XA GT Allan Moffat

[gk1]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. Does anyone know if Biante will ever produce the XA GT Phase 4 (unfortunately discontinued) or the XA that Allan Moffat drove? Now that would be a great add to the collection!

[7Litre]

Welcome to the Forum,
The Allan Moffat Collection is a quite large and extensive collection. The XA Coupe is in its first prototype at the moment in the colours of Yellow Glow, Calipso Green and possibly a Pepper Red. I suspect they will produce the Phase IV some time in the future. As with the Moffat XA, if you look in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions),there you will find the Allan Moffat Collection under the Product Information section, which shows you a list of his cars released so far and whats in the pipeline. The XA Bathurst '73 is listed. Also keep an eye out in Biante Prototype Site to budget for whats coming up.

If in Doubt, Dont Bore it, Big Block it.........

[Graeme]

Hello to gk1 :

Scroll back through the Forum history and you will find many story threads on the XA/XB/XC Falcons, particularly the performance models :

XA GTHO Sedan
XA GT Special (RPO83) Hardtop
XC Cobra Hardtop

Also, if you're not that familiar with the website, click on the home page's yellow margin heading "New Model Showroom" and once you're on that page click on the picture label "Biante Prototypes".
There you will find pictures of prototype models not yet in their final form, but providing an idea of what is in the model pipeline.

In relation to the forthcoming XA Hardtops, I reckon we could reasonably expect to see models of Moffat's 1973 Bathurst car and the 1974 Bathurst winning Goss/Bartlett car.

I hope we will see an XA GTHO but that will depend upon whether Biante extends the theme to include production of the four door sedan body.

[gk1]

Thanks Guys. Look forward to those models when they are released.

[wombat]

Boy, have you got some reading to catch up on!!
:D

[SWRT]

The Bowdin collection owns the XA GTHO phase 4 that Moffat was to race.
Put me down for one.

[Dazz]

With the XA GT that Moffat won Bathurst in, the ride height on these cars was nowhere near as low as on the latter cars raced there. Will the model reflect this or will it simply use the very low chassis already used for the other XB/XC Hardtops?

Also, and this is not nick picking just an observation, but is it possible to get the front wheels out further towards the front panels as the cars look like they have been tubbed as they are.

I realise this might limit steering movement but I fee it would enhance the look of the models.

And kind of the same thing with the VY and BA V8's for next year, they look awesome with the low ride height and with the wheels right our close to the bodywork. Some negative camber wouldn't go astray either if possible.

Anyway, keep up the great work and I look forward to more spectacular models.

[7Litre]

A bit of Trivia for you,
Allan got shunted at Surfers and a Rollover at Phillip Island.

[SWRT]

Moffat roll at Phillio Island in 1973 but a hit at Surfers,I dunno.

[Graeme]

The long distance racing season of 1973 saw the emergence of the big XA Hardtop 'Superbird' production touring cars.

Bathurst was Round 3 of the Manufacturers Championship series and the race was duly won by Allan Moffat and Ian (Pete) Geoghegan.

Round 4 was held at Surfers Paradise. Moff did not start well having gear selection woes off the line and copped a heavy left rear hit from a fast moving Fiat 128SL Coupe. The impact tore the right front guard away on the Fiat and crushed Moffat's left rear corner into the wheel arch zone. Moffat only lasted for 36 laps of the 95 lap event which was won by Peter Brock.

Round 5 took place at Phillip Island. Allan Moffat was the early leader to be deposed by Brock on the 23rd lap. The Fords were eating up tyres during this 500km event and it was tyre failure that caused Moff's demise with something like fifteen laps to go.

The tyre blowout caused the car to leave the circuit and rollover subsequent to hitting an embankment; Moff sustained a fractured sternum in this accident.

Around ten years later he was to have another big 'off' at Surfers whilst running his Mazda RX-7 in a wet race. After tangling with Garry Willmington's XD Falcon, Moff slid off the circuit onto wet grass and went head-on into a tree, which as I recall left him with a broken hand/fingers. I think he still counts the RX-7 smash-up as his career worst.

