Falcon XA GT RPO 83 - Stage 2 - Archaeology & Measurements
Due to the poor condition of the 1973 Falcon XA GT RPO 83 coupe, after decades of rat-infestation while stored in an open-fronted shed, the car represented a bio-hazard to humans.
While being careful to note any archaeological details, the coupe needed to be rid of rat faeces and rat's nests. Their removal started to reduce the terrible odours, which lingered in the body until the car was eventually stripped and dipped.
Particularly due to the need to remove rat remnants throughout the vehicle and its upholstery, much of this stage 2 overlapped with the stage 3 of disassembling the vehicle. Many archaeological details of the factory build are also only uncovered during disassembly.
Some interesting details identified during this stage included:
- Dealer, after-factory, GT decals had been poorly applied, with stripes on one side about 25mm higher than the other.
- There was a remedial paint repair we noted beneath the dealer-applied decals. This prima facie suggests a repair of damage that had probably occurred before the car left the factory. Historically, there were severe industrial actions occurring at Ford in the early 1970s, which allegedly included a 'rampgae' when aggrieved workers ran through the factory damaging vehilce in the production line. We have no way of knowing if this car was damaged as a result of the industrial action, or if simply the car was lightly damaged on the production line after being painted, or a paint-defect was noted.
Before long, we accumulated over 2,500 photographs.
