UPDATE: Seven News reports that the Don Perri GTHO sold after the auction for $400,000 and is set to undergo a $200,000 resto.
Last week, the wild XY GTHO Phase III Falcon was passed in at just over $350,000 at a GraysOnline auction. The XY was offered without a driveline, but vintage images of the car show it had all the hallmarks of a high-end street machine of the 70s and 80s – mechanical injection, lakes pipes, and flared guards over massive rubber.
The fact that it was a genuine GTHO wasn’t a cause for horrified pearl-clutching like it is today. Early editions of Street Machine featured more than a few genuine GTHOs, Bathurst Monaros, R/T Chargers, and XU-1, L34 and A9X Toranas that were all highly modified.
And while this particular HO has seen better days, it is a genuine one-owner car and an amazing time capsule.
The XY was bought new by the late Don Perri, who turned it into a fearsome street car on the Werribee scene in the late 70s and early 80s. Powered by a fuel-injected Cleveland and running through a manual gearbox, the car was apparently good for 13s on the quarter – not bad for the time.
The car was also fitted with a 429 big-block at some stage in its life, but apparently never saw action in this guise.
Word is that the Phase III is now headed for a full resto at one of Australia’s most prestigious shops.
A 1969 Boss 429 Mustang that was part of the same estate was sold for $222.5K, plus buyer’s premium. Again, the driveline was out of the car, but the sale did include the rare and highly-desirable Boss 429 donk.
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