CLINTON Leayr's 10-year journey with his beautiful, home-brewed XL Falcon started rather frantically. "I'd been looking for an XL for a while, and one afternoon on my way home from work my brother-in-law let me know this one had popped up for sale," he says. "There were already three other people looking to buy it, so we raced down there with the cash and managed to grab it."
That purchase unintentionally kicked off what would become one epic home-built street machine. But it went through a number of changes before culminating in what you see today.
"I drove it around for a while in its original blue paint and with the 221ci six-cylinder, but then that spat the balancer off one day," Clinton says. "A mate of mine had my old Vortech-blown AU XR8 ute that'd been crashed, so I grabbed the running gear from that and started a V8 conversion on the XL."
After Clinton had mocked up the V8 in the engine bay, the car went in for its first colour change - a grey pinched from a Renault van. "I just wasn't a fan of the blue," he says.
The AU motor ran in aspo tunnel-rammed form for a little while, and then Clint tried to squeeze the Vortech blower kit into the XL's tight bay. That didn't go too well: "The headers in particular were a real nightmare," he says. "The log manifolds for a turbo kit fit a lot easier, so the decision was made to go turbo."
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Street Machine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2022 edition of Street Machine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TRADE SECRETS
> DAVE CARNELL’S HQ TONNER RUNS NINES, MAKES 780HP AND COMPLETED DRAG CHALLENGE WITH A CHEAP-AS-CHIPS TURBO LS!
OUTER CRUST
DALE GRIDLEY WEDGED 426 CUBES OF MODERN MOPAR INTO AN UNSUSPECTING SURVIVOR AP5
HAVING IT ALL
STREET MANNERS, A SHOW-QUALITY FINISH AND SEVEN-SECOND POTENTIAL MAKE FOR A SPOT-ON VS!
THEM'S THE BREAKS
HAS YOUR BROKEN-DOWN RIDE GOT YOU HOT UNDER THE COLLAR? HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO HELP GET YOUR CAR CHARGED , COOL AND BACK ON THE ROAD
NIPPED AND TUCKED
JAMES BULLIONS'S SLAMMED MAZDA R100 MAY LOOK SIMPLE ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT IT HARBOURS MIND-BOGGLING ENGINEERING UNDER THE SKIN
WAY OUT WEST
ONE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S MARQUEE MODIFIED CAR EVENTS, THE 38TH EDITION OF MOTORVATION SAW ACTION APLENTY
Minor MIRACLE
IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF CAR TO STAND OUT, JUST A LOT OF WORK, AS RHONDA AND AL MAGRITZER DISCOVERED WITH THEIR BLOWN AND CONTINENTAL-KITTED MORRIS MINOR CUSTOM
TICKLED PINK
ASHLEY BELL'S XA FAIRMONT WENT FROM GRANDPA-SPEC TO A WILD PLUM STUNNER IN UNDER 12 MONTHS!
ROMPER STOMPER
JOE BAUER'S 3000HP DODGE CHARGER TOOK ON STREET MACHINE SUMMERNATS 36 AND EMERGED AS GRAND CHAMPION
LAPS OF LUXURY
RICCARDO PONTONIO PLANS TO RUN LAPS AT DRAG CHALLENGE 2023 IN ONE OF THE SLEEPIER ENTRANTS LINING UP FOR THE EVENT - A 1980s MERCEDES WAGON WITH AN LSA AND TWIN TURBOS!