Muscle Memorabilia

Shaun plans to keep the car pretty much as is, but will need to fix the usual top of the boot channel XA/XB/XC rust problems. The black interior is in good nick.

It has a matching numbers engine with what he considers to be a genuine 89,000 miles, with all trim tags, original radiator with part number tag attached and original fan belt. It should be a relatively easy resto. He’s talked to a noted Ford expert about the car who told him that being a standard XA GS, let alone a Stillwell, puts it very high on the rarity scale, more so (perhaps) than an XA GT.

This makes you wonder if there were other dealers out there who created their own special editions. If you know of any let us know. Like

most of us, Shaun is a collector of muscle car memorabilia as well as the real thing, like his BSS Fairmont featured here.

He especially likes books with a muscle theme, like this 1974 metric edition of the Automotive Mechanics manual, featuring a photo on the cover taken at the wet Bathurst race of 1972. That’s Don Holland in the fifthplaced LJ Torana on the front, with the Barry Seton Finnie Ford Escort GT following on the back cover. He picked up this book for $2. Shaun also has a 1977 Adelaide street directory with a Sandman ute parked in Rundle Mall on the front cover.

But his real treasures are a couple of faded newspaper cuttings from the Adelaide Advertiser classifieds, dated February 8, 1969 when Chrysler was actively looking for staff at its Tonsley Park factory.

Especially interesting is the vacancy for Experimental Mechanic: “fitting experience and a knowledge of drawings and report writing essential.”

He found these sitting in his roof space, left there he suspects by the guy who installed the hot water system forty-five years ago.