Celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2026, the All Ford Day in Geelong, Victoria – the birthplace of Ford Australia – featured trade stands, vehicles and merchandise from Ford Australia, with more food truck options and new family attractions added this year.
The cars are the stars of the All Ford Day, though, and this year saw a diverse display of new, old, big and small Fords, as well cars from Lincoln and Mercury. Aussie Fords remain a fan favourite, with the XB Falcon GT featured judged as one of the best on the day.
Arguably one of the best-looking Fords of all time, the XB series Falcon launched in October, 1973 and would still be in production more than two years later when the two millionth Australian-made Ford rolled off the line at Broadmeadows. Based heavily on the preceding XA Falcon, the XB added new front-end styling and new taillights, but the sheetmetal in between and most of the underpinnings were unchanged.
Those styling changes introduced with the XB looked best on the GT sedan and hardtop, adding contrasting paint to the bonnet, tail light panel and sills, as well as driving lights and sports wheels. Under the bonnet, the XB Falcon GT came with a 351 Cleveland V8 as standard, matched to either a four-speed manual or three-speed automatic. Four-wheel disc brakes were also standard; a first for the Falcon GT.
Bold ‘GT 351’ identifying decals were added to the front guards, with additional GT callouts on the grille and tail light panel. Lairy colour options for the period included Tropicana Green, Banana Blush, Tango and Walnut Glow. The GT featured here is finished in Mulberry, with Silver accents and a black vinyl-and-cloth interior, although white was a popular interior choice when these cars were new.
Looking as factory inside as it did outside, this GT sedan included the correct steering wheel and additional instrumentation, along with power windows, which were a factory option when new.
A striking example of an Aussie classic, this XB GT sedan won trophies for ‘Best Performance Ford’ and ‘Best Classic Falcon GT’ on the day.
For JUST CARS’ report from the 2026 All Ford Day, click HERE.
