Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 153 i Australian Muscle Car

There’s a lot to love about the Aussie muscle car from the late 1960s and right through the ’70s. But there’s also a few things that weren’t particularly loveable about them. Downsides that were common across the Ford, Holden and Chrysler spectrum, but which thankfully today’s vehicles (for all the hideousness of your average 21st century SUV) have been spared. The two things I’m thinking of in particular are rust and theft. Technological advancements have meant that these two long-time automotive scourges have been largely eradicated. Which is great – not that we’re expecting anyone in 50 years’ time to be thankful that their cherished historic Mitsubishi Outlander/Mazda CX-5/Hyundai Tucson has stood the test of time. But looking back on those all-pervasive twin curses, it’s all the more remarkable that…

The year isn’t over yet, and so for Ford fans the 100th year of the Ford Motor Company of Australia celebrations continue. In October Tasmania will host the 24th Early Falcon Nationals, which this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Falcon XP. The Early Falcon Nationals covers the pre-XR era (1960-’66), from the original XK Falcon through to the XP (original-spec and modified cars are welcome). It’s been held on the mainland for more than 30 years but this is the first time it’s ventured across Bass Strait to the Apple Isle. Organisers are extending an invitation to all mainland XK-L-M-P Falcon owners. A special Tassie Tour has been organised for entrants before the main show, which will be held inside Princess Wharf Number One events shed at Salamanca…

There’s something about former racer Garry Waldon owning a Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III that just seems right. He’s an ace from Series Production racing’s second coming enjoying the ultimate model from the original era of Series Production competition. We reckon father of the Falcon GTHO, the late Al Turner, if he was still with us, would approve of Waldon’s acquisition, even if the car was just a regular Phase III. If there is such a thing. But this is far from being your average run-of-the-mill GTHO. It’s actually Turner’s old company car from his final few months running Ford’s Special Vehicles competition department. The same Al Turner who brought the GTHO homologation specials to life – cars that go down in Australian motorsport history as the Series Production…

Introduction In iconic filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s cult masterpiece Reservoir Dogs, all the leading protagonists shoot each other dead in a Mexican Standoff. All except for one – Mr Pink, played by Steve Buscemi – who escapes with the diamonds. Sure, some critics believe he would have been shot offscreen, but it’s just conjecture, and Buscemi turned up in character in Tarantino’s next film, the superlative Pulp Fiction. What does this have to do with veteran Western Australia racer Tim Slako? With his trademark pink race cars, he is Mr Pink! And like Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs, he is a survivor. His racing career started in Improved Production, moved to Group C, then Group A and even V8 Supercars, with a detour through Formula 5000. On his day he was…

XW Super Falcon My adventures into the 1/24 world continue this issue with a new build. This time I need a new car for our Muscle Car class. Unsurprisingly, cars that might be found in these very pages are a good rule of thumb as to what is eligible. I was considering doing the Allan Moffat Coke Mustang, and while there are plenty of 1/25 scale model kits, it is somewhat difficult to find a Mustang in 1/24 scale. That might not sound like much difference, but the larger footprint that it provides does make a difference. Also, this car is coming out from BRM soon, so I put that thought aside for now. My mind then turned to the very affordable and detailed new 1/24 model kits of Australian…

It’s been 40 years since the last Ford one-make racing series in this country. That was the Goodyear Ford Laser Series, which unearthed a plethora of young talent, including one Mark Skaife and David Brabham. The new one-make Ford series, Ford Mustang Cup Australia, is rather different, but it’s also aimed at fostering young talent – albeit at a somewhat higher level than the Laser series of the ’80s. The Ford Mustang Cup will sit somewhere between the existing Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and the GR Cup for Toyota 86s, and will run on the SRO Motorsports Australia-promoted Shannons SpeedSeries schedule in 2026. It’ll kick off at Phillip Island on March 27-29. The cars are identical, specially race-prepped Mustang Dark Horse Rs, and the first batch of 12 are now…

Group C in the 1970s and ’80s is generally seen as a golden era for touring car racing in this country. From the classic XU-1, L34 and A9X Toranas, and XA/B/C Falcon Hardtops, right up to the ‘Last of the Big Bangers’ ending with legendary machines like Dick Johnson’s Greens’-Tuf Falcon XE and Peter Brock’s dayglo HDT Commodore VKs, these were halcyon years for the Aussie muscle car and for motor racing. However, the biggest thing in Australian touring car racing in the early years of Group C was… not Group C. It was Sports Sedans. Sports Sedan racing had been popular with competitors and fans alike since its mid-1960s beginnings under the clumsy name ‘Sports Racing/Closed’. But it all came together for Sports Sedans in 1973. Not only were…

