Blue-Sky Thinking

Ben Grayland’s modest plan for a nice, simple cruiser kicked off an eight-year snowball that landed his XR falcon in the summernats top 60

- Tas McMillan

Not every car in the Summernats Top 60 Elite Hall has had every single panel customised and pumps out ridiculous horsepower from a chrome mountain rising from the bonnet. Sometimes, all it takes is damn fine paint, meticulous detailing and just the right amount of original brightwork to receive the judges’ tick of approval.

Ben Grayland’s ’Nats 33 Top 60-placing XR Falcon is one such car. “It was supposed to just be a neat cruiser,” Ben says of his initial build plans. “Just a quick paint job and get it on the road.” So much for that!

Ben found the car for auction on eBay. “I think the guy I bought it off was using it for parts to restore a Fairlane. It was a rolling shell with no interior or driver’s door, but it was fairly straight and rust-free.” Second-gen Falcons free of the dreaded tin worm are few and far between, so Ben was fortunate to purchase an XR that only needed a few patches in the plenum and under the rear window.

The car sat quietly in the shed for a couple of years while Ben collected parts, but he then handed the shell over to his mate Brad Simpson. Brad straightened the panels, fixed the minimal rust and deleted all the shiny bits along the Falcon’s flanks. He’s obviously a bit of a whiz with the hammer and dolly because those lines are tight.