It’s easy in this ultra-high-tech age of car modification to get lost in a world of four-figure grunt, single-digit timeslips and billet everything. Bruce Stephens wasn’t interested in any of that malarkey when creating his dream classic Falcon cruiser. He simply took an XT ute shell, pilfered a 5.0-litre Coyote from a Mustang and enlisted Robi Fekete of Fekete Fabrications in Central Victoria to put the two together.

First published in the July 2025 issue of Street Machine

“I inherited a different XT ute shell, but it was pretty rusty, so I then got word of a rust-free shell locally, which I didn’t really believe,” Bruce says. “But we went and checked it out, and it was solid, so I took that to Robi and the build started from there.”

Robi Fekete was a wise choice on Bruce’s part; not only does he go above and beyond to build cars to an unbelievably high standard, but he does so while ticking every box necessary to make them 100 per cent legal and engineered in the state of Victoria.

Robi saw the ute project as something to really get his teeth into. “Because this build started a while ago with us, it was the first Falcon we’d done a tower delete to, and it was also a slightly different challenge, being a unibody,” he says. “At the time, we’d really only done body-on-chassis cars, so the torsional testing and considerations you have to do for engineering are different. Luckily, the ute still passed all those tests with flying colours.”

Engineering a vehicle is always tedious and time-consuming, even for those as well-versed in the process as Robi. Keeping your engineer in the loop from the get-go is the path of least resistance. “It’s one of the less involved builds we’ve done in terms of fabrication, so you just make sure you know the rules, consult with the engineer over each modification, undertake the paperwork process, and it’s fairly straightforward,” says Robi. “For me, it’s as much about the challenge of making the car compliant with the rules as it is giving the customer a road-legal product they can use worry-free.”

At the beginning of the build, Bruce was toying with the idea of putting a Dart small-block in the ute, but then the Coyote offered itself up. “Someone had a spare one they were going to use for a speedway build, but it wouldn’t work,” he says. “Unfortunately, years later, when Robi put oil in it for the first time, it leaked out of the side of the motor – it was coming out as fast as it went in!” As luck would have it, Robi had a spare, complete Coyote engine sitting around that he could swap in straight away.

The 5.0L mill that’s now in the XT is unmodified, running a Mustang ECU on a standard tune, which suits Bruce just fine. “Look, I can barely get the power down as it is, and owning an FG-X XR8 Sprint with a supercharged version of that motor, I didn’t see the need to go crazy with this one,” he says.

Behind the ’Yote is a five-speed Tremec T5 manual cog-swapper that Bruce found on Facebook Marketplace; it was apparently new old stock from Ford for early BA XR8s. “Both my FG-X and FG XR8 ute are automatic, so I thought it’d be nice to have something manual for a bit of difference; I don’t need to use it every day,” he says. Rounding out the driveline is a nine-inch rear end using reset leaf springs and a 3.7:1 gear ratio.

The XT’s front end is where Robi’s ingenuity really shines. Those in the know about this era of Falcon will already note that the original shock towers you’d normally find in the engine bay have long left the chat. “Deleting those towers was really the only way you could fit the engine with the headers, which is what they were doing in America at the time to equivalent Galaxies and Mustangs,” says Robi. “The metal covering the tower delete patches are actually removable, which was as much to help me build the headers as it is for future serviceability.

“This car also pioneered our DIY IFS kits that we’d go on to sell,” Robi continues. “This one does differ slightly, being a rear-mounted BA Falcon rack to suit the front sump this engine has; normally we do a front rack with a rear sump.”

Earlier this year, Bruce finally got the green light to stick some plates on the XT and get some miles under its belt, cruising it around his home base of Bendigo. For him, the 18-odd months the ute spent at Fekete Fabrications and the seven-year build in totality has been worth the wait. “It’s so good to drive – it’s so different and nice compared to what I remember Falcons of this era driving like when I had them as a younger lad, so I can’t thank Robi enough,” he enthuses. “And don’t you worry, she has plenty of poke!”

BRUCE STEPHENS
1968 FORD XT FALCON UTE

THANKS
Jason at Carr’s Auto Electrical; Central Accident Repairs; Bendigo Specialist Brake & Clutch; A&H
Trim Bendigo; Fekete Fabrications; Pedders Suspension Bendigo; Stamps Hot Rod Seatbelts;
Morrison’s CV & Driveline.