hot auto review

There are plenty of wealthy celebrities in the world paying top dollar to have hopped-up musclecars and hot rods built for them, filling garages and warehouses with their automotive jewelry. However, the sad fact is that often the cars are either hardly driven or sold soon after the build process. Sure, there are some exceptions to that statement, given the likes of the inimitable Jay Leno or ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons to name two. But often celebrity car modification amounts to little more than a tiresome exercise in fashion accessorizing.

The same cannot be said for Australian actor Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down, Hulk, Troy, Munich, and the soon-to-be-released Lucky You), who has owned this '73 Ford Falcon coupe for the last 23 years. Even better, this XB two-door was his first car, bought at the tender age of 15. According to Eric, "It was originally a six-cylinder car with a single rail, and it was pretty tired. To think that it was only nine years old at the time I bought it; it looked more like it was 40 years old." Eric himself still wonders why his dad let him buy the unloved coupe at the time. "Looking back, I would have been far better off saving my biccies and spending three grand on a coupe because I would have ended up with a beautifully straight GS or something instead, you know?"

But buy it he did, kicking off a relationship that has lasted more than two decades through a relentless series of modifications and improvements that were undertaken as time, money, and necessity mandated, with necessity often coming in first place. Growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Eric spent most of his Friday and Saturday nights hanging out at the famous Calder Park Raceway (where these photos were taken) watching the action on the dragstrip with his mates even before they had licenses. As Eric and friends started obtaining their buying cars, the watching turned into racing, and Eric was in the thick of it, running the beaten XB down the 1,320 in between making repairs and modifications with the help of his friends Tony Ramunno and Jack Vukoja.

Eric says two things attracted him to the coupe's fat, muscular lines: the Mad Max Interceptor and the iconic '73-'74 Bathurst race cars that made a big impression on the 5-year-old as he watched them tear up Mount Panorama on TV. At 21, Eric got his racing license in hopes of pushing the Falcon into a few corners: "I just always wanted to race my whole life, but like most people, I didn't have the money for it. I could barely afford to put petrol in the Falcon. But I just kept my license paid up in the hope that one day I'd be able to afford to go racing, and then as soon as I could, I did."

That was in 1996, when Eric entered the Targa Tasmania tarmac rally where he and his mates "kind of cobbled the car together" before navigating the challenging road course and finishing an impressive Third in his class. By then, the tarmac-rally bug had truly bitten, and there was no turning back for the then-white Ford. This story probably would be far more advanced had it not been for the escalating success of Eric's acting career; it wasn't until early in the new century that he got to race the Ford again.

It isn't just the Blue Oval machines that get Eric's blood pumping, however. Despite growing up in a Ford family, Eric found a love for German engineering, punting a Porsche 944 and a 3.3L turbo GT2 replica around Victorian racetracks in the Marque Sports series-good for practicing your race craft and also good for sourcing parts and suspension ideas for your big, heavy, engine-forward musclecar. Enter Steve Tupek, a guy who normally spends his time doing serious restoration work on vintage Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz metal for wealthy, Australian entrepreneur Lindsay Fox. Eric met Steve through racing Porsches, and the pair hooked up with a view to giving Eric's '73 a simple respray. With the car in Steve's workshop, it was soon apparent that a simple respray was to be the catalyst for something far larger than anyone involved could have ever imagined. Says Eric, "The Falcon was in even worse shape than I thought it was. When Steve e-mailed me photos once the top layer of skin was peeled off, my jaw hit the ground."

According to Steve, there wasn't much left of the original body. "The bonnet, both front guards, the doors, door pillars, sills, parcel tray, wheeltubs, lower quarters, rear-wheel arches, back panel, boot edges, and boot floor were completely rusted out. It really needed a new shell." A new shell wasn't in the cards however, as both Steve and Eric felt that Eric's history with the car would be lost by using an entirely new shell. So, with the goal set, Steve went to work fabricating new body parts, also calling on another of Lindsay Fox's metalwork maestros, Brian Tanti, who worked his magic fabricating entirely new pieces to look factory. In all, Steve put more than 800 hours into the bodywork alone, and the result makes Eric's coupe easily one of the finest examples of the marque. While the Falcon is more a result of its 23 years of continued evolution, it is this latest 18-month, ground-up rebuild that sees it looking and driving the way it does now; and it goes a lot deeper than the 800-hour full-body massage, with the entire build taking around 3,000 hours.

