holy mothballs!

Just like an Indiana Jones adventure, every car nut dreams of finding a long lost treasure, parked and forgotten decades ago covered in dust and sitting on flat tyres. For some, unearthing a Barn Find is like finding The Holy Grail.

1972 Ford Falcon XA GT sedan

Barn Find is a colloquialism that is used worldwide regardless of whether it’s a shed, garage, car-port or in fact an actual barn. Most ‘Barn Finds’ start out as normal cars, used daily to commute to and from work or as family hacks… then one day, a certain event takes place which changes everything. Such an event took place with our Barn Find GT (nicknamed Mothball) some 28 years ago, but to do this story justice we must start at the beginning when this Red Pepper XA GT started out as a young man’s pride and joy.

The young man in our story was Pat, son of humble Italian immigrants, with a passion for fast cars. Pat’s first car was an ex-demo XR GT Falcon which his father helped him buy. Pat started as a motor mechanic at College Auto service station which happened to be up the road from the Holmesford GT Zone dealership in South Yarra (Victoria), he then later worked with his brother in a panel shop.

Ordering a Phase 4 Falcon

Early in 1972, the word on the street was that Ford were going to release a new Falcon GT-HO Phase 4, and so went Pat to see the salesman at the GT Zone to place his order. When asked what colour he preferred, Pat answered, “A car like this can only be one colour, red with black trim!” He also ticked the option boxes for the black hood, styled left hand racing mirror, the Superfringe radio, front spoiler and the adjustable rear decklid spoiler. Being a customer order and not a dealer stock order, the ‘delete pre-delivery wax’ (Option 90) was automatically ticked.

Whilst eagerly awaiting the delivery of his Phase 4, Pat heard that the Government had put a stop to the Phase 4 program, and so he went back to visit the dealer to see what was going on. The dealer had some good and bad news. The good news was that Pat’s car had arrived and was in pre-delivery; the bad news that it wasn’t a Phase 4 but a standard GT. A bitter sweet disappointment, Pat requested some of the go-fast bits like extractors be added to his Falcon GT, before taking delivery.

Seeking GT-HO performance, Pat progressively modified his XA GT from the first year adding ‘Day Two’ modifications such as a performance alloy inlet manifold, a genuine Phase Three 780cfm Holley carb, mag wheels and a rear stabiliser bar – or panhard rod as Pat calls it, oh – and a set of air horns that played ‘La Cucaracha’. Being a mechanic, he did all the work himself, and as a fastidious owner, Pat kept the GT spotlessly immaculate also adding the personalised number plates PP-351 to replace the original issue LFK-309 Victorian black and white plates.

Pat’s GT was mostly used for local driving to and from work, “I had my own special spot to park at the front of work where it wouldn’t get damaged or stolen,” says Pat proudly remembering, “many people would cross the road for a closer look.” Doing overtime pumping fuel after his normal working hours, Pat washed his GT during quiet times at least every second day.

“A mate of mine had a hotted up black Camaro, and we use to egg each other on,” recalls Pat. “I was never beaten off the line in my GT, she was pretty quick!” He’d added the panhard rod to reduce axle hop on take off. “I remember one time coming back from Phillip Island, I had her wound out at 125mph overtaking everything in sight,” reminisces Pat of his hoon days.

Pat married his wife Angela of 38 years in 1977, and seven years later with around 28,000 miles on the clock, sold the GT to his mate Mick, in order to build a new garage.

Retirement Fund

Mick was a hard working house painter at the time, and fell in love with the GT the first time he saw Pat driving it. Pestering him occasionally, he was in the right place at the right time when Pat decided to sell. The GT was supposed to be Mick’s retirement fund.

Mick had always had an interest in fast cars, and a reputation to match, losing his licence some 13 times! One time driving up to the annual Bathurst pilgrimage he got pinched at 130mph, only to be pinched again coming back!! Mick’s nickname was ‘Stickman’ as he was always changing gears. He only knew two speeds; either going fast or flat-out.

Eventually Mick fell on hard times and asked an old school mate named Neil, if he wanted the car. “I originally said ‘No’, I’m not interested,” recalls Neil, “but he asked me three or four times and because he needed the money I thought what the hell.” For five grand with three months rego, it was a pretty good deal for a performance car with around 55,000 miles on the clock. This all happened in May 1987, and Neil soon lost contact with Mick when he moved out of Melbourne.

