It was 1986 and Keith Sturgess was sitting in a used car sales office just about to sign off on a fancy Commodore when he spotted this Red Pepper Ford XA GT coming out of the workshop across the lot.
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He fell in love with it and just had to have it, so the Commodore deal was off, and that's how Keith Sturgess from the Central West Car Club ended up with this iconic hot Ford.
"It caused a bit of trouble really, because the first bloke lost his commission when I bought the XA from their other sales guy," chuckled Keith.
"I reckon I drove around for the first three months like the Cheshire cat until my mates got sick of me and I still get that cheezy smile driving it now."
It was his first ever V8, but Keith told me he'd been into hot cars before that.
"We used to do a bit of illegal drag racing back then on the back streets around the Illawarra, but the fun police had put a stop to that by the time I got the XA.
"It's got a 302 V8 with a Mach 1 Mustang C4 auto and an 83/4" posi-traction disc brake rear end and I've added a shaker bonnet scoop, so the purists probably hate it," said Keith.
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Keith now regrets giving away the original Bathurst Globes, but he is still in love with his wheels.
"I've always liked the 12 slot mags but I'm on the look out for the Globes again if anybody knows of asset.
"I'm not specifically a Ford or a Holden guy, but I just loved the look and the profile of the GT from the moment I saw it, and it was my daily driver for years.
"The paint was starting to peel and I used to touch up the black stripes with a texta pen, so it got a full re-spray in 1996," said Keith.
Keith's car gets a little more pampered these days; he still gets it out a lot, but its usually a weekend driver now, and he loves getting amongst club members.
"I joined the Car Club for the network of like minded people.
"It's a fantastic club - well run and generous with their charity donations, and the members are all friendly and enthusiastic," Keith said.
The club meets on the first Wednesday of each month and holds regular car meets and club runs. If you'd like to discover more just search www.centralwestcarclub or find us on Facebook. Our charity car show is set down for Saturday, October 16.
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