My 1969 Ford XW SurferRoo

The 1969 Ford XW SurferRoo GS utility was a prototype that never went into mass production.

The three cars that featured a massive rear wing and wooden deck were taken on a national promotion tour and, at the end, were offered to dealers and sold to the public. One is believed to be in North Queensland, another in Ipswich and the third is owned by Wally Hincks who bought it new for $3000 in June 1970.

Today it's worth about $70,000-$80,000 which is the same as a GT Falcon. "I bought it because the insurance on a GT was too dear," says Mr Hincks. "I had a hot EH Holden at the time and was spending too much time working on it. "It was the daily driver for about eight years and it was a mess by the end of it."

His wife, Val, learnt to drive in the four-speed five-litre V8. "I used to think it was easy to drive but after driving with power steering it's a bit hard to get used to not having it," she says. "We used to go shopping and the kids would all pile in the back. In those days there were no laws to say we had to have a seat belt."

When seatbelts became mandatory in the late '70s it was time to move on. "When it came time to get another car I decided not to sell it," says Mr Hincks. "I wanted to get it back to original condition and had tried to do it up while I was still driving it but that never worked."

So it was parked under the house for the next three decades, slowly rusting away and occasionally being dragged out for restoration. Over the years it was sandblasted and undercoated twice for restoration work to begin but it has only been in the past few years that the job has been tackled in earnest.

Son-in-law Wayne Allsworth says the resto was "a family passion". "For 33 years restoring it was always on the books. It was never going to be sold," he says.

The family has kept the car faithful to the original. The only mod cons are an alarm system and central locking while the only part missing is a "Falcon 500" badge with two holes 10cm apart. The SurferRoo is powered by a 302 Windsor V8 with a two-barrel Autolite carburettor and Autolite distributor.

The motor has been "freshened up" with a slight rebore, a new head from an EB Falcon and new valve seats so it can run on unleaded petrol. "I can't believe how good it drives on unleaded," Allsworth says.

The family's pride and joy has been displayed at the GT Nationals and was in the top 10 at Queensland's biggest classic car show, the Macleans Bridge at Lakeside Sport and Classic Car Festival.

"Part of the pride is to put it in more shows," says Allsworth. Meanwhile, it's definitely not for sale. "Our daughter (Paula) is waiting for it, but we'll have to croak first," says Mrs Hincks.

FORD Archives historian Michele Cook says there is not much information available on the SurferRoo. "All I know is it was put together by the reserach centre for the motor shows," she says. "There were only three vehicles made and they were offered to dealers afterwards." She says Wayne Allsworth contacted her to check their recreated decal.

"I sent him images of the decal that we have a good copy of, but it doesn't match theirs," she says. "The only thing I did find was a photo in the research centre of a design board and multiple decals. I have spoken to some people who were around at the time and as the vehicles were purely for promotion and show, they may not have had the same decals. The decals would not have been mass produced as these were not production vehicles, probably hand designed."

Cooks says they are in the process of moving their archives and having difficulty searching. "Our archive is very extensive but unfortunately not yet catalogued," she says. As to what platform the SurferRoo comes from Cook is unsure. "The designers obtained a vehicle from the production line and will have worked with it to get the desired result," she says. "There is no record of if the vehicles were straight Falcon or Falcon 500 or a mix."

At a glance

Year: 1969
Price New: $3000
Price Now: $70-$80,000
Engine: five-litre V8
Body: two-seater utility
Trans: four-speed