66 TradeUniqueCars.com.authose programs were abandoned in the face of fears that
companies which pressed ahead would be banned from
tendering for government vehicle orders.
Had Ford, Holden and Chrysler all stood up to the
bullying from officialdom and risked de-listing, we wonder
would police really have been driving Mini Mokes and
the Prime Minister cruising around in an AMI-assembled
Rambler. But it never went that far.
A principal player in the drama was Ford’s GT-HO Phase- Consigned to history after just four cars were completed,
Ford still had enough parts sitting on shelves to build at
least 250 more and no market. Unless of course it created
one on the sly.
The RPO (Regular Production Option) 83 was announced
via a downbeat memo to dealers, issued in October - There was no launch function or even a media
announcement and no official press-test car, although tests
were conducted using privately-owned examples.
The statement confirmed ‘variances’ to the specification
of some GT Falcons produced during preceding weeks.
These changes included a Holley 780cfm four-barrel
carburettor with manual choke, extractor-type exhaust
manifolds (as had been fitted to the superseded GTHO
Phase 3) and shields to def lect exhaust heat away from the
clutch slave cylinder’s hydraulic pipe.
No mention in the memo though of rear-wheel disc
brakes, the ‘baff led’ Phase 4 sump or special radiator,
heav y-duty drive-shafts and other goodies that found their
way seemingly at random onto a few RPO83 GTs and other
351-engined Fords.
The bulletin included a list of cars built to the amended
specification. This contradicts some opinions that“THE STATEMENT CONFIRMED ‘VARIANCES’ TO THE
SPECIFICATION OF SOME GT FALCONS”
RPO83 XA GT