Early Falcons - Brodie XP

Troy's XP coupe

Owner: Troy Brodie

Wollongong, NSW

Engine: 302 Windsor

Gearbox: C4 Auto

Diff: 9"

Back in 1987 Troy Brodie purchased one sad but repairable XP Falcon hard top. The car fortunately had little rust in the body but it was extensively dented and in need of an owner who would bestow some tender loving car on it. Troy handed the car over to Doug Hayman to straighten out all the body panels and remove the badges and chrome trim. The boot lock and fuel filler hole was also filled, the rear guards slightly flared for extra wheel clearance and many other minor body mods made before Ray Davis applied the Commodore Royal Blue Paintwork which has now been on the car for over eight years.

The engine is a thoroughly reworked 302 windsor V8 with a list of internal components as follows, A set of 11.1:1 forged Sealed Power pistons with double moly Grant rings, a custom grind Crow cam, Manley hardened pushrods and 1.6:1 rockers and Sealed Power lifters. Waggot double valve springs support Manley valves in heads that have been cleaned up in the ports and flow bench tested. the oil pump is a Mellings high volume item living in a modified deep sump.

The top end consists of an old style Edelbrock Torker manifold with angle mounted carby (750 Holley vac. sec. for the street, 650 double pumper for racing). Custom made extractors and a 2-1/2 inch stainless steel twin system with Turbo mufflers take the exhaust away and an XE Falcon radiator keeps engine coolant temperatures under control.

Ignition is handled by a Mallory Unilite distributor with Magnecor 8mm solid wire leads. Tranferring the power through to the nine inch diff is a C4 auto out of an XA Falcon that is equipped with a Kayver 3,000 r.p.m. stall speed convertor and a B & M Megashifter. The rear end ratio 3.00:1 with 28 spline axles and a stepped diameter XA GT drive shaft is used to connect the rear end to the transmission. Rear springs have been lowered three inches and now work in conjunction with a selby sway bar.

Better Braking is needed on these early Falcons when updated to V8 power so Troy went with XW spindles outfitted with XY disc rotors and calipers at the front while XF discs with XC calipers are used at the rear. A selby sway bar is also utilised in the front end with lowered coil springs and Bilstein shock absorbers. With all the undercarriage suitably updated a set of 15 inch diameter Center Line Convo Pro wheels were added along with Bridgestone tyres.
   Steve Parker of Figtree was called in to trim the interior of the hard top using a stock but reshaped rear seat to match the SAAS buckets in the front. He used light blue plain velour and light blue ribbed velour for the trim and added custom made light blue carpets to keep it all in tune. Troy grips an OBA 14 inch leather bound steering wheel and listens to a Kenwood CD based sound system with enough sound accessories to create his own concert hall within the car. Speakers are hidden and all control knobs are custom made from aluminium or stainless steel. Keeping track of the mechanical functions are a set of accessory VDO gauges and an Autometer tacho.
    Work on improving the Falcon is ongoing and Troy is always looking for ways to update or add something else. Typical is the replacement of the handbrake system that required major modifications but now works much easier than the original. Possible updates in the future include Fuel injection to make the car more driveable and the replacement of the cable operated shifter for a mechanical version. In the meantime there is an XP ute restoration project to keep Troy occupied when not out driving the hard top.
                                                                                             Photos by Paul Beck

Feature used with thanks to Street Rodding magazine