FANCY FORDS

TWO XA FORD FAIRMONTS GET THE ORIGINAL FACTORY TREATMENT FOR THAT BETTER-THAN-NEW EXPERIENCE

- DAVE MORLEY

Ever wondered why you don't see XA Ford Fairmonts any more? Well, I suppose any XA is a pretty rare sight these days, but it wouldn't be too far wrong to suggest that a huge number of Fairmonts got turned into GT clones back when that was the thing to do (and still is, in some circles). Which is why the Fairmont badge is so hard to spot on an XA in 2025.

All of which makes the pair of XA Fairies on these pages such a treat to behold. And they both have their share of little quirks that make them even more special; stuff like the white sedan being a manual and the blue coupe retaining its column-shifter. Brilliant.

Yep, we need to know more, so let's chat to the owner and see what makes these cars, and him, tick, 'cos there's a bit going on here.

Dale Higgins is a chippie by trade, but you get the feeling he also has a pretty good grasp of any task that involves hand tools and returning stuff to how its maker intended. Timber, metal, leather; doesn't seem to phase him. Combine that with his mantra of factory original is best, and you wind up with better-than-new cars that represent a real slice of history and culture. But you'd also have to say that Dale has some kind of magic trick for finding cars that everybody else thinks are either extinct or hidden in dungeons under dustsheets never to see sunlight again.

"THE WHITE PAINT AND PARCHMENT TRIM ARE AS IT LEFT THE PRODUCTION LINE"

The Polar White XA sedan is a classic example. Now, you might look at this car and think that it's been treated to a manual ‘box conversion, just for starters. I mean, who'd go out and buy a Fairmont V8 with a four-speed floor-shifted gearbox? Well, trust us, a few people back in 1973 did just that, and this car is proof.