Ford XY Falcon GT

Ford XY Falcon GT
Overview
Manufacturer Ford Australia
Production 1970–1972
Assembly Broadmeadows, Victoria, Australia
Body and chassis
Class Muscle car
Body style 4-door Sedan
Layout FR layout
Chronology
Predecessor Ford XW Falcon GT

The Ford XY Falcon GT is an Australian built car based on the Ford XY Falcon. Released in 1970[1] with the GTHO Phase III released in 1971.[1] 1,557 units were produced from September 1970 to December 1971 with 300 GTHO Phase IIIs produced from May 1971 to November 1971.[1] It was the fourth in the initial series of Ford Falcon GT muscle cars. A limited number were exported to South Africa, wearing Fairmont GT badging. This model is starting to increase in value as genuine GTs become harder to find.

With the rev limiter disabled it was capable of 228 kilometres per hour (142 mph) and would pull 7,000+ rpm in 4th gear. The rev limiter was set to 6,150 rpm. [not as ex factory/production then]

Technical details

Type: 9in LSD Traction Lock is standard with 28 spline axles or 31 spline optional

Front: Independent ball joint, coil springs, shock absorbers, wishbones and anti-roll bar Upper control arm to accept the 3 pin ball joint used, as opposed to the 4 point ball joint used in the normal GTs and earlier GTHOs

Front: 286mm (11.25in) Servo assisted Discs Rear: 254mm (10in) Servo assisted Drums

Type: Re-circulating ball power assistance (Optional)

7.0 x 15 Alloy - '5 Spoke' Bathurst Globe (Optional) from 1972

Standing 1/4 mile (400m) - 16.4 seconds ( manual ) [2]

GTHO Phase III

The Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III was built for homologation, it looked almost identical to the GT. The modified version the Falcon GT built in 1971 with a heavily upgraded engine, a 4 speed top-loader gearbox and Detroit locker 9" differential. It was also equipped with special brakes and handling package, plus a 36 imperial gallons (164 litres) fuel tank.

Winner of the 1971 Bathurst 500, driven by Allan Moffat, the Phase III has been described as "...simply one of the best cars in the world, a true GT that could take on Ferraris and Astons on their own terms..." by Sports Car World.[3]

The GTHO's 351 Cleveland engine output was understated as 300 bhp (224 kW) to satisfy insurers. It is generally accepted to produce in the region of 350-380 bhp (265 kW -283 kW). Initial cars were equipped with an electrical rev limiter which came into effect at 6,150 rpm. With the rev limiter disabled, the engine was reputed to pull in excess of 7,000 rpm, even in 4th gear. The Phase III GTHO was Australia's fastest four-door production car.

Performance:

Top Speed: 228 km/h (142 mph) @ 6150rpm 0 - 60 mph - 8.4 seconds 0 – 100 km - 8.9 seconds Standing 1/4 mile (400m) - 15.4 seconds

Bathurst (6.172 km - 1938-1986) (6.213 km - 1987-present) Fastest Lap time: 2:36.5 by Allan Moffat (1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500 - Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III)

Value

The Phase III GTHO is in incredibly high demand with collectors and investors. Good examples have been sold for prices in excess of A$700,000. Due to this demand, a small production run, and 'fewer than 100 remaining'[4] there been a flow on effect into values of the lesser XW and other XY Falcons, particularly genuine GS and 'standard' GT models. Other models that have also benefited from the appreciation of the GTHO include the XA and XB GT hardtops, the earlier XW GTHO Phase 1 and 2 and the XC Cobra.

A Falcon XY GTHO Phase III was sold at by Bonhams & Goodmans at auction for A$683,650 in March 2007. The car had only 40,000 km on the clock. The buyer of the car said it will be garaged, and that it won't be driven, but that he will be "keeping it as an investment".[5] The sale price set a new auction record for Australian muscle cars.[6] Whilst in June 2007 another Phase III sold for A$750,000.[7] Shannons national auctions manager Christophe Boribon blames the global financial crisis for the collapse in values. "We reached an artificial high a couple of years ago but then the GFC hit. Now it is back to reality, " he said. "There is only a limited number of buyers out there for a car like that. "The car is a very rare car. The car is the holy grail of Australian muscle cars."Falcon GTHO Phase III

Price new 1971: $5300 Value 2007: $683,500 Value 2008: close to $1 million Value 2010: $331, 000

The Phase III GT is one of the few cars ever made that appreciated in value from the moment it left the dealership - even in 1975, four-year-old Phase IIIs were fetching prices equivalent to or higher than the on-road price of brand new XB GTs from Ford dealers.

