My 1965 Ford XP Coupe

It's not just on the bodywork, its on the wheels, the bumper bars, the grille and even the engine is painted blue. But then this is a unique car. Essentially its a 1965 Ford XP Coupe with the original dashboard. But that's about it for originality.

The front end is from the earlier XM Coupe, the 5-litre V8 engine is out of 10-year old AU Falcon, the doorhandles are off a HQ Holden, the gearbox is from an XY Falcon and the wheels have been specially produced, down to even getting the same shade of blue paint as the rest of the car.

And that shade, Aegean blue, comes from a 1991 Ford Fiesta. Beaumont first saw the coupe featured in a car magazine 13 years ago and quickly fell in love. "I was very keen on the car even though I'd never seen it."

Some time later he discovered that his local mechanic owned the car and had undertaken the five-year restoration of the coupe. "He said it was a labour of love. I asked what does it owe you. He said, `oh, $40,000."

When it came up for sale three years ago Beaumont settled on a sale after a quick test drive. "I'm almost 70 years of age, I don't have much money, I have lusted over a convertible or a car without a roof."

The keen motorcyclist says he sees the convertible as a much safer form of fun motoring than riding a bike. "It has a V8 in it. I love it. I think the whole thing has been done fairly eccentrically. It's got HQ Holden door-handles and the front end's from an XM."

He says the paintjob has been overdone but he likes the colour. "There is much that could be done to improve the appearance but its an absolute hoot. It's a real head turner. "I don't mind the madness of it. It's the only one of its kind in the world."

Beaumont says it is lightweight and very powerful though the steering is heavy and the suspension is solid. "The suspension is so hard you could drive over a 50-cent piece and tell whether it was head or tails."

The convertible has a white vinyl foldaway roof but it's rarely seen. "It looks crap when its up. It doesn't match anything and the profile is all wrong." He says the car came into the previous owner's hands after being sold to him by actor John Jarrett before the restoration.

Beaumont says the car was then basically a standard XP Coupe but it had a non-standard V8 engine and was riddled with rust. "It was an absolute horror but it had perfect sills.

"It was a survivor car that was getting very, very close to the knacker's yard. It had a feint heartbeat and out of that this suave Frankenstein monster was created." Beaumont says that after the conversion the car's old V8 engine was like a "boat anchor."

It was noisy and heavy and extremely thirsty on fuel, drinking up to 30 litres per 100km. The current engine was put in to produce much more respectable figures of about 12-l/100km.

He says that immediately after buying the car it developed a series of problems that cost him a lot to fix. "Everything one by one failed over a six-month period." It ranged from the clutch to the brake master-cylinder. So, how do you value a 44-year old one-off Aussie street machine that has a stunning on-road presence? "I paid $20,000. It owes me 30 with what I have put into it. "If someone offered me $30,000 I'd probably accept it."