Many manufacturers across the globe have commissioned one-off vehicles for their own purposes, and Ford Australia was no different. While many of these vehicles are destroyed once their useful life for that manufacturer has been completed, occasionally, one will manage to slip through the net. This 1970 Ford Falcon XY 6-Door Station Wagon is just such a car. After living a very colorful life, it is now being offered for sale here at Lloyds Auctioneers. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $98,000.

This is a Falcon with quite a history behind it. The car rolled down the Ford Broadmeadows production line in September of 1970. At that point, it was equipped with a 302ci V8 engine, an FMX automatic transmission, and was finished in a color called Bronze Wine Metallic. Ford Australia then decided that it required a locally-developed vehicle to use as the transport for visiting Ford executives, so the Falcon was sent to BS Stillwell Ford, where it was stretched to a 6-door design, and refinished in White. It served in this role for a short while before it was decided to decommission the car. At this point, the normal practice would have been to scrap the wagon. However, the then Government-owned airline, TAA, was on the hunt for a suitable vehicle to transport its first-class passengers from the Hobart Airport in Tasmania, to Hobart City itself. The timing of this would have coincided with the opening of the Wrest Point Casino, which was Australia’s first legal casino. So it is very possible that at this point the Falcon was transporting some pretty high-rollers to the casino. After seeing duty for some time, it was then shipped to Nauru, where it became the limousine transport for that nation’s Prime Minister. Eventually, it returned to Australia where it passed through the hands of a number of private owners and underwent a refurbishment in the early 1990s.

The conversion work undertaken by Stillwell Ford was first-rate, and the fact that the vehicle underwent an engineering inspection and certification by Queensland Transport in 1995 is an indication of the quality of the modifications. The inspection process in that state is quite strict, as I’ve had the good fortune to learn first-hand. The front and rear doors on the Falcon are standard Ford items, while the middle doors were fabricated using sheet-metal from both a front and back door in a bid to keep the car looking as factory original as possible. The White paint looks to be in good condition, and it is little touches such as the extended chrome roof-rack that really catch your eye. One thing that catches my eye for all the wrong reasons, is the wheels that are fitted to the car. These would be nothing like what would have been originally fitted to the car back in the early 1970s. I have been trying to locate some period photos of the Falcon to ascertain what it wore back then and to also confirm whether it was originally fitted with some of the Falcon GT external items that currently grace the car. Unfortunately, I’ve had no luck with this.

Looking inside the Falcon is where I see items which motivate me to refer to the recent work on the Falcon to be a refurbishment, rather than a restoration. The seats and door trims would almost certainly be correct for the car, as this was the most luxurious level of trim that was available in an Australian Falcon of this era. While the center console is a Falcon XY item, I don’t believe that it is correct for this particular car, while the aftermarket stereo most certainly isn’t. That stereo extends to amplifiers and subwoofers mounted in the cargo area, and those modifications are enough to make me not want to refer to the vehicle as restored.

With front bucket seats and a pair of rear benches, the Falcon is capable of seating up to 8 adults, The condition of the upholstery and trim certainly looks really nice, with no rips, tears, or problems to report. While I have questioned whether this car would be considered to be restored or refurbished, I do believe that the interior trim color is probably correct, especially given the original Bronze Wine paint. There were a number of different interior trim colors available for the Falcon at this point in time, and this one probably offered the best compromise as far as ease of maintenance and resistance to inadvertently cooking its occupants in hot weather. Speaking of hot weather, the Falcon is equipped with what is claimed to be a very effective air conditioning system, which is a real bonus.

Occupying the engine bay of the Falcon is a 351ci Cleveland V8 engine, backed by a C4 automatic transmission. You also get power steering and power front disc brakes. Now we get to the crux of why I refer to this as a refurbishment, rather than a restoration. The Falcon was originally fitted with a 302ci V8, and it is my understanding that this was still the case when it left Stillwell’s after the conversion work had been completed. It is for this reason that I earlier questioned whether the center console was the original one for this car. I wears a “351” badge, which would not be right. I do know that a 351 was fitted during the late 1980s, and while this would have provided a welcome performance boost, it does compromise the car’s originality. All of the braided hoses under the hood also wouldn’t have been original, but in the car’s defense, it really does present nicely.

Given the fact that this Falcon Station Wagon was originally commissioned by Ford Australia, the claim that it is a genuine Ford model could be considered to be legitimate. If so, it is probably the rarest vehicle ever produced by Ford Australia. Various media outlets are making some pretty bold claims about exactly what the car is likely to fetch in the online auction, with some estimates suggesting that $1,000,000 is a real possibility. Currently, bidding has hit $95,000, and with more than five days remaining, I wouldn’t be willing to rule anything out.