Back In Black

A Street Machine Star in 1994, This Immaculate Time-capsule Xc Coupe Is Once Again Ready for Its Close-up

- Craig Parker

WHEN you consider that this achingly nice XC Fairmont coupe first appeared in Street Machine waaaay back in September 1994, it’s incredible that people still fondly remember it. “Everywhere I go, people recognise the car,” owner Danny Papa says. “They say: ‘That’s the car from Street Machine.’”

Once you’ve fetched that particular issue from your perfectly collated SM collection, you’ll notice the spec box lists an owner with a very similar name: Jim Papa. Jim is Danny’s older brother, and Danny bought the car off him two years ago.

“I’d sold my 1973 De Tomaso Pantera,” Danny says, “and was looking for something new. Much to my surprise, Jim suggested I buy the coupe and get it back on the road. I couldn’t believe he was willing to sell it; the car was like family to him. It was his first car; he bought it in 1983 when he was 18! As a young teenager, I remember Jim taking me cruising in it down Lygon Street. One of his mates, Con, had MRHEMI, a nice Charger with a hot 265; another had a Landau. They were huge nights – so many cars!”

Looking at the flawless panel and paint, you’re probably thinking the coupe has had a recent freshen-up. Nope, it’s virtually untouched since Jim completed the five year resto in 1993, which included the orange metalflake engine bay and clear Lexan bonnet – a major talking point that attracts lots of attention.

“I personally didn’t like the metalflake; it’s very 80s,” Danny says. “Initially I’d planned to repaint it gloss black and add heaps of chrome and polish – maybe even a blower. Then I started taking it to cruise nights, and everyone kept saying: ‘Leave it as it is.’ They love that it’s survived, untouched all these years.”