Australia,s Rarest muscle cars

[FTe342]

As I said "in your opinion" but there are plenty here who don't agree (with your opinion).

Oh, and I have one of those "Poofs cars" so I don't appreciate your connotation.
I have been there /done that with the 351/top loader & FMX/9"/leaf spring combo and just because you need some muscle to drive one doesn't make them the only "muscle car".

We'll have to agree to disagree

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Stefan

THAT is EXACTLY why they are not muscle cars, they go, stop, turn and have heater and aircon that works.

A poof's car...

fair nuff

old and lazy poofs musclecar

[5.8]

Originally Posted by Stefan

A poof's car...

That's a big call from a fella with a yellow "koo pay"

[jamies]

Originally Posted by Stefan

THAT is EXACTLY why they are not muscle cars, they go, stop, turn and have heater and aircon that works.

A poof's car...

Ha ha the white knuckle feeling of an old classic trying to stop at full noise the shifting of weight as the heavy cars with poo brakes pull
Up, the rail roading if you have big wheels on the front ha ha awesome, aircon... All windows down, hot vinyl seats in the sun burning a layer of skin as you get in it ha ha oh the fun.. Love it.

[Luke G]

Would love a HT Monaro one day.

[superyob]

Originally Posted by jamies

Ha ha the white knuckle feeling of an old classic trying to stop at full noise the shifting of weight as the heavy cars with poo brakes pull
Up, the rail roading if you have big wheels on the front ha ha awesome, aircon... All windows down, hot vinyl seats in the sun burning a layer of skin as you get in it ha ha oh the fun.. Love it.

And loving it...

[The FOMOCO]

If a Landau is a muscle car then anything from the 60s or 70s with a v8 must be a muscle car then HQ253 wagon = muscle car. 302 fairlane =muscle car. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[superyob]

Originally Posted by The FOMOCO

If a Landau is a muscle car then anything from the 60s or 70s with a v8 must be a muscle car then HQ253 wagon = muscle car. 302 fairlane =muscle car. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Woohooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My 25 second 302 ZD is a muscle car!!!!

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by The FOMOCO

If a Landau is a muscle car then anything from the 60s or 70s with a v8 must be a muscle car then HQ253 wagon = muscle car. 302 fairlane =muscle car. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Not sure you understand, according to this thread a 2007 5.4 Fairlane is a musclecar.

[PlukaDuck]

Originally Posted by shonkymofo

don't see how heavy duty axle = 9 inch

XD was not available with 9 inch

So what was it ??????????

[Paull]

Originally Posted by PlukaDuck

So what was it ??????????

Borg Warner 4 pinion

[Gothefalcon]

OK... to add to the what is/isn't a Muscle Car debate.... I found this definition on the web (Which we all know is the absolute definer of all things! )... it goes like this.....

A muscle car, by the strictest definition, is an intermediate sized (by US standards), performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price. Most of these models were based on "regular" production vehicles. These "regular" vehicles are generally not considered muscle cars, even when equipped with large V8s. If there was a high performance version available, it gets the credit, and not the vehicle that it was based on.


So... if you base the question posed by the OP on the various points in this description... the rarest Aussie production muscle car... based on a regular intermediate sized production car... with a large V8... which is a performace orientated version... at an "affordable" price.... then the answer must be the XA GTHO Phase 4... as there is only 1. I suppose you could also add to this the fact that it was produced & completed "in house" on the Factory floor (not buy an associated skunkworks.. & unlike Bill Bourkes 427 XWGT which did not come down the line as presented to Bill... as it was shipped to the States and modified first)

Not saying I totally agree with this particular definition etc... but it seems to fit in with a general sentiment surrounding this topic !??

Feel free to agree.. or.. not !

[GREGL]

delete

[HO 3]

Originally Posted by Gothefalcon

OK... to add to the what is/isn't a Muscle Car debate.... I found this definition on the web (Which we all know is the absolute definer of all things! )... it goes like this.....

A muscle car, by the strictest definition, is an intermediate sized (by US standards), performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price. Most of these models were based on "regular" production vehicles. These "regular" vehicles are generally not considered muscle cars, even when equipped with large V8s. If there was a high performance version available, it gets the credit, and not the vehicle that it was based on.


