FAH

My 1976 XC 351 Fairmont Coupe

November 2005

by Peter Scott

I was running early for a meeting down at Port Adelaide. On a whim I bought a Trading Post and browsed it over coffee. Back in the classic car section I saw this ad:

It sure was cheap. The Ad was in an odd position. Starting with an "E" meant it wasn't near the Ford group in the other "F"s. I nearly missed it. I thought it about it during the day and on the way home decided to ring. I didn't think it would still be available - Hardtops tend to sell very quick. It was still for sale and I turned up after work around 5:30pm. For the price I wasn't expecting much.

When I got to the address given there was a SOLD sign on a real estate board out front. Obviously the owners were moving out. Maybe this was why the car was being sold?  I was the lucky first to see the car and Henry the current owner had told me he had washed the car and it was out the back.  So out the back we went.

Here's Henry with his car. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it.  It was so much better than I thought it was going to be. Henry had owned it for 18 years and the car hadn't been driven for nearly 3 years and was always under cover. Henry told me the engine was running rough and the a few years ago he had taken it to a mechanic to get it looked at. During a test drive the bonnet hadn't been closed properly. The safety catch was also bent and didn't work. The bonnet opened during a drive, got caught in the wind, opened up and got all bent !! This broke Henry's heart and the car was towed home and left. You can see in this pic that the bonnet is bent and doesn't shut properly. Didn't hit the roof of the car but the bonnet hinges are stuffed and so is the bonnet.

As far as Henry was concerned the car had a stuffed motor and now needed even more money to fix the bonnet. So he parked it and used his economical Magna as a daily driver. Henry was now retired and was selling his house so the FORD had to be sold. It didn't have a battery, it wouldn't start and Henry told me there was something wrong with the motor.

Even if the motor was a loss I thought the interior of the car was fabulous. I actually prefer the XC GS dash and steering wheel to my previous XB wagon and XB Coupe GS dash.  Seats were great with the Houndstooth trim and the steering wheel was in excellent condition.  Ford Integrated air-conditioning, an old CB radio, push button radio and big silver equaliser with flashing colour LEDs - priceless! Not one crack in the dash and door trims in excellent order. The chrome had rubbed off the plastic trim bits.

The engine also looked stock except for a Holley 750 4 barrel vacuum secondary and 4-1 exhaust headers. I had no idea on the condition of the motor. Henry did have a $2000 receipt for an engine build 10 000 km ago. He thought they didn't do a very good job as the motor was running very poorly when he parked it 3 years ago. The car has 4 wheel disk brakes and a 9 inch LSD diff. Did I mention the 351 V8 :)  ? The now bent bonnet hinge and broke the brake cylinder fluid reservoir. No belt on the airconditioning. Flyscreen across the radiator.

The car was nice and clean with 202 000 km (120 000 miles) on the clock and some service history. Henry had spent a "fortune" on brakes and front end and some other bits and pieces.

So I wanted the car very badly. Henry just wanted to get rid of it. $3500 was the agreed price and I booked a tow truck. Henry found some paperwork amongst the packing boxes inside the house.

What an absolute beauty. The car also had brand new 15x7 inch CSA Magnum rims, nuts and new 225 tyres. I love the look of these coupes. The car had evidence of rust panel repairs in the doors and rear parcel shelf with new metal welded in. The rust was returning. I don't know when the car was repainted reddish orange and black . A "Continental" style black vinyl roof has also been fitted - this might have been a dealer option. Check this link for roof options. At my Dad's golf club a old guy comes up to me and says wow wow wow etc and MAN it's got a Continental roof etc and he thought it special that I would drive the thing and leave it in the golf club carpark. But I like driving it - it's a fun machine to drive.

The car has been accessorised! I don't know if it was Henry or the Greek gent previous to Henry who put on the quad tailpipes, the spoiler, the stainless wheel arch trims, the rear quarter panel flutes (weren't available on the Fairmont originally) and replaced the stock petrol cap with a generic locking one.

The rear spoiler I decided to put back on as the drill holes were unsightly and the stainless trim around the vinyl had been cut to fit the spolier - I wish they put a small nick in the spoiler instead of cutting the trim.

The car wouldn't start with a new battery in it. I drained all the old fuel and flushed it through. I fitted new spark plugs and double checked the wires - still nothing. It turned over and back fired but refused to start. Then I brushed the distributor and it turned! It was very loose I just assumed it would be close enough. I wound it around and it started first time and purred like a kitten. The timing was very retarded. If only Henry knew it was only the timing that made the motor run so poorly. I went and bought some points and a timing light (never thought I would need one of those again), gave it plenty of advance and the car was fabulous. The engine was smooth, quite and pulled like a train with no exhaust smoke. Very responsive with instant torque and a small chirp from the tyres during the first/second change. Car runs cool as a cucumber with thermostat and new housing. No over-heating issues at all.

This car has attracted more attention than any other I've owned. At a T junction a six year old kid across the road spotted me :
"Dad.....Dad....Daaad....... DAAAAAD look at that, look at that !!! " and the Dad looked across his broken down Holden Commodore "Nice coupe mate!". No six year old has ever noticed any of my other cars!

The 15x7 inch wheels sure look undersized at the rear - the guards just swallow them up. One of the first things I did was buy a twin headlight XC GS grill and lights-  but the Fairmont rectangular lights are growing on me - I reckon I'll just leave it as a Fairmont with the big rectangular lights.

Ford offered the Sedan as a Fairmont GXL while the Hardtop was only offered as a Fairmont.  From the brochure looks like the GXL got cloth trim against the Houndstooth for the Hardtop.

1976-79 XC Falcon GS 5.8/Fairmont GXL 5.8 Ford may have been forced to drop the GT name from one of its best Falcon models ever but it did not abandon the enthusiast driver.

Fairmont GXL Sedan gets the cord trim.

GS Hardtop gets the rear quarter panel scoops and steel wheels. Also scores the twin headlight front.

Rear quarter panels not available on Fairmont, it gets sports alloy wheels, carpet in the boot and Houndstooth trim. No GXL option on the Hardtop. Intermittant wipers ( the wiper switch has two extra positions anti-clockwise).

Running down the options list the differences between the  Fairmont Hardtop and the Fairmont GXL Sedan are as follows:

My Fairmont has the " GT Power Pack " 5.8 litre 4 barrel V8, Power Steering,   Air Conditioning option and 3 speed T-bar auto with sports console. See that picture bottom right? I reckon it's the pic used to make those XC Coupe pins and badges on Ebay. I love how note (6) says that the 5.8 litre GS Hartop with manual trans is subject to change without notice for touring car homogation requirements. How cool is that.

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