VERY RARE 1973 XA GT FALCON COUPE - Phase 4 Engine Factory Fitted!

[@boskomarkoski1503]

The best Coupe ever built in Australia by a country mile. Absolutely Stunning Machine & priceless.

[@pashakdescilly7517]

Chrysler E49 Charger was a pretty stunning car

[@chargerwoh]

There all good but Aussie charger is a beast

[@boskomarkoski1503]

@@chargerwoh actaully a Ford GT sold for 3 mill & the HO had the best top speed out of the top 3.

[@chargerwoh]

Bosko Markoski true and on a big open track it would be hard to catch the falcon because of its speed but despite the high dollars $$$ the GT’s still pull in just remember out of all the Aussie muscle the charger did absolutely dominate NZ production car racing for several years even Moffat struggled to get a podium finish against the e49 and don’t forget they had the greatest power to weight of them all ...I always believed all the bullshit rumours about chargers and I’ve Owned a few now and they more then capable also love the other makes .why doesn’t anyone talk about the supercharged rally cross torana that Peter brock drove that was another rocket

[@boskomarkoski1503]

@@chargerwoh the chargers didn't do much here in Australia. How about when Ford wanted to put a V8 in Capris & Cortinas but they wouldn't allow it.

[@SuburbanConan]

I'm a Holden guy. Always have been. Owned 13 HK/T/G Monaros over the years, along with Toranas and a Brougham.Current drive is a VF Series II SS Redline.....which I think in time will become the recognised pinnacle of Aussie performance cars....(HSV excluded) But even I have to admit that the XA/B/C coupes, once they have that fat black rubber on the rear, is probably the meanest, gruntiest looking car ever made in Australia. It just looks angry.And fast.In Cobra form it looked amazing. But this car? This car is a unicorn. Unique.Truly a dream car. Never can be replaced... And he's one lucky, lucky, lucky guy.... R.I.P Commodore 🇦🇺 R.I.P Holden 🇦🇺

[@7071t6]

Its all to do with mad max, if that movie was not made then the XB coup and XA coup will be selling for what a GT is worth these days and all GT owners are asking way too much even muscle car value book based on original condition say concourse its only worth around 150K full stop? I too have a VF redline and they are just going up in price every year its going up and less and less are for sale and those ones which are have double or triple KMS of mine yet are asking more than what i paid for it, also mine is a direct South Australian Holden Elizabeth Factory Holden Mangers daily driver car, ex Holden factory managers car, not just a VF redline 2nd owner etc. lucky me ha ha. cheers:) a

[@rodneyjones4890]

@@7071t6 WHY are Holden Muppets commenting ? Holden was NEVER Aussie. These Coupes are. First all Aussie car - XA. First Aussie Holden - VE. You seem to forget that the XA-B-C Coupes won Bathurst multiple times. :)

[@johnbrooks9523]

@@rodneyjones4890 Yep, the XA Falcon is easily the fastest car ever overlap spotwelded together on this planet. Even a HD HOLDEN can't rust as fast the ridiculous XA.

[@johnbrooks9523]

@@rodneyjones4890 Oops, did I say car?. . . I meant turd.

[@rodneyjones4890]

@@johnbrooks9523 Ok paedo internet hero.

[@kevinmoor26]

More proof that Governments should stick to maintaining roads and collecting the rubbish.

[@cavscout62]

Absolutely! We faced the same thing in the States with FE’s getting phased out and small blocks being choked to death with “smog” pumps and 2 barrel carbs. Nobody and Nothing can screw things up like over reaching government idiots. Hell, look where we are today.

[@davidburne9477]

Only proof that you are guilty of simplistic analysis - the ‘moral panic’ over Supercars was a product of media selling newspapers and TV time. The media went to the government and stirred the pot. If the cars of the day had safety features to match the HP it might have ended differently. As Glenn pointed out, the brakes were hopeless and the seats wouldn’t hold you in place against the lateral forces.

[@Nobody-oc4qb]

They are the rubbish.

[@charliepyle1626]

No. I am 65 and way to many people arent here now. These things had big HP, shit tires, LSD, bad roads and grog. LSD was limited slip diff, and sometimes the other.