[7Litre]

Great information there Greame,

Just Looking through some works XA GT's photos and just realised
that Allan Moffat must have gone through some XA's, because the number Nine is different on some and also the Goodyear decals on the front quarters vary in sizes.

[john]

I think Biante should make the Phase 4 GT ......but do a limited run of just 4 cars. Seeing as though only 4 were ever built. IMAGINE THAT!!!! HA HA HA

[Nick Short]

7litre, the varied decals on Moffat's XA doesn't necessarily mean he stacked heaps of cars - look at his Brut 33 XB in AMC mag and you'll see several different paint and sticker schemes on the same bodyshell, over a fairly short space of time. In fact the XB even began as an XA, so got different panels as well along the way! Having said that, after Phillip Island there would have been a bit of panel beating and repainting!

[7Litre]

Well, I was just thinking he was sponsered by Ford so if he needed a new one I suppose he could of just asked for a new body and then just fit the mechanicals in it. They were just racing slightly modified road cars in those days. After a rollover you've twisted the chassis and the LH/Rear quarter got torn off.

[Nick Short]

Yes, after that roll it would have been straight to the crusher, but many of the bodies were used not just for many races but for several years (apparently Moffat's '78 XC car was the same shell, with updated panels, as the '76 XB and '77 XB/XC, and some have claimed the '79 XC as well!). Certainly according to AMC magazine the Brut 33 XB was the same shell as one of the XAs he raced, just with new grille, front fenders etc, and this same "XB update" shell appeared in several different paint jobs at different points in the season. It's not very likely, but imagine if the XA that was converted into the Brut 33 XB then became the '75 and '76 XB, which in turn became the '77 XB and XC and the '78 and '79 XCs! That would be what I call cheap racing!

These days there's a lot more cash in racing, and I've just seen the staggering report that the Peugeot WRC rally team build five 206 rally cars per driver, per season (there are 3 drivers), at £360,000 per car.......And that's without any crashes! Oh for the good old days....

[Yogi]

What Dazz said earlier in this thread is correct: Moffats' 1973 Bathurst XA did not ride as low as the XA/XB/XCs in later years. The forthcoming model of this car should probably use the road car chassis as per the Cobra or XB road cars. (admin please take note). Interestingly though, John Goss' car in the same race did sit quite low in comparison to Moffat's. See attatched pic.

Peter

[oldxr]

The 73 Bathurst car should also have an onboard jacking system if i remember correctly, maybe thats why they rode so high?

[xa351gt]

Any idea yet when the XA's will be showing up for sale?

[Graeme]

In 1973 most teams were using pneumatic jacks and "rattle" guns for wheel changing at Bathurst; it wasn't many years prior that trolley jacks and the good ol' wheel brace were the go !!

I think you'll find that on-board airjacking systems did not feature as accepted components until the advent of Group A in 1984/85.



As to the two 1973 XA Falcons of Goss and Moffat, it should be noted that these cars had different manufacturer alloy wheels and ran different brand tyres.

Goss' car wore Bridgestones and Moffat's ran on Goodyears, and if you take a closer look at Yogi's photos you'll see that Moffat's tyres featured a higher sidewall profile, which gave the rear end of his car a more raised attitude. Check out the relationship between the alloy wheel rims and the wheel arch openings, and I think you'll see that the suspension ride heights of the two cars were similar.

[Yogi]

Well spotted, Graeme - you're probably right. I just hope that for Moffat's XA, Biante don't end up using exactly the same tyre/chassis combo as the other Moffat XB/XCs which definitely sat lower.

On the subject of Goss' yellow 1973 XA, I think this is one of the best and meanest looking of all the XA/XB/XC cars to race at Bathurst (partly due to its low stance), and would make a fantastic model. I know Goss' 1974 Bathurst winner will probably be modelled, but I prefer the look of his 1973 car. What do others think?

[xa351gt]

Why not do both. I'd pick them up.I know everyone has their favorite Falcons and the XAs are mine. I'll grab a copy of everyone I can. My XA GT replica draws a huge crowd where ever it goes here in the states, Yanks lovem. As one person told me it is the meanest looking muscle car they had ever seen.

