TIME CAPSULE

The Great Chase: Genuine Phase III racer resurfaces

Police said Hibbard was followed on the Hume Highway on September 10 1971. According to the speedometer the pursuit car was doing 135mph. It could not gain on Hibbard.

The pages of AMC over the years have showcased many magni cent beasts from the much-loved Improved Production era of Australian touring car racing. Yet never have we featured one of these animals still in exactly the form in which it last competed. That is, until now.

This car, with its original paint, bodywork and running gear, is a bit like a mighty creature preserved in a museum through taxidermy – it’s a magni cently original specimen despite showing the effects of aging. In this Falcon’s case, its aged appearance is 46 years in the making.

This survivor last raced on May 14, 1972. On that day, at Calder Park, it hit the track against machines driven by the greats of the tin-top scene.

When the chequered ag fell to end the Marlboro Trophy Series’ 15-lap nale, no one could have foreseen that this yellow monster would never visit a racetrack again. Just as this Ford was starting to hit its straps, it was parked, having contested just six race meetings.

Its dust-encrusted interior and corrosive-spotted paintwork is the result of being tucked away in a handful of locations ever since.

Today it stands as a fascinating time capsule for us to study. But it’s more than simply a relic from racing’s glory days frozen in time with 4367 miles on the odometer. If it could talk it would tell some fascinating tales from its short competition career. Yet, the most amazing stories from its life are the ones before and after its half-dozen track attacks.

This is a genuine XY Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III that rst competed in the Series Production era at the 1971 Sandown 250. En route to that event it was involved in an ultra high-speed police chase along the Hume Highway that ended, ironically, at Broadmeadows, where a road block was put in place that brought the episode to a swift conclusion. Newspaper clippings document owner Kingsley Hibbard’s brush with the law – the very day he picked it up brand new from Sydney dealership Wright Ford! That’s right, the same day!

For Blue Oval racing enthusiasts, this is the only genuine GT-HO Phase III to race in both Series Production and Improved Production form, inspired by the potential of the works-developed Super Falcons.

It also took part in the most legendary ATCC event of all, held over the 1972 Easter weekend at Bathurst, blowing its engine spectacularly on Conrod Straight during practice, shortly after being clocked through a speed trap at 182mph.

As it turns out, this detonation contributed to a more serious blow-up – a legal spat between Hibbard and car builder Ron Harrop that took it off the track within a month and saw it squirreled away, ultimately for the next four decades.

Over the coming pages we’ll outline its short but eventful competition life and how it was being developed into arguably the most stunning and toughest-looking genuine Phase III to hit the track in period.

Yet, even without the words, this car, with its tarnished appearance, makes for a fascinating visual feast.