[@hamishfullerton7309]

Grog doesn't mix with a morris minor ,however I do get your point if you were young guy you needed to have your wits about you in that period and say that as youth of the90s and early 2000s, especially getting in to a cars like that with the wrong driver. However think a balance could have been found and essence of the era better preserved, the US had more powerful cars than us ,but better roads but in typical Australian fashion we don't apply rules with out any nuances,and in today's world high horse power has been heavily skewed to rich older xers and baby boomers to enjoy with most budget modern cars being quite vanilla and banal, and lot more people die of suicide,heart disease cancer and diabetes , so we haven't gone forward in many cases

[@guysoceanharmonics]

Magnificent restoration, well done, pure rolling art.

[@marklowe7431]

Already unique and then unique again. What a diamond. It really is gratifying to see someone do such a good restoration to it and keep it perfectly concourse. In excellent hands.

[@hamishfullerton7309]

One of my favorite muscle cars, that motor , rp03 specs,cavernous interior, yum,big $$$$$,savour it

[@nickefgen9219]

What a beautiful car thank you for showing it

[@davidwynne9012]

Great show Glenn. That’s one very special car. I remember a few dark horses go off the the final line when I worked at Ford in 73. The Plant Engineer Dept was right next to the end of the final line and test rollers x 2. The Q/C guys used to wind them up through the gears on the rollers then take the vehicle for a quick run on the bitumen track. Saw the last Phase 3 do just that! Fantastic memories of raw muscle!

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Thanks mate. What a great era to be right amongst it.

[@V8AmericanMuscleCar]

It's not just the most beautiful car in Australia, it's one of the most beautiful cars ever. ❤

[@cyclonecj4285]

Well done once again Glenn. I wish I still had my XA GT coupe.

[@weldmachine]

Definitely fits into the COOL car category. I know some might say they don,t handle as well as cars of today. But in years to come they will be saying the same thing about the cars we drive today.

[@rockinfreakapotimus]

Amazing! I knew of the Phase 4 XA Sedan in Calypso Green, but never knew they did an XA Coupe too! Bluddy fantastic!

[@wetbehind-br8uh]

they didn't make a phase 4 hardtop

[@Kingmick58]

Mate. I'm green with envy. Marvellous stuff.

[@rossgarykelly84]

Look at it and listen to it! An absolute credit to the owners hard work. One of, if not the best colour too and sunroof. Thanks for such a great video

[@PaulStewartAviation]

Awesome video! Looking forward to binging this channel over the next few days!

[@SidewaysSurfDrinksHQ]

This is just an epic beyond words story. Simply the most beautiful car shape I’ve ever seen in my 56 years. 👏👏👏

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mrbreezeaau]

Still the best mag wheel ever... I'm yet to see a modern version of this style that i like as much as these

[@weldmachine]

The rims fitted to the GT XA definitely look good especially on this super tidy car. Full credit to the current owner, even has the original Ford Motor Co slip around the sun visor. He has gone to the trouble of doing a full concourse rebuild on this car. Excellent work.

[@chocodiledundee1]

Yes globe star is true blue Aussie icon ... I do believe they only exist in Australia

[@michaelparadisis4076]

Probably the best Aussie muscle car , certainly as far as I’m concerned.

[@mrporsche4236]

I had an xbgt it was one of the best handling cars ive owned and with 4 wheel discs stopped as good as a modern car.with mild mods was incredibly quick even by todays standards.but the torque on the clevelands is unbelievable

[@michaelcalder9089]

Yep. Handling great cos of proper wide track car.

[@andrewrose9707]

Awesome car and I love the colour. Yellow GTP in the background looks fantastic too... Cool garage!

[@jeandibb4111]

Shame the music completely drowns out the exhaust note...

[@michaeldonnelly1657]

Beautiful restoration Les, inside and out looks superb, congratulations mate

[@BadApe351]

You always do a great show Glenn. Old school Aussie muscle...can't beat it.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Bad Ape thanks mate!

[@BadApe351]

Hey Glenn can you feature a tough XD or XE sometime mate? Cheers!

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Bad Ape , sure will!

[@BadApe351]

@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines Legend. Tough job you've got there ha!

[@kdfrkdfr]

My friend has a green XA GT coupe, a 72 build. Car went off the road around 1981 and sat in storage for 30 years. Had a full disassembly restoration and it's just mint. Won big prizes at shows.

