V8 wagon
In a Mark Higgins feature on the development of the XA-XC series, former staffer David Ford revealed: “The biggest change was to the XC Falcon powertrain when we introduced the crossflow cylinder head on the six cylinder engine to gain a big step up over Holden.
“With the XC we wanted to get away from the Coke bottle rear so we lowered the belt line on the rear door as a step towards a more European concept. Back then anything European was good and anything American was crappy old stuff and we were trying to shift Falcon’s image.
“We used the excuse of the emissions programs to allow us to re-do the engine properly rather than take a minimal approach.”
This XC wagon is said to have undergone a $100k-plus rebuild at Grand Tourer in Melbourne and is running a Cleveland 351 (5.8lt) V8. The ad is thin on detail, but this could be worth chasing. Located in Perth, it’s on the market at $80,000.