CAN you remember what you got for your 13th birthday? If you were Justin Gauci, you’d never forget, because the lucky so-and-so was gifted a ’67 XR Falcon sedan from his dad! Now, before you go stomping off to yell at your old boy for not getting you a sweet ride for your first teenage birthday, Justin’s XR didn’t look anything like the beautiful gold machine you here.
“Dad bought it for $600,” Justin says. “It was a bare Falcon 500 shell with no wiring or anything, so we had to put it together piece by piece over the years.” In fact, it took nearly a decade of hard work and toil to build this 700rwhp turbocharged weapon!
“The body needed a bit of work,” Justin says. “We had the guy who does the rust work on our cars fit a whole set of floorpans; plus it needed rear quarters, both inner and outer sills, and new front doors. “It took about 18 months, as there weren’t that many parts for XRs floating around back when we were building it nine years ago.”
Once Justin’s dad had the body straight, PPG GT Gold was laid over the Mustang-bred Falcon shell, paying tribute to Ford’s first high-performance Falcon, the 289ci XR GT.
“I tried to be a little bit different with the XR, which is why I did the gold body with the white GT interior,” says Justin. “Once I got it painted and got it home, it took four years to get it done. We spent a lot of time finding parts, building up a collection and then trying to sell them off to afford better bits and pieces. I wasn’t earning huge bucks as an apprentice so there was always a budget to work to, so it took time.”
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
ANIKA HODGES
THE CAR DROVE INTO OUR SHED AS A CREAM 202CI VC AND DROVE OUT AS A SILVER CAR WITH A 355 V8
STAGE FRIGHT
IT TOOK OWEN SCOTT MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO BUILD A TROPHY-WINING, 600HP EH HOLDEN UTE THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME
THE Ummmal SUSPECT
FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT MINI-TRUCKS. THIS SUMMERNATS TOP 60 HILUX IS A PROPER STREET MACHINE
FULLY UTILISED
HARDWOOD ROD & CUSTOM TURNS DARREN ISON'S HAND-ME-DOWN HT INTO A SMOOTH OPERATOR
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
PEOPLE POWER
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT 36 YEARS OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS - AND MOST DEMOCRATICALLY AWARDED - HONOUR IN OUR SPORT: STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR
OUT-AND-OUT MAYHEM
STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE IS ALREADY A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME, BUT WHAT CAR EVENT CAN'T BE MADE EVEN BETTER BY ADDING A BURNOUT COMP? INTRODUCING OUR INAUGURAL RODS OUT!
BAD TO THE BONE
THANKS TO HIS SON, ANDY, THE LATE MARIO COLALILLO’S 39 PLYMOUTH COUPE IS BACK ON THE ROAD AND STILL ONE OF THE BADDEST HOT RODS IN THE COUNTRY
THE CHALLENGE IS REAL
FROM TRACK DRAMAS TO SOARING TEMPERATURES, DRAG CHALLENGE 2024 THREW US SOME OF ITS TOUGHEST TESTS YET, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT SOME OF THE QUICKEST TIMES THE EVENT HAS EVER SEEN
