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EA in Wheels' all-time top 10 Falcons. However...

6K views 36 replies 24 participants last post by  p4r4l3l 
#1 ·
Seeing that a list of the top 10 Falcons of all time was in Wheels magazine, it was the first thing I flicked through when the latest edition finally arrived today. To Wheels' credit, the EA was mentioned. The EB GT and ED XR6 (not the EB II?) also get a mention (but not the XR8 Sprint), as well as the XP, XR GT, XY GTHO Phase III, XA-XC hardtop, XE Ghia ESP, T3 T-Series, and BA. It would have been nice to see the XD or the XK there too, but obviously there wasn't room.

However, I am less impressed by the clearly biased article dedicated to the EA.

1988 EA
"Laugh if you like (and fair enough, really), but this series was regarded as one of the most handsome cars in the Ford empire - indeed the world - at its launch. EA might have been pretty, but early quality glitches with dampers, steering columns, panel fit and fuel injection quickly gave it the reputation of a dunger. And the crude three-speed auto stifled performance. But with quality refinements and body integrity improvements, the lame EA morphed into the much better EB and ED, and the highly successful EF and EL that carried Ford through the '90s."

Well and good, but what about the key defense of the EA, the performance of the manual MPI models? Wheels' own figures rate this car as the equal of many fancier vehicles. The FPV site made the point quite clearly. It's a shame Wheels didn't have the guts to show the whole story here, and I'm damn tempted to write to them saying as much.

Or perhaps we should keep it a secret, because anyone in a 'lame' manual EA outperforming more highly regarded cars will most certainly be getting the last laugh. :s5
 
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#2 ·
I agree, I had a '88 EA Faimont Ghia 5 speed and it flew. Friends in the NSW police counld not believe it came from the same place as their cop cars!

I wish I had it still but alas it is gone.
 
#5 ·
The only part that really pisses me off is referring to the EA as 'lame'. I think that's a bit un-called-for...

But realistically, I guess everything else they've said is true.


I've read much worse written about the EA in the past, and every bad thing that is written about them just makes me more and more proud of my EA. It's almost like we've got our own perfect little secret that nobody else ever seems to discover...



Dave
 
#7 ·
The Fonz said:
3 speed autos arn't crap they were actually better than the early 4 speeders were. Mine's been given hell and she's still going like a song 305,000 km later. In your face Wheels ~)
I think you've raised a good point Fonzy. Why the focus on the inefficient transmission and the otherwise limited quality, when you could also say the 3 speed transmission is damn high quality (long-lived, tough, cheap, reliable) while the rest of the car is at least thoroughly modern for its time. You couldn't really have it both ways at the time, but Ford did need more technology in its cars (compared to XF) and didn't have a whole lot of money to work with.

That's the bias I'm talking about. I haven't bothered to back track to the older Wheels Top 10 Commodores, but I guarantee you there won't be half the article detailing specific quality issues in the VT section.
 
#8 ·
Not to turn this into an EA bashing post but
Lame means crippled by injury or defect, sadly this is what the EA was, it's reputation was crippled by early build quality issues, while these issues may not have carried thru for the entire lifetime of the EA, the damage was done early on by the bad press it recieved. So lame is probably a very correct word for what wheels were trying to say.
 
#9 ·
o ye with little faith!

somebody hold me back- lol

With the poor quality issue I think it is debateable. The major problems with the EA (the first batch) were minor but overhyped faults. The radaitors ran too hot, constant leaks on the donk, head gaskets and the 3.2 OHC donk !? The radaitors simply needed better coolant (although if you replace your EA with a XF radaitor it goes even better can anybody confirm this?), the leaks were caused by dodgy cork sealing used and the 3.2 donks were scrapped (Bill Dix where are you now?). We never had any major diff , tranny, donk or body 'ridgility' problems either unlike some poor VN Commidorre users out there :)

The head gasked problem was overrated as only if you thrashed the crap out of the car you had problems. We originally were the poor sods with a 3.2, yes 92kw of pure unadulterated power. It was'nt that bad actaully though you rev'd a it little too high to get usable power. In the end the Ford dealer changed the donk for a small charge (200 bucks I recall- fitted). We never had a problem after that.

He was a great chap Ted Jones from Gravill Motors in Gosford, what a legend if only more customer service guys were like him. As we one of the first 'early' adopters of the EA we recived prompt and quality service most often free, you get don't much of that these days.

CFI is actually quite good and not as bad as it seems if you 'modify' the fuel pressure regulator (compress the unit and put a aftermarket spring in it) use a aftermarket map, hall sensor and hollow out the cat you've got a VN Commidorre killing machine.
 
