As the story usually goes, Lee bought his now mint XB Coupe as a $500 stocker about 5 years ago. It was almost driveable when it was first purchased, a quick run down to PBR for a master cylinder kit and an hour or so spent out the front of old mates house getting the brakes working and she was ready for the drive home. Two years later Lee’s XB emerged from the shed better than when it first rolled out of the factory.
A toploader helps get the tyres moving, SAAS seats and steering wheel help create a nice comfy driving experience. The centre console has been taken from a BA falcon, Lee reckons that it is pretty much a straight swap, not a bad add on. As with most older cars there was no centre console or the ESSENTIAL drink holders in the XB previously!
All panel work was done in Lee’s shed. The Coupe was originally a burnt orange and Lee didn’t like it so painted it matt black in an attempt to get a bit of the mad max appeal going. However the matt black colour always looked dirty no matter how much you cleaned it and the local Constabulary seemed to be attracted to the colour and pulled Lee over far too frequently for his liking so the matt black had to go. The current colour is BA Blood Orange (perhaps the paint maker had a bit too much curry the night before naming this paint…) and looks absolutely mint on the old XB.
…heading back from a cruise night…drove past the lolly pop bloke, I heard a loud thud..
“About 2 years ago, I was heading back from a cruise night and the road was blocked off to a single lane for road works. We all rolled through at about 10k’s an hour, I was the last to go through and as drove past the lollypop bloke, I heard a loud thud. Pulled up and saw that he had whacked my car with his stop/slow sign. The bloke pretty much told me stiff s%^t and after making reports to the police and council I ended up giving up and just got it fixed for myself”.
Motivated by a 351 stroked to a 357, the cleveland is pumping out a stout 260rwkw (~350 odd bhp) in its current form.
“When I first got it back on the road in 2007, I drove it upto the Hardtop Anniversary Nats and ended up taking home Best Modified and Custom Coupe. I was pretty happy with it because I was up against 40grand paint jobs and mine was build in the back shed.”
What’s Next? “I’ve got new 4.56 diff gears lined up and hope to hit Calder for a mid to low 12 when it opens up again”.
Quick Specs
Lee Jarvis
1975 XB Coupe GS
Colour : BA Blood Orange
ENGINE
Make : 351 stroked to 357
Carby : 750 Holley
Heads : Port & Polished Ford Motorsport
Ignition : Bosch, CRANE LX-92
Exhaust : Twin 2.5″ with 2 mufflers
Pistons : Keith Black Hypers
Comp : 10.5 to 1
Cooling : Aussie Desert 4 core radiator & AU thermos
Power : 260rwkw
Performance : Not run the quarter yet
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox : 4spd Toploader
Clutch : Single plate clutch
Diff : 9″ spool, 3.7 gears
SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Shocks & Springs : lowered 2″ all round
Brakes : standard
INTERIOR
Seats : SAAS
Instruments : Autometer and Stock
Dash : Recovered in black velour
Console : AU console
RUBBER & RIMS
Tyres : 15*6″ up front and 15*10″ on the rear
Wheels : Weld Prostars
AWARDS
Best custom and modified coupe at the 30th year hardtop Nationals, Performance Ford Mag May 2008.
THANKS
Chris for spraying Justin, Burger