Auction watch: XY Falcon GTHO, HZ Sandman, VL HDT Aero and more!

Normally there’s one or two big-ticket cars that take centre-stage in Grays’ weekly classic car auctions, but this week there’s a full menu of properly desirable and rare metal – including a genuine GTHO Phase III!

All the listings are live now with bidding open, and wrap up on Tuesday 31 May from 8pm AEST. All the top bid numbers quoted are accurate at the time of writing.

After just one day of bidding, this genuine 1971 XY Falcon GTHO Phase III has already garnered a whopping AU$550,100, and Grays suggests that’s only halfway towards breaking the reserve!

It’s build #196 of roughly 300 XY HO Phase IIIs made. Painted in factory Monza Green and sporting a wind-back sunroof, the car underwent a full restoration to as-new spec in 2012. As part of that, Dandy Engines gave the matching-numbers 351 a health check, and the car is said to have only done 1000 clicks since then.

The most recent Phase III to sell at auction did so late last year; it was the car that set the tone for HO prices way back in 2007. While the official price of last year’s sale has been kept quiet, the rumour mill suggests over $1 million changed hands when it found a new home.

Sandman panel vans have enjoyed solid market growth in the past 12 months, with several top-shelf HX and HZ vans fetching over AU$100K at auction.

This genuine ’76 HX Sandman could be set to do the same, wearing original Aquarius paint, the original L31 V8 and a conversion to a five-cog manual in place of the original M21.

For your money you’ll also get a heap of documentation, tobacco memorabilia and even a Sandman surfboard! As we write, bidding has already topped AU$50,100, but as we mentioned, that’s only about half its real-world value these days.

If you’re looking for an investment but property is too dry for you, then a VK Blue Meanie is a pretty solid option.

This genuine example comes with a bunch of docs and boasts just two owners from new. It’s indicating 92,000km, with all the original running gear, interior, wheels and the stuff that makes the Blue Meanie arguably the best HDT model. The top bid is sitting at AU$170,100 after less than 24 hours and is being offered with no reserve, so we expect some feisty bidding action on this one.

The HDT-badged goodies continue with this ’86 VL HDT Aero, which has an interesting story behind it.

Now officially an HDT car, it originally started life as a BT1 pursuit vehicle in NSW – hence the turbo RB30. Once it was sold into private hands, it was given a makeover by HDT Sydney and a numbered build plate to match, and since then has copped a bunch of new-school touches including GPS, integrated iPod and HUD.

As we type, bidding sits at a substantial AU$90,100, so there’s a good chance this unique VL could fetch well over AU$100K by Tuesday night.

It’s pretty bloody hard to pass up an Atlas Grey VN SS; it’s arguably become the halo car for 90s Australian muscle machines. Despite the reverse-cowl bonnet, this one is actually a fairly standard and tidy example, so the lucky buyer can either continue the mods and create a real street beast or revert it back to stock with relative ease.

It’s up for grabs with no reserve, and with a top bid of just AU$13,900 early in the auction, it could prove to be a cheaper way into a VN SS in the current market.

There’s a couple of tough street machines crossing the block this week, and they don’t get much better than this stupidly cool 1970 HT GTS Monaro.

Punching out of the bonnet is a supercharged 383-cube Chev, topped with a pair of Holley carbs. It rolls on Center Line rims all ’round, and we can already see this thing blazing the cruise route at Summernats or making a big impression at your next cars-and-coffee.

The running gear used to cope with the 383’s stonk comprises a Turbo 350 and a nine-inch diff with lairy 4.11:1 gearing, so we bet this thing is pretty chirpy.

Bidding has only hit AU$162,000 so far, and we say ‘only’ as you’d struggle to build something even half this cool for that money in this day and age.

Ford fans will love this 302-powered XE Fairmont Ghia, rocking a shaker hood scoop, mandrel-bent exhaust and Convo Pro wheels!

The 302 is claimed to have had a minor warm-up compared to standard, and, being a Ghia, the car features all the 80s Fairmont luxury that’ll make this thing one awesome pub-run machine.

The XE has a current top bid of AU$20,000, so we reckon you just put a bid in, slap some heritage plates on it and make it a nifty weekend cruiser.

If you’d like a luxo V8 Blue Oval but two-door is more your flavour, this XC Fairmont V8 coupe should fit the bill perfectly.

Save for the 12-slotter wheels, it looks to be quite original, and the shed dust means it’s worth more, right? Regardless, the fact it hasn’t been turned into a GT clone like 99 per cent of the coupes around today should be celebrated.

A final Aussie two-door offering to wrap up this week is this ’71 Chrysler Valiant Charger XL, a factory air-conditioned car that also boasts a smattering of 770 and R/T dealer-fitted options.

Under the bonnet is the 245-cube Hemi six, mated to an auto ’box. The interior is in as-new condition and a real credit to the people who’ve looked after it for over 50 years. Bidding currently sits at AU$22,000 with no reserve, it will be interesting to see what this one pulls.