[@darrylmackie9184]

Heaps of Shit, WHAT'S THE GOOD OF IT SITTING IN A SHED, probably had a collection of Playboy as well.

[@kdfrkdfr]

@@darrylmackie9184 suffer.

[@darrindouglas1]

Had a 4 door ( fake Jewel Green GT ) genuine guards and bonnet, 351 auto. Really loved that car, even though I wasn't a fan of the brown interior. Sadly it caught fire from an electrical fault ( not mine ) Lucky you for getting a drive of this legendary Aussie muscle.....

[@chocodiledundee1]

I love brown / red or bony interior nice car far out man

[@carolynbarnett7158]

Reference time 1:45: you would have to have elephant balls to take an XA to 160 MPH. Owned one, they don't stop and don't steer, even a coil over mod barely made them acceptable. Can get big rubber under the back end though (265). Lovely car, but a better museum piece than a driver.

[@starboy2013]

Yeah a fucking death trap at 160MPH especially in the hands of young guy.

[@montinaladine3264]

Have to agree, but obviously they can be made to handle very well at high speed otherwise they would not have been able to race them so successfully. But yes it takes some money and effort to get to that stage.

[@bonarasmey5563]

Remember when im just turning 18.just love this model version

[@chrisweeks6973]

Once a day, in 1972, I would walk from the Broadmeadows Truck Plant down to the computer room in the Car Plant. It was a real joy to see the beautiful XA GT sedans and Hardtops progressing down the line. The thing I didn't like about the vehicle was the horn, activated by pressing the rubber ring on the inside rim of the steering wheel. When maneuvering in and out of parking slots it was far too easy to inadvertently sound the horn. Brakes were marginal too; try 3 or 4 hard stops at the end of Calder Park's front straight and they'd go out to lunch. All that said, they were a lovely-looking car, in either format.

[@silviofontana3666]

had a friend in 1973/74 who bought one of these, its was called "American Colt" stars and stripes, an awesome ride, I have never seen one since.

[@mickcarson8504]

Hello Glenn. I remember them. White police interceptors, fastest Ford's of '72. Never forgot the greenie meanies. I'd shed a tear.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Hi Mick, thanks for watching. I love hearing people’s personal memories and history. Such a great era, wasn’t it.

[@chocodiledundee1]

Absolutely beauty mate can’t top that .... back in 2002 living near Hurstville with my brother Rod and Peter , Peter was a Scania Diesel mechanic originally from Wagga Wagga he had a 1975 XA coupe Fairmont 500 it was purple with white bony interior it was for ages in our back yard it was perfect condition, back in 2002 he couldn’t get $ 7.500 for it , he offered it for me for 5 k but I didn’t want cos I was a Chevy guy back then so I bough a lap top ....now I am a die hard ford with all my heart and gee don’t I regret it omg ....

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

There is a coupe just like that on the same episode here that features the green HT350 Monaro Survivor. :-)

[@Virvum_Juggernaut]

“I’m here to visit a good friend of mine by the name of Les. I’m told he’s got a great little car collection” … Ummm, if he is indeed such a good friend Glenn, I’m certain you’d already have known of and personally visited his car collection previously lol. Stunning unique version of my favourite Falcon. I inherited my father’s XA GS Coupe with a 302 Windsor mated to a 4-speed Top Loader (now converted to a 351 Cleveland). Edit : Mine also has the factory wind-up sun-roof.

[@perryt8442]

I spent many hours working on this restoration.

[@sheepdog4041]

Left or right hand

[@_sunshine_rainbows]

@@sheepdog4041 both

[@clarkstar11]

What a beautiful machine! FORD POWER!!!

[@stevenhoman2253]

The father of my mate next door, used to get around in an old 63 Ford Falcon station wagon, with the factory heater. He came into some cash in 73 and bought an XA with the 351 in bright red, with a black vinyl roof and a white interior. He almost never let anyone sit in the car except himself, but the twin exhausts sounded so good at idle, it was like being in it. This bloke has done himself proud with this restoration. What a beast. How many ponies?

[@FJ20]

Always a Hardtop. Never a coupe. It’s perfect. 👍🏼

[@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism]

"They're a muscle car and they required a muscle man to drive it." hahaha hell yeah. That's a man's quote right there. Those are good looking cars. Not too much left by '73 so it's cool to see them featured like this.

