{"id":184554,"date":"2024-03-25T09:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-24T22:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/?p=184554"},"modified":"2024-03-25T12:07:35","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T01:07:35","slug":"bryce-mccabe-ford-xr-falcon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/features\/bryce-mccabe-ford-xr-falcon","title":{"rendered":"Bryce McCabe’s tunnel-rammed XR Falcon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Languishing in a shed for 20 years had done this XR Falcon no favours, but its young custodian Bryce McCabe was more than up to the task of giving it a second life. It just took him five years and a ridiculous amount of hard yakka to get it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First published in the February 2024 issue of<\/em> Street Machine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You see, Bryce has been a Ford fan since birth, and he\u2019d always wanted an XR. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked Falcons with circular tail-lights, and that, combined with the overall styling of the car, is what drew me to them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at age 16 and just grasping a set of L-plates, those ambitions were too grandiose for his budget, so he switched his focus to another classic, an early Corolla! With a spray painting apprenticeship underway, Bryce launched into working on the Toyota in his spare time. It was his baptism into custom car work, and turning a profit on it would be a financial stepping stone towards his XR goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bryce wanted that original look for his XR; hence the sun visor. \u201cIt\u2019s probably one of my favourite things on the car,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone comments on it. Not many people have a tough-looking car with a sun visor\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But getting the funds was merely the first hurdle he had to overcome. Next was the task of finding a decent XR Falcon. Six potential candidates were rejected, and the hunt had been going on for a year before a promising blip appeared on the radar. It was a 1967 model in Victoria that had been parked in a shed 20 years earlier and hadn\u2019t moved since. The owner had seen Bryce\u2019s pleas on Facebook and said something along the lines of, \u201cYou\u2019re a keen young fella and I want to see you do something with it. It\u2019s 100 per cent original, and if you want it, I\u2019ll sell it to you; otherwise it\u2019s not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in NSW and with no way of viewing the car, Bryce relied on conversations with the owner and a promise of some photos. The owner took three months to organise the pictures because the car was tucked away in a shed three hours from his house. \u201cI was sitting in a bit of distress thinking, \u2018Is he going to sell it to me or not?\u2019\u201d Bryce recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a young fella, Bryce loved making up number plates. FRYNIT was his favourite, and when it was time to register the car, his dad already had them on hold for him<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, about 60 photos came through. Bryce studied the images and liked what he saw. \u201cIt was a clean base, didn\u2019t have rust hanging out of it, and it was all there complete,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve changed most of the stuff anyway, but it\u2019s better to start with a clean car. I just bit the bullet and bought it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tow truck promptly delivered his new prize and Bryce rolled it into the garage, where he planned to buff the paint, freshen up the engine and enjoy a tough, original cruiser. But when the paint responded brilliantly to a bit of attention, his eyeballs widened and the plans expanded. \u201cThen I decided to mini-tub it, so I chopped all the rear end out of it, put the wheels under it, made it look good and it kind of snowballed from there,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bryce did all the custom fabrication for the rear end himself before booking the car in for some treatment at Xtreme Fabworx. There, the team beefed up the rear with a McDonald Brothers four-link, Strange coil-overs and a custom sheet-metal nine-inch with 3.89 gears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that point, Bryce decided to crank the dial to 11 and go full rebuild. A mobile sandblasting company was called in, and the shell was stripped naked before Bryce tackled some rust and welded in some new panels. \u201cI\u2019d already gone so far, so I decided on new door skins, lower quarters, guards and bonnet,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next, he welded in a flat firewall, smoothed out the engine bay and primed the shell. The panels were all gapped before progress momentarily ground to a halt while Bryce plugged the bank account to prevent it from bleeding dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the time it was stripped, I thought, \u2018I\u2019m not going to put the car together and then pull it apart later to put a rollcage in,\u2019\u201d Bryce recalls. \u201cSo it sat in the shed for a couple more months while I saved the money for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ENGINE BAY: The new Clevo donk, built by George at Wild Automotive, turned out better than expected, with a healthy 675hp at the fly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next stop for the XR was Wicked Industries, where a chrome-moly rollcage was smartly tucked away behind the dash and through into the boot. Then it was off to Wollondilly Smash, where Bryce was serving his apprenticeship. The car was rolled into a spray booth and he coated the shell in custom Platinum Blue. It\u2019s the same colour as his dad\u2019s XR, which Bryce says he was always looking at and thinking, \u201cThat would look cool with the way I want to do my car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the shed, and the build had to endure a lengthy time-out as funds had now thoroughly dried up. No rest for Bryce, though. He ramped up the after-hours jobs at home to draw the dollars back in to feed the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI was full-time at the apprenticeship, and when I came home