Past Winner Spotlight: Gary Ormesher’s 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT Tribute
Gary Ormesher from Queensland has his hands on a truly remarkable piece of Aussie muscle, a 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT Tribute, valued at $135,000. Finished in the iconic Vermillion Fire, this XY tribute combines old-school toughness with modern reliability and performance.
Under the bonnet is a 351 Cleveland block, prepped and machined by Flowcraft to perfection. It’s a virgin bore block that’s been grout filled to the Welsh plugs, with oil pressure and return modifications to keep it alive under load.
The rotating assembly is built to take a beating, with an Eagle steel crank, 408 stroke, ARP main stud bolts, Eagle H beam rods with ARP bolts, and Arias forged pistons with coated skirts by Race Coatings. It runs at 11.5:1 compression.
Breathing duties are handled by 4V closed chamber cast iron heads that have been tongued and CNC ported by Flowcraft. Topped with ARP head studs, dual valve springs, Crane roller rockers, stud girdles, and a custom grind Flowcraft solid roller camshaft, this setup screams performance.
The valve train is held together with Crane tie bar lifters, a Roll Master double row timing chain, a modified STD oil pump with a custom pickup, and an ASR sump to keep the lifeblood of the engine flowing.
Fuel delivery comes via a TFC match ported manifold with ARP bolts, a Quick Fuel 950 double pumper carb calibrated by James at MCE, an Aeromotive fuel pump, and a Speed Flow filter.
The engine was fully washed, prepped, assembled, dynoed and tuned by MCE, with MSD ignition providing the spark.
Backing it up is a tough as nails 3-speed C10 transmission built by Trev at Transco and rated to 800 horsepower. It’s fitted with a hardened input shaft, billet servos, stage 2 valve body, internals to handle the grunt, and a 9 1/2 inch 5200rpm TCE converter, all controlled via a TCI shifter.
Putting the power to the ground is a 9 inch diff with 4.3 gears, a full spool, and billet 31 spline axles – bulletproof and ready to handle anything thrown at it.
The suspension has been dialled in for maximum traction and control, with V8 lowered springs and Calvert 90/10 shocks up front, and reset factory leafs with 2 inch lowering blocks out back, complemented by Calvert Caltracs and Calvert 9-way adjustable shocks.
Rolling stock is all about performance, with Mickey Thompson tyres on 17×4.5 Weld Alumastar fronts, and 255/60 Hero rears wrapped around 15×8 Weld RTs with weld single beadlocks.
This XY GT Tribute is the perfect blend of classic style and modern performance, ready to cruise the streets or tear up the strip.
Congratulations to Gary Ormesher, our past winner who’s now at the wheel of this beastly slice of Aussie history!
