The fuel miser Falcon GTs

Even in the 1960s when fuel was cheap, fuel economy was seen as an important issue by Australian manufacturers. That explains why these two XW Falcon GTs were snapped outside the Pink Poodle Motel in Surfers Paradise, taking part in the ʻFalcon-Mobil 36 GLN TANKFULL TESTʼ.

We’d never heard of the ‘tankful test’, and while the signage indicates the involvement of the Sun-Herald and the Ford Motor Company, thereʼs nothing in the Heraldʼs library or Fordʼs national archives about this event. Why the big 351ci V8 GTs were chosen for an economy run (we assume it was one manual and one auto) remains a mystery, unless there was a special category for gas-guzzling muscle cars fitted with 36-gallon Bathurst fuel tanks as standard equipment! You might be surprised to know the Falcons did well, setting a new world record according to the brief info scribbled on the back of the photo.

As expected, a couple of expert AMC readers got in touch and solved the mystery of the two XW Falcon GTs snapped in front of the Pink Poodle Motel at Surfers Paradise in 1969 (Muscle Maniac – Issue 35).

Dan Merta sent in a Mobil ad from the back of an old RACV publication indicating that these two cars – one manual and one automatic - set a new world record for distance travelled on one tank of petrol. The XW GTs (and GT-HOs) had an inbuilt advantage, given that their standard fuel capacity was a massive 36 gallons (164 litres) - designed with the Bathurst 500 in mind.
The manual GT (driven by Sydney Sun-Herald motoring writer Clyde Hodgkins) travelled an amazing 880 miles (1408km) on one tank of Mobil ‘Anti-Wear’ petrol. The previous record of 800 miles (1280km) had been set in America. Hodgkins recorded a claimed average of 23.4 miles per gallon (we make it 24.4 mpg, but who’s counting) or just under 12 litres/100km) for the journey. The automatic version (driven by The Australian and Daily Mirror journo Mike Kable) covered 855 miles.

Observers in both cars made sure that the drivers kept to normal speeds and avoided ‘coasting’. The average speed for the first day’s run from Sydney to the Gold Coast was 47.3 mph (76 km/h).

Meanwhile, Falcon GT expert Mark Barraclough told us the cars’ number plates are May 1969 issue which makes them two of the dozen FEU (Field Evaluation Unit) vehicles built to shake out the production line for the start of full production in June. There were four FEU cars allocated to Ford SVO - two manuals and two autos, all fitted with optional laminated windscreens, push button radios as well as heavy duty batteries and heaters (which then became standard for all XW GTs).

Mark even took a calculated guess at the colours of the cars in our black and white photo. He says the front one looks to be a Reef Green four-speed manual with Saddle trim. The automatic following is probably Candy Apple Red or Grecian Gold.

World record or not, he reckons these cars probably had their decals removed after the run and were then sold through the trade as ‘demonstrators’. The new owners were probably not aware of their cars’ claim to world record fame. Thanks to Dan and Mark for helping to solve this mystery.

While we’re on the subject, Mobil organised several of these economy and performance tests during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Another test compared the fuel efficiency of the HG series of Monaros and Kingswoods, during a five-day trek around the Snowy Mountains. The four larger models achieved the following results:

- Monaro GTS 308 V8 Manual: 29.19 mpg.
- Kingswood 253 V8 Manual: 28.62 mpg.
- Premier 253 V8 Tri-Matic: 27.71 mpg.
- Monaro GTS 186S Tri-Matic: 29.31 mpg.

Several attempts were also made around this time to cover the Sydney to Melbourne trip using as little petrol as possible. Veteran motoring writer Pedr Davis tells of the (un-named) man who recorded an incredible 97 miles per gallon driving a six-cylinder Studebaker Lark. This was far better than similar attempts in much smaller cars, but was the result of ʻtrickʼ driving. The Lark driver would accelerate very gently to 50mph, switch off the ignition and coast to20mph, then start the engine and do it again. Not recommended, although we know of several scribes claimed to have pulled this trick to win Holdenʼs annual economy challenge from Sydney to the Gold Coast!