#10 ·
yeah, even though EAs had problems when new (as does the first model of every new vehicle) they were nothing compared to the VN!!!

did you know that VNs in general had such a terrifying appetite for oil when first released that holden actually re-wrote the spec sheet to suggest that 1 litre of oil per 1000km was, in fact, ok?!?!?!?!?! WTF IS THAT!!!!! a 4 litre sump and 7.5L of oil use between services is ok?!?!?!?!?!?

not to mention the rear main seal and sump gasket leaks (still struggling to keep the oil in with VX!!) and the ever present power steer pump leaks.

how about the GIANT steering wheel, the wooden brake pedal and the accelerator that did all its work in the first third of its travel? and lets not forget the bonnet hinges that liked to seize on a regular basis so when you opened the bonnet the corners hit the windscreen and shattered it!!

WHEELS eats your heart out, EAs were (and still are) GOLD compared to the VN!!!!

(note this is not a emotionally driven post, these are all facts, check up on me if you like)
 
#11 ·
i agree wit rollin ( wassup dude!) up the mighty ea they may of had a few probs early on but they were quickly sorted (by ea series 2). i've got an ea and compared to the vn commy its a rolls royce no to mention it s**ts all over them even in stock form also they responed well to mods i've only got a cam, exhaust and pod wit cold air it eats up vn-vt series 1 commos! not bad for a problematic donk a!:p even stock the 3.9 manual did mid to high 16 ova da quater mine does 15.3 wi wheelspin
 
#12 ·
I would just like to straighten out one thing, STOP KNOCKIN THE 4 SPEED AUTO!!! My auto is a 4 speed it has done 400000+ on origional gearbox, and now it is about due to be replaced, but really get over it, for gods sake, like all things if they are treated correctly they will last the distance. also, I have pulled up along side a EA 3 speed that had doen half as many kms as my car and mpfi with head work, all my car has had done to it is a EF manifold, and i killed him. so a 4 speed auto isn't that bad. and a lot nicer to drive at 100 kmph in because like a T5 it sits just on 2000rpm.

edit: this post was not directed to anybody, just to the broard public that feel that the 4 speed auto is crap.
 
#15 ·
True that, nothing wrong with a 4 speed auto. Hell, I almost bought one when I gave up looking for a 5 speed. Thankfully I managed to get one imported real cheap. Hey CATman, how did you go putting on the EF manifold? What did you have to change? I just went and got an AU head and just picked it up from the machine shop (I had the ports taken out shiteloads and the combustion chambers modified=235kw ea) I'll get 250 kW with an EF/EL manifold and tuned comp/intake pipe/extractors so I'm keen to install an EF/EL manifold.

Spelling corrections made by Jack_Travis
 
#16 ·
its obvious most .. if not all of you guys werent driving when the EA was released. They earned themselves a big reputation for being unreliable.. and initially it was quite justified.
My dad got one for a company car... it was a hunk of shyte..no problems there. Thats just one example of what the EA has had to fight since then.
They are an extremely pretty car .. I think a well looked after EA looks great.. 14 years on though..there are some very sad examples about ..as well as some mint examples.
I quite like mine ... but in the context that wheels used lame...it was lame.
 
#17 ·
i disagree. although i didnt drive one, i went half way around australia in a 3speed EA GL, 88 series. no problems with that "hunk of shyte"...

and what exactly is your issue with posting on an EA board saying EAs are crap? one would almost think you were trying to start something...
 
#18 ·
jbolger said:
i disagree. although i didnt drive one, i went half way around australia in a 3speed EA GL, 88 series. no problems with that "hunk of shyte"...

and what exactly is your issue with posting on an EA board saying EAs are crap? one would almost think you were trying to start something...
you obviously aren't reading what I am saying ... have another read.. think about it .. and see if you still don't get it,

In case you don't .. in block letters here it comes:
WHEN THE EA'S WERE RELEASED THEY HAD HUGE AMOUNTS OF PROBLEMS AND EVER SINCE THAT DAY THEY HAVE BEEN LIVING WITH THAT REPUTATION. THEY WERE, AS A NEW CAR... LAME. AT LEAST UNTIL SERIES 2

At no point did I say that that EA's were a hunk of shyte.. I said the one my old man had to drive was a hunk of shyte. I opwn one ..if thats not obvious.. and I said I like it.

Either you didn't read what I said properly or you are trying to start a flame war..which is it?
 