[@onedayiwillmakesomecontent]

Tell that to the old lady who had an XA GT coupe, 4 speed manual, no power steer, in the town I lived in. She drove that thing from her 50's into her 70's!

[@chisel83]

That's just pure horn. Killer XA

[@mlp-hot-rod5824]

Actually, being a 2 door, you could call this a Phase 5. The only one of its kind in existence.

[@Scrambler85]

Amazing looking car, nothing but envy from the States

[@1968lr]

Good on him for keeping it original

[@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism]

Wow what a cool story. Never heard of any of this stuff. All news to me. I love it! What an awesome car show you have going on here Glenn. It's grade A, mate! That's so cool you showing up in a first gen camaro. Muscle cars don't get any better than those, only different. You have a really nice one by the looks of it.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Wabanaki [A Travelin' Indian] , glad you’re enjoying it! We have some great stories to tell here in Aus, and our car culture here has a heavy American influence, dating right back to the early days of transport, and a lot of interesting history. Knowing that enthusiasts like you are are enjoying it really inspires me! 😊👍

[@coralblake9868]

I would love to still have my Dad’s XA Coupe, it was walnut glow with the gold XB line work on the side. Apparently he ordered it as Ford was changing from XA to XB, so several parts were XB. It was a gorgeous beast. I only got to drive it once. My brother purchased it from my dad and I wasn’t allowed near it ever again. He traded it with a friend, so long gone. Pity.

[@doriankeating1963]

Wow , good for you mate, what a privilege.

[@belalmohammad3705]

Mate, that car is an amazing beast. Would love to own one of these one day. Like you said, not much electronics, so the driver is in control.

[@zwiastunburzy7188]

The skinny rear wheels and tyres looked ridiculous on these beasts. Especially considering the vast amount of room in the rear wheel wells. But what a car! Back in the day I had an XA Fairmont that I upped to GT specs. Everything. From the big 351 Cleveland, the Toploader, 9" diff, to the upgraded suspension package complete with nolathane bushes, even fitted 4 wheel disc brakes. That car had the factory fitted sunroof as well, which worked properly and didn't leak! I wish I still owned it, I miss that car. It sat beautifully on the road, with bugger all body roll courtesy of the correct anti-sway bars, and could take most bends at double the suggested speed, without getting loose.

[@michaelcalder9089]

That's correct, big sway bar at the rear was the stock things to do. The steep twisty Royal National Park road Audley to Bundeena was a great drive with the falcon riding handling like it was on rails! Had good rubber on all wheels....not cheap Chinese crap that passes nowadays.

[@MightyMick88]

Good come back Fletch, little collection you nailed him.

[@becs2635]

better than any "replica" beautiful restoration

[@SCCIT-jq6jh]

The amount of undies I have changed looking at this car man!

[@TrackRecord3455]

It's a very special car i'd love to own it

[@samiam9059]

Beautiful car and perfect color for it. wow!

[@rossawood5075]

Back in the day I purchased a six month old 1973 Ford Landau 2 door, it came supplied with a 4V 351 750 Holley and pulled far harder than other standard 351's of the day. I always felt like it had higher compression than the rest and idling in traffic on a hot day would see a temperature rise on the unique guages, no worry when running hard and fast though. Always wondered if it was a RPO version, no winged sump however but slight lope, not GT but not std. The Landaus are probably rarer now than the GT coupes, traded it for a new 1978 bright orange XC GS 351 T bat auto ute with all the gear, steer, air and GS options. but the detuned 351 in the XC never pulled as well as the 73 Landau and ithe color attracted the attention of highway patrols more than the dark blue and black Landau.

[@lepoetegribouille1532]

beautiful ! Amazing car.

[@badenpobjoy1877]

GREAT video and a GREAT bit of Aussie history even if you are red or blue "imo".....

[@nickkostakis9600]

Great show great car

[@damirbabic7403]

What a great beautiful aussie muscle car 73 ford falcon the last of the v8 good job sir good job i love it 😎😎😎😎❤❤❤❤

[@robzippier1332]

Very lucky getting to drive it👍

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Rob Zippier , spot on. It was a huge privilege, and while I tried not to show it for the camera, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous.

[@robzippier1332]

Glenn Everitt - Master of Machines is there a way I can contact you via email?

