PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

PAS DASKALAKIS LOVES FALCON COUPES, BUT HE WANTED HIS LATEST TO BE ABSOLUTELY INSANE – PURISTS BE DAMNED

- IAIN KELLY

THE ups and downs of project-car life can test our patience, resolve and mental fortitude at the best of times, but Pas Daskalakis wanted his ’74 XB Falcon coupe to be insane right from the word go – hence the number plates it now wears! This hand-built, 700hp streeter represents a nine-year long pursuit of what Pas sees as the ultimate hardtop.

“When you make a decision to build a custom car and change almost everything, there will be challenges, and you quickly become a problem solver,” Pas says. “We have fitted, removed and refitted panels, the running gear and the interior trim over a dozen times to get this car right. But if you surround yourself with a great team of experts, then the challenges become easy and you enjoy building the whole car.”

This is Pas’s third Falcon hardtop, having purchased an XA in ’87 and an XB in three years later. But this XB came along in 2013 after Pas took a lengthy break from cars.

“My first car was an XA GT replica in black,” he explains. “I saw Mad Max at 15 and I immediately wanted a two-door, so I bought one for $2500 the day I got my licence at 16. It was a beast; I bought my freedom with that car and I just wanted to cruise the streets as a kid.

“My second coupe was a total rebuild, but back in the early 90s it was affordable to rebuild a car with a new engine and a great paintjob for around $20K. In the mid-90s I sold the XA and XB to become a responsible married adult, build a few houses, and have a baby boy, Eli.”