I I’ve been buying a few models of late rather than building, time pressures meaning I’ve been nowhere near the workbench. But that doesn’t mean I’ve got no builds to share. Geoff Wood has been at it again – this time two versions of a legendary Porsche that graced our racetracks back in the 1980s. Alan Hamilton was not just a very good driver himself; as the Porche importer at the time, he was more than generous in bringing in amazing cars for others to drive. In the early ‘80s he sponsored a 924 Turbo effort at Le Mans for Peter Brock, Colin Bond and Jim Richards. The car had dramas and failed to qualify, but Alan owned it now and brought it back to Australia for Bondy to drive.…

All Ford Day NSW Scenes from the All Ford Day at Eastern Creek in July as Ford fans in Sydney celebrated the 100th year of operations for the Ford Motor Company of Australia. In addition to the mammoth turn out of some 1500 Fords on display (which included the new GT4 Mustang racer and new Ranger Super Duty), former Bathurst winners John Goss, Colin Bond and Mark Winterbottom were also on hand. All Holden Day NSW The NSW Holden clubs which stage the annual All Holden Day unfortunately lucked out on the weather front, but the inclement conditions did little to dampen the spirits of Holden owners and fans at the Hawkesbury Showground at Clarendon in early August. CMC 2025 CMC is short for Combined Motor Clubs of NSW, and…

John Sheppard once said he usually went into a race meeting expecting his car to win. It’s an attitude that could rightly be seen as arrogant, but Sheppard’s words were generally backed up by actions: so often his cars indeed were winners. Sheppard wasn’t even being boastful. For him, it was simple logic: if you have done the homework, if the car has been meticulously prepared and is ready to go when it rolls off the trailer, then results should naturally follow. It of course helped that the master racing car builder/engineer worked with some of the biggest and best name drivers in Australian motorsport. But then it worked both ways: the only reason Sheppard’s services were sought after by the likes of Norm Beechey, Bob Jane, the Geoghegan brothers…

amceditorial@chevron.com.au | Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards NSW 1590 Chairman’s Chariot Congratulations on the Falcon XD & XE special. Having owned an XD Falcon, 6-cylinder column shift auto with buckets, in red (which went faster...) in the mid ’80s, the XD is one of my favourite Fords. The XE not so much, I didn’t like what Ford did to the styling of the front, but I guess that’s just me. One point: you have the Chairman’s Chariot XE Fairmont featured on page 34, with the ID plates pictured on page 39. Then, in the story on the XE ESP there’s a breakout titled ‘The Last Falcon V8?’ in which Aaron Lofts mentions ‘a white 1982 XE Fairmont Ghia (VIN JG32AA47570K)... with a 351ci Cleveland and FMX auto... The car was…

The 1967 XR Falcon GT is rightfully revered as Australia’s first official muscle car, as it was created in the wake of that evocative term which emerged from the US in describing a new automotive breed inspired by the seminal 1964 Pontiac GTO. As a result, muscle cars are typically associated with the 1960s when Detroit (and by extension Australia) became addicted to a high-performance culture which by the mid-1970s was all-but over, due to the combined effect of global energy crises, rising road deaths, environmental concerns and crippling insurance costs. However, back in the more innocent and less volatile 1950s, Ford Australia gave local buyers their first tantalising taste of a muscular ‘three-box’ four-door V8 sedan, when in 1955 it released the most powerful version of the US Customline…

The 2026 motorsport season is shaping up as the year of the Mustang. After years where the S550 Mustang in motorsport was all but anonymous apart from Supercars, NASCAR and US drag racing, the seventh generation S650 (which debuted in 2023) is everywhere. From Gen3 Supercars, to GT3 and GT4, the Dark Horse one-make production series and, of course, NASCAR, the S650 Mustang is the linchpin of Ford Performance’s latest ascendance in international motorsport. In Australia, much of the credit for the popularity of the Ford Mustang in domestic motorsport, outside of Supercars, can be attributed to the Miedeckes – father and son Andrew and George. Andrew Miedecke needs no introduction here, his racing exploits in touring cars and single seaters have been covered in a two-part Muscle Man feature…

Ford Falcon XC Sundowner The Sundowner was Ford’s answer to the Holden Sandman. It followed the lead of the Holden with a few luxury touches, elevating the van from goods-carrying to lifestyle vehicle. With bold colours and graphics and the extra hint of something naughty going on in the back, the image of the ‘shaggin’ wagon’ from the ‘70s was born. The model, in 1:18 scale with lots of opening parts and great detail, will be available soon from your local model shop. As always with these offerings from Classic Carlectables, numbers are low so you want to get your order in early. Ford Landau Authentic Collectables has also shown us its 1:18 scale Ford Landau in this lovely Cosmic Blue. The Landau was a cross between the GT Falcon…