![]() ![]() Nick’s GT is running the 6/71 huffer 10 percent under-driven, which equates to between 10 and 12psi of boost pressure. Super grade fuel causes higher blower temperatures than methanol, so the clearances must be kept reasonably wide to allow for expansion. “You have to put heavy duty end plates on them, particularly if you’re going to run with big boost on the strip.” As purchased, Nick’s blower had a home made style end plate, which Russell ripped off quick smart, as well as re-setting the tolerances on the vanes. “The GM superchargers need some work when they come off trucks,” says Russell. A Holley Blue pump feeds an avgas/Super mix to the header tank up front, with an overflow back to the main tank. Tuned right up, the injection system’s capable of delivering a staggering 3000cfm of intake flow, although it’s doubtful Nick would use even a pinch of this on the street. The old stuff tended to slip, which was causing inconsistent idle. The barrel valve was worn on the Enderle Bugcatcher system, so Jonesy bought a late model system with splined linkages. As part of the car’s most recent update, Nick had Russell Jones – Winfield Top Fuel driver Jim Read’s engine builder – pick up some parts in the US. “Everyone has blowers through carbies, and most people say you can’t do fuel injection with superchargers on the street. “I really wanted to run injection,” says Nick. It all makes good sense when you consider the massive torque output from a 600 horsepower Cleveland. ![]() The valve body’s been fully manualised, which means Nick’s hand is reaching for the B&M Quick Click shifter on a regular basis. ![]() You’ve probably noticed the partially exposed powerplant, but what you won’t glimpse is the hard shifting Ford C6 auto behind it. Factory sunroof and mini-tubs aside, it’s the same pristine GT Falcon body Nick stripped back to bare metal six and a half years ago. And the engine bay was lead wiped rather than bogged after a heap of hard launches on the strip in its previous single carb form, Nick reports no cracking beneath the lid. The first bloke screwed up big time, so Nick and his mate Darren hooked into it themselves. “Most people say you can’t do fuel injection with superchargers on the street. And those tubs, incidentally, caused Nick a few dramas. It carries a limited-slip centre, and a holeshot hero 4.56:1 ratio. That live axle at the back’s a nine-inch, cut down by a total of 5 1/2 inches to accommodate mini tubs. “I took home a truck load of bits - it was easily enough to rebuild six or seven GTs!” says Nick.īut small detail isn’t all that makes this GT a true Ford. Nick chanced upon a gold mine when he heard of a bloke getting out of his Ballarat GT Falcon shop to live up north, and Nick made an offer on his entire remaining stock. Like the fact that all the rubbers, clips, lights, moulds and other ittybits are all original FoMoCo stock. It’s a special four door Ford all right, and not for obvious reasons. When he rang recently and said he’d made some minor updates, we jumped at the chance to put ace photographer Warwick Kent on a bomber to the Gold Coast to re-capture Nick’s SuperFalc. The second we clapped eyes on Nick Karathanasopoulos’ diamond cut XY GT Falcon at Summernats 6, we just knew it deserved a place in the hall of fame. ![]() Here’s the full feature from the June 1994 mag below: We first featured Nick Karathanasopoulos’s TUF58 XY GT Falcon in the April/May 1992 issue of SM, under the title ‘Shock Treatment.’ It then scored the cover and another feature in the June 1994 mag, this time dubbed ‘Urge Overkill,’ no doubt lifted from the then-trendy grunge band of the same name. ![]()
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