In my opinion the Kangaroo Valley run is the best run on the calendar so all the boys were really pumped and looking forward to this run. Roselands was the first meeting point with the usual suspects arriving in dribs and drabs. Approximately 15 GT’s showed up and were eager to take off. Once Rip arrived we kicked over the engines and headed to the next meeting point.

We jumped on the M5 motorway and the boys decided to flex some muscle. The pace that was being set by some of the big guns was fast and furious. We were motoring along and dicing here and there when all of a sudden an unmarked police vehicle was flashing their lights and demanding that we all slow down. From that point on the boys fell in line and cruised all the way to Uncle Leo’s at the speed limit. This pace was maintained throughout the run however a few could not help themselves.

Once we arrived at Uncle Leo’s we got out had a quick chat then reviewed our itinerary. We jumped on the freeway and headed south. The little 302 Windsor was running beautifully as some can confirm. At one point I gave the little Windsor a boot full of revs and shifted in top. I then felt a massive vibration and instantly shifted to neutral. At this point I was thinking that the XT will be taken home on a tilt tray. I immediately pulled over and looked underneath to see what was going on. All looked ok underneath so I started to shift the gears and they seemed to select ok. I took off and then noticed that under acceleration or after around 70 mph I felt a massive vibration. The car still drove and gears changed so I decided to soldier on. To diagnose the problem I will start with the tail shaft and then move to the gear box.

We took the Bowral turn and with Rip leading the way we powered through the twisty narrow single lane road. We then reached a STOP sign. Whilst waiting for cars to pass I heard a loud thundering raw of a finely tuned Windsor. I looked in the rear vision mirror and saw a certain polar white XTGT lighting up the rear tyres and making plenty of smoke. “No prizes for correctly guessing who the culprit was!”

We arrived in Kangaroo valley and parked the GT’s in the car park. Some really tough cars were amongst this group and a nice alloy headed XY Clevo looked impressive. The performance factor of this car was equally impressive. Rip, Samantha, Julia and I headed to the home made burger shop. The food in this place was absolutely fantastic and highly recommended by the Wolfpac crew. Even the lady behind the shop informed us that she used to own an XW. We had a few drinks then we decided to head back home and try to avoid the impending rain.

We decided to go the Nowra way which would mean we travelled one big loop which would be approximately 250 miles. The drive home was excellent. Adam in his beautiful XBGT and with the newly installed 4.11 gears was driving it hard. The big AN Racing alloy headed Clevo sat on 4500rpm for most of the way back. It rarely saw any low revs on this trip and for me it definitely gets car of the run. Furthermore with that flogging it copped on this run it did not miss a beat. Adam has found the sweet spot in this car and reckons that 3rd gear just pulls like a train. Today’s fuel usage for this beast is estimated at $130.

We got home at around 2pm and the little Windsor made it. Once again what a top run. Bring on the next one. Remember “Going Ford is the going thing”.

Paul S