XB Falcon 500 GS Hardtop Resto

[XBGS500]

Hi All,
Well this has been a (very) long time in the making. My XB that I bought as a 2nd year apprentice mechanic, drove as a daily driver for 2 years and then put in dry storage for the last 15 years has finally made it's way back into my garage and it's now time to embark on a restoration to get it back on the road.
image.jpg
For those that are interested I got a little excited a week ago and contacted Ford to find out about the car:
SIDO 359983
Model Code 18313 - Falcon 500 2 door hardtop
Engine Code Y - 302 CID V8 2V
Transmission Code B - Auto Cruisomatic T-bar floor
Paint H - Tropic Gold
Trim B2 - Black cloth trim
Options 03 - Seat belts, mandatory
06 - Power steering
16 - Black vinyl roof
32 - Sports console
39 - Carpets
48 - Rallye Pack
56 - Driving lights
71 - 11 Transistor pb radio
Date of Manufacture April 1975
Selling Dealer: Cooper Ford

I started collecting parts for this thing back in the late 90's early 00's and managed to hang on to it all that time including during a 12 month stint overseas where it and all the parts almost went to the tip.

Work is pretty full on these days and severely limits my time to work on the car, so I have pretty much all but decided to outsource the body and paint. However reading through a few project threads off and on here for a while and seeing many people having dramas and spending vast amounts of money only to have to get it redone, doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence.

If any of you who have been down the panel and paint road are able to give me some advice on a good panel beater / painter and any pitfalls in getting this type of work done I would greatly appreciate it. Im in Melbourne but will trailer the car anywhere to get it done right.

I'll post some more pics of it shortly.
Cheers,
Mark
P.s how do I resize images?

[gcg2503]

Welcome to AFF

I am using Preston Panels this time around for my other coupe

Their work speaks for itself

https://www.facebook.com/PrestonPanels

Cheers

George

[JG33RD]

Great to see you hung on to it for so long, you won't regret it! Looking forward to seeing your car restored.

[Claytopia]

I was once told "If you have a budget, double it. If you have a time frame, triple it" But at the end of the day, Don't compromise on what you want and you will be happy.

[tony302coupe]

Good to see you have dragged the old girl out of storage and making a start.
An old Frankston car, check the boot for guns & drugs!!
Good luck with the build and post more pics.
Cheers
Tony

[SKI]

Best of luck with your resto. I bought a John Goss XB from Clancy Motors Bathurst brand new. The one that got away!

[XBGS500]

Thanks George, I'll chat to them next week now that the gt nationals are done.
Sorry Tony those Frankston spec dealer options were unsurprisingly missing when I got it.
Not much has happened this weekend as I was busy over the Easter period, but I unpacked all the collection of bits and cleaned up the shed, needs another day or 2 to finish it off next weekend as I've got a few local panel beaters kind enough to come over the week after next to give a rough estimate on the body and paint.

Here's a couple of pics:

Shed half cleaned up
What I already knew. Oh dear...
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Probably gonna need this to fix that poor 70's style repair...
[IMG][/IMG]
Back in the day I thought these were all the rage in a hardtop, but now I am going to go with the original trim
[IMG][/IMG]
These are now for sale if anyone wants them including the passengers seat. Also got the drivers seat and console that's in need of a retrim as they r in average nick.


Forgot I had these...
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NOS units oh yeah 👍
And all the stainless trim was all there still 😎.
Post more when I come back from my Brisbane hop next week.
Cheers,
Mark

[anto]

wow those NOS scoops would be worth a fortune..nice

[galaxy xr8]

Nice collection there and coupe, welcome aboard, it’s a good starting point that you have a complete car to begin with.

[gcg2503]

Complete Landau rear interior would pull around $600-$1000 when resold.

Will cover the cost of sourcing correct rear seats at least.

[XBGS500]

Thanks George, I haven't got much of an idea of what these bits are worth now. They used to be worth nothing, then it went crazy and everything coupe or Landau related was worth a fortune, now it's settled back down a little.

Oh I forgot to ask, what coupe have you got now George? I read your build thread on your Landau and it looks awesome.

Luckily I kept the original front and rear black cloth seats although they do need a retrim as they have a few rips.

Cheers
Mark.

[gcg2503]

Still have the Landau Mark.

My XA GT coupe is going in to Preston Panels within next month or so.