Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1: $500,000 ex-race car unwittingly sold for $5000 decades ago

A Ford fanatic has been reunited with a Falcon GTHO Phase 1 he bought in 1972 for $4000 – and then sold it four years later for $5000 – after discovering it is now a priceless piece of Australian automotive history worth more than half-a-million dollars.

This is a tale of ‘the one that got away’, and the man – who bought the car in his twenties – no longer owns the rare 1969 Ford Falcon GTHO which is now estimated to be valued in excess of $500,000.

But he did get to stand next to it recently, and see it restored to its former glory.

In June 1972, young revhead John Oates bought from a Ford dealer's used-car lot a low-kilometre 1969 Falcon Phase 1 GTHO in Brambles Red – the same type of car Ford raced at Bathurst.

Except in this case, this secondhand road car was one of the former race cars which had competed in the 1969 Bathurst 500-mile endurance race – now known as the Bathurst 1000.

At the time, Bathurst racers were based on road cars available off the showroom floor. 

Once the Bathurst 500 was over, it was common for race numbers and sponsor logos to be removed – and a quick service check conducted and registration plates refitted – before the vehicles were sold as used cars.

Although this used-car buyer didn’t know it at the time, he had just paid $4000 for a former Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 race car which had been part of the official Ford Motorsport team which tackled the Bathurst 500.

Unaware of its historical significance or future value, Mr Oates sold the car in 1976 for $5000 – making a tidy profit of $1000 – after owning it for four years.

The vehicle then changed hands a number of times over the decades that followed until its true identity – and significance – was unearthed by classic-car and muscle-car dealer Terry Healy in 1998, and then subsequently sold to its current owner, renowned Australian muscle-car collector, David Bowden.

The vehicle has since been fully restored in its racing livery.

In June 2022, after posting on social media a photo of the car from 1972 – to see if any Ford fanatics knew where the vehicle is today – Mr Oates was shocked to find out the Falcon GTHO Phase 1 he had once owned is now worth a mint.

“I knew it had been used in competition by the bolt-hole pattern in the floor from the mounting of a roll-bar,” Mr Oates told automotive historian and author of the Ford Falcon GTHO Register series, Ross Vasse.

However, at the time, Mr Oates didn’t look into the significance of those tell-tale signs.

“This is a heart-breaking story about the one that got away for one diehard Ford fan,” said Mr Vasse.

“None of us knew how collectible these cars would become. Few of us could afford to hang onto them for that long. But it was great for (Mr Oates) to be reunited with the car all these years later.”

Mr Vasse says he has also tracked down exactly which drivers raced this factory-back Ford Motorsport entry in the 1969 Bathurst 500, however he is saving that detail for a later book in the series that covers the motorsport history of the Falcon GTHO and other iconic performance Fords. 

“We apologise for this cliffhanger, and assure you that it’ll be worth the wait,” said Mr Vasse.

As with the previous sold-out books from the Register series – GTHO Phase 1.5, Phase 2, and Phase 3 – the upcoming Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 Register details each of the 260 examples of the breed.

Details include every car’s colour and trim options, never-before-seen historical photos from Ford’s archives, pre-delivery paperwork, original sales receipts, photos of stolen and crashed cars, and insight into how many Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 sedans survive today.

The 351 limited-edition hard cover versions of the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 Register have already sold out online. Customer orders for the soft-cover ’Blue Edition’ close at midnight on 31 October 2023 and the publisher is only printing the exact number of books that have been pre-sold.

“As with the other editions, we will not do reprints. Once the orders are in, that is how many copies we will print,” said Mr Vasse.

“Next year we will be releasing the XC Cobra Hardtop Register – and the long-awaited XA GTHO Phase 4 Register, which will reveal more about that car than has ever been published to date.”

The Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 