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Sitting at the servo freezing cold waiting to see what the Mexicans had to offer us, when we hear a rumble and turn around to see this absolutely immaculate XY along with 3 other very tough cars that will be featured very soon… Honestly I don’t want to say this about a Ford, but for want of a better word this 1971 XY GT Replica is freakin gorgeous!
The XY was initially bought as a freshly painted body minus the door jambs and engine bay. Straight away the bay and jambs were given a quick once over and a motor was sourced from ‘a friend of a friend’ that was meant to have 450hp and judging by Pauls laughter it most definitely didn’t come close to that number.
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The new paint and interior wasn’t really planned. Paul was giving it a quick tidy up in readiness for his upcoming wedding when his now wife(Kristal) insisted he get the car resprayed and interior redone! That’s a bit like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!
“So before she could take that back I had it in at Motorstyle Automotive getting the body work prepped for another spray in Raw Orange (with a touch more yellow tint in it)”
…I’ve sheared cam lobes twice and bent the push rods after revving it to 8500rpm…
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Pumping out a tidy 216rwkw, Paul has managed a 12.82 @ 109mph on street radials.
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“The first time I sheared a cam lobe off was because I didn’t bed the cam in properly. Basically I just couldn’t be bothered!!! Took her out for a quick blast around the block and a week later the motor began running like a wolly goat! Took the sump off and found somecam shavings, started pulling everything apart and found a cam with sheared lobes.”
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“I bent a push rod (had stock ones on it, as I was rushing to initally get the car back on the road), as it usually goes, I was at the lights and a little rice burner wanted a run, first gear felt really strong, but when I went to grab 2nd, the shifter wouldn’t budge(yep stupid linkage). While this was happening, I still had my foot buried in the firewall and hit 8500rpm!! Needless to say a set of Chromoly push rods found there way into the motor!”
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What’s Next? “I have been eyeing off a nicely built 393 (600+ rwhp) sitting at Motorstyle Automotive, but i’m not sure whether to put it into the XY or straight into a cortina for a nice drag monster!”.
Paul and Kristal, congrats on such a tidy XY, both Paul and myself are devout holden fans and it was hard to take our eyes off of your ‘FORD’!
Quick Specs
Paul Carayannis TZENU
1971 XY GT Replica
Colour : Raw Orange with a yellow tint
Occupation : Accountant
Age : 25
ENGINE
Make : 351 Cleveland
Carbie : Barry Grant 750
Heads : Weiand Xcellerator Manifold
Ignition : Zenith Electronic
Exhaust : 2 1/4″ twin exhaust with Pacemakers
Cooling : Alloy radiator + engine fan
Power : 216 rwkw
Performance : 12.82 @ 109mph
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox : C10 stage II shift kit
Converter : TCE 3300 Stally
Diff : 9″ 4.11 LSD
SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Springs : 2 1/2″ lowered king springs
Shocks : Koni Adjustables
Brakes : GT disks and calipers all round
INTERIOR
Seats : Retrimmed based on original GT seats
Instruments : GT dash
RUBBER & RIMS
Tyres : Rear - 255/60/15 Front - 205/60/15
Wheels : Convo Pros
THANKS
My wife Kristal first and foremost, George & Michael Motorstyle Automotive, Mira Finish (paint & Panel), D & J motor trimmers, ICE ignitions.
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