Motorvation comes thanks to a John Sidney Racing-built 400ci stroker Windsor small-block protected by a serious dry-sump oil system (sourced from a Dick Johnson Racing V-8 supercar) to prevent another nasty engine failure under heavy cornering load, as was the fate of an expensive race motor that momentarily resided between the XB's shock towers. Thankfully, the top end of the first motor was salvageable, and the ported Brodix heads, Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, and Holley HP-series 830-cfm 4150 carb top the new stroker bottom end.

There are a lot of trick details in this luscious red Falcon that you won't see or potentially even notice when you look hard, and it's these details that make Eric's car so special. For instance, running down either side of the car are channels that have been hand-fabricated into the floors and under which run the lines for fuel and the dry-sump setup. These are to make the underside of the car as clean as possible, getting relatively fragile parts up and out of harm's way should Eric take an off-road excursion. It's a similar story inside the car. Every flammable surface has been removed, with the floor and roof all smoothed and painted to a similar standard as the exterior panels. All the wiring was torn out and redone from scratch, both to minimize the amount of cabling and to replace the spaghetti of old and potentially hazardous wires.

Steve mocked up the inner flanks of the car, including the door cards in fiberglass, before a carbon-fiber specialist formed up the final panels that line the innards of the PPG Bana Red racer. John Taverna Chassis installed the extensive 'cage that helps to ensure Mr. Bana gets home safely to Mrs. Bana, and Sparco Evo 2 race seats and four-point harnesses hold driver and co-driver snugly.

Our photo shoot presented the first opportunity for Eric to get the car onto asphalt since the extensive 3,000-hour rebuild began more than 18 months ago, and with some final tuning to do, plans are already afoot to try to be in Australia in time for Targa Tasmania in April 2007-a seemingly simple feat that Eric hasn't accomplished since the late '90s. Whether he makes it home for Targa '07 or not, Eric's '73 Falc' will remain one of Australia's finest Falcon coupes for some years to come, and the fact that he has spent his mature life driving the wheels off the car reinforces Steve Tupek's closing comments: "For an actor, he's actually quite a car nut. He actually really, really likes his cars, and he doesn't just have 'em and then park 'em."

Falcons in Australia
Ford released its first Falcon in Australia in September 1960 with the XK, and the company has continued to use the nameplate through an unbroken 46 years and 22 model ranges, selling more than 3 million units in the process. Falcon is Ford Australia's primary "large car," with direct sales rivals being Holden's Kingswood and Commodore. Even today, it is very much a case of "you're either a Ford guy or a Holden (GM) guy," with more than 30 years of bitter racetrack rivalry only helping to cement lifelong enthusiast loyalties.

Ford has made some curious decisions in Australia over the years, like the deletion of a V-8 in the Falcon in the early '80s, not to return until 1992 with the EB series. With the launch of the EA series in 1988, Ford ditched the unibody utility, leaving the market free for Holden to sell its own unibody utes (think El Camino) for a good eight years without serious competition before Ford released the AU. Decisions like these have hurt Ford's position Down Under, with Holden holding the flag for best seller in the large-car market for a good decade. However, as the years pass, Ford is slowly regaining momentum with excellent suspension design and decent powertrains.

Quick Inspection: '73 XB Ford Falcon coupe
Eric Bana . Melbourne, Australia

Powertrain

Engine: John Sidney Racing built the 400ci Dart Windsor stroker with 11.2:1-compression JE forged pistons, a 3.750-inch Scat crank, 6-inch Scat rods, Speed-Pro chrome-moly rings, Clevite 77 bearings, and ported Brodix heads with stainless valves (2.08/1.6 inches), bronze valveguides, Isky Gold springs, and titanium retainers. A Comp Cams solid roller cam with 0.697-inch lift, 264/268 duration (at 0.050) and a 106-degree lobe separation angle pushes Trend pushrods and actuates Comp Cams 1.6:1-ratio roller rockers. A Dick Johnson Racing dry-sump oil pan and pump keep the motor lubed, and an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold with a Holley HP-series 4150 830-cfm carb feeds it. Other details include an MSD billet distributor, a Meziere electric water pump, a Brown fuel pump, a surge tank, ceramic-coated 4-into-1 headers, and twin 3-inch stainless exhausts with a balance pipe.

Power: It makes 590 hp and 525 lb-ft at the flywheel.

Transmission: A Tremec TKO five-speed feeds power to a Ford 9-inch featuring Romac floating hubs, a 3.50 final drive ratio, and a limited-slip center.

