COMING ATTRACTION Tuff Street HT Kingswood

MY FAVOURITE PHOTO Michael Valeri

Michael Valeri has excelled in bringing high-impact photo’s to reality for years now, and his lightpainted photo of this blown VK Group A SS Commodore is no exception. Made up from no less than 8 seperate images, the result is spectacular! You can see more of his work at www.michaelvaleriphotography.com.au. Why not book your car in for a shoot too!

RAISINGHell

When Peter spotted the Ute, it was relishing at the back on the local wrecking yard and would have probably ended up being crushed. Having been bought up in a family where old Falcon’s were the car of choice, Peter just couldn’t let the old Ute die that way, so a deal was struck with the boys at MJR Auto Wreckers in Albury and the well-used Ute was dragged back to Peter’s place for what was going to be a quick make-over. At that stage, Peter had opened up his own workshop and thought the sixpack, three-on-the-tree manual Ute would be the ideal run around for the business. Those plans were quickly thrown out the window however when Peter’s nasty side decided the Ute needed more cubes, some forced induction and more rubber under the rear to deal with it all. Unbenowns to Peter at the time, but he had just embarked on a massive 6-year build. After spending way too much time in the wrecking yard exposed to all kinds of weather, the body had seen better days. Upon removing the old paint (or what was left of it) the body showed what years of neglect will do to sheet metal. It was repairable, but was going to take some time to have it ready for paint. Lots of hours were spent on every panel removing dents, ripples and rust accumulated over the years. Peter wanted to keep the Falcon’s body lines just as old Henry specified back in 1967, so the only changes made was the removal and smoothing off of the spare wheel compartment, the removal of the badges and mouldings and the squaring up of the rear wheel tubs to accomodate the larger rubber that Peter had planned. Oh, and there’s now a chunk bonnet steel missing for obvious reasons.

Saved from demise in the local junkyard, this XR Falcon Ute was only meant to be a workshop parts getter. Then the little devil on Peter Nusser’s shoulder kept telling him otherwise...

When the time was right and the body was in primer, Peter knew exactly what colour the Ute was going to be. His very first car, an XY Falcon was Ultra White with black trim. In memory of that car, the Ute was to get the same colour combo. With the paint dry and the body fitted up with all of its chrome and jewellery, the once-tired old Falcon was starting to look pristine yet again. For the most part, the interior was still intact when the Ute was dragged away from its resting place. As previously mentioned, the all-black theme was already chosen for the interior space. The repadded XR low back buckets and door trims were covered in vinyl with black carpet added underfoot. The factory steering wheel was tidied up and kept in place for that factory feel.

Its not all stock looking though. The shifter was taken from the column a long time before the trim was attended to, and now see’s gear selections done via a B&M shifter mounted to the tunnel. Also not resembling anything like the factory appointed unit is the dash which now houses a trio of AutoMeter dials with shift light in the facia and several more mounted under the Ultra white colour dash. Sabelt harness belts keep Peter and his passenger securely in place.

Any thoughts of putting a lowly six-pack back into the Falcon are now just distant memories. Peter had ace engine man Ian Read, build him a blown 363ci Windsor small block that makes enough power to turn those bigger tyres into molten rubber with ease. Kicking off with a Dart Block and filling it with a Scat crank and rod combo, Probe pistons and a Camtech cam, Ian peiced together a stout bottom end that lays the foundation for one-tough Windsor. The World Products heads were given the once-over and bolted into place for the Dyers blower manifold to join the party. Its obviously the crowning glory on this tough 363-cuber is the polished Dyers 6/71 supercharger that gets the E85 fuel pumped through it from a pair of 750 double pumper Holley carbs. These three components are the main reason this pumped small block made over 500hp at the sizeable treads. The only downfall (if you can call it that) is that the height at which the engine protrudes through the Falcon’s bonnet limits the amount of street use Peter can get out of the Ute. Some Police just have no sense of humour at all...

Currently a C9 trans with TCI -internals and a 3500rpm converter from the same company, backs the blown Windsor. That could change soon though as Peter is looking into a swap for a twospeed Powerglide trans in the near future. Until that happens though, Peter is confident the Ford trans will handle the power delivery back to the nine-inch diff with ease. The tough rear-end plays host to a Strange centre and 35-spline axles. Teninch wide Weld wheels hang off the diff and match the 3.5-inch versions mounted to the front end. All that power is useless if you can’t pull the old girl up after some spirited driving. To help the Falcon slow to a stop, Peter installed XF Falcon discs and callipers to the XR’s front end and adapted AU Falcon discs on the rear end. Lowered custom springs were added to bring the XR’s nose down to a more suitable height with the rear coming down as well thanks to the Gazzard Bros’ springs which have been moved inwards for tyre clearance. Peter is planning a switch to a four-link set-up in the very near future as well.

The only downfall (if you can call it that) is that the height at which the engine protrudes through the Falcon’s bonnet limits the amount of street use Peter can get out of the Ute.

Peter reckons the six-year build time felt a lot longer than it actually was, but at the end of the day, it was a project that happened when time and funds allowed and now that its completed, Peter plans to enjoy his creation as much as he can. The future includes some car shows and a little drag racing. “I love getting to car shows and the drags with my mates and love cruising the car with my son. He absolutely loves the Ute,” Peter explained. Looks like the next generation of Nusser men have already got the car bug. The Falcon, it would seem, will remain a family heirloom...