Street Machine

DIRTY STUFF

- WILLIAM PORKER

THOSE barn finds are still out there, people. Had a discovery recently on a rural Gympie property, where a rare Ford Falcon RPO 83-spec GT had been sitting untouched for 40 years under a basic carport, with just 98,000 miles racked up in its earlier years. It was destined to be auctioned. Bought new in 1972, this XA two-door coupe was in remarkably good condition, still owned by the ex-truck driver, who is not real well now. It was burgundy in colour and fitted with air con and alloy wheels.

Of course, the tyres were flat and the left front wheel was locked solid when they went to pull the GT out of there, and the trees fronting the carport had grown to block the driveway. A chainsaw fixed that problem and the car was off to auction, where it fetched a whopping $276,009.

I’m not surprised it made good coin, as I have only seen one other RPO 83 coupe in my time on planet Earth.

That was when I was working as a Gold Coast Ford pre-delivery manager, when the GTHOS were the kings of Bathurst. Then came an idiot media blitz about ‘supercars’ that put the kibosh on the XA Phase IV GTHO program. This ignorant and biased campaign made great headlines and went on and on until

Ford announced no more GTHOS would be built and Holden stopped developmen­t of its V8-engined Toranas.

Ford had already produced four Phase IV GTHOS, and got rid of the rest of the go-fast bits on the RPO 83 cars. We took delivery of three of them: two four-door sedans and one two-door coupe. They all came with the Handling Option suspension changes, larger four-barrel carburetto­rs, four-slot manual ’boxes and tube-steel, free-flow exhaust manifolds. We sold them quickly, for they were very desirable stock, and I don’t think the price was above normal GTS.

Preparing a car for a long-term sleep requires special attention. Over a lengthy storage period, the rings in the pistons will seize, as the upper cylinder bores will be dry and prone to surface rust. Best way to avoid this is to fog the internals with oil, done by taking off the air cleaner and dribbling light oil down the intake throats while the engine is idling. When the blue smoke gets really thick out of the exhaust pipes, switch off, because that job is done.

The oil in the sump also needs to be drained because of combustion acids that will, at least, etch the crankshaft journals. Refilling with clean, new oil will solve that problem.

Gearboxes and diff gears also need protecting, as acids in EP oils are not good for gear teeth – better to drain the oil completely; otherwise the exposed teeth clear of oil will suffer corrosion.

Brake systems will rapidly seize pistons in cylinders, calipers and master cylinders. The go here is to flush all the water-attracting fluid out, replacing this with the dearer synthetic stuff. Brake hoses will perish internally as they all have rubber cores, so fit new parts if they are showing their age via external cracks or hardening.

Best you can do with power steering systems and automatic transmissi­ons is to drain and refill, for even automatic transmissi­on fluid dies from old age. Manual clutches will rust to flywheels and pressure plates, but there is not a lot you can do about this without dropping the ’box and removing the clutch assembly.

To avoid water jacket and radiator corrosion, cooling systems will need a drain and refill with a top-quality anti-rust fluid like grade-four Tectaloy.

Tyres? They all go off as they get older, and deform and stuff their case if they sit without air, which will inevitably leak out over the years.

If the machine is to stand on a concrete floor, buy a set of jack stands to place under the front suspension arms and rear axle, so all four wheels are clear of the concrete. If you are stuck with a dirt surface, use large wooden blocks, as steel jack stands will sink into the earth.

Upholstery can be covered, but remember that rats and mice can get inside through the smallest of holes.

Exterior paint is best protected by spraying with liquid wax. Most cars have underbody rust traps, but a good clean and a coating

FORD PRODUCED FOUR PHASE IV GTHOS, AND GOT RID OF THE REST OF THE GO-FAST BITS ON THE RPO 83 CARS. WE TOOK DELIVERY OF THREE OF THEM

of fish oil or one of the many commercial anticorros­ion products will help stop the metalmunch­ing ants here. Plastic light lenses will also deteriorat­e if exposed to strong sunlight, and chrome will corrode unless protected by a heavy wax coating.

So if you are planning to go away on an extended world cruise whenever the COVID bans lift, don’t leave your classic car to suffer, as it will probably be seized and undriveabl­e when you eventually return!

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