Ford Problems

Though the 3.9-litre EA motor and box would fit, I would be loath to recommend it. If you recall, the EA motor had its share of problems, including overheating and head gasket leakage. It was an engine you avoided if you could. The best option, in my view, is the one you were thinking of -- that's rebuilding the 250 for ULP and fitting that.

Thanks Graeme, hopefully that will help Martin solve his problem.

Sounds as if you have an intermittent electrical problem. They're difficult to track down. I assume the brakes were working properly despite the brake fail warning light. It might be worthwhile having an auto electrician check it out.

The 351 has quite a high compression ratio and may need fuel with a higher octane rating than the 96 of LRP. It may also be in need of a de-coke to clean out carbon build-up in the combustion chamber, which tends to increase the compression ratio. First, of course, check the ignition timing to make sure that's set correctly. As for the future, it really depends on what you plan to do with the car. The ZD is a lovely car, but it's now more than 30 years old and it may not be worth spending any money on it. If you intend to keep it, I would spend the money to have the heads rebuilt with hardened valve seats to cope with unleaded fuel. At the same time, I would lower the compression ratio with new pistons to cope with the lower octane rating of ULP. Do that and you won't have anything to worry about with fuel supplies.

I would run it on petrol one tank in four. Regularly running petrol through the system keeps the rubbers and seals in your fuel system moist and able to do their job, letting them dry out can lead to leakage and other problems. To your other question. Yes, petrol can spoil when left to sit in the tank for a long time. Moisture can accumulate, it can become gummy and then clog up the system when you use it.

Nice dream, Matthew. The most important thing to look for in a Falcon coupe is rust -- they rust so fast they virtually disappear before your very eyes. With that in mind, it's absolutely vital that you buy the best car you can afford because you can easily spend many thousands of dollars on rust repairs to bring a rusty car up to reasonable roadworthy condition. My information is that good-condition XA coupes, with 302 V8 and auto trans, are bringing $8000-$12,000. I would really recommend you delay your dream drive until you can afford to buy a good car rather than buy a cheap, rusty wreck.

The AU copped plenty of flak for the way it looked, but it wasn't a bad car. There is no reason to believe it is any better or worse than any other recent Falcon. The mechanical package is the same, so I wouldn't dismiss it on that basis. Looks are a different thing, and the value of AU series cars is way, way down on other similar cars. That's an advantage if you're buying, but a disadvantage if you're selling. It's hard to give you any advice about the Explorer without knowing what you intend to do with it. If you want a heavy-duty four-wheel-drive for some serious off-roading, then I would look to the big Japanese models, but if you want it for around-town use, I would go for one of the compact wagons on offer.

If the wheel alignment is correct the car should steer straight ahead when you take your hands off the wheel, unless the road camber is quite pronounced and then it might steer slightly to the left. If your car markedly steers left when you let the wheel go there is something wrong. Has your car been in a crash? If so, it may have been incorrectly repaired and not straight. It amazes me how many cars you see on the road that are not visually straight, that is, they are crabbing down the road. I recently saw a Laser so far from straight the driver needed a quarter turn of lock to hold a straight line -- he wasn't so much steering it as sailing it. I'd get someone to drive the EB while you observe from a following car and see if the rear wheels are in line and tracking in line with the front ones.

Cars Guide reader Stuart Shiell says he's seen a similar problem on EF and EL Falcons. He suggests it could be because the engine is not getting up to temperature, which causes the electronics to over-fuel the engine. Or the muffler could be blocked, causing the catalytic converter to overheat. He says the more common fault has been not getting up to temp.

It's clearly a fuel leak so check all hose connections carefully for signs of leakage, and do it with the engine running so the system is under pressure. When you say you've replaced the purge tank, I assume that means the evaporative emissions canister to which fuel vapour is fed from the tank. If not, try changing that. Also, check the fuel cap to make sure it's sealing properly. And it's worth checking the dash to ensure all the seals are in place.