Street Machine Australia – September 2019

WITH Gary’s parents being car nuts (with

a noticeable leaning toward the Blue Oval),

it’s not hard to see how he ended up

with his car addiction. His list of previous

chariots includes three XPs, an XC GXL,

an XD or two, a couple of V8-powered

Cortinas and the XB GT he slipped into

Street Machine Readers’ Rockets in 1994.

Despite all those sick machines, it’s

the slightly rusty black XL rat rod he

christened Wanda that he absolutely

refuses to part with. “When I bought her,

I fell in love with her on the drive home,”

Gary says. “She was at our wedding. It’s a

stock column auto with bench seats front

and back, and a 200 under the bonnet. I

named her Wanda because everyone said:

‘I wonder how long you’re gonna keep

her for’, but there’s no chance in hell I’ll

sell her.”

Streak duco so that no evidence of Gary’s misdeeds remains.
Six show trophies, including Car Of The Meet and Best In Show,

attest to the quality of the XP’s finish.
Inside, the XW Fairmont front seats and stock XP rear bench,

along with the carpet and hoodlining, were treated to a makeover

by Brett Sheard at Mr Stitches Motor Trimming. The material of
choice was leather with suede inserts, and there was only ever

going to be one suitable colour!

“The door trims came with the car – I think tribal designs went
out in the 90s, but they were well made so I didn’t change them,”

Gary says.

Considering the XP was built for cruising and shows, Gary

made sure there was a capable sound system fitted to it. A
Kenwood head unit sends Gary’s chosen tunes to the Vibe Black

Air five-channel amp tucked behind the fuel cell. Vibe splits in

the kick panels, Kenwood 7x10s in the parcel shelf and a sub
hidden behind the rear seat convert the electrons into rather a

lot of noise.

Unfortunately, the XP is no longer taking up a spot in the Taylor
shed. “I only drove it for five months before I got an offer I couldn’t

refuse,” Gary says. “I’m shattered that I sold it, but I’d done
everything I wanted to do with it and it was less than a week

before I bought another project. It’s an Apollo Blue K-code XB

that I’ll keep pretty stock, but I’ll do a few things like smooth the
engine bay. I can’t leave any car standard!”

We know the feeling, mate! s

I HAD DRAMAS WITH IT

FROM DAY ONE. I STARTED

FIXING LITTLE THINGS AND IT

SNOWBALLED OUT OF CONTROL

GARY TAYLOR

1966 XP FALCON
Paint: Silver Streak

ENGINE
Brand: Ford 302ci Windsor

Induction: Weiand tunnel

ram, twin 390 Holley carbs
Heads: Edelbrock

E-Street

Camshaft: Comp Cams
Conrods: Stock

Pistons: Stock

Crank: Stock

Oil pump: Melling

Fuel system: Mechanical

pump, 40L fuel cell

Cooling: Custom Adrad

radiator, twin 12in fans

Exhaust: Castle Headers

extractors, twin 2.5in

exhaust, Hurricane

mufflers

Ignition: ICE

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: C4, stage II

shift kit

Converter: 2800rpm

Diff: 9in, mini-spool, 3.5:1

gears

SUSPENSION &

BRAKES

Front: Pedders springs,

Moroso 90/10 adjustable

shocks

Rear: Reset leaves,

50/50 Pedders shocks

Brakes: Stock XD discs (f),

drums (r)

Master cylinder: HQ

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Rocket Racing

Ignitor; 15x6 (f),

15x8 (r)

Rubber: 185/65/15 (f),

255/60/15 (r)

AFFLICTED

GT608

THANKS

My understanding wife who never

batted an eyelid when I told her how

much I was spending on the car; my

kids for all the times I was in the shed

instead of spending time with them;

Brett from Mr Stitches for doing a killer

interior; Brad from Cessnock Paint &

Panel for repairing the rear guards; Ian

from VPR Auto for tuning the carbies;

Matt my detailer for always keeping it

clean when I took it to work