1964 Ford XM Falcon Deluxe – Teacher’s Pet – 66
Ten years ago Kim Theyers didn’t know what an XM Falcon was. These days she’s got the best example in the country.
When we asked why Taranaki primary school principal Kim Theyers chose to build an XM Falcon, the answer wasn’t what we expected. While most people purchase the vehicles we see in these pages with the intent of modifying or restoring them, her story is a
bit different.
It all started 10 years ago, when Kim’s husband, Glen, was rebuilding his ’32 coupe. With the coupe in bits the happy couple didn’t have a car to get them to events or even to take for a weekend cruise.
Kim decided the solution was for her to buy a car of her own that could be used for such occasions. She had no idea what she was really after, and it was only when she spotted a purple XM pulling into Rotorua Swapmeet that she knew it was the vehicle for her.
“I had no idea what kind of car it was or even if it was for sale,” she says, “but I told Glen that was the car I wanted.” Luckily, after a bit of hunting around, the car was found and was actually for sale.
Better still, the price was right and the car was solid. “We then had to scrounge around everyone we knew at the swapmeet to come up with the cash to purchase the car, as we weren’t expecting to buy one,” Kim recalls. “Luckily, lots of our friends were obliging, and we managed to get together enough money to drive the car home.”
It was clearly meant to be, and that story of good luck and good timing marks the start of a love affair between Kim and her XM.
Favourite Teacher
For the next eight years the car would be used as a genuine daily driver. Kim was a schoolteacher at the time and the pupils loved the car. If there was a trip anywhere the XM would be the first car the kids wanted to go in, even if it was far closer to stock than it is now.
The transformation from stocker to show-stopper started just two years ago when Glen decided a tin of bog would make for a great birthday present. Most people would be less than impressed but Kim was ecstatic — she knew it signalled that the car would be getting a long overdue tidy-up. And fully aware of her husband’s passion and ability to build cars, Kim was sure this wouldn’t be just a light once-over, even if that’s all Glen was planning at the time.
Within a few weeks the car was stripped to a bare shell — and Kim wasn’t sure it would ever be put together again. But over the next year it was indeed pieced back together, albeit better than she could have ever imagined.
Although most of the ideas for the build were her own, Glen and his friend Daniel had a few surprises up their sleeves and kept Kim away from Midhurst Service Station, where the build was taking place. “Other friends would sometimes let things slip or they would have seen the car while it was at the service station and would tell me about things,” she says.
The Snowball Effect
One of the first things to be done was the construction of a custom fuel tank. With the stock tank removed, the fuel filler could be relocated to inside the boot and the filler flap removed.
With the original tank gone, the rear wheel arches could be tubbed to allow wider rear wheels to be fitted. That meant the rear seat needed modification to fit around the tubs — and so the build snowballed…
With the exterior smoothed off, both in terms of the fuel filler and the removal of years of supermarket dings, attention was turned to achieving the same effect with the engine bay.
The trans tunnel was raised at the same time to allow easy fitment of the C4 auto that now backs up the motor, as well as the custom driveshaft.
The clean bay was then mated with a 302 Windsor of unknown origins. Of course, it was first detailed and fixed with a bunch of bolt-on goodies such as a Torker manifold, 600cfm Holley carb and a host of MSD ignition components.
Once fitted with modified Mustang extractors and an equally modified Cadillac air cleaner, the engine was ready to be dropped back in the hole.
But first came the big decision of paint colour. Kim wanted purple, and after seeing the latest Holden Morpheus variant, she knew that was the one.
Deciding on a silver to match was more difficult, and it sounds like quite a bit of time was spent searching for it. After much deliberating, PPG Iceberg was chosen and Maurice Pretty was handed the task of applying it.
A Solid Plan
From the beginning Kim knew what she wanted to do with the interior. The seats were to remain stock, but they would be given a two-tone leather retrim. Normanby Upholstery was chosen to do the work, but finding a purple leather became a challenge. Not wanting to let her down, the company ended up having the leather specially dyed for the car. Combined with the white leather and chrome fittings, the interior has come together even better than Kim could have ever expected.
A white hood lining was also added to the cabin and with that, combined with the white seats and purple carpets (which really set the
interior off), we’re assuming the days of taking kids on school trips in the XM are over.
The finishing touch was the embroidering of NOVRYN on the back of the front seats.
