There’s not much that’s more annoying than buying some form of kitset, be it a new TV cabinet, or model car, and discovering that there’s no instruction manual with is. So instead, you slave away and take far longer than expected to construct it … only to find the instructions hidden under the last piece.

Well, the build of this XA Coupe is similar, in a way, as once the build was nearly completed, its owner Tarus Yanakopulos stumbled upon an Australian-made DVD series, which runs through the rebuild process of such a vehicle.

Lucky for Tarus though, as a mechanic by trade, and owner of busy workshop Mt Albert Automotive in central Auckland, he had no trouble working out the build as he went along. So instead of helping with the build, that DVD series keeps him entertained now that it’s completed.

Originally he planed to build a (more…)

Inspiration for building a car can come from the strangest of places. More often than not though we tend to find that it’s the cars people aspired to own in their youth that they decide to purchase and modify later in life. Often it’s a car that their parents had, or that a neighbour had, that was the object of their desire during their childhood years. And then, over the passing of time, they’ve gained not only the finances, but also the know-how, to do it

Nigel Andrews’ story about how he ended up with one of the toughest XA Falcons in the country is a little different. His youth was spent with motorbikes, and he worked his way up to owning some pretty cool Harleys, before making the switch from two wheels to four.

It wasn’t until his son, Nick, who’d always been a car guy from a young age, built himself up a Falcon, that Nigel started getting the itch to build one too. Nick’s car progressed from a (more…)

It was like being in a marriage!” says Phil Wright of his role as builder/project manager for this flawless XB GT coupe. As the owner and only full-time hands-on staff member of Matakana-based panel specialists Auto Body Works, his role was to deliver the owner, Ed Fernley, what he wanted — even if there was the odd disagreement between them.

“Ed had plenty of his own ideas, and knew what he wanted, but sometimes he was keen for my suggestions and ideas also, so the end result is (more…)

It was Allan Richards’ dream to own a cool Falcon coupe, now he’s got two…  just don’t tell his wife.

Buy or build, that’s the dilemma faced by many of us, but when your love is for early Falcon coupes it becomes simpler. A rare vehicle when produced 45 years ago, if you find one now you just grab it, whatever you can find, as you never know when you will have the opportunity to buy one again. That’s exactly what Allan Richards decided to do many years ago, having always admired the classic shape of the XM and XP coupes but never managing to find one for sale. Allan had built a few nice cars over the years, of GM origin, but the early Falcon coupe was always his dream. The dream was interrupted for a few years, spending 12 years working in the UK where he met his Kiwi partner Robyn. They returned to Australia, settling in Allan’s home town of Melbourne where the coupe search began in earnest.

Persistence finally paid off when in 2003 an unfinished but tidy XM Coupe with XP front sheetmetal was bought from a work colleague. He was looking to offload it to fund another project, the price was right so the cash changed hands and Allan’s dream project was underway. The coupe was already part-built with a Castlemaine Rod Shop V8-conversion kit already installed in the car. A strong rebuilt 302 and C4 were also part of the deal, as was the narrowed 9-inch and Detroit Locker. Whilst a mate, Keith Symes, sorted the rest of the mechanicals, the bodywork was not going so easy. (more…)

Angus Fogg recovered from a huge crash to claim the first round of the BNT New Zealand V8s.

Starting the six-round championship with the new-look Radio Sport Falcon, Fogg has made the perfect start to his goal of winning the coveted V8s title, even when adversity challenged his team’s motives. Three second placings in the Sunday 6 November racing was enough for the 44-year-old to take the weekend accolades.

Qualifying third fastest around the 2.82km track on the Saturday afternoon, Fogg was hopeful that Sunday’s three races would turn his fortunes.  The opening 12-lap race offered a glimmer of hope with a second place in fine weather conditions. Starting mid-pack for the second 12-lap top-ten reverse grid race, Fogg wrestled his way through the field despite the rain. Late in the race the #2 Radio Sport Falcon then broke traction to hit the track Armco heavily. Surrounded by competitors also following suit, the race was halted, with calculated results putting Fogg in second place.

Starting from the front row for the third and final race for the day, Fogg made a strong start to get an early lead. With 22 laps to complete including a compulsory pit stop, continuing rain made conditions even more treacherous. Fighting to regain the lead Fogg had to settle for his third second placing, benefiting from consistency to take the round win. (more…)

Angus Fogg spent much of last season’s NZ V8s Championship leading the pack and is tagged with a better chance of securing the coveted title in a new look Radio Sport Falcon when the new series begins this weekend 5 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway.

The Birkenhead based 44-year-old race car engineer had the title wrenched from his grip at last season’s Hamilton street race weekend, a blow he says has improved his chances for the 2011/2012 championship season.

“Lessons learned put us in a stronger position now, leaving no stone unturned both from the technical and mechanical viewpoint. It’ll be a case of go hard or go home,” says Fogg.

“Our strategy of collecting as many points as we can and keeping out of trouble worked perfectly well last season, until Hamilton. So we know what we need to do to lead the series, but being who I am I cannot have a bit of a crack can I?” quipped Fogg. “It’s just my nature to get in there and muscle for the lead, but it has to be tempered.” (more…)

After destroying his original engine with too much boost, Scott Allen was left with two choices: scrap the project or build it better. Guess which option he chose…

A muscle car man at heart, Scott Allen has owned a bunch of seriously cool cars in his time, although none quite as cool as his current selection.

The name Boss 302 gets any Mustang owner’s heart pounding, and Scott’s lucky enough to have one. He’s also got the 302’s bigger and far less common brother, the 428 Cobra Jet, a very rare and impressive car that most Ford lovers would kill for. But just to prove he’s not solely a Ford fan, they’re kept company by the Chevrolet equivalent, a ’69 Z28 Camaro.

Obviously, someone with an eye for rare and powerful muscle cars is going to have a passion for going fast, too, and that’s where this story really begins. Back in 2005, Scott was looking for a new daily driver that would allow him to get around the country with his work gear in a bit of comfort. The then brand-new BAII ute fitted the requirements perfectly. However, it wasn’t long after the purchase of the six-speed manual ute that Scott began to tire of the car’s limited performance, and the idea of force-feeding it came to mind. (more…)

Ten years ago Kim Theyers didn’t know what an XM Falcon was. These days she’s got the best example in the country.

When we asked why Taranaki primary school principal Kim Theyers chose to build an XM Falcon, the answer wasn’t what we expected. While most people purchase the vehicles we see in these pages with the intent of modifying or restoring them, her story is a bit different.

It all started 10 years ago, when Kim’s husband, Glen, was rebuilding his ’32 coupe. With the coupe in bits the happy couple didn’t have a car to get them to events or even to take for a weekend cruise.

Kim decided the solution was for her to buy a car of her own that could be used for such occasions. She had no idea what she was really after, and it was only when she spotted a purple XM pulling into Rotorua Swapmeet that she knew it was the vehicle for her.

“I had no idea what kind of car it was or even if it was for sale,” she says, “but I told Glen that was the car I wanted.” Luckily, after a bit of hunting around, the car was found and was actually for sale. (more…)