Mick Kurdas' 1972 Ford XY Falcon Ute...
I owned a number of XW, XY and XA GTs in the 1980s and ’90s and sold them all for a song, as we did back then.
But my favourite was a ’72 XY factory ute plated with all the GT gear, including a 4V Cleveland 351 and a nine-inch Detroit Locker. It belonged to Errand Transport in Melbourne and was their mechanic’s car. I saw it for sale on the nature strip outside Flinkiers car yard in 1981 and bought it for $2000.
Unfortunately, it went to the SIMS Metal crusher after an altercation with a power pole, but I never forgot it.
So, nearly 30 years later, I decided to build a similar XY ute, but it had to be a factory-original V8 car.
I searched without luck for two years for the right one but to my disappointment all the cars that were advertised as “the best” or “the only one in the country” turned out to be cars with a lot of ambition but no originality.
Then one came up for sale in Sydney and I thought, “One more trip won’t hurt”. I drove up with a friend and when the owner took the cover off I knew I’d found what I’d been searching for. We did a deal and I drove it back to Melbourne.
It was a GS V8 model, but to the owner’s credit, he had restored the car and added some stripes and a shaker, but left the drivetrain original, which gave me a free hand.
So when I got it home, the first thing I did was take out all the running gear. Out went the original 302 V8 and LSD and I replaced it with a 351 CJ 4V four-bolt Cleveland with a 780 Ford Holley carb. Then I added a dual exhaust system and fitted finned drum brakes and a Detroit Locker.
To make it really look the part, I fitted 15-inch, five-slotter wheels, a genuine HO bonnet, metal shaker and factory driving lights After many nights’ work in my barn it all came together beautifully and now I have a fully restored car that really turns heads and drives just like it did 40 years ago.
I won’t make the same mistake of letting this one slip away for a song. Or end up in a car crusher!
Photography: Mick Kurdas