1975 Ford XB Falcon John Goss Special coupe Project

While not exclusively devoted to products of the Blue Oval, George does love his XB and XC Ford coupes and has restored three to date, the Goss XB being his second. George's passion for coupes goes back to his youth when, as a 14-year-old, he purchased an XB hardtop for $800. Yep, his first classic Aussie coupe at 14! That first car didn't last long however, as George's parents made him sell it. The seed had been planted, though, and would eventually flower many years later when the usual distractions of study, career, marriage and kids had been attended to.

In 2007, more than twenty years after he purchased that first XB coupe, the self-described workaholic was taking his first real holiday. Not knowing what to do with himself at the resort he was staying at he bought a car mag for the first time in many years and came across a story on a beautifully restored XB Coupe. You can guess what happened next! With his coupe passion reignited, George went searching for a coupe to replace the one he sold all those years ago. After several months of research and searching, he came across an unrestored XB GS coupe for sale in Canberra. George bought the car and treated it to a thorough restoration.

Being meticulous in both the standard of finish he wanted and who he commissioned to take on the job, George's GS was completed to a high standard. It also had a mildly-worked engine for more grunt and a better exhaust note. That same fastidious approach led George to the Goss. While searching online classified listings for period correct parts to finish off the GS (the continual search for better parts is an ongoing theme of his projects), George came across a genuine 1975 XB Falcon 'John Goss Special' for sale as an "unfinished project".

The Goss was a rolling shell and complete, still wearing its original paint and interior, but totally disassembled. More importantly, it was a matching numbers unit, although the engine had seized. The only modifications made were a toploader gearbox conversion and the addition of a three-core radiator. The other good thing was that rust was minimal and it had no evidence of any accident damage. The car also came with its original log books, which revealed it was a 2 owner car sold new by Sinclair Ford in Penrith and had spent almost its entire life in the same area, away from the destructive salt air you find on the coast. George described the Goss XB as the straightest and most rust-free unrestored coupe body he's ever come across, which made the project seem all the more attractive. That, combined with the fact the seller was pretty keen to sell, saw the Goss on a trailer to George's soon after!

Despite having such a good base to start from, George decided to give the Goss a full, bare metal restoration. After the XB GS coupe, the bug had well and truly bitten, so the restoration of the XB Goss was going to be as good, if not better! George also admitted the Goss does have that 'wow factor' that makes it more special, at least to him, than a regular GS or GT Falcon coupe, hence the decision to go 'above and beyond' with the restoration.

Stripping the Emerald Fire and Polar White paint revealed a very straight body with minor rust in the usual areas like the sills and rear wheelarches, plus an old patch panel in the front guards and a few pinholes in the leading edge of the bonnet. George's trusted man for this job was Joe, a Portuguese bloke who had the 'old school' metal working skills, and did all the work in his own shed. Another factor in Joe getting the gig for the metal was the fact that he only does one vehicle at a time, so the work is completed faster than at a large panel works where there are multiple vehicles on the go. Past experience has taught George that the bigger panel shops that do insurance work for their bread and butter have very little time - that is, none! - to work on specialty restoration projects like this.

While Joe worked on the panels, One Stop Motor Trimming in Peakhurst were commissioned to redo the interior. It's here that George's meticulous approach to restoration paid off yet again. His original research on the XB Falcon Goss Specials uncovered a magazine article on one example from the McLeod Ford dealership in the southern Sydney suburb of Rockdale, which was one of John Goss's major sponsors during the early 1970s. The Goss Special in the article had the centres of the white vinyl bucket seats trimmed in patterned green cloth upholstery. Having uncovered only one other example with a similar treatment (in blue), George believes this was exclusive to McLeod Ford, another example of their customised 'Horn Cars' from the early 1970s. George liked the funkier look of the cloth inserts over the standard all-white vinyl interior, so he asked One Stop's Elias to try and match it. Elias did better than that, finding a bolt of fabric that George believes is an exact match to the McLeod Ford original.

Reconditioning the Goss's seized 302 V8 and driveline components was the task of Fairford Spares in Padstow, while all the rechroming and polishing of the stainless trim was done by Alan at All Moulding Repairs. Fortunately, with its painted bumpers, there's not a lot of chrome work on the Goss, so that part of the restoration was done reasonably quickly.

Around eight months after work started in March 2008, the restoration of the XB Goss was finished. Well ... almost. While the car did look good, George wasn't 100 percent happy with the standard of the paint - he is meticulous, remember! Wanting the Goss to be as good as it possibly could be, he made the decision to have it repainted by a paint specialist. This time around, the result met with approval and the Goss Special presented here is as good, if not better, than any other you're likely to find across Australia. The McLeod Ford-style seat inserts and retention of period modifications give it a point of difference, too.

Since completion, George has taken his John Goss Special to Echuca's popular 'Hardtop Anniversary' event in 2009 and 2011, where it's met with praise from Ford Coupe Club members and general punters alike. On his most recent drive down to the Anniversary, he struck a galah, which fractured one of the plastic grille inserts. While this was a bad thing for the galah, it turned out to be a good thing for George, as the replacement grille proved to be better than the original!

While the Goss still gets driven and enjoyed on club social runs and the like (none of George's cars are trailer queens), newer projects, including an XC coupe which recently sold through JUST CARS, and a couple of others in the pipeline, have led George to make the reluctant decision to put his Goss on the market. The asking price is $50,000. Contact George on 0414 349 626 for details.

As mentioned at the top of the article, George isn't exclusively devoted to the Blue Oval. A Torana is in the pipeline for a future project, and is being done as a promise to his 4-year-old son, who has specifically requested a 'yellow car'! Of course, being a coupe fan, the Torana will be a two door. When he gets around to starting on the Torana, George will be reliving a bit of his own youth, as he used to ride around the neighbourhood on his BMX emulating Peter Brock! If it follows the high bar set by his Ford projects, George's first Holden project should be an outstanding restoration!

Thanks to Motor Book World, VIC for assistance with this article.