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

@@robzippier1332 , sure, you can contact me here via my media company's website. www.everforgemedia.com/

[@robzippier1332]

Glenn Everitt - Master of Machines I sent you mail Glenn cheers

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

@@robzippier1332 , I've not seen it come through. Just double check the address again.

[@peterhall6656]

I went Warwick Farm as a passenger in whjat I vaguely recall was an HO ( I could be wrong) in 1972. It was sideways with smoke coming through the windows on exit from Creek Corner. The car was owned by a guy whose name was I think Les Appa (?). He was running it in the context of Peter Wherrett's advanced driving course.

[@angelisone]

This car reminded of my overhauled daughter's non-muscle car, Yugo GTO. And it is still going strong.

[@michaelcinar1452]

Thank you excellent video.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

You are welcome!

[@danielball9013]

Beautiful XA GT coupe mate

[@woopimagpie]

Aside from the Street Fords magazine feature on the restoration done on it a few years back, I wonder will we ever see the one and only road registered genuine GTHO Phase IV in the public eye again? "The dentist" oversaw its incredible nut and bolt restoration to 100% factory original in 2009, and he does a fantastic job of keeping it hidden away. I believe it made a rare appearance at Unique Cars Rolling 30 last year too. I bet you'd like a drive of that one eh Glenn? Wouldn't we all....

[@phantasyboy1031]

Yep and here's a true story that was the only GTHO Phase IV that was built road legal. And that GTHO Phase IV first belonged to the great man Sir Jack Brabham

[@XAY00T]

the calypso phase 4 was brought out at all ford day Sydney, in 2018. It was a real sight to behold

[@warrenjensen4670]

@@phantasyboy1031 It was built for Sir Jack, but he turned it down because it had a automatic gearbox.

[@phantasyboy1031]

@@warrenjensen4670 Nope it was a manual Sir Jack didn't want a manual 4 speed gearbox

[@warrenjensen4670]

@@phantasyboy1031 Righto, I knew I was one or the other. Either way, I doubt he knew what a rarity he was turning down until much later.

[@RT038]

love these coupes at least i can say i have owned a few but not a gt coupe 1 gs coupe 1 xa coupe and another xb coupe 302 love this rare xa gt coupe

[@heyguyswhatshappening6210]

"It's important to look where you are going" proceeds to look at the camera

[@jakespeed63]

Fantastic Machine!!!

[@jasonmorahan7450]

IIRC the phase IV was essentially the phase III engine fitted to the XA with big discs and ventilated drums, I think it was Moffat or someone who mentioned once, regardless of the conservative Ford quotes they were actually getting around 420hp from them on the track in factory spec in 72. It's a monster engine, even by today's standards. Beautiful car by the way, fantastic restoration job. Masterful. Interesting note, the following year in 73 when the rules changed from factory spec to track modification the little 3.3 XU1 were getting around 290hp which, in a 1200kg car is a monster engine but I suppose the Fords had started marching their way towards 600hp under those rules so it became V8 or nothing and the next Torana L34, well memory fails but was competitive. I knew a bloke in the 80s had an original L34 took me for a drive, decided to impress, fishtailed our way through an entire suburb, down every street, every corner, insanely powerful. His mate had an original Chevy 302 track engine imported from the US he fitted in his HJ wagon with a muncie 4 spd, went like a professional drag car but that L34 was quicker. You basically held the cage bars for dear life in the back seat the entire ride. Did know one bloke with an original XA GT sedan fitted with a factory 4v engine but it was the hydraulic cam. That thing was easily the other side of 350hp. Took us deer hunting once and we went up dirt tracks in the middle of the night in rough bushland at 100mph but it was the way he did that, see the track is barely wider than the car and you get to hair pins doing about 40mph and he squeezes the pedal a couple of times, we're on straight dirt, seconds later as the wheels are finally gaining grip proportionate to velocity and I mean seconds later the speedo goes from bouncing between 80 and 120mph to level off gaining grip at 100mph in what seemed like running distance from 40. Even that was an insanely fast car. L34 was easily the quickest out of that whole bunch but I never got to go in a genuine Phase III spec engine car. Did go in a Phase I with a retro shaker fitment though, Windsor motor. No slouch. Every "XY HO" we get in the panel shop however is a GS mockup with a 150 grand asking price, a stock 2v Cleveland and a shaker, which makes sense since the real thing is what, half a million now? Well it's only about 170hp difference.

