DREAM WEAVER

BENNY GATT TURNS HIS LATE DAD'S OLD XT INTO THE CRUISER HE'D ALWAYS DREAMED ABOUT

- PETER BATEMAN

WHEN drag racing legend Ben Gatt was told his family’s 1968 XT Fairmont was available for sale, he had to have it. The old Ford held too many memories, and he knew exactly what his dad, Paolo (Paul), had desperately wanted to do with the car back in the day. Once he had this family treasure under his care, Ben and some trusted mates rebuilt it over 15 months or so, transforming Mum and Dad’s old XT into a very neat streeter, just like his old man would have wanted.

I’ve known Benny for a good number of years, and jumped at the opportunity to photograph the car. He had the perfect location in mind; we were off to the Gatts’ old family home at Fairfield Heights, Sydney – in Benny’s parents’ old car no less, now completely restored.

Heading towards the old stomping ground, the Ford’s exhaust let out a gorgeous burble when Benny backed off the gas, and a decent dose of mumbo when the loud pedal was activated. On these western Sydney tracks – sorry, roads – the ride was smooth, helped, no doubt, by the seats, but you could feel the XT’s tyres were planted firmly on the tarmac.

“Dad always reverse-parked in the drive, so I will too,” Ben said as we pulled up outside the old home. The traffic made this manoeuvre something of a chore, and Ben needed his daily spinach sandwich to complete the task, as the Ford has no power steering.