So... if you base the question posed by the OP on the various points in this description... the rarest Aussie production muscle car... based on a regular intermediate sized production car... with a large V8... which is a performace orientated version... at an "affordable" price.... then the answer must be the XA GTHO Phase 4... as there is only 1. I suppose you could also add to this the fact that it was produced & completed "in house" on the Factory floor (not buy an associated skunkworks.. & unlike Bill Bourkes 427 XWGT which did not come down the line as presented to Bill... as it was shipped to the States and modified first)

Not saying I totally agree with this particular definition etc... but it seems to fit in with a general sentiment surrounding this topic !??

Feel free to agree.. or.. not !

One problem with those 2, one of one examples as rare muscle cars is if you ask any US car guy they would say both have 2 doors too many to be called muscle cars in the first place.......the bottom line is anyone can spin the muscle car definition to suit themselves and in this case they have

Cheers Mick

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by Gothefalcon

OK... to add to the what is/isn't a Muscle Car debate.... I found this definition on the web (Which we all know is the absolute definer of all things! )... it goes like this.....

A muscle car, by the strictest definition, is an intermediate sized (by US standards), performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price. Most of these models were based on "regular" production vehicles. These "regular" vehicles are generally not considered muscle cars, even when equipped with large V8s. If there was a high performance version available, it gets the credit, and not the vehicle that it was based on.


So... if you base the question posed by the OP on the various points in this description... the rarest Aussie production muscle car... based on a regular intermediate sized production car... with a large V8... which is a performace orientated version... at an "affordable" price.... then the answer must be the XA GTHO Phase 4... as there is only 1. I suppose you could also add to this the fact that it was produced & completed "in house" on the Factory floor (not buy an associated skunkworks.. & unlike Bill Bourkes 427 XWGT which did not come down the line as presented to Bill... as it was shipped to the States and modified first)

Not saying I totally agree with this particular definition etc... but it seems to fit in with a general sentiment surrounding this topic !??

Feel free to agree.. or.. not !

Ford won't admit to it. But there was a few more replated XA GTHO Phase 4's that left the factory.

[5.8]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

Ford won't admit to it. But there was a few more replated XA GTHO Phase 4's that left the factory.

Here we go!!!

[jamies]

I thought the phase fours engines and other parts where put in other cars like Fairlaine's,F100 and any other V8, ford had in production.. I think there was a good story in Australian muscle car magazine a few years ago, I'll have to have a look.

[The FOMOCO]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

Ford won't admit to it. But there was a few more replated XA GTHO Phase 4's that left the factory.

OH dear you certainly know how to stir the pot i can hear all the experts now

[PlukaDuck]

Originally Posted by The FOMOCO

OH dear you certainly know how to stir the pot i can hear all the experts now

Yes there were 5000 replated GTHO 4......
And only ONE had mudflaps. ...That is the baby you should be looking for

[superyob]

Well I happen to know a fella who had a mate that knew a turnip farmer who reckoned he had seen Elvis driving a Calypso green car of some description...

[jamies]

My mate who has a mint XY GT his brother owns a two owner XA two door Rpo 83 white in colour, both cars in mint cond.. I remember standing in their garage grinning like a mad man drooling, over both these cars. At the time I had a mint XD Esp, they called mine the fantastic plastic, the old school muscle was real streel ha ha.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

Ford won't admit to it. But there was a few more replated XA GTHO Phase 4's that left the factory.

This is true, I have a uncle who work for ford back then, they simply removed the phase 4 carby and retarded the timing to pull back the HP, they were plated as GT's. A small number (25 I think) of XY were produced using left over body shells from the Phase 3 program, these XY's had the full Phase 4 spec drivetrain and XA improvements.


Unfortunately, there was no special vin code for these cars, and most were raced...many destroyed, be very hard to find one these days.




trolololololololo

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by The FOMOCO

OH dear you certainly know how to stir the pot i can hear all the experts now

I love stirring the pot at times. It makes the thread a little more interesting.