Chassis

Suspension: Centreline Suspension-prepped, revalved Koni shocks are at all four corners, with 900-pound front springs, double reversed-eye rear leaves with a thicker main, a Watt's link, and urethane bushings. The front track was widened by 20 mm on each side for greater adjustability of camber, now allowing between -3 and -5 degrees and running 4 degrees caster.

Brakes: Race Brakes in Melbourne fit the 13.5-inch/13-inch front and rear custom brake kits that feature six- and four-piston AP Racing calipers, braided lines, Race Brakes RB74 pads, and a trick balance-bar arrangement with separate master cylinders for each end of the car.

Wheels/tires: Custom-made 17-inch Minilites were created by Harry Witham Racing to fit over the big brakes and measure 8 inches wide at the front and 9 inches out back, with 245/40 and 275/40 race rubber getting the power to the ground.

Style

Body: Steve Tupek put in 800 hours replacing and fabricating almost an entirely new body shell for the XB, taking time to get the panel gaps tight and making the new panels complete with press marks for more authenticity.

Paint: The color is PPG Bana Red inspired by the Coca-Cola Mustang that raced Bathurst in the late '60s. It's a conventional basecoat/clear application outside, while the interior and engine bay were painted in a one-step process in the same color.

Interior: The rear bulkhead and parcel tray were fabricated to seal the cabin from the trunk, with a trick GT logo embossed into the bulkhead. Steve mocked up interior panels in fiberglass before they were replicated in carbon fiber. John Taverna Chassis built the extensive rollcage that necessitated various modifications to the interior for clearance. Finally, the interior door handles were moved back 4 inches, and the factory indicator stalk was shortened by 1.5 inches.

As the shenanigans of each episode of Fear Factor draw to a close, host Joe Rogan enlightens viewers by announcing to the winner, "Evidently fear was not a factor for you." That line has been repeated enough over the past five seasons to become a catch phrase of sorts that reflects the show's success. In the cutthroat world of reality TV, that's an awfully long time to survive, and it has no doubt imparted its host with some monetary flexibility with which to buy steel-crafted toys of hedonism.

Most Hollywood celebs opt for blinged-out Hummer H2s, Bentleys, traditional wanker exotics, and (gag!) trendy gas-electric hybrids, but Rogan did the right thing and had Rad Rides by Troy build him a '70 Barracuda. The car means more to him than the average ego-carriage, as it pays tribute to a clunker Mopar his mom gave him before he made it big. In a way, it symbolizes how far he's come since the days of touring the country as a fledgling stand-up comic.

No doubt, the car had to be truly unique to capture the sentimentality it represented. Few builders are as well known as Troy Trepanier. Being the darling of the automotive press and a fixture on the hit TV series Rides has a way of doing that, and his list of celebrity clients grows by the day.

We already broke the news that Troy's working on a drop-top '67 Lincoln Continental to sweeten that World Series trip for Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez. In addition to the inherent stress of delivering a hallowed E-body that justifies the six-figures-and-then-some price tag, the crew had to work within a tight six-month timeframe to coincide with its scheduled debut on Bud Brutsman's Rides show on TLC. That was the bad part. The good part was a relatively big budget to exercise creativity, with the only criterion being "make it cool." Ah, the beauty of a double-edged sword.

A big part of making that deadline was starting out with a car in relatively good shape. Again, it was a rather laissez-faire process for Joe. He told Rad Rides what he wanted, and they went out and bought a car to start with for $13,000-one that was mostly rust-free and straight, save for a pair of dinged-up quarters. In trademark Trepanier fashion, the host of subtle visual cues aren't recognizable at first glance, but their individual elements become more prominent upon closer study and more innovative when considering the craftsmanship they required. It ultimately hits you as a brilliant artistic statement. The most obvious change is the AAR 'Cuda hood, not often seen in shiny paint, and the cotton-gauze air cleaner peeking out from its flared scoop. Further enhancing the hungry-look theme is a custom front lower valance that integrates a scoop of its own surrounded by more AAR-like winglets on both sides. Widened and mounted flush, the front bumper is from a (forgive him) '69 Camaro.

Moving rearward, hints of change are far less apparent and the overall look is more subdued. To hide the ugly stock stamped subframe, Rad Rides lowered the rocker panels accordingly, creating an illusion of the car squatting lower than it really is. Out back, a custom roll pan blends into the quarter-panels as if crafted from a single piece of steel. The rear bumper and taillights get the flush-mount treatment as well, and a custom rear spoiler complements the newly chiseled lines. Blemishes like the door handles, side-marker lights, and emblems have been shaved for a flawless complexion. We hear that a subtle paint scheme was planned until Rogan saw the bare-metal work-in-progress on our Oct. '04 cover and liked it in plain silver. Besides, judging by looking at all three of this month's feature cars, silver is the new red.

