Working on cars can give us a much-needed respite from the rigours of modern life. Heading to the shed to jump on the spanners is a great way to decompress and recharge, and putting some hard work and creativity into a passion project seems to make the rest of the world melt away for a few hours.

First published in the March 2026 issue of Street Machine

Joe Gauci works as a plumber in Melbourne, but when he is off the clock, he likes to change the pace by spending plenty of quality time in the shed. “Spending” is probably the wrong word, though – it’s more of an investment in his own wellbeing, and it’s delivered the pristine XW Fairmont GS you see before you.

“Working on the car gives me real peace,” Joe says. “It lets me switch off from the nine-to-five grind, clear my head, and just breathe. It’s my escape, and a big part of keeping my mental health in check.”

The XW wasn’t Joe’s first automotive love. That honour goes to an original XT GT he owned but had to sell to pay the bills back in 2002. It certainly stung at the time, and in the ensuing years, Joe’s yearning for another classic V8 Falcon grew until it could no longer be ignored.

Missing the noise, the grunt and feeling of driving a classic with a bent-eight under the bonnet, Joe purchased this XW from a gentleman in Coldstream, Victoria, whose daughter allegedly used it to go to church on Sundays. At the time it was sporting a 378ci stroker backed by a Top Loader, which makes us wonder if “church” in fact meant “Calder Park”!

But Joe’s honeymoon period with his new acquisition lasted about three weeks, which is when the clutch blew up. As often happens, one fix turned into another, which turned into another, and before long, Joe was well on the road to putting his own touches on the car and turning it into something he could really be proud of. The end result presents as the kind of thing that might have rolled out of Ford’s Lot 6 Skunkworks back in the day if the Blue Oval had got into drag racing in Australia as much as it did in the US.

Under the bonnet – thanks to the addition of a reverse-cowl scoop – is a ProCharged 434ci Clevor combo prepared by Vince Raschilla at Super Street Automotive. The Windsor-based block is teamed with CHI 225cc heads and a matching manifold, force-fed 10 pounds of boost by the ProCharger wind pump.

Packaging was tight, especially around the intercooler, which has been slotted between the grille and the radiator. Getting the combo to fit within the Fairmont’s engine bay required plenty of trial and error, but Joe was set on keeping everything as close to factory as he could. When finished and on the hub dyno for an initial tune, the centrifugally blown Clevor reeled off an impressive 1040hp.

Bodywork and paint were ably handled by Rob Dekert at Unique Body Smash Repairs, who fettled the panels back to their factory best, seamlessly integrated the aforementioned bonnet scoop, and finished things off with black GS stripes. Unbelievably, the vinyl roof is still the original item fitted from the factory, a testament to the condition and low kays on the car when Joe first bought it.

The interior has been retrimmed in the factory Dove Grey by the late Peter Blanos, and features GS touches to really sell the look of a factory-bred quarter-mile monster. The only nod to the X-dub’s on-track potential is the Racepak IQ3 display and Aeroflow shifter, which keeps the transbraked Turbo 400 – built by Ray Caruana of CE Performance Transmissions – in line.

The build and upkeep of the car was guided by Joe’s brother and fellow drag racing enthusiast Simon Gauci and mate Sam Fichera, who together make up JATS Automotive. The pair contributed their skills, expertise and countless hours to ensuring everything came together perfectly, with the ultimate deadline of getting the XW ready in time for Joe’s eldest daughter’s wedding. Getting daughters to the church seems to be a habit this car finds difficult to break!

A few little jobs turned quickly into a mad dash against the clock, but the team’s determination got everything over the line. Seeing his daughter hop aboard the now-gleaming Fairmont on the big day and the guests’ jaws drop when they saw (and heard!) it arrive for the ceremony ranks as one of Joe’s proudest moments.

The finished combo hasn’t seen the strip as yet, but in its original guise, Joe’s best time was 10.79@125mph, so it’s fair to say he won’t be afraid to give it some welly when the time comes. And thanks to Simon’s expertise, it’ll be more than up for any punishment the pair can throw at it, and a significant improvement in ET is on the cards.

Joe loves how much his enjoyment of the car makes his family smile, too. His wife and girls are as proud as he is of the work he has put into the XW, and he sees the car as a banner example of what can be achieved by sticking to something with real passion and patience.

Joe’s advice to us all is to find something you love and give it everything you’ve got. If it keeps your mind clear and your heart steady, it’s worth every minute.

Speaking of, next on Joe’s to-do list is an XR ute he’s looking to get back on the street, and after that, there might just be another XT GT in his sights.

We can’t help but admire that kind of ‘work hard, play hard’ philosophy!

JOE GAUCI
FORD XW FAIRMONT GS

THANKS
My family and friends for their encouragement, patience and belief that kept me going through every late night and weekend; Simon Gauci & Sam Fichera at JATS Automotive; Vince Raschilla at Super Street Automotive; Ray Caruana at CE Performance Transmissions; Rob Dekert at Unique Body Smash Repairs.