from work, I wouldn\u2019t even go in the house,\u201d he recounts. \u201cI was already dirty, so I\u2019d just go straight back into it, open the roller door and put in another three or four hours working on other people\u2019s cars to save money for the engine and gearbox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was another six months before a front-end kit was bought from Castlemaine Rod Shop and fitted up, complete with Viking coil-overs and Wilwood discs with four-pot calipers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next came the motor, and the decision there was simple: a 351 Cleveland was Bryce\u2019s only choice. As he puts it: \u201cIt\u2019s an easy fit, and I just love the sound of an old-school Ford Clevo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An engine was bought via Marketplace and taken to George at Wild Automotive. \u201cHe was one of Dad\u2019s good mates, and he knows his stuff with Fords,\u201d says Bryce, who requested a tough street mill boasting around 650hp. The dollars were trickle-fed to George over 18 months as the lungs were lengthened to 393, a Scat backbone was added to the bottom end, and a set of AFD 4V heads was topped with a Weiand tunnel ram fed by custom twin BRE 750 carbs. Waste is disposed of via Pacemaker headers matched to a three-inch stainless system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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INTERIOR: Not wanting to put any more holes in the dash, Bryce neatly placed the gauges down below, and the instrument cluster was modified to fit the Auto Meter speedo and rev counter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An Al\u2019s Race Glides C4 auto and TCE 5500rpm converter were bolted on, and Bryce dropped in the engine and trans. Then it was down to the final touches \u2013 cooling system, fuel cell, fuel lines, a bagful of rechroming and more. New door handles, bumpers, headlights and even windows were some of the items on a long to-do list that added to the time spent in the shed, where Bryce toiled mostly single-handedly for five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final piece of the puzzle was the upholstery, which was entrusted to Nathan from Motive Upholstery. Bryce knew that only certain colours would match the exterior blue, and he didn\u2019t want to go black. Instead he chose brown, similar to the old Kingswoods. One of the first things he\u2019d bought for the car was one of the very last to be fitted: a set of Kirkey race seats, which he asked Nathan to pad up for added style and comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a long road to success, but the results speak for themselves. The car is a stunner \u2013 a testament to Bryce\u2019s unwavering determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s had a lot of interest,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cThe first week it was finished, some bloke came up to me and said, \u2018I want it, how much?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018No mate, it\u2019s not for sale.\u2019 I don\u2019t see myself selling it any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The XR\u2019s duties now include trips to the pub, car shows and roll racing. Street Machine<\/em> Summernats and Bathurst Autofest will also be annual pilgrimages. Who could wish for more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bryce McCabe 
1967 Ford XR Falcon <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Paint:<\/strong><\/td>Custom Platinum Blue<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
ENGINE<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Type:<\/strong><\/td>393ci Cleveland<\/td><\/tr>
Heads:<\/strong><\/td>AFD 4V<\/td><\/tr>
Carbs:<\/strong><\/td>Twin BRE 750<\/td><\/tr>
Inlet:<\/strong><\/td>Weiand tunnel ram<\/td><\/tr>
Cam:<\/strong><\/td>Marshall Custom Cams custom-grind<\/td><\/tr>
Rockers:<\/strong><\/td>Yella Terra<\/td><\/tr>
Rods:<\/strong><\/td>Scat<\/td><\/tr>
Pistons:<\/strong><\/td>SRP<\/td><\/tr>
Crank:<\/strong><\/td>Scat<\/td><\/tr>
Fuel:<\/strong><\/td>Fuel cell, pump 98<\/td><\/tr>
Exhaust:<\/strong><\/td>Pacemaker headers to 3in stainless exhaust, Hooker mufflers<\/td><\/tr>
Cooling:<\/strong><\/td>Competition Engines radiator<\/td><\/tr>
Ignition:<\/strong><\/td>ICE<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
TRANSMISSION<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Gearbox:<\/strong><\/td>Al\u2019s Race Glides C4 auto<\/td><\/tr>
Converter:<\/strong><\/td>TCE 5500rpm<\/td><\/tr>
Diff:<\/strong><\/td>9in, Strange centre, full spool, 3.89:1 gears<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
SUSPENSION & BRAKES<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Front:<\/strong><\/td>Castlemaine Rod Shop with Viking coil-overs<\/td><\/tr>
Rear:<\/strong><\/td>McDonald Brothers Racing four-link with Strange coil-overs<\/td><\/tr>
Brakes:<\/strong><\/td>Wilwood discs, four-pot calipers (f & r)<\/td><\/tr>
Master cylinder:<\/strong><\/td>Wilwood<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
WHEELS & TYRES<\/strong><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Rims:<\/strong><\/td>Weld Racing AlumaStar; 15×3.5 (f), 15×9 (r)<\/td><\/tr>
Rubber:<\/strong><\/td>Nankang; 165\/80R15 (f), 275\/60R15 (r)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

THANKS<\/strong>
Wild Automotive; Xtreme Fabworx; Wicked Industries; Al\u2019s Race Glides; Motive Upholstery; TSR Smash; Westend Performance; the Thirlmere Fryer boys; my close mates that helped along the way; Mum and Dad for everything they did, especially letting me take over the shed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dragged from a shed and brought back from the dead, Bryce McCabe’s XR is a true blue-collar success story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":186904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[30,566,1509,9334,10545],"coauthors":[204],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bryce-mccabe-xr-falcon-rear-angle-crop-2-wm-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184554"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186908,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184554\/revisions\/186908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184554"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=184554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}