IF THEY'D fitted an extra leaf it would have been to the right-rear spring (that's the one that's loaded rounding left-hand bends), but there's nothing to suggest they did. I don't believe that black was a standard colour, but I do know of one XY Phase 3 GT HO that was black from the factory. That car was a special order.

Nice dream, Matthew. The most important thing to look for in a Falcon coupe is rust -- they rust so fast they virtually disappear before your very eyes. With that in mind, it's absolutely vital that you buy the best car you can afford because you can easily spend many thousands of dollars on rust repairs to bring a rusty car up to reasonable roadworthy condition. My information is that good-condition XA coupes, with 302 V8 and auto trans, are bringing $8000-$12,000. I would really recommend you delay your dream drive until you can afford to buy a good car rather than buy a cheap, rusty wreck.

Though the 3.9-litre EA motor and box would fit, I would be loath to recommend it. If you recall, the EA motor had its share of problems, including overheating and head gasket leakage. It was an engine you avoided if you could. The best option, in my view, is the one you were thinking of -- that's rebuilding the 250 for ULP and fitting that.