From the outside, the implication of Sick Fish is clearly one of modern sophistication. Dig beneath the skin, however, and an animal emerges that satiates our visceral desire to accelerate like a rocket sled. Nestled into an engine bay that's blacked-out, Chevy style, is a fuel-injected, 650hp, 528ci Mopar Performance crate Hemi, which happens to be the very same engine plucked from HOT ROD's Troy-built Hemi Dakota truck before it went to the crusher. The Elephant mates to a Bowler-built 727 automatic tied to a Gear Vendors under/overdrive, providing six forward gears. Finishing off the driveline is a 3.54:1-geared Strange Engineering Mopar-style Dana 60 rearend swinging from a custom four-link suspension extensively modified to accommodate the pavement-hugging ride height.

Rogan has no performance data on the car yet, but we think it would make for a good episode of Fear Factor and serve as retribution for all the times Joe has antagonized his contestants as they contemplate eating live Madagascar roaches, or as they tremble before walking on a 3-inch-wide beam suspended hundreds of feet in the air. Imagine: Put Rogan in the right seat as Nextel Cup driver and SoCal resident Jimmie Johnson puts the 'Cuda through its paces on the oval at California Speedway, just inches away from the wall. If, after a dozen or so laps, Rogan can keep from soiling himself, we could shake his hand and say, "Evidently fear was not a factor for you."So Joe, Jimmy, and NBC, what do you say?

Quick Inspection: '70 Plymouth 'Cuda

POWERTRAIN
•Engine: With a 4.500-inch bore and 4.150-inch stroke, the Mopar Performance crate Hemi measures a total of 528 ci with forged internals, 10.25:1 compression, and a 292-degree advertised-duration hydraulic cam. For clearance purposes, a remote-mount Milodon oil filter has been added. The intake is a Steve Magnante leftover from when HOT ROD owned the engine, and it's topped by twin throttle-bodies for a Big Stuff 3 EFI system. The injection is fed by a custom fuel cell, a Paxton pump, an Aeromotive regulator, and Bosch 45 lb/hr injectors.
•Power: EFI guru John Meaney tweaked the 528 with his Big Stuff 3 standalone system to the tune of 650 hp.
•Transmission: A Bowler 727 automatic does the shifting to either go along with the drag touring vibe or make it easier to cruise Sunset Boulevard. A Gear Vendors overdrive effectively doubles the number of gears.
•Rearend: The beefy Dana 60 rearend comes courtesy of Strange, fitted with 35-spline axles, 3.54:1 gears, and a limited-slip differential.

CHASSIS
•Frame: To accommodate 22-inch wheels out back, the rear got a back-half job that required fabricating new tubs and modifying the floorpans. Custom chrome-moly subframe connectors stiffen the structure.
•Suspension: The factory front torsion bars have been replaced with QA1 coilovers with 650 lb-in springs and Magnum Force |control arms. The subframe, also from Magnum Force, was raised for additional ride-height reduction. A Flaming River power-steering rack eases slow-speed navigation. Out back is a custom four-link with QA1 coilovers and 400-lb-in springs.
•Brakes: The binders are all Baer, with 13.75-inch rotors up front and 14.75-inchers in the back, squeezed by four-piston calipers. A Baer master cylinder and proportioning valve split the juice to each wheel.
•Wheels: One-off two-piece Billet Specialties billet-aluminum wheels measure 19x8 up front and 22x10 in the rear.
•Tires: The skinny-sidewall BFGoodrich rubber is P235/35ZR19 in the front and P285/35ZR22 in the back.

STYLE
•Body: Rad Rides fabbed up new rear quarters and custom front and rear valances. The vibe is primarily road race with some drag race mixed in.
•Paint: Sprayed in-house at Rad Rides, the paint is an '04 Nissan color called Sporty Silver that gets progressively darker toward the rocker panel, and a custom-mixed satin charcoal has been applied to the taillight panel, grille, and hoodscoop.
•Interior: The interior features an amalgam of hard-core race equipment and luxury. Occupants are held into the Recaro seats with a five-point harness that straps to a full rollcage. Auto Meter gauges adorn the instrument panel, and steering is accomplished with a Billet Specialties wheel.