[Nick Short]

Old xr is right - in 1973 Moffat had on-board air jacks on his XA, as you can see on many photos of the time (crude looking lumps of steel hanging down on each side at the front). They were only used at Bathurst and, according to AMC, were protested unsuccessfully by Holden.

[Graeme]

oldXR and Nick are correct about Moffat's 1973 Bathurst car in regard to it's jacking system.

I've checked a pitstop video sequence which confirms jacks mounted inside the front guards forward of the the front wheels; they had the appearance of bright steel round tubing with a box like end piece at ground level.... trust Moff to stretch the rules, and why not ??

Goss made do with the portable 'flying saucer' pneumatic jacks in his pitbay. There were no overhead gantries in 1973, so everything had to be dragged out onto the pit apron.

I saw that some teams made an effort to limit the number of airhoses in the pitbay..... each wheelman would carry out his one hose fitted with a "T" or "Y" piece connector from which separate hoses served the jack and corresponding 'rattle' gun.

[Graeme]

For Nick and others :

I've just been reading an article from MRA magazine #6, which tells two versions of the demise of Moff's 1973 Bathurst winner.

It is assumed that the car which Moff crashed at Phillip Island two races after Bathurst was also his Bathurst winning XA GT Falcon Superbird. Ford team man John Wynne recalls it that way and says that the engine and suspension were salvaged from the wreck and the smashed bodyshell was given over to longtime Ford privateer Murray Carter. The story goes that Murray dumped the carcass as it was too badly damaged to be of any use.

From here, one story goes that upon disbanding the works team, Moffat was given Fred Gibson's 1973 car and Gibbo himself got the 1973 season spare car. However, it is also suggested that the drivers took away the actual cars they drove in 1973, with Fred Gibson advertising his for sale in RCN's August 1974 magazine "as raced last year by Fred Gibson".

Allan Moffat was also of a different understanding. The magazine article says that Moff was of the opinion that his Bathurst 1973 car was ultimately converted to XB spec and served him right through to June 1976, when totally destroyed by fire in the transporter truck in Adelaide.

Either way, it would seem that the 1973 Bathurst winning car no longer exists.... storys have it as either written off at Phillip Island in 1973, or totally burnt out in Adelaide in 1976.

[intercooled]

As a long time admirer of the 1973 XA Bathurst Moffat car, can anyone tell me exactly what colours the car was, especially when it own the Bathurst race ?

Or can anyone send or supply me with colour pictures of the car ?

My impression is that it is painted two different shades of blue. The lower paintouts are a dark blue, possibly a metallic, similar to Cosmic Blue, while the upper surfaces are painted a much lighter blue, and that this is a semi-gloss or flat paint, similar to that used on the black bonnets on GTs.

Any help on finding out more about this particular car and its paint and graphics would be of great help to me.

Many thanks.

Sandy

[Yogi]

Intercooled,
Here is a colour pic of Moffat's '73 Bathurst car. The picture is from the cover of an old magazine on the history of the Falcon GT. The colours you described are prety correct.

Peter

[Graeme]

The following is my first attempt at scanning so please forgive the quality. The scans are of Moffat's #9 at Bathurst 1973 and Gibson's #6 at Sandown 1973.

It would appear that the sill, boot and bonnet colours were all the same shade of blue.

[intercooled]

Hi Peter and Graeme,

Many apologies but I did not see either of your images. Thanks for trying, but could you try again please, or email me direct.

I sure appreciate it.

All the best
Sandy

[admin]

Just to save any confusion, colours for this car are:

Sno White code 9
Bold Blue code C
True Blue code T

Bold Blue being the lower colour along the sills etc.

[redss350]

The XA GT COUPE road car comes out march or april next year i got my order form today . Its 1:18 in colour Red Pepper.

[Nick Short]

There you go Sandy - I told you Trevor would have the necessary info! Incidentally, Bold Blue is the colour of XC Cobra stripes - if you get any made up I'll have the dregs for touch-up purposes!