Don’t worry if you didn’t get it at first, you’re not alone. ‘November Rain’ by Guns N’ Roses is a special song for Kim and Glen, so much so it now adorns the number plate.
Those widened rear wheel arches that started the build now house 18×10-inch Boyd Coddington Smoothie II rims, which are fitted to a narrowed eight-inch diff. Up front slightly smaller 17×7-inch versions have been fitted around later model Falcon front struts with XB Falcon discs and callipers.
While the rear makes do with the stock drums, it does have some very nice QA1 adjustable coil-overs mounted to a custom four-link setup. The result is a low yet not undriveable height, and a car that handles far better than when it left the factory back in 1964 — not to mention the fact it turns heads wherever it goes.
One Year On
It was almost exactly a year in the build before the car hit the road in its new guise, and since then Kim’s never looked back, taking it all around the country whenever she gets the chance.
A lot has changed from 10 years ago when she didn’t know what the Falcon was. One thing that hasn’t, though, is her love for the car, and with it now looking as good as it does, we can’t imagine that love fading any time soon.
Some things are just meant to be.
Driveline: Ford C4 transmission, shortened eight-inch diff
Suspension: Custom four-link rear, QA1 adjustable coil-overs, aftermarket front springs, QA1 18-inch, 300lb rear springs
Brakes: XB Falcon front discs and callipers, stock drum rear
Wheels/tyres: 17×7-and 18×10-inch Boyd Coddington Smoothie II rims, 215/40R17 and 275/35R18 Kumho tyres
Exterior: Mini-tubbed rear, raised trans tunnel, tinted glass, PPG Morpheus purple and PPG Iceberg silver, rechromed bumpers
Interior: Full retrim with custom dyed leather, Budnik Famosa steering wheel, B&M Star shifter, Pro Sport oil pressure/water temp/ rpm gauges, purple interior carpet, white hood lining, white Fusion speakers, Sony CD player
When we asked why Taranaki primary school principal Kim Theyers chose to build an XM Falcon, the answer wasn’t what we expected. While most people purchase the vehicles we see in these pages with the intent of modifying or restoring them, her story is a
bit different.It all started 10 years ago, when Kim’s husband, Glen, was rebuilding his ’32 coupe. With the coupe in bits the happy couple didn’t have a car to get them to events or even to take for a weekend cruise.
Kim decided the solution was for her to buy a car of her own that could be used for such occasions. She had no idea what she was really after, and it was only when she spotted a purple XM pulling into Rotorua Swapmeet that she knew it was the vehicle for her.
“I had no idea what kind of car it was or even if it was for sale,” she says, “but I told Glen that was the car I wanted.” Luckily, after a bit of hunting around, the car was found and was actually for sale.
Better still, the price was right and the car was solid. “We then had to scrounge around everyone we knew at the swapmeet to come up with the cash to purchase the car, as we weren’t expecting to buy one,” Kim recalls. “Luckily, lots of our friends were obliging, and we managed to get together enough money to drive the car home.”
It was clearly meant to be, and that story of good luck and good timing marks the start of a love affair between Kim and her XM.
Favourite TeacherFor the next eight years the car would be used as a genuine daily driver. Kim was a schoolteacher at the time and the pupils loved the car. If there was a trip anywhere the XM would be the first car the kids wanted to go in, even if it was far closer to stock than it is now.
The transformation from stocker to show-stopper started just two years ago when Glen decided a tin of bog would make for a great birthday present. Most people would be less than impressed but Kim was ecstatic — she knew it signalled that the car would be getting a long overdue tidy-up. And fully aware of her husband’s passion and ability to build cars, Kim was sure this wouldn’t be just a light once-over, even if that’s all Glen was planning at the time.
Within a few weeks the car was stripped to a bare shell — and Kim wasn’t sure it would ever be put together again. But over the next year it was indeed pieced back together, albeit better than she could have ever imagined.
Although most of the ideas for the build were her own, Glen and his friend Daniel had a few surprises up their sleeves and kept Kim away from Midhurst Service Station, where the build was taking place. “Other friends would sometimes let things slip or they would have seen the car while it was at the service station and would tell me about things,” she says.
The Snowball EffectOne of the first things to be done was the construction of a custom fuel tank. With the stock tank removed, the fuel filler could be relocated to inside the boot and the filler flap removed.
