IT DIDN’T SEEM TO MATTER
WHERE YOU WENT AROUND BATHURST,
FALCON COUPES WERE EVERYWHERE
every state in the nation – about 35 more vehicles than the 2015 event.
After entrants’ registration, the first official activity of the weekend
was a parade lap around the track. Naturally, a few eager owners had
already spent some time cruising the Mountain beforehand, including
our 2016 Street Machine Of The Year winner, West Australian Chris
Bitmead’s XBOSS.
We had Chris doing some laps for our cameras, and he also handed
the keys to each of his crew members throughout the weekend for a
few laps of their own. It was the first real cruising the car had done since
some test drives during the build, and everyone seemed pretty stoked
with the result.
It didn’t seem to matter where you went around Bathurst – hotel car
parks, CBD shopping or on the street – Falcon coupes were everywhere.
While activities on a closed track weren’t possible, the weekend was
still pretty full for those entered. Friday afternoon included a visit to the
National Motor Racing Museum and a Q&A session with members of
the Moffat Ford Dealers team. The museum has played host to Moffat’s
original #1 car for the past few decades. Saturday saw entrants out and
about visiting local attractions and an informal dinner later in the evening.
But for both entrants and spectators, Sunday was definitely the
highlight of the weekend. On a beautiful spring morning, all 150 coupes
Vince Neville drove his immaculate 427ci
small-block XB up from Melbourne. It’s been
a regular on club runs and cruises after a
six-year rebuild, but his history with the car
stretches back 35 years! The 427 is backed by
a TKO five-speed and 3.7:1 gears in the 9in,
underpinned by tricked-out suspensionCD E