[Gothefalcon]

Originally Posted by HO 3

One problem with those 2, one of one examples as rare muscle cars is if you ask any US car guy they would say both have 2 doors too many to be called muscle cars in the first place.......the bottom line is anyone can spin the muscle car definition to suit themselves and in this case they have

Cheers Mick

Agreed... but the same could be said for the definition of a GT.... another search of the "beast of all knowledge" (google ) came up with this...

"GT (Grand Turismo) a two-door coupe The Grand Tourer, Grand Turismo, Grand Routiere, or GT terms are the most misused and abused terms in motoring. The ideal is of a car with the ability to cross a continent at speed and in comfort yet provide driving thrills when demanded and it should exhibit the following:

Ideally, the GT car should have been devised by its progenitors as a Grand Tourer, with all associated considerations in mind."
"It should be able to transport at least two in comfort with their luggage and have room to spare - probably in the form of a two plus two (2+2) seating arrangement."
The engines "should be able to cope with cruising comfortably at the upper limits on all continental roads without drawbacks or loss of useable power."
The design, both "inside and out, should be geared toward complete control by the driver."
Its "chassis and suspension provide suitable handling and roadholding on all routes" during travels.
Grand tourers emphasize comfort and handling over straight-out high performance or spartan accommodations. Historically, most GTs have been front-engined with rear-wheel drive, which creates more space for the cabin than mid-mounted engine layouts. Softer suspensions, greater storage, and more luxurious appointments add to their driving appeal."

Now... as most of us understand... FOMOCO Aus muddied the waters and redefined the meaning of "GT" when it created the 4 door XR GT.... a tradition that has continued in Oz (off & on) right up until today ! But... if you were to assume that the description above was closer to how the rest of the world might define what a "GT" is... then you would have to consider that the Landau would be one of the only locally built cars which best fits the description (More so than the XA/B Falcon GT Coupes do)... that, and perhaps even the Monarodores built later on... as they are the only 2+2 coupes built here (that I can think of !??) as they have 4 individual seats (as opposed to 2 Buckets + 1 rear bench to seat 3)
Mitsubishi then made a complete mockery of the whole thing when they released their Ozzy 380 GT No-one I know ever remotely considered that to be a "GT" or a "Muscle Car"... not in even the broadest terms !!!
Not witstanding Mitsubishi's crude attempt at badge engineering... I personally think that FOMOCO Aus (or probably closer still... Bill Bourke) not only redefined the meaning of the term "GT", for us Aussies (& to a lesser degree, the world) when Ford built the XRGT... but also redefined the meaning of the term "Muscle car" with the subsequent GTHO models. The only "real" difference being the inclusion of two extra doors !

Whatever the purists might like to think.... I'd say the definition of "what is a Muscle Car ?" these days... is something that is "Tough"... whatever configuration it comes in !
And the definition of "what is a GT?".... for me it starts with the Falcon... and carries on from there !

D

[ford71V8]

As a follow on from page 4's discussion of the P76 wagon.

This was in a (not so) recent edition of Street Machine...... thought it might be of interest to some.

[big_landau]

thank god there is only one left, that's a shocker.

[Auslandau]

A shocker????/ I would give my lefty for that. Some reason have always had a soft spot for the P76~ Sad I know

[HO 3]

Originally Posted by Auslandau

A shocker????/ I would give my lefty for that. Some reason have always had a soft spot for the P76~ Sad I know

Funny that, they make me soft too!

Cheers Mick

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

Ford won't admit to it. But there was a few more replated XA GTHO Phase 4's that left the factory.

I'm a believer of this.

If you find the article (I think it was Wheels July 1972) in which those famous photos of the three red race cars in Lot 6 featured, the first line of the article was something like "the first batch of 100 XA GTHOs have just rolled off the production line, with the final 100 scheduled to be built in the next month."

It also had a copy of a Ford internal memo to dealers stating "Gentleman, production of the XA GTHO has commenced" It then talked about forwarding sales receipts back to Head Office in preparation for submission to CAMS in order to ensure it qualifies for racing"

Why would Wheels and Ford lie? Where did the supposed 100 GTHOs end up? Most logical is replated as GTs

[PlukaDuck]

The other 97 where plated as landau
Allowing moffat to use 4 wheel disc brakes