FABULOUS FALCON

We're working on a lovely Ford panel-van project at the moment, and the owner has requested a really interesting spec.

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The engine is a 250 2V straight-six, to which we've added a mild cam, done some porting and raised the compression to 10:1. That will be enough to make sure it will have some nice grunt. The carburettor is a rebuilt standard unit.

Behind that, we have a four-speed Toploader and nine-inch diff.

There are disc brakes all-round and it's running power steering with an XF box.

The owner has asked us to add air-conditioning, which will mean a bit of reshuffling in the engine bay. I reckon this will turn out to be a really nice thing to drive, with some old-school looks and more modern road manners.

Meanwhile, Guido's project VK wagon is close, but not quite there. We're playing with tyre sizes at the moment to ensure we get the ride height and stance we want.

We've got an issue with the speedo, that started with the drive at the transmission. That's been fixed and we are now working on getting the speedo itself sorted. It was working, but the odometer wasn't. We've found a spare instrument with a dead speedometer and a working odo - so we'll get the two combined by an instrument shop.

Last on our list is getting one of two electrical issues tidied up. Plus we're fitting a fuel safety valve. The VK is running an electric fuel pump, and this will shut it down whenever the engine stops - a good thing if it's ever involved in a crash!

Family investment

Howdy Unique Cars mob! Firstly, love your mag and it's a staple in our house. We have bought a number of cars through it. If we're not buying, we're dreaming - which is fun.