Hunting around for a genuine GT is not an easy task. I was searching for about a year talking to various people with very little luck until I spoke to a mate by the name of Chris Theodore. He was looking to buy an XA RPO himself and came across one in Canberra. The guy selling the RPO also had an XT for sale.

I asked Chris to contact the owner and tell him that I was interested in the XT. Chris put me on to Richard Allen and he started to describe the vehicle. From the description that Richard provided I was immediately interested and was very eager to check the vehicle out. The only condition was that Garrett had happened to see the vehicle and was first in line.

So my brother in law Nick and I hopped in the car and headed to Canberra to check out this XT. As soon as we were to reach Canberra I had organised with Richard to give him a call so he can direct me to his place. I remember calling Richard and once I mentioned where I was he proceeded to give me instructions. I travelled at the speed limit and found that it was amazing how well Richard knew Canberra. Just as I was reaching specific places Richard would point them out.

As soon as we arrived at Richard’s place Nick and I were amazed at his Polar white RPO coupe. The car was in excellent condition so we spent about half an hour checking it out and asking him specific questions relating to his RPO.

We then started to check out the XT and I found that Richard’s description of the car was very accurate. I found that Richard was one of the straightest shooters around and he was adamant that Garrett had first dibs at the XT. If he was to pass this car up then the car was mine.

The car had 3 previous owners, which makes me the 4th owner. The first owner was a policeman’s wife, who, following her husband’s death, decided she’d not lived enough and decided to purchase the XTGT. She hated the red stripe and had it removed before she took delivery! The car was carefully maintained by that family and as late as last year had expressed a desire to buy it back from Richard, but the lady’s grandson had been transferred overseas and could not complete the sale. The second owner was also a lady who had it 13 years before selling it to Richard. It is a matching numbers XTGT with 110,000 miles, log books and the original Dunlop Aquajet in the boot.

The car used to be Richards daily driver for 3 years until he decided to pull the car off the road and restore it. The car was rubbed back and re-painted in the original polar white colour by Ronnie Smith from the NSW Veteran and Vintage club. Queanbeyan Engine Service rebuilt the engine, and re-assembled by Richard to factory specifications. The engine parts were also replaced with new bits. This includes internal engine parts such as pistons, cam, lifters, rings and bearings, clutch, pressure plate and flywheel. Richard also went to the trouble of restoring the original hubcaps, re-trimming the seats and installing new rubbers. The car was put together by Richard over 3 years and was approximately 80% complete.

Once Garrett decided to pass on the car I immediately rang Richard and told him that I was buying the car. A direct deposit was organised and I drove to Canberra with Pat from Banksia towing to pick up the car. Once we arrived Richard had the car and all the associated bits ready. We loaded the car up on the tilt tray, had a quick coffee and chat then off we headed back to Sydney.

Once we arrived home we loaded the car in the garage and I instantly called Sash over. We inspected the vehicle and wrote a list of parts that were required to finish the car off. The list of parts required amounted to a few hundred dollars.

With a fairly busy work schedule I worked on the vehicle when I could. I had organised for the dash to be fully restored due to a small crack on one of the edges. The steering wheel however had seen better days. I called Tony AKA Rev who took one look at me and said that he liked a challenge. The finish on the wheel is fantastic. Once I collected all the bits Sash and I started working on the car. It took us around 2 solid days where we went right over the car. This included installing a new blinker mechanism, dash, seat belts and a whole range of small fiddly bits. Gearbox and diff fluids where changed as well as a clutch and brake service.

The car was sitting around idle for a while and the paint had faded with a lot of dirt embedded in the duco. Nick pulled out the buffing machine and started to work his magic. The car now looks very presentable and neat and is a great cruiser.

I would like to thank Richard Allen for doing all the hard work as well as Sash whose knowledge of these old Falcons is phenomenal. Sash also did a sterling job in tuning the beast. Dart Automotive was also a big help with final adjustments such as wheel alignment and braking. Lastly I would like to thank my brother in law Nick who is a champion. He helped right from the start and his work, passion and knowledge in the painting department is like no other.