For sale is the Ultimate John Goss Special! The prototype John Goss Special Falcon Hardtop and also John Goss' Ford Australia company car in 1975. Now owned by Goss' mechanic, Grant O'Neill for the past 48 years. For sale from country NSW.
The 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 held at the Mount Panorama Circuit on the 6th October 1974 was the wettest race in the event's history to that date. In the race, John Goss and Kevin Bartlett were victorious in the McLeod Ford Radio 2UW XA GT Falcon Hardtop with the Torana SL/R 5000 L34 of Bob Forbes and Wayne Negus hard on their heels. New Zealand drivers Jim Richards and Rod Coppins finished third, five laps down in another Torana SL/R 5000 L34.
To commemorate John Goss' first win in the prestigious Bathurst 1000, Ford Australia released the limited edition John Goss Special (JGS) in July 1975. It is believed that 800 were built between July and November, 1975.
The John Goss Special cars were available in a choice of two accent colours, Apollo Blue metallic or Emerald Fire (green) metallic, offset against the predominant body colour of Polar White. The metallic paint (specified on the cars' compliance plates) covered the bonnet, engine bay, chassis, and feature sections on the 'A' pillar and waistline, as well as the lower sill sections and the rear feature panel between the tail-lights. Unlike other GS Rally Pack cars, the road wheels were painted in Polar White, as were the bumper bars and the front grille assembly. Interior trim was white vinyl, contrasted against a black dashboard and black floor carpet.
A factory Dealer Bulletin (dated 30 July 1975) released to Ford dealers stated that all "minor Falcon 500 options" were available to order on the John Goss Special, and there is evidence of some cars featuring a Limited Slip Differential. The 302ci V8 was the only available engine, but this could be had with either a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic floor-mounted transmission. A central floor Sports Console was a specified mandatory option, as was Sports Handling Suspension with 185 section steel-belted radial tyres.
In addition, the JGS featured the GS Rally Pack with full dash instrumentation, a 3-spoke steering wheel, vented bonnet (hood) with locking pins, and 12-slot steel road wheels. A separate item featured on all John Goss Special hardtops were the cosmetic side body vents that were also a feature of contemporary Falcon GT hardtops.
FOR SALE is the earliest build John Goss Special and the prototype initially allocated to the Ford Motor Company Marketing Department in North Sydney and allocated to John Goss as his personal Ford company car. According to the Australian Muscle Car Magazine Issue 145 feature story on this special Falcon, "John Goss had been handed the keys to this hardtop a month or so prior to Ford's unveiling of the John Goss Special. Fittingly, Goss' daily drive was in fact the pre-production version for what was soon to be released as the John Goss Special."
Following on from John Goss' custodianship, Grant O'Neill, who was Goss' mechanic for the McLeod Ford race team became the owner of this very special JGS Falcon. As Aunger Wheels were one of Goss' race sponsors, the car was fitted with a set of Aunger Hotwire wheels that were made especially for the Goss race car and also full length arm rests, as specified by Goss himself. Soon after acquiring the Goss Special, O'Neill upgraded the factory 302 Cleveland with one of the 351 engines built for the McLeod Ford race team. Three such spare engines were built from bare blocks supplied to Goss by Ford that featured higher wall thickness 4 bolt mains. The JGS Falcon was also fitted with a genuine 36 gallon '75 Bathurst fuel tank - one of only 6 such tanks ever made.
Initially, the big Falcon was used as family transport for the O'Neills, then shedded for 20 years while family and work commitments took priority. When O'Neill was enlisted to help John Goss build a replica of his '74 Bathurst winning McLeod Ford XA GT Hardtop, the JGS Falcon was also taken out of storage and given a full restoration. The car was bare metal restored by Canberra Bodyworks, the engine was rebuilt in keeping with the ex-race engine with a 9.5:1 compression ratio, TRW flat top pistons, closed chamber 4V cylinder heads, an 800CFM Holley Double Pumper and a Buddy Bar manifold. The cam is virtually a Phase 3 spec running mechanical lifters. When dynoed, the engine produced 424 horsepower at 6,000 rpm at the fly wheel. The oil sump and exhaust are also unique O'Neill builds for this car. The headers are ceramic coated and the exhaust is stainless steel. And the sump is O'Neill's version of a wet sump with swinging trap doors and baffles.
The clutch is twin plate as used in the race cars and the original single rail Borg Warner four speed has been replaced with a long shaft wide ratio Top Loader with 31 spline output. The standard drum braked Borg Warner rear end has been replaced with a disc brake nine inch with XC brake rotors and calipers. And the front brakes are a four piston set up similar to that used on Historic Group Nc Mustangs. O'Neill's suspension set up is as he would have run the race cars in the rain so quite stiff compared to a stock JGS. Also fitted is an XF steering box with a NASCAR power steering pump with a Maxrob steering wheel (as in the Mad Max cars).
The JGS Falcon is riding on the specially made Aunger race mags with Maxxis 265/50R15 on the front and 295/50R15 at the rear.
The Falcon is also fitted with a genuine Ford made 36 gallon Bathurst foam filled fuel tank, an item left over from the 1975 Group C racing period. Ford made 6 of these special XB tanks. Two for Moffat, 2 for Murray Carter and 2 for Goss.
The JGS Falcon has covered around 100 kilometres since the restoration was completed. The Falcon is supplied with the original Log Books and a copy of the Australian Muscle Car Magazine issue 145.
Being the prototype John Goss Special, Goss' own personal car and then thoughtfully upgraded by the race guru O'Neill makes this one super special piece of Ford automotive history. After almost 50 years of knowing and owning this special Falcon, its time for this JGS to find a new enthusiast owner. This is truly a rare, unique and limited edition Ford muscle car with a direct connection to the Bathurst great race and to John Goss himself.
For your inspection from Wagga Wagga, NSW. (Ref. 6608)
And if you like we will gladly arrange a video inspection/road test of the car using WhatsApp and of course there is no issue with door to door freight delivery anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.
Price: Offers over $225,000 invited VIN: JG65RS 10058K Engine: Y JG66RY 13181K Transmission: L Paint: S Trim: W Options: 03 - Seat belts 32 - Sports Console 39 - Carpets 48 - Rallye Pack 68 - Sports handling suspension 88 - 185SR x 14 Radial ply tyres Build: 7-1975