With the original tank gone, the rear wheel arches could be tubbed to allow wider rear wheels to be fitted. That meant the rear seat needed modification to fit around the tubs — and so the build snowballed…
With the exterior smoothed off, both in terms of the fuel filler and the removal of years of supermarket dings, attention was turned to achieving the same effect with the engine bay.
The trans tunnel was raised at the same time to allow easy fitment of the C4 auto that now backs up the motor, as well as the custom driveshaft.
The clean bay was then mated with a 302 Windsor of unknown origins. Of course, it was first detailed and fixed with a bunch of bolt-on goodies such as a Torker manifold, 600cfm Holley carb and a host of MSD ignition components.
Once fitted with modified Mustang extractors and an equally modified Cadillac air cleaner, the engine was ready to be dropped back in the hole.
But first came the big decision of paint colour. Kim wanted purple, and after seeing the latest Holden Morpheus variant, she knew that was the one.
Deciding on a silver to match was more difficult, and it sounds like quite a bit of time was spent searching for it. After much deliberating, PPG Iceberg was chosen and Maurice Pretty was handed the task of applying it.
A Solid Plan
From the beginning Kim knew what she wanted to do with the interior. The seats were to remain stock, but they would be given a two-tone leather retrim. Normanby Upholstery was chosen to do the work, but finding a purple leather became a challenge. Not wanting to let her down, the company ended up having the leather specially dyed for the car. Combined with the white leather and chrome fittings, the interior has come together even better than Kim could have ever expected.
A white hood lining was also added to the cabin and with that, combined with the white seats and purple carpets (which really set the
interior off), we’re assuming the days of taking kids on school trips in the XM are over.The finishing touch was the embroidering of NOVRYN on the back of the front seats.
Don’t worry if you didn’t get it at first, you’re not alone. ‘November Rain’ by Guns N’ Roses is a special song for Kim and Glen, so much so it now adorns the number plate.
Those widened rear wheel arches that started the build now house 18×10-inch Boyd Coddington Smoothie II rims, which are fitted to a narrowed eight-inch diff. Up front slightly smaller 17×7-inch versions have been fitted around later model Falcon front struts with XB Falcon discs and callipers.
While the rear makes do with the stock drums, it does have some very nice QA1 adjustable coil-overs mounted to a custom four-link setup. The result is a low yet not undriveable height, and a car that handles far better than when it left the factory back in 1964 — not to mention the fact it turns heads wherever it goes.
One Year On
It was almost exactly a year in the build before the car hit the road in its new guise, and since then Kim’s never looked back, taking it all around the country whenever she gets the chance.
A lot has changed from 10 years ago when she didn’t know what the Falcon was. One thing that hasn’t, though, is her love for the car, and with it now looking as good as it does, we can’t imagine that love fading any time soon.
Some things are just meant to be.
1964 Ford XM Falcon Deluxe – Specifications
Engine: 302ci (4949c) Windsor, Torquer intake manifold, Holley 600 cfm, custom stainless steel drop tank, Holley Blue electric fuel pump, Holley regulator, MSD billet distributor, MSD 6AL, MSD leads, MSD blaster coil, modified Mustang extractors, two three-inch mufflers, aluminium finned oil cooler, 24×18-inch alloy radiator, smoothed engine bay, battery relocated to boot, stainless radiator overflow bottle, polished alloy lead separators, chrome rocker covers, chrome alternator, customised Cadillac air cleanerDriveline: Ford C4 transmission, shortened eight-inch diff
Suspension: Custom four-link rear, QA1 adjustable coil-overs, aftermarket front springs, QA1 18-inch, 300lb rear springs
Brakes: XB Falcon front discs and callipers, stock drum rear
Wheels/tyres: 17×7-and 18×10-inch Boyd Coddington Smoothie II rims, 215/40R17 and 275/35R18 Kumho tyresExterior: Mini-tubbed rear, raised trans tunnel, tinted glass, PPG Morpheus purple and PPG Iceberg silver, rechromed bumpers
Interior: Full retrim with custom dyed leather, Budnik Famosa steering wheel, B&M Star shifter, Pro Sport oil pressure/water temp/ rpm gauges, purple interior carpet, white hood lining, white Fusion speakers, Sony CD player
Performance: Untested
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