Alternative names

The name of the car is often abbreviated to GTHO Phase III or even just Phase 3. It was also known as the Shaker because of the air intake scoop that protruded out of the bonnet and shook with the motion of the engine.

Race record

Of greatest significance, the Falcon GT-HO Phase III succeeded in an outright win at Bathurst in the 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 and also secured the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) title; in both instances the cars were driven by Allan Moffat.

Ian "Pete" Geoghegan and Allan Moffat had great success with the Phase III in Australian production touring car racing where it scored many race wins from the latter half of 1971 through to 1973. One of the Phase IIIs driven by Moffat is now owned by Bowden's Own, an Australian car care products company. [8] This particular example was a replacement vehicle fettled in September 1972, the original 1971 Bathurst winning car having been badly damaged at Adelaide International Raceway in the opening round of the 1972 Australian Manufacturers Championship; this particular GT-HO was subsequently driven to a number of victories by Moffat and enabled him to secure the overall 1973 ATCC honours.

In 1970, the Ford Works Team under the direction of team manager Al Turner, built two "Super Falcons" using the XW GTHO Phase II as the for the cars. Ford looked to translate the work that had gone into the Ford Mustang Boss 302 into the local Falcon model with the car using a fuel injected and much higher developed 5.8L V8 engine. According to those who drove the cars (Moffat, Geoghegan and John French, the Super Falcons biggest problem was that the 600 bhp (447 kW; 608 PS) the engine produced was simply too much for the light weight chassis to handle and power oversteer was the order of the day. Turner initially didn't believe Moffat when he told him this, believing that they were simply driving the car wrong. At the Mallala Circuit in South Australia, Moffat took Turner for a lap of the circuit in his Falcon in a successful bid to show the team boss what the car was really like to drive.

Moffat virtually abandoned the Super Falcon in the 1971 and 1972 ATCC's (which by this time had been upgraded with XY bodywork) in favour of his better handling Boss 302 Mustang. In 1972, Geoghegan would go the opposite way and abandon his own well developed Ford Mustang GTA and to drive his Falcon. After fixing the problem with the chassis, Geoghegan was able to get the best out of the car and won a memorable 3rd round of the 1972 ATCC at the Mount Panorama Circuit after a race long dice with the Mustang of Moffat. The race is often seen as the best race in the ATCC's history.

Successor to the GTHO Phase III

In 1972, the XY series Falcon was replaced by the XA Falcon range. Production of approximately 200 XA-based Falcon GT-HO Phase IV cars was originally scheduled to take place in June/July 1972, but this was terminated at 'the eleventh hour' due to what became known as "The Supercar scare". The Sun-Herald newspaper had run this as a front page lead article (with banner headline in large capital letters) on Sunday 25 June 1972: "160mph 'Super Cars' Soon". (not) A copy of that front page is shown at the start of a Phase IV documentary.[9]

Only one vehicle had been completed when production was cancelled. Three standard GTs were also at various stages of conversion into GT-HO race cars for the Bathurst 500 in October 1972. These four vehicles were later sold to specific individuals and/or dealers by Ford Australia. The Phase IV was never officially released.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ford XY GT Technical Specifications at ''Unique Cars and Parts''". Uniquecarsandparts.com.au. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  2. ↑ http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/ford_falcon_xy_gt_technical_specifications.htm
  3. ↑ Quote mentioned at eBay's Australia's Muscle & Performance Cars Buying Guide
  4. ↑ Joshua Dowling, The Sun-Herald, 3 June 2007, p. 13
  5. ↑ Pleffer, Ashlee (2007-03-27). "Ashlee Pleffer, (27 March 2007), The $680,000 Ford Falcon, ''The Daily Telegraph''". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  6. ↑ Ford GTHO sets new auction record for a 'muscle car' at Bonhams & Goodman's first collectors' cars auction for 2007 - Melbourne, Sydney and Perth - 25 March 2007, (1 February 2007), Bonhams & Goodman announcements at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Joshua Dowling, (3 June 2007), $750,000 for 36-year-old Ford Falcon, ''Brisbane Times''". Brisbanetimes.com.au. 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  8. ↑ Allan Moffat's 1971 XY GTHO, Bowden's Own at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ The documentary at www.gtho4.com
  10. ↑ "The Final Finest Phase" article in Super Ford magazine, 1987, pp. 20-27

External links