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…)

Name: Korey Mason
Vehicle: Ford Falcon XY

Nice-looking XY Korey, how long have you owned it?
Eleven years now; I got it as my 21st present. I’m the second owner. I got it from Cromwell.

Lucky man. Did you look at many?
Yeah, we must have looked at 40 cars from XRs to XYs. They were all around the $500 to $800 mark and for some that was even too much. The milkman had this one and he’d owned it from brand-new. The only things he had done were paint it and put a Celica five-speed in it.

Is that still his paint job?
Nah, me and a mate painted it Blueprint. It was done in a garage at home. The paint job is eight years old now, so it can’t have been too bad. I’d like to repaint it now but it still polishes up quite nicely.

The Foose wheels set it off well.
Yeah, I was one of the first to put 17-inch wheels on one and everyone was against me doing it. I’d only go for Foose or Coddington wheels on it — nothing else looks quite right.

The interior isn’t your standard Falcon GT clone either.
No, the Monza race seats are something different. And the centre console has the stereo and speakers in it, so I didn’t have to cut the door panels up.

It has a nice rumble — what’s the motor?
It’s a 351 Clevo with flat-top pistons and a stage five cam. It was a powerboat motor and when I got it was in a late-model ute. It pumps out some power. It’s not that quick off the mark, but from the mid-range right through there’s not much that can touch it. (more…)

If you were to build your dream car, what would the key requirement be? For the owner of this XB coupe, handling, build quality, good looks and power all tied for first place. The result is one of the most impressive vehicles ever to appear in NZV8.

I know what all the fans of American cars are thinking after looking at the previous page. It’s something along the line of, “Why would you do that to a Falcon, why not an American car?” It is a valid question. It’s also one you may not like the answer to.

The owner of this XB coupe, who has asked not to be named, has had more cars than most of us could ever dream of. The majority of them have been Mopars, although there’s been a large number of Fords both American and Australian in there too, and a couple of Chevs just for good measure.

Ever since he was a kid growing up in suburban New Zealand seeing people drive XB Falcons when they were new, he’s wanted one. He knew that if and when he got one, it would be turned into the car of his wildest dreams and it would be the one car he’d never sell. (more…)