[@scottmuller]

Awesome mate

[@hubertmantz1516]

The best of the best. Stunning colour! What a shame we don’t get some nice green shades these days. There’s a few but not nearly enough 👎🏼

[@craigsommerville2300]

Beautiful old beasty!

[@stripervince1]

Yeah that’s a beautiful thing. I could never drive that on the wrong side like that

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

You get used to it, like we do with left hand drive cars we own here in Aus. Doesn't take long to dial in. :-)

[@timothylanders3189]

Concerning the engine, reminds of my R/T E38 when I had the engine rebuilt many years back. While it was @ the Workshop. Got a call one day to be told the conrods were not listed in any service manual mechanic could get. It had brass bushes that the piston/rod gudgeon pins floated on (full floating pistons). So, he had to get aluminium ones made as a substitute to use with some alloy Sterling pistons from the US...

[@johnmcmullen456]

I live in the states, Ohio, and saw one of these at a local fall collector car show several years ago. At first glance I assumed it was one of our near identical Ford Torinos. Very beautiful, cool car.

[@garydargan6]

I hear you about the rawness of the old muscle l cars compared to today. My sons drive modern cars with ABS, traction control and stability control and they push them to the limit. Unfortunately one of them pushed it too far and had a really significant crash and was very lucky to escape unscathed. The old cars would talk to you. They would let you know when you were pushing a bit too hard and would give you enough warning to back off. These days they just fail spectacularly and are virtually impossible to recover. All they do is let unskilled drivers drive even more dangerously.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

Very lucky man in my favourite colour 👍👍😍😍

[@culpritmedia7026]

"A good friend of mine... I'm TOLD he's got a great little car collection..." You would think this is something a friend shouldn't need to be told about.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

He's a family friend I hadn't seen for years, invited me over. True story!

[@artoodiitoo]

4:03 I instictly felt scared of seeing it from this angle, instantly brought back images of one in black, with only the inner front lights, and a chrome skull on the bonnet

[@rhettcorbett3346]

Was not a factory fitted Phase 4 engine. It was Bruce Hodsons Phase 4 engine ? That was returned to Bruce to rebuild his Red Phase 4 rally car ? As Rebel said in Running on Empty- I like green, green is nice.

[@johnnyborg9835]

You're a lucky man Glenn

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

I've been very lucky to drive some amazing cars. :-)

[@ripme6616]

Congratulations 1 of 1

[@hendo337]

It's essentially a Boss 351 engine I am guessing, those were rated 335hp net in '71, Richard Holdner tested one with a Holley 750 and headers without accessories on a dyno and it made 380hp at the crank, more than any other factory Small Block V8 from the era. A DZ302 made 353hp tested the same way, an L79 327 made 355hp and an LT-1 350 made 360hp. The 340 six pack made around 365hp. It took a big block to even get close without skilled aggressive head porting or aftermarket heads, stroker kits, huge cams, huge induction systems, sky high compression. The Boss 351 has the potential with factory head castings to make 600+hp only the 426 Hemi and BBC 427/454 could ever come close.

[@mchristr]

I so wish Ford had produced a North American version instead of the larger Torino. They probably didn't because it would have cannibalized Mustang sales. What an awesome car!

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Miles Rains , when you put them side by side, it’s quite interesting how there are some elements in the Torino that are very similar, particularly the shape of the rear quarter panels, in fact one of our episodes that features the blue Plymouth Superbird tribute also features a Torino GT and the owner talks about the floor pan being identical to our Falcon 2 door of the same era. This shows that the designers in Aus and Detroit often worked hand in hand.

[@sdmercuryman]

I would have loved to see these marketed in the Mercury line up. Yes, I agree this Falcon would have certainly have dove into the Mustang sales.

[@ripposte]

I bought one of these baby's back in 1980, the car was advertised in the trading post as a XBGT for $2500. I was 17 at the time so I borrowed the money off mum and bought it. When I got the car home my friends were pointing out that it had a winged sump , 4V heads, 750cfm holley with a ford tag hanging off it, H & M headers, detroit locker diff and of course a top loader gear box. I took her to Castlereagh dragstrip and did 14.1 seconds down the quarter mile and the car was stock standard. This car was an XA with a XB front end and apparently the car dealers used to put XB front ends on XA's so they could sell them as an XB. I sold this car 2 years later for $4000 which was ok money at the time but I wish I had kept it!