#19 ·
With the EF manifold all you really have to do is change heater hoses and dipstick, and modify your origional MPFI loom to fit the EF TPS. and the manifold its self just bolts straight on :)

EA's are a good car generally mainly because the rest of them are already in the dump or at a wrecker. SO there can't be that many bad ones around still.
 
#20 ·
xa-coupe said:
its obvious most .. if not all of you guys werent driving when the EA was released. They earned themselves a big reputation for being unreliable.. and initially it was quite justified.
My dad got one for a company car... it was a hunk of shyte..no problems there. Thats just one example of what the EA has had to fight since then.
They are an extremely pretty car .. I think a well looked after EA looks great.. 14 years on though..there are some very sad examples about ..as well as some mint examples.
I quite like mine ... but in the context that wheels used lame...it was lame.
I partially agree. But everyone knows EAs had problems. Why is the media focusing on that and virtually nothing else when judging the car? I don't have the 'Top 10 Commodores' article here, but I think it's safe to assume that there would be more said about the VT than going on about quality issues. As far as I am concerned, the Falcon article deliberately overlooked the EA's good points, though exactly why I cannot say.
 
#21 ·
the way i see it is that the car media world is just ga ga ova holdens the automotive media tends to carry on about all the good things with holdens and never say a thing about the problems they have but when the review ford all they can condure up is how crap things are on them!(it really ticks me off!!!!) the only instance i can think of is when the eb won car of the year in 1992 and when ford brought out the 220kw xr8 motor compared the ss and the xr8 head to head they found straight line performance was simular but the ford had better brakes and steering feel and the general build was also tested as being better.apart from all that its all been pretty negative reviews for ford over the last 8-10 years.not to mention autospeed scathing review of the TE50. whenthe TE50 came out wheels winged about the crappy side skirt stick on badges but i havent heard a single squeak out of any one about the new vy ss badges and how their just stickers! argh it just really pi*s*s me of!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#22 ·
gm dstroya: maybe its because there are only good things to say about the holdens and nothing good about fords? :) only joking. ill think you will find most of the good reviews at the moment are about the new fords whereas the new commodores arent worth talking about. i'd say its holdens turn now to get all the bad write ups.
 
#23 ·
Jack_Travis said:
I partially agree. But everyone knows EAs had problems. Why is the media focusing on that and virtually nothing else when judging the car? I don't have the 'Top 10 Commodores' article here, but I think it's safe to assume that there would be more said about the VT than going on about quality issues. As far as I am concerned, the Falcon article deliberately overlooked the EA's good points, though exactly why I cannot say.
I dont see how you can say that the media are concentrating on only the negative aspects when it made the top ten.
So many things about the EA were a great step forward over the XF .. it was the execution of them that let it down. I figure the ones that have survived this long must have been the better of them all !!
Whether we like it or not... and whether it's true or not... the general public still sees Holden as being aussie through and through and tends to look past their deficiencies. No one said it had to make sense
 
#24 ·
gm dstroya said:
the way i see it is that the car media world is just ga ga ova holdens the automotive media tends to carry on about all the good things with holdens and never say a thing about the problems they have but when the review ford all they can condure up is how crap things are on them!(it really ticks me off!!!!) the only instance i can think of is when the eb won car of the year in 1992 and when ford brought out the 220kw xr8 motor compared the ss and the xr8 head to head they found straight line performance was simular but the ford had better brakes and steering feel and the general build was also tested as being better.apart from all that its all been pretty negative reviews for ford over the last 8-10 years.not to mention autospeed scathing review of the TE50. whenthe TE50 came out wheels winged about the crappy side skirt stick on badges but i havent heard a single squeak out of any one about the new vy ss badges and how their just stickers! argh it just really pi*s*s me of!!!!!!!!!!!!
the 220Kw XR8 motor seemed to be a little deficient in the go department compared to the LS1. Either Ford over stated their 220Kw .. or Holded understated their 220Kw...

Autospeed have zero credibility andyway.. I wouldn't even bother getting excited at what crap they write. When I saw Julian Edgar admit he hadn't driven one.. then baghged it .. I didn't bother reading on ....

Ford always seem to get a rough treatment in the motoring press...thats the way it goes. However, it makes all the accolades the BA is getting taste that much better!!!!!
 
#26 ·
7/7/89 build would mean ea series 1 nothing wrong with that though.
also dont forget the 220kw xr8 was a five litre whilst the ss was a 5.7lt. and there was a marked difference in the torque graph between the two cars also the au was slightly more lardy. this would all contribute to the au being a little slower than the ss
 
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