First published in the February 2026 issue of Street Machine

“To me, my XR8 is more than a car – it’s a dream come true.

“I was aged four when the BA was released, and I said to my parents, ‘When I’m a man, I’ll have a Ford BA ute – a V8!’ Mum replied, ‘When you’re a man, they’ll be a lot cheaper!’ She was right!

“Mine is a factory manual, finished in the bright Citric Acid colour. It fortuitously fell into my possession after I parked next to it at the shops in my other car, an XR6 BA ute (also Citric Acid and manual) with the intention of nothing more than grabbing a photo!

“I soon struck up a chat with the owner, which resulted in a handshake, a trip to the ATM and me having it in the garage five hours later! It was all stock-standard when I took ownership. I gave it a quick freshen-up mechanically, with new suspension all ’round, wheels, tyres, exhaust and a few cosmetic things, and then it was sitting just how I always wanted it.

“Inside, I upgraded to a set of FPV F6 Tornado seats. My first port of call was visiting my pa – the man who taught me to spell F-O-R-D as my first-ever word – to take him for a spin. While it’s quite not as good as his XY or Monaro of yesteryear, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face after a bit of a spirited drive.

“I recently got the engine cover for the Boss 5.4 V8 signed by my childhood hero, Marcos Ambrose, and the engine itself has an exhaust note that just sings, and it eats up the kilometres effortlessly. I love getting out and cruising with the FPV GT Community and Coastal Cruisers car clubs here in Victoria. It puts a smile on my face every time I hop in!”

Want your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build to [email protected].