In 1974 I lived in Taree, NSW, my dad a local cop, brought home an XY Falcon 500 V8 from the local car dealer, I remember it being special as my brother and sister were allowed to stay up until he drove it home so we could see it, I remember the car driving up the drive way with the lights on, my dad got out in his uniform and said what do you reckon?……with a huge grin. He had traded our two tone HR wagon on a low mileage green XY.
The car was a great car and my brother and I loved it, we had huge trips to Victoria and South Australia as a family, but in 1978 Dad traded it in on a brand new XC Falcon V8. It was a great car but there was something about the XY… I loved.
When I was 15 (1984) waiting for the school bus, a red XW GT driven by a local mechanic came roaring past the bus stop flat stick, I will never forget it. That night I asked my Dad what was this car that I had seen with stripes and sounded like thunder, he told me about the XR, XT, XW and the XY and how they had a GT version, he also mumbled something about having a chat to the local mechanic. I started buying Ford magazines.
I finally bought my own XY in 1993. I couldn’t afford a GT, so I bought a Monza Green Fairmont. It is a 10th mth 1970 with a 302 Windsor. It was our daily driver for 7 years. In 2000 I had it resprayed with no work to the motor with the exception of an after market air con for my new son.
In October 2008 I thought I should sell it, but after looking around I decided to get the paint patched and the rear main fixed. It took six months, a respray, full engine re-build and a lot more money then what I had intended ... and the old girl is better than ever. My son asked me today if he could have it when he reaches 20... |