[@Sohc6]

Tidy old girl 😍 love my cobalt ed xr6 can't compare cars but I love it all the same knowing the blood line of the falcon stretches pretty far 😎

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

I'm hearing you, and although I have an XY GT Replica for the weekends, my daily driver in an FG XR6. Fantastic and highly underrated car. In the day my Mum had a brand new Cobalt Blue ED XR6 and it was a sensational car, a real surprise package.

[@Sohc6]

I've had v8s etc awsome cars and a whole lot of fun couldn't afford it now though but the xr6 shits on them for the get in and drive factor had bugger all go wrong with it has the grunt etc even if I had the money I don't think I'd give my ed up 🤷‍♂️

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

@@Sohc6 , funny, I feel the same way about the FG, I'm hesitant to upgrade!

[@DavesIneosGrenadier]

He's a good friend of yours but ..you are told he's got a great car collection.

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Dave Boreland, correct, a good family friend that I hadn’t seen for several years. 👍

[@luvskippy]

It’s a RPO, all RPOs had the phase 4 gear.

[@christheodore7772]

RPOs did not have a phase4 engine, if anything the phase4 engine was more like the phase3 engine as where the bits that went on RPOs, they all started at the phase3... the carby, extractors, the slave cylinder

[@BLUEZz73]

Special Car a beautiful restoration the ultimate Ford.

[@barryphillips7327]

Beautiful car love the colour!!

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

Beautiful piece of machinery, but it seems you were struggling a bit with the transmission? And how was the clutch?

[@weldmachine]

I remember Eric Banner ( famous for playing Chopper ) restored a GT Coupe but finished up destroying it in a rally, i think from memory it was a rally he was in which was in Tasmania ?? He spent so much time and effort rebuilding the car it was a huge shame to see it as a wreck.

[@mattniven6380]

Yeah Targa

[@TASMAN-1]

Correct, Targa TAS. Eric made the age old mistake of hitting the brakes into a corner, locked up the fronts & expected it to turn. Hit a tree along the drivers guard. It takes courage & experience to take ya' foot off the brakes at that moment, but it works! To my knowledge Banas Beast has since been repaired.

[@weldmachine]

@@TASMAN-1 He did a great job of rebuilding it the first time. Was a shame to see it wrecked again ??

[@michaelhart5886]

@@TASMAN-1 yep the beast has been rebuilt with help from the dick Johnson crew to a better standard than beforehand

[@jamesrudolph9054]

Remember those when I worked at KMP in Oz saw them and the only 2dr Leyland force 7 it never made it to the road thanks to the government of the day , was when cars were cars .

[@GlennEverittMasterofMachines]

Stay tuned for a feature on a Force 7. Super rare car. :-)

[@marygraham6735]

Holycow!!!! Awesome, learn new stuff on here all the time😁 Super nice car. That motor 😎 so cool. Love ole school. Didn't know that The Aussies even made a 351 much less this involved with ford! Just saying. I'd take any 70's Ford. 😊

[@installer1571]

That is one absolutely beautiful car I love the colour I love the grill the sad thing about that car is that short drive probably cost in a tank of fuel they weren't what you call fuel-efficient but who cares

[@rhettcorbett3346]

Hopefully this beast will make it to the Tassie HTA in March 2025.

[@user-kc2ru5xo4k]

A bit of GT trivial - the HO in GTHO stands for 'handling option'

[@jameswood1935]

"a good friend of mine" .... "that i hear has an RPO..." can't be too good a mate if he won't let you in his shed haha

[@jamesjames3525]

Amateures 🤣😅😆

[@londonman8688]

amazing car .

[@mickeydee3595]

My grandmother used to make these at the Broadmeadows plant. She was never really into cars and my grandfather was a massive alcho so they never had a car of any kind. When I showed her the prices of the Fords she used to build a few months back she almost fell over 🤣😂 She replied to me in Portuguese with "Do you know how much I could have bought that for back when I worked there?!" haha

[@MightyMick88]

Fletch once again great work, I thought you were a Mopar fan?

[@Jo_Wardy]

Coolest of the fastback fords.

[@mickeybowmeister1944]

I reckon this car would be close to $750k