History Lesson

TONY reckons he’s had about 40 cars so far. “I got my first one when I was 17: an XD Falcon kitted out to look like Dick Johnson’s TRU-BLU race car, complete with flared guards, spoiler and drop tank.”

Over the ensuing decades, Tony has played proud parent to dozens of custom and classic cars of all stripes. No brand is over-represented, although there have been a few Fords in the garage, including one of the latest to leave the family – a 1973 XA GT hardtop.

Tony built the car as a tribute to his dad’s history with the model when he built engines for John Goss and also raced himself in the 1970s. Tony surprised his dad on his 70th birthday with the completed coupe, which made an impressive 825hp from a monster 532ci stroker mill.

“Building cars has taught me that I need to do more of the work myself and also to co-ordinate the builds so things happen in the right order,” Tony says. “That way it minimises having to do things more than once,” he says.

“Being a builder has helped me have an understanding of how things go together. While not a mechanical engineer like my dad, I’ve got enough knowledge to get by.”