'CHUTED AND BOOTED

WITH A MUSCULAR 461-CUBE CLEVOR ON BOARD AND CHASSIS TWEAKS TO MATCH, THIS SILVER FOX IS READY TO STRAP ON A PARACHUTE AND REEL OFF SOME LOW NINES

- STEVE JURSKIS

HAVING spent a fair chunk of his formative years immersed in the drag racing scene at Calder Park and Heathcote, Luke David had plenty of inspiration to draw from when it came time to start on a project of his own.

But his heart was always set on a Silver Fox XW GT, having long watched an example of this iconic combo laying down solid numbers at the track.

But while the choice of what to build was easy, finding the right starting point wasn't quite as straightforward. Luke started his hunt in the mid-2000s, and he reckons he looked at more than 30 cars before finding the right candidate. Eventually, he found a white six-cylinder XW Fairmont to serve as a solid base for his planned makeover into a Silver Fox GT tribute. Luke wanted a cruiser with a healthy 550-600hp Windsor combo, which would occasionally see the odd run at the strip.

Wanting to tackle as much of the build himself as he could, Luke began stripping the car under the guidance of Trevor Davis. Trevor would later have the task of laying down the X-dub's silver and orange paint, although it would be almost 12 years before that time arrived. Business commitments, buying a house, and renovations all saw Luke's progress on the XW put on the backburner at various points. While time may be the natural enemy of the average street machiner, Luke also had a couple of aces up his sleeve.