Meet the lads, Neil & Dave

Neil and Dave have been best mates for almost 40 years. In fact, Neil first met Dave on the VFL Grand Final day 1977, when Dave moved in as a neighbour. Dave and his wife Nora had just relocated from Queensland and Neil went over to welcome them to the neighbourhood, inviting Dave to come over to watch the Collingwood vs North Melbourne game with the boys. “Dave went off and came back half an hour later,” recalls Neil, “when he opened the door I thought what a flop, he’s brought his wife with him but in fact he was opening the door wider to make room for the slab of beer under his arm!” A lifelong friendship was born, with Neil and Dave inseparable, catching up at least three times a week since. “Our wives, Susan and Nora also became good friends, we’ve travelled together, caravanned together and even been thrown out of pubs together!” says Dave of his mate Neil.

Neil isn’t really into cars, his first car was a sky blue FJ Holden which he purchased when he was 16 years old, “I drove it for two years until I got my licence,” says Neil cheekily. After crashing the FJ, he bought a light blue Zephyr. “I then bought a white XR Fairmont V8, coincidentally I bought this car from Bob Rollington Ford in South Yarra who was later taken over by Holmesford GT Zone, the same dealer that sold Mothball new!” says Neil about the uncanny coincidence. “I didn’t really have an interest in ‘hotting’ up cars, they were just a means of getting from point A to B,’ says Neil.

Dave on the other hand was a bit of a de-facto petrol head in his youth, owning a ’59 Pontiac, a silver GTS Monaro and then a mustard coloured Valiant Charger. “The school kids would give me the ‘V’ sign whenever I was driving past,’ remembers Dave.

Mothball’d

Having three months rego left, Neil decided to drive the then pristine XA GT occasionally. Neil remembers, “Dave and I went out to the pub one Friday night, had a few too many beers and realised neither of us was fit to drive home so we left the GT in the carpark.” Doubting he’d do the same thing today, “we were pretty badly hung over so we came back two days later, and it was still there!”

Neil then parked the XA GT in his backyard when the rego ran out, and there it sat in the yard until the grass grew up around it. “It sat out there for two years,” says Neil. It was only through Neil’s father who one day shouted, “What a waste, get that bloody car in the shed!” The boys then pushed it in the shed and this is where it’s been mothballed ever since. About 25 years ago, Neil had an in-ground swimming pool installed in the backyard and some landscaping which blocked access to the shed. To get the mothballed XA GT out today, either a crane would be needed to lift it over the house, or a big chainsaw to chop down the trees that have grown across the narrow pathway!

In the mid-1990s when these cars became a bigger target for theft, Neil was advised to remove the ID plate and place it away for safe keeping.

With a little help from my friends…

Dave retired in 2008 and said to Neil, “That car in the garage, you want to get it going?” The boys started doing some research which was around the height of the muscle car boom. “We went to a Shannons classic car auction where we saw a GT-HO Phase Three sell for more than $600,000 and thought what the hell!” exclaims Neil and Dave wide eyed. “We got that thing sitting in the shed doing nothing and it might be worth a few bob,” recalls Neil of how the adventure started. “I had it in mind to put a fox tail on the aerial and drive it with Dave to the pub in Whittlesea where I’m originally from.”

Neil and Dave knew they had something special, but weren’t sure which way to go so they started googling to learn more about XA GT Falcons. This led them online to the ‘Falcon XA GT Discussion Forum’ where they began chatting with other like minded enthusiasts who were stumped about some of the go-fast bits fitted to Mothball. They were soon advised what to look for, and where to look. One person mentioned the car should have a buildsheet which would show how it was built down the production line. Neil and Dave looked high and low, in under the glovebox, under the seats and under the dash to no avail. Then someone on the forum mentioned they’d found their buildsheet under the access grommet of the rear shocker. To their amazement, Neil and Dave found the original production line buildsheet stuffed inside under the shocker grommet! “It had a perforated edge so we knew it wasn’t someone’s lunch wrapper,’ jokes Neil with Dave adding, “It was quite a task getting it out in one piece.” The boys were then hooked on finding out as much as they could about the history of Mothball.

According to Australian Classic Car History Services (www.acchs.com.au) Mothball is the 845th XA GT built of a total of 1,868, and of these, is the only one made with the same build specifications and options. Furthermore, Holmesford GT Zone sold 27 other XA GTs including sedans and hardtops.

Rattling the chains of history

By sheer happenstance, Neil’s son Darren went on a weekend away to the Mount Beauty snowfields in north-east Victoria taking the back roads up there. He pulls up at the one horse – one pub town of Tatong to quench his thirst and recognizes a bloke in the corner as his Dad’s old mate Mick whom he’d purchased Mothball from. They exchange numbers, and Darren says to Mick, “expect a call from Dad to chat about the GT’s history.”

Neil called his old mate Mick as soon as he found out about the chance meeting, and began asking about the engine mods on the GT. To Neil’s surprise, Mick informed him that he wasn’t the first owner of the XA GT and that he had bought it with around 28,000 miles on the clock from a guy named Pat. The only clue given was that Pat lived in the Oakleigh-Moorabbin area of Melbourne. The initials on the black and white personalised number plates were PP-351, and so it was assumed Pat’s last name also began with a ‘P’.

Neil and his mate Dave then went through the phone book calling all the last names beginning with ‘P’ that also began with the initial ‘P’ that lived in that general area, but with no luck. Fired up, Neil then drove to Tatong with a Melbourne street directory in hand to see his old mate Mick, who circled the general area that he thought Pat lived in.

On his return, Neil and Dave then spent a couple of evenings driving through the area knocking on doors at random, again with no luck “We got chased by dogs, and told to p!ss off!” laughs Neil. With that, Neil had it in his head to drive back up to Tatong and drag Mick back to Melbourne to show him which street, and which actual house Pat lived in but after a phone call, Mick remarkably remembered that the first owner worked in a panel shop with his brother in the Prahran area. He even remembered the name of the shop.

Dave called the shop thinking the owners would be long gone but to his surprise the panel shop was still in operation. He enquired if there was a ‘Pat’ there that used to own a GT, and was told that he didn’t work there anymore but that his brother worked as a panel beater in the Bayswater area, some 30kms away in the east.

“We managed to contact his brother, who gave us his last name, ‘Pugliese’ and a contact number,” says Neil and Dave now proud of their achievement. “Pat couldn’t believe we were calling him about the GT and that it was still around, he said he’d try to find some old photos of when it was new for us.” The irony was that Pat lived a half a block away from where the lads gave up their previous door knocking search!

Questioning Pat about the mods, he told the two lads that he’d originally ordered a Phase 4 but was later told they were no longer available and had to settle for a standard XA GT tricked up with some Phase 4 bits. Pat then asked Neil, “I wouldn’t mind seeing the old GT again if that’s okay with you?”

The Reunion

Being reunited with an old car is much like a reunion with an old flame. One gets excited and nervous at the same time, the palms start sweating and the throat gets dry as you’re about to step into view. Now retired, Pat Pugliese, the original owner of this XA GT felt much the same, as he first laid eyes on his long lost beauty, “Oh my God!”, he whispered under his breath as he stares at her covered in dust with flattened tyres. “I’d never have let her get like this,” he says choking back a tear.

It’s been 31 years since he last saw his beloved Red Pepper XA GT and he wishes he’d had the chance to buy her back to save her from this mothballed fate. “I feel sad seeing her like this, I wouldn’t mind having her back so I can care for her like I did,” says Pat.

“They’re not the wheels I had on,” says Pat, to which Neil replies, ‘Yeah, I have the originals up there,” pointing to the rafters. Sitting inside Mothball, Pat raises an eyebrow and says surprisingly, “She still smells like new, she’s in pretty good nick inside.” Neil brings out a few coins dated in the ’70s and early ’80s he found in the backseat and says, “Here mate, these probably belong to you” with a sheepish laugh.

“Gee, I’d like to buy her back, let me know if you ever change your mind.”

The boys all get along great, chatting for hours about the cars history and the plan to resurrect old Mothball from her garage tomb. Coincidentally, the reunion happens on the Bathurst weekend. Goodbyes are one of the hardest things to do, and Pat repeats to Neil, “Gee, I’d like to buy her back, let me know if you ever change your mind.”

Planning MothbalL’s future

With all the pieces of Mothball’s history now in place, the lads, Neil and Dave are ready for the next step of their journey and that is to free Mothball from the decades of slumber covered in dust. The re-commissioning process will be a delicate one in order to ensure that engine components are not damaged in the start up. Brakes and exhausts will need to be replaced, and other consumables checked. “The general plan is to revive Mothball to retain the Survivor status, and keep her well maintained,” say Neil and Dave. For these two life long friends, the adventure has been an enjoyable one so far, and they look forward to the challenge of getting Mothball out of her tomb and onto the road. Survivor Car Australia will bring you the exclusive in documenting the revival of Mothball... so, be sure to stay tuned for Part 2 of this incredible Barn Find story in a future issue.