car trying to haul a boat out of the water to struggle with wheelspin.

That said, the turbo-diesel engine in the Mondeo is a strong, torquey thing, so provided you don't stray on to slippery or loose surfaces, the Mondeo should be able to do the job. Again, though, your 1500kg projected load is almost at the car's legal limit.

It's not just transmissions that cop a hiding when towing, either. Just about everything on the car from the brakes to the cooling system will wear faster when subjected to the extra strain of towing a big load.

Oil manufacturers recommend a 10W-50 semi-synthetic oil for this engine. But not just any 10W-50. Crucially, the oil needs to be formulated specifically for LPG engines which have different combustion by-products and, therefore, require a different additive package in their oil compared with a car running on petrol or diesel.

Your car has covered quite a distance, but modern metallurgy and engine design suggests that 330,000km is not too many kilometres these days, and the engine could have plenty left to give. If it's starting to use a little oil between services, you could consider going to a slightly thicker grade of oil to compensate, but make sure it's still specifically formulated for an engine running on LPG.