IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

THIS STUNNING 544CI XW FAIRMONT BAGGED A TOP 20 ELITE SPOT AT SUMMERNATS 34 - THE REALISATION OF A QUARTER-CENTURY-OLD DREAM

-  JACK HOULIHAN

THE CONCEPT WAS REALLY QUITE SIMPLE: IT'S NOT A GT OR A TRIBUTE, OR A PURIST'S RESTO - IT'S JUST MY VISION OF A TOUGH STREETER

FOR Simon Pickrell, a childhood trip to Exhibition Park in Canberra cemented his passion for tough, top-quality Blue Ovals. "I first went to Summernats 25 years ago," the 46-year-old recounts. "I'd always had a love for cars growing up and a soft spot for Fords, but when I got to the 'Nats for the first time, that's when the bug really hit. Ever since then, I've wanted to build an Elite-level street car that I could take."

But as many of us have learned, life has a habit of getting in the way, and it would be another couple of decades before Simon could realise his dream. "This build has been a 25-year itch that I've only just scratched!" he laughs. "The concept was really quite simple; it's not a GT or a tribute, or a purist's resto - it's just my vision of a tough streeter."

The build kicked off in early 2020 with Simon scouring the nation for an ideal canvas. "I spent about six months and endless kilometres searching and inspecting cars to no avail, until I found this XW listed on Marketplace," he says. "I flew into Sydney and hired a car, drove to a small town just outside of Camden and met a guy named Gino. He was a super-nice bloke and had a couple of interesting-looking cars lying around, and more parts in his shed than you could possibly imagine." The XW in question was in reasonable shape, with a non-running 351 Cleveland in the engine bay. "After a bit of negotiating, we struck a deal and I was back on a plane on my way home and sending a truck to pick it up."