Page 13 - Beep Beep January 2023

“It was a Gt rolling shell that has all the right numbers I found in Tasmania three years ago. I bought it mainly because it was a near perfect body with no rust anywhere, having spent a large part of its life stripped in a shed in Tasmania. A search of the Australian Classic Car History Service turned up the details on the car having been sold new on 21st August 1968 by GM Jackson, Launceston, Tasmania.
The car was perfect for what I had in mind as it was such a great body. The door skins were removed and the whole car was sandblasted inside and out with new bonnet from RS. The engine is the 92 AU Roller cam 302 engine with GT40P heads and a mild cam. We raised the comp ratio to 10.5 – 1, balanced the engine, headers and the four 44mm Webers.
I wanted a car I could easily drive in traffic but could also do some track time at Lakeside and have ended up with about 275HP. The box is the XB GT close ratio Single Rail with a quick shifter. It an absolute dream to use and plenty strong enough for the engine. With the 3.0 – 1 ratio original Mustang 8 3⁄4” rear end the car is very high geared and is a great cruiser but with heaps of torque.
The front suspension uses 2” dropped spindles from Rod Hadfield at The Rod Shop. This allows the car to sit at the height you see and have standard suspension settings with standard springs and Koni adjustable shocks thus eliminating any bump steer. The sway bar has been upgraded to a very solid 27mm, she sits very flat on corners. Rear end uses reset 5 leaf springs and Bilstein shocks. Wheels are 18 x 8 and 18 x 9.5 with custom made two piece brake rotors, six pot and four pot calipers. XF power steering and XY column helps keep the car easy to drive.
The interior is trimmed in Italian leather with GT styled door trims and custom console and custom front seats. Strangely enough the console was the part I enjoyed building the most.”
Photos from Noel St John-Wood
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Steve Budden’s Custom XT Falcon GT
Cheers Steve
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