First published in the September 2009 issue of Street Machine
The first thing you notice is that outrageous scoop. You know there’s got to be something good underneath. Lift the bonnet on Ronnie Smith’s XD and the custom double-plenum intake hits you like a double-barrel shotgun.
This XD isn’t Ronnie’s first; he built the car after the previous one was claimed by the red menace.
“When I got the new car, I had it painted and transferred everything over,” he says.

The new car was a one-owner machine with nothing worse than shopping trolley dents. He snapped it up five years ago and shipped it straight to Rob Wilson at Wilson’s Paint & Panel in Brisbane.
“It was pretty clean so I just got Rob to throw a bit of white paint over it. My first XD was white and I wanted to keep it all the same. White cars have nice clean lines and I like the shape of the XDs.”
The engine bay copped the Wilson treatment too. Later Falcon engine bays usually look like they’ve been blasted with a machine gun but Rob filled all the holes and smoothed it out.
Inside, Ronnie kept things stock-looking except for the usual additions — an Auto Meter tacho, aftermarket billet wheel and a TCI shifter.
He had it reupholstered in grey velour to fix up a bit of wear and tear in the seats, and had KV from KV’s Resto & Race Fabrication weld up an unobtrusive mild steel half ’cage.

The driveline was simple: just pluck the 460, C6 and 31-spline nine-inch combo from the old car.
“They’re easy. You can buy the aftermarket engine mounts and they’ve got the same amount of room as a Cleveland. I went big-block for the power.”
Ronnie hasn’t had much luck with high power Clevos. “Big-blocks are easier. When you make a bit of horsepower with a Cleveland, it starts haemorrhaging. This is cheap horsepower.”
As a mild combo with a 1050 Dominator, the XD was quick and reliable: “I ran it naturally aspirated. The best time was an 11.08@121mph, pipes up, in street trim and on pump fuel.”
But you know what it’s like when the ideas start flying: “A good mate of mine, Paul from PST, was fitting superchargers to late-model Falcons and he said: ‘Why don’t we put one on yours?’”

Fitting a centrifugal blower allowed them to keep the compression relatively high. KV made a blower mount and custom plenum attached to the lower section of a Weiand tunnel ram. Twin SZR 80mm throttlebodies control the airflow from a Vortech YSi supercharger. Eight 69lb Bosch injectors are cycled by the Microtech LT10S ECU, with MSD ignition supplying the spark. It’s a solid set-up that’s already starting to deliver the ponies — try 540 of them.
“Yeah, that’s at the wheels, with no intercooler and on pump fuel,” Ronnie says proudly. “Now I’ve put a ’cooler on it. I’ve got it behind the grille because I didn’t want it to look like a Skyline.”
Those numbers were at around 12psi of boost; with the 120mm-thick ’cooler and stainless pipe-work, the boys are getting set to hit the dyno again.
“We’re going to run it on VP109,” he says, “to try and put about 20lb of boost in it. I’m trying to get the car ready to race at Mackay. KV’s been organising this Mackay Pro Street do.”

But Ronnie’s not looking for astronomical figures: “I’m hoping to run 10.50s,” he says. That seems almost too easy but he adds: “Why push something when you’re happy? If it does 10.50 I’ll be happy. If you push it and push it, things start breaking. But if it goes 10.30, I’ll be ecstatic.
“I’ve watched mates push and push and they’ve gone from having street cars to drag cars.”
Ronnie’s already had a breakage; the C6 gave up the ghost while testing the non-intercooled combo. The trans lunched itself halfway down the track but the XD still coasted across the line in 11.4@112mph. Since then they’ve replaced the ’box.
“We went for a C4 because they’re light and strong. Transbrake, full manual reverse-pattern — it’s all new. I only got it going a week before the photos.”
With the car back together, there are no plans for other major mods — he’s happy the way it is.

Before it hits the track again, it’s got some cruising duties to fulfil. His partner Michelle and three-year-old daughter Ashlee, not to mention working as a long-haul truckie, don’t leave Ronnie much free time but he’s learned he can combine family and cars.
“I took Ashlee out in it the other week,” Ronnie says. “She likes the noise.”
With a Gilmer drive and twin 3.5in system sporting Gonzo mufflers, this isn’t a car to sneak around in.
Ronnie laughs: “The neighbours love it!”
RONNIE SMITH
1979 XD FALCON
Colour: | White |
GRUNT | |
Engine: | Ford 460 |
Intake: | Weiand tunnel-ram, custom plenum |
Throttlebodies: | SZR 80mm x2 |
Injectors: | 69lb/hr x8 |
Blower: | Vortech V7 YSi |
Heads: | DOVE 460 |
Pistons: | SRP forged, 10.5:1 comp |
Crank: | 460 |
Rods: | H-beam |
Cam: | Crane solid |
ECU: | Microtech LT10S |
Fuel system: | BG280, Aeromotive A1000, Aeromotive reg |
Ignition: | MSD 6AL, MSD Blaster coil, MSD RPM module |
Exhaust: | Pacemaker headers, Gonzo mufflers, twin 3.5in system |
Power: | 540rwhp |
SHIFT | |
Transmission: | C4, reverse-pattern full manual, transbrake |
Bellhousing: | SFI-approved |
Converter: | 4000rpm |
Diff: | Nine-inch, 3.9 gears, LSD, 31-spline axles |
BENEATH | |
Brakes: | Stock discs (f&r) |
Springs: | Stock (f), reset (r) |
Shocks: | 90/10 (f), 50/50 (r) |
INTERIOR | |
Wheel: | Full-wrap billet |
Seats: | Stock with grey velour (f&r) |
Rollcage: | Mild steel half ’cage |
Gauges: | Auto Meter tacho, boost, trans |
Stereo: | Stock |
Shifter: | TCI Outlaw |
ROLLING | |
Rims: | Weld Superlites, 15×3.5 (f), 15×8 (r) |
Rubber: | Nankang, 165/15 (f), 275/60 (r) |
THANKS
Paul Merry, Tom, Magoo & Steve at PST Automotive; KV, KV’s Resto & Race Fabrication; the boys at Diggers Electrical; my brother at Paul Smith Radiator Works; Rob & the boys at Wilson Paint & Panel; my dad for all his help; my partner Michelle and daughter Ashlee.
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