GT-HOs and RPO83 will pull big numbers
Premium Falcons may turn out to be the headline acts at this Saturday’s Lloyds auction at the Shepparton Motor Museum, though they could be rivalled by a very slick Monaro and a desirable Charger.
With prices of local cars on the march, it seems a lot of vehicles are in the market and this auction features two GT-HOs – a rare event.
The first is a Phase I from 1969, with a 351 Windsor powerplant and four-speed top loader transmission. This was the first of a line that was hotted up for racing, specifically to tackle the burgeoning touring cars series and the premium Bathurst endurance race.
This example is a restored car and bidding had neared $100,000 by mid-day Friday.
Next is the 1971 GT-HO Phase III with a Cleveland 351 and top loader, in very good condition. For many, this is the ultimate locally-built Ford Falcon, a car that comprehensively dominated Bathurst, built the reputation of the legendary Allan Moffat and has seen some incredible peaks in value over the years.
The example at Lloyds (lot 43) had seen bidding reach $280,000 at the time of writing – still well below its likely sale price.
Last on our Ford list is probably a more rare car, a 1973 RPO83 (lot 57) in wild violet livery with a beige vinyl roof. These cars were as close as you could get to a production Phase IV, with all the hot gear under the panels, including the 351 Cleveland and top loader.
Only 130 of these XA-platform cars are said to have been produced. Bidding had reached $115,000 at the time of writing.
Holden nuts may want to look at the 1970 Holden Monaro (lot 56), which is a very tidy GTS 308 with a four-speed manual, factory power steering and a big-capacity ‘Bathurst’ fuel tank.
This may not be the absolute el-primo model for that year, but it’s a stunner and a very desirable car. Bidding had already cracked the $103,000 mark.
Another premium muscle car to go under the hammer is a 1971 E38 R/T Charger (lot 58), which has undergone a recent restoration and has done very few miles since. A straight six with four-speed manual, this is regarded by our own John Bowe (and others) as one of the most under-rated local muscle cars of all time.
Bidding had reached a healthy $151,000 at lunchtime Friday and looked to go a lot further.
The hammer will fall on all these cars tomorrow afternoon, with the auction starting at mid-day.