XA Falcon GTHO - The Entire Story ?

[Graeme]

I've discovered an article published in 1987 which delved into the history of the four known examples of the XA GTHO, more commonly referred to as the Phase IV.

It's a twenty page article from defunct magazine Super Ford, the researcher and writer (and magazine editor ) being John Wright.

John Wright ( JW ) interviewed Howard Marsden and other involved persons in 1986 and obtained copies of various Ford Sales Company of Australia bulletins, and he also tracked the ownership history of each car at that time.

Ford company documents refer to the cars as the "XA Falcon GTHO". JW confirms what most articles have said, in that only one "production" XA GTHO was built by Ford, a Calypso Green car with white interior trim. The three Brambles Red/black trim cars were handbuilt prototypes destined for the 1972 Hardie-Ferodo race at Bathurst. Two of the red cars were to be raced by Allan Moffat and Fred Gibson, with the third kept as a spare.

The Calypso Green machine featured many many factory options which included laminated windscreen, stereo/cassette player, electric windows, and a sliding steel sunroof.
Ford records revealed this car's identity as SIDO #648771, Chassis #JG33MC83054K, and eventually invoiced to Jack Brabham Ford Sales P/L on 17/01/73 in the amount of $4220.07.
The first private owner was John Hemphill who didn't like the colour, so had it resprayed another Ford colour, Zircon, with silver accents; he also had aftermarket airconditioning installed.
In 1984 or thereabouts, the car, with around 67,000 miles on the odometer, was purchased by the often referred to "anonymous Sydney dentist" who said in 1987 that he had no intention of ever selling it and intended carryoing out a full restoration of the car.

The Brambles Red cars were delivered to Ford Special Vehicles operation then located at Lot 6 Mahoneys Road, Broadmeadows.
None of these cars had the option code 01H stamped on their compliance plates, but they did apparently feature variations to the normal production XA GTHO, including hand finished "QC" (quality control) engines. It was not intended that these three cars be sold for road use as they were to be stripped down for race preparation.

When Ford made the decision to cancel the HO option in July 1972, Howard Marsden's team simply "downed tools" on the three XA race cars and turned their attentions back to preparing the old XY Phase III's for the Bathurst race.

Apparently, only one of the three XA's was actually completed at the Marsden workshop.
As the cars could not be raced as production touring cars, it was decided they should be sold "as is" for other motorsport use.

Chassis # JG33MC76429K is the Goodall/Mann/Bowden car which has been well documented in recent times, and which bears Queensland rego plate "GTH:04". This was the Marsden team completed car and was virtually race ready.
It was sold to Ford privateer rally man Keith Goodall, and then purchased by Bowden - for the first time - in 1973. At the time of JW's article in 1987, Bowden had sold the car to Rod Mann, who subsequently sold the car back to Bowden who still has it today.

Chassis # JG33MC78488K was sold to another rally campaigner in Bruce Hodgson. This car went straight into rally competition in Victoria and NSW, and was later fitted with rear disc brakes.
The car finished third outright in the 1973 Australian Rally Championship. Hodgson sold the car in 1975, but ended up with it again in 1984 when repurchased as a roll-over wreck. Regettably, at the time of repurchase the car was without it's original engine and Hodgson thereafter sold off most of the remaining good bits.

Chassis # JG33MC78489K was the most incomplete car which was sold to Max McLeod of McLeod Ford, coincidentally the workplace of John Goss. It was Goss who finished building this car but he never raced it. This car was eventually sold by McLeod to a private buyer in 1974. JW's article states the 1987 owner as John "H", a used car dealer. JW obtained and published detailed photos of this car in SUPER FORD and as the odometer showed only 3,884.3 miles, the car still wears it's original Olympic Reflex red wall tyres. For anyone of an investigative mind, this car was wearing NSW rego "HO:344".

As to what happened to the stockpile of HO components, it is said they went anywhere they could. Many Detroit Locker diffs were sold "aftermarket", and others parts found their way onto the 1973 XA GT Special, the RPO83 mentioned on previous Forum threads. Other items, including the Globe alloy wheels, ended up on XY Phase III cars.

A final item of interest.....

