There’s a lot to like about Cameron Harris\u2019s XK wagon. It\u2019s an impressive piece of work inside and out. But it has one standout quality that hits you the instant you see it: from roof rails to the treads, it oozes style.<\/p>\n
Nailing style is to capture the stuff that doesn\u2019t come in cans, is not available off the shelf, and can\u2019t be bought with a credit card. And this Falcon\u2019s tank is brimming with it.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s his upbringing and environment. Growing up in a family with a long history with hot rodding \u2013 and in Ford Australia\u2019s heartland of Geelong, Victoria, no less \u2013 must\u2019ve deeply rooted influences and nurtured his keen eye for cool. And because of this, you might reckon that the 25-year-old found arriving at his frosty early-girl Falcon vision a quick, simple and effortless process. Far from it.<\/p>\n Rewind a bit. As a 17-year-old P-plater all Cameron knew was that he couldn\u2019t afford to build a hot rod. But chance he spotted a slammed XP wagon cruising around town, which kick-started the idea in his head for a wagon of his own themed off a rodding favourite: the Moon brand. But from that point on it would take Cameron seven long years and eight different cars.<\/p>\n Eight cars! Cameron\u2019s early hit list includes an XM Deluxe wagon, an XP Fairmont sedan and an XP Deluxe wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t in the best shape but it was the only XK I could find,\u201d Cameron explains. \u201cThere was rust in the tailgate, all four doors, both quarter panels, the sills, the driver\u2019s side floor and the bulkhead.\u201d Or put simply, it was stuffed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we stripped it down to every last nut and bolt. Everything is now either brand new or fully rebuilt. My dad (Ian) made a rotisserie and my car was placed on it to refurbish the underneath \u2013 which now all stone-guarded \u2013 and to make it easier to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n Now cleverly finished in Moon\u2019s corporate yellow, white and black colour scheme using custom mix DuPont two-pack, and slung low over black 14×6 XC Falcon steelies, it looks standard enough. But there\u2019s a fair amount of work in the details.<\/p>\n \u201cI mounted a factory XL Falcon bonnet scoop but cut the scoop and bonnet out to make it functional, as the original blanked off and fake,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Then you open the bonnet and the 60s family truckster suddenly comes screaming into the modern era.<\/p>\n Backed by a four-speed manual and Centura diff, the wagon was making 285 at horses at the rear wheels, or enough to get the classic moving pretty swiftly. But after just 600 clicks, though, the boosted engine spat the dummy.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I pulled it down and discovered that one of the stock pistons had let go,\u201d he explains. Thing is, he was told by its previous owner that the pistons were tougher aftermarket slugs, and discovered otherwise the hard and expensive way.<\/p>\n The XE 4.1-litre six was stripped down and treated to a no-expense-spared rebuild worthy of a full-house race engine. The blue-printed bottom end was upped to 255ci and uses forged Wiseco slugs for a turbo-friendly 8.2:1 compression ratio. Southside Cylinder Heads (who also did the machining) optimized the alloy head\u2019s flow to suit the Garrett T04 turbocharger, which runs a moderate 14psi maximum boost. The camshaft is a custom grind billet from Lumpshaft Race Cams. The induction also uses a 440cfm Gas Research throttle body and modified B2 converters to suit the engine\u2019s appetite for LPG. It\u2019s quite a piece of work.<\/p>\n With the engine rebuild came a tranny change, from the four-slot manual to a tricked out full-manualized C9 three-speed slushbox by DTM Automatics running a 2800rpm Dominator stall converter. \u201cThe auto is the best thing I have done to the car,\u201d the owner says. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n XE front disc brakes cope with newfound power adequately and mandated a shift from a four to five stud pattern, while the stock Centura drums are retained at the rear. The super-low bum down stance cut ride height by four inches in the front and five in the rear, done the old fashion way: without using air-bags. Kings Springs and Monroe gas shockers are used, and all other suspension hardware \u2013 ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc \u2013 was replaced with brand new parts.<\/p>\n But the real grunt is in the stealth stereo system. A JVC CD\/MP3 player hides in the glovebox, while Fusion and Soundstream amps power an armada of speakers and subs.<\/p>\n \u201cEach of the custom-made fibreglass sub enclosures and cover panels took a week to make working flat out,\u201d Cameron says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s that the whole car was built in the back shed with the help of my dad and my older brother Aaron. That\u2019s what I am most proud of. There is nothing more satisfying than that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cameron Harris’s Ford XK Wagon is too cool for school<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":4348,"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":[566,1080,30],"coauthors":[41],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1962-turbo-ford-xk-falcon-deluxe-station-wagon-main-nw.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347"}],"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\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4347"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.streetmachine.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/span>If you believe car crafting is art, then some crafters, such as Cameron, have got a knack for taste and style.<\/p>\n
<\/span>\u201cWhile I had the XP wagon I decided I wanted to build a Moon-themed XK wagon the way I\u2019d always wanted. In 2002 I started looking for a suitable starting point. After looking at 25 to 30 early Falcons in 18 months \u2013 most of them turned out to be XPs \u2013 I found one by accident, just 15 kays from my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>Cameron and his dad removed most of the bright work below the window line, including the stainless steel side trim and tailgate handle (rear glass is now electrically operated). They then smoothed virtually every steel surface: side panels, tailgate, the fuel filler behind the rear number plate, cowl. A host of classic custom tricks sets the wagon right off: whitewalls, exterior sun visor, fake A-pillar spotties, Venetian blinds, chrome bullet hub covers and wheel nuts. One modern touch is the VN Commodore squirters for the windshield wipers which, thankfully, go pretty much unnoticed unless you\u2019re looking for them.<\/p>\n
<\/span>\u201cI was given an XD station wagon by family friends and the plan was to use all the parts I could,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had all the driveline dummied up when I spotted a turbo 250 Crossflow motor for sale in the Trading Post. I thought it would be an easy transplant, but there was actually quite a lot of work involved to get everything to fit nicely [see breakout].\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m running the new engine in and it feels heaps stronger,\u201d Cameron says, although he\u2019s yet to run a dyno number. \u201cGas is great. It also gets good economy \u2013 it only costs 20 bucks to fill for a 300-kilometre range.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>The interior is a stunner and mirrors sticks true to the car\u2019s \u2018classic looks, modern power\u2019 direction. The factory seating are trimmed in a neat tuck\u2019n\u2019roll pattern in yellow and white vinyl, while the doors, headlining, dash and rear luggage compartment have been refinished to a show level, completing the authentic 60s cruising flavour. Of course, there\u2019s a host of Moon gear: door locks, mats, pedals, tacho, and an ominous looking four-inch bullet mounted on the steering wheel\u2019s horn ring that sends a clear message: \u2018whatever you do, don\u2019t crash\u2019.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Ask Cameron what his favourite aspect of the car is \u2013 the cool style or retrotech engineering \u2013 and his answer is neither.<\/p>\n