On this episode of Grassroots Garage we have part 2 of our special series with Paul; aka; "The Dentist" and his one-of-one Phase four GTHO Falcon.
We were overwhelmed by the response to part one of this series. We hope this will become an ongoing conversation about the history of this amazing car. A lot of great comments came in, showing just how loved the Phase Four is. There were a lot of comments ranging from the car should be driven more, to the car shouldn’t even be towed uncovered … so we’re sure you’re all happy to know that the phase four is home safe, dry
This vehicle has been resprayed twice and undergone some extensive restoration work, so one road trip isn’t the worst thing given it does get street driven and has done laps of eastern creek.
On this episode we hear some history of the car and Paul tells us how he came to own it, including phone call to Ford, confirming it's authenticity... then the Ford representative enquiring as to the location of the car, insinuation that if Paul wasn't quick, Ford Australia might be keen to beat him to the purchase.
As we go we would love to address any new information that comes to light. We're calling this a one-of-one car, as many commented Ford Australia did produce three racecars that they called Phase four examples, but as we understand it, Paul's is the only vehicle to go down the production line and get the GTHO compliance plate as a road car.
The three racecars were tagged GT. They were then turned into GTHOs in the Ford Special Vehicles (FSV) workshop known as “Lot 6”.
So; why did ford send Paul's GTHO down the assembly line? To answer that we have to take you back to the golden age of motorsport.... and one word... homologation. Back in the good old days, to race a car at Bathurst, the manufacturers had to produce at least 200 road going examples. That meant punters like us had a chance to own the same cars they raced at Bathurst. If you want to fix motorsport, bring back homologation, and carburettors, and grid girls in rollerskates….
One special Saturday, Ford Australia sent Paul's GTHO Phase 4 down the production line as part of a Time & motion study; in preparation for the next one hundred and ninety something to go down the line. This Time & Motions study was separate to the three racecars being assembled here.
How many cars went down the assembly line on that Saturday? Where are they now? Sorry no answers to these questions… yet.
The dream is that we find more people with first hand knowledge, and as it comes up, we’ll share it with you.
Ford Australia had likely ordered the parts to produce the GTHO’s, most of these parts were used on the RPO83 cars. (We think)
The most pressing question we'll be hovering over the comments section for an answer to is exactly how this one-off vehicle ended up at Jack Brabham ford and subsequently sold to John Hemphill. Given Jack Brabham's standing in the motorsport community and close relationship with Ford's leadership it's fair to assume he had the required pull to land this car, or was it slightly more cloak and dagger than that? Was this car essentially snuck out and handed over to Jack Brabham Ford? Again, this will be an ongoing conversation so we'd love to hear from people with a deeper understanding of exactly what happened.
For now, please enjoy Paul giving us a deep dive into his history with the car. If you enjoy this episode please leave a comment so Paul invites us back for Part 3!
We hope you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment so Paul invites us back for Part 3!