JW's article also included reprint of a Ford "Dealer Confidential Bulletin" ( Volume 72, Number 15 ) dated June 20th 1972.
I won't go into it totally verbatim, as most of the mechanical package has been discussed on previous Forum threads. Otherwise, the most interesting aspects to me are quoted as follows :

" The XA Falcon GTHO is now in production. "

" The exterior appearance of the XA GTHO will be similar to the current XA Falcon GT with the exception of unique wheels and tyres. "

" The 36 gallon tank will be carried over from the XY Falcon GTHO."

" A new cut and sewn boot carpet will cover the large tank. "

" An HO decal will be mounted on the sports console."

" The front and rear fender flanges have been modified to accept the wider section tyres."

" ....the XA GTHO, as previously, will not be offered with air-conditioning, automatic transmission or power steering. The front and rear deck lid spoilers are to be offered as a dealer fitted accessory and not as a regular product option. "

" The XA Falcon GTHO option will be priced retail including tax at $740 over the basic Falcon GT manual price."



....... so said D.M. Morgan, Vehicle Marketing Manager, Ford Sales Company of Australia Limited.

[wombat]

Thanks Graeme for posting this summary. First time I'd heard of the road car being repainted. I presume that the dentist's restoration included repainting it calypso green?

Does the article mention our mythical hardtop at all? If Marsden only completed two of the cars (I am confused as to whether Marsden did the road car at Broadmeadows as well), then downed tools then he could not have worked on a hardtop.

As you have pointed out in other threads, the hardtops were not produced until later in72, probably after Marsden was instructed to abandon the 3 race cars.

So, which car was featured in the Oestler piece, the Bowden car or Goss's (owned by John H in 86/7)?

[Graeme]

Yeah, Wombat, it's not really the entire story is it ? The history of the race prepared HO's seems clear, but the Calypso Green car still raises many questions.

It seems clear to me from photo evidence in the magazine article that the Marsden-managed Special Vehicles team only existed to prepare the factory team race cars, and provide services for the racing privateers, eg engine preparation.

It's a safe bet that the XA GTHO was to roll off Ford's production line much as the XY GTHO was produced, and I confess I don't know Ford's 1970's production practices. Perhaps it was a similar situation to the Torana "specials" from Holden, the XU-1, L34, and A9X.

The confusing thing is why only one production HO exists, when Wheels magazine suggested that the first one hundred cars had been built in June 1972 and the remaining two hundred were scheduled for the end of July 1972. We also have a Ford Bulletin document dated June 20th advising " the XA Falcon GTHO is now in production ".

Ford decided in early July to cancel the HO program. For those who love "conspiracy theories", maybe one hundred HO's were built in June, but subsequently converted to standard GT specifications. That would require a lot of work and you'd have to question the value or need in reconfiguring items like the large fuel tank. There again, maybe Ford company Bulletins are prepared in advance of production line happenings, and the so-referred one hundred June HO's weren't actually screwed together at the time of this announcement to the dealer network.

Any 70's Ford production line whistleblowers out there ??

As to the Hardtop, there is no mention of any forecasted 2 door HO program in any article I've read. The HO for all intents died in July 1972 and the Hardtop body shape was not in production at that time.

Wombat, the Oestler story was based on the David Bowden car, the only ( nearly fully ) completed race car, # JG33MC76429K.
This is the only car that appears in public these days; the other two surviving XA GTHO's are hidden away.

[Graeme]

With the development of the Biante XA prototype model, wouldn't it be nice if they had a go at producing the XA GTHO ?

I wouldn't mind a 1:18 Calypso Green with sunroof, or a 1:18 Brambles Red with integral roll cage.

Might just visit that Biante Wish List.

[Nick Short]

Fascinating info Graeme, as usual! One thing I'm puzzled about is the b&w photo of all 3 race GTHOs in the workshop, apparently fairly complete. It's a quite well-known picture, but I can't scan it here - it appears in the book "Spotlight on Falcon GT and GTHO", page 62. It's certainly possible that production stopped soon after the photo! And only the car numbered "1" is sat on its wheels, so that may have been the only one completed. As for the hardtop, Howard Marsden said it was full-house HO, so if the hardtop body wasn't a pre-production one (the XA sedan was signed off in 1968!) then it must have just had the leftovers fitted after the event. I wish I had more to go on - production date etc, but if it hadn't been for Howard Marsden saying it, I too would have dismissed it as just another "pub story".

[Nick Short]

And yes, I'm also hanging out for a model of the green one....

[Graeme]

Nick, the magazine article I have is twenty pages worth, including photographs. I don't yet have a scanner, but some day soon.....

The photos are quite comprehensive; all up there are 33 photos of the cars of which four were taken inside the Marsden team workshop. There are also photos of two Ford company documents and of various newspaper clippings.

Of the workshop photos, three appear to have been taken on the same day, the fourth is an ominous one taken on a later date:

1) This photo, I figure to be the one referred to by Nick Short, shows all three XA's from a right/rear perspective, the two closest to camera on jack stands marked by numbers 2 and 3 on the 'C' pillar, with #3 closest to camera. #3 is shown minus rear axle/spring assembly and whilst it appears to be the most incomplete car, JW says this is the Goodall/Mann/Bowden car. #2 in the photo is said to be the car that was later rallied by Bruce Hodgson. The other XA in the photo, without an identifying 'C' pillar number, but with all four wheels fitted and looking complete, had apparently received the least attention in the workshop. If JW's story is accurate then this car may well have been scheduled as the race team spare and it would follow that this is the car sent to McLeod Ford / John Goss for completion.

2) This photo shows more detail of car #3 from the driver side, and appears to be a same day photo. The right rear car door is open showing the roll cage with seats removed. There is also evidence of mud splatter on the lower front right fender and driver's door and obvious deletion of wheel arch dress trims found on stardard XA GT's.

3) This photo shows cars #2 and #3 again on the same day, but from a view to the left rear of car #2. You can see the fuel flip cap missing on car #2 and two tanks sitting on the workshop floor, one compact tall tank (36 gallon ?) and one flatter (standard ?)unit with spare wheel cutout.

4) The ominous photo - taken from a similar position to photo 3 - it shows car #3 in the background with it's bonnet hinged up as in the other photos, but with car #2 missing and in place of the other parked XA, there sits on stands the Fred Gibson signwritten XY Phase III race car and to the left of that another (partially obscured) XY with boot open and obvious roll cage. JW suggests this photo illustrates the sudden abandonment of the XA GTHO race program.

As for the Hardtop, we all know that Moffat and the gang ran two factory team XA GT Hardtops at Bathurst in 1973, and it's quite possible that a special Hardtop with Phase IV bits was built for Bob Stillwell, he being a notable Ford dealer and racing identity. If the car was built, maybe it was done late in 1972 or maybe sometime in 1973, but whatever, nobody needed a Phase IV to go racing in 1973.

As I've mentioned before, the touring car racing rules changed for 1973 and new freedoms were allowed which meant none of the manufacturers needed to build "showroom special" race cars.
As to why nobody raced an XA four door GT at Bathurst in 1973, the logical reason relates to how much rubber you could fit under the rear wheel arches ...all part of the new rule changes.

One more mystery matter ....JW's story doesn't confirm initial Ford Company sale dates of any of the cars except for the production Calypso Green machine which was invoiced to Jack Brabham Ford in January 1973. One wonders what was done with this car in the six months or so prior ???

[wombat]

I have grabbed some of the articles that I have seen and converted the photos into jpeg's (from pdf format).

I think that these are from the Super Ford article, some of which is on the 4 onthefloor site. I think that these are the ones that Nick and Graeme are refering to. I will send them one at a time so that Admin can scrutinise and pass.

Dave

[wombat]

second photo

[wombat]

third photo

[wombat]

and 4th

[wombat]

and lastly, what appears to be a genuine pic of a phase IV race engine.

[SWRT]

Why don't Biante make the race car that is currently owned by Dav Bowdin?

[wombat]

A question asked many times in many threads SWRT!!

Perhaps a little more consideration??..........

One more pic, how the model would look (hint hint)
:)

[Graeme]

Thanks Wombat for posting the photos in order of the ones referred to by me as photo 1, photo 2, and photo 3.

Your additional posting of the photo of two XA's on stands, but with wheels in place, is interesting in that it indicates the cars were delivered to Marsden's team wearing standard GT rims with dress trims. Maybe the reason why these three cars don't have HO compliance plates is because they came of the production line as pretty much standard production XA GT's ?

The photo of the engine is that of the McLeod/Goss car as owned by "John H." in 1987. This car at the time had only 3,884 miles showing on the odometer.

[Nick Short]

Thanks Graeme and Wombat for the info and pictures! The first one is the same one I was referring to, and I had only seen one of the other photos in the sequence before. None of the cars can have been very far from completion when the plug was pulled, judging from the photos
Graeme, your guess about compliance plates is correct, in that Marsden said that the shells were pulled off the production line "and we didn't care what they had on them [compliance plates]; we knew what they were". And the hardtop would have been built purely as a very indulgent road car (a bit like Count Rossi having a Porsche 917K road-converted after it was obsolete as a racer), but what a road car! If you have the money or the connections, who wouldn't?

[Graeme]

Wombat's fourth photo posting appears in Wheels magazine's August 1972 issue.

Mel Nichols' story refers to only two XA-bodied race cars being developed in the workshop at the time of his visit, and his whole story centres on the mechanical specifications of the XA GTHO "Phase Four".

The article includes two other photos, one of a Globe alloy wheel sitting on the concrete floor, and another of Marsden and Nichols in discussion over a 'winged' sump, with another complete engine mounted on a stand in the photo foreground.

From other articles I've read recently, it would appear that one of the most involved tasks performed at Marsden's workshop was that of engine development.
A fellow by the name of Bill Santuccione was the principal engine development man since the inception of the Special Vehicles Development Centre in late 1968, and guided most of the various 'Phase' engine work.

In 1989, in an article for Street Machine magazine, journalist Angus MacKenzie spoke to Bill Santuccione about the heady Phase II / III days, which led onto talk of Cleveland engine refinements achieved for the Phase IV .

Bill apparently reckons that 200 or so Phase IV engines were built on a special production line at Ford's Geelong engine plant.
Apart from slight reworking of cylinder heads and a new 'winged' sump, Bill indicates that hand finishing of components made a significant difference over the Phase III engine.

Referred to in other articles as 'QC' engines, Bill recalls the Phase IV engines were known within Ford as 'QC20' - QC for Quality Control, and 20 representing the number of production "checklist" items.

By contrast, the 1987 Super Ford story says that 'QC' engines were also made available in 1971 as a $250 option to those who were racing the Phase III at Bathurst that year, and that in relation to the Phase IV.... " Bill Santuccione can't remember how many engines got this special treatment. Howard Marsden estimates the total to have been about 20."

Angus' 1989 story concludes in a curious fashion with Bill suggesting that with the sudden axing of the Phase IV program, the 'QC20' engines were recycled into Ford stock, along with other Phase IV components, such as the Detroit Locker differentials.
Quoting from Angus MacKenzie's story, the engines and other items were ..." given a Fairlane part allocation and recycled into the main production system. So if you've got a 351 powered ZF Fairlane, take a close look underneath. If it's got a strange sump on it, you could be sitting on a goldmine..."



As Ripley says, believe it or not !!!

[drof]

Here are a couple more pictures of the Workshop.

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[drof]

Parts ready to be assembled.

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[drof]

Here are a couple of pictures of the most published Phase 4, this article is when Rod Mann owned the car.

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[wombat]

Dave Drof

Looks as though your pics didnt get thru, maybe coz of size. Please have another go.

Reading this again reminds me that Nick made a cryptic comment in another thread about the hardtop story being revealed soon (in a magazine, I think). How bout the inside gos on this story, Nick.

It stands to reason that Broadmeadows was still working on Phase III's, so a hardtop may have been delivered, phase IV'rd (there must have been a couple of those 20 engines laying about). Maybe for an exec or a one-off special.

[drof]

The pictures take a little bit of time to post as the Admin Team have to view the pictures before allowing to post, this can take time depending on the time difference and how busy the Admin Team is.
Here is the last picture of the then Rod Mann Phase 4.

regards

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[Nick Short]

No goss, really wombat - Mark Oastler is researching the Phase 4 story in depth. That's all I know!
Going back to whether Phase 4 parts made their way into regular production models, if it did happen it would have had to have been very piecemeal - Ford (despite some owners' claims!) would never have fitted 330-380 hp high revving race engines in a production car (or the necessary handling and braking mods)and expect nobody to notice! Mark Oastler suggested that something similar may have happened when the proposed V8 Charger was canned - imported US 340 small blocks (stifled with an auto and other restrictions) were fitted to the short-run 770 Charger, instead of the readily-available 318, but admits that it is just supposition. However, as Wombat points out, after the Phase 4 was aborted teams went back to the Phase 3, and I imagine many Phase 4 bits went that way. Plus of course the subsequent XA hardtop race cars may well have utilised the "leftovers" as well (engines were fairly freely modifiable from road car base from 1973).

[wombat]

Hey Graeme and Nick

I've had a couple of email discussions with Dan Bowden (owner of the "Moffat" Phase IV). I put lots of queries to him about the four and a half XA's.

He was a bit reticent to answer fully, on the basis that David and Mark Oestlers article in AMC is due out soon. He did reveal some info tho. The following is quoted:


"Yes the green Ho has been restored, correct colour and all, but there is no
way that the current owner will ever let anyone see it. And no, it did not
receive the race engine.
Goss put the car he received together, later fitting it with a standard XA
GT motor. It was only a rolling shell when it left Ford Special Vehicles. It
is in very good condition and lives with a new owner I think in Sydney.

It looks like the Hardtop Phase IV was built....there will be more about it
in the new AMC article.

Only our car ever received the race motor from the factory...Bruce Hodgsons
car also had the 4 bolt main engine. I am not sure if he received it like
this though."

Dan also told me that the AMC article is at least 15 pages with pics, interviews and info never before revealed.

We will have to wait for info on the "no longer mythical" hardtop to find out who built in and when, who owns it and most importantly, can Richard get his cameras to it so that a very special model can be made!!

[frosty]

Guys,

I have just received my issue of the latest Australian Muscle Car magazine.

It has approx 20 pages on the Phase 4.

I haven't read it yet, just flicked through it and it looks very interesting.

Buy the mag, it is $6.95 or NZ$ 7.95

[welshwombat]

I dont have anything new to add to the Phase 4 story, except to say that I was fortunate enough to be a passenger in the car many times in the late 70s, as I played cricket in Bowral with John Hemphill's (the 1st owner) sons, Jonathan and Julian.

It was a great muscle car, and years later, my old friend Lance Hill who has been an antique dealer in Bowral for 50 years, told me of the times he got to drive the car on the old Hume Highway. He said it had enormous power, great handling but comparatively poor brakes, but it would outrun his Ferrari Dino.

John was a real estate agent in Bowral, and must have got a good price for it as he bought a white De tomaso Longchampe with the proceeds in about 1984.

I have remained a Ford man, having had a few GTs, and an A9X in between. I have owned an XA GT hardtop in pieces for the past 17 years, and one day I will return to live in Australia and get it rebuilt. (Lived in Wales for the past 15 years)

[Nick Short]

A very rare and precious memory! And welcome to the forum! Nice first post, I must say! Where in Wales are you?

[welshwombat]

Thanks Nick. I live in the Gwent valleys which are close to the English border, about 10 miles north of Newport. Most of the past 15 years has been spent in Cardiff. This is the area my father was from before he went to Sydney to play for Canterbury and Norths when I was a baby.

I hope to return to Australia in the next 6 months when our application will be decided on.

I will be bringing my BMW 525 with me to keep me on the road until I can resurrect the XA. I bought it as a write off about 17 years ago, and stripped all the good parts off it.

I will need to buy a new rolling shell and start from there. My intention is to paint it Readymix Orange rather than the Wild Plum it started life as.

That brings up a point. I read in this discussion that John's Phase 4 was repainted Zircon Green to his choice, but I have a strong memory (and so do some of my old friends) that the car was Deep Ivy Metallic before it was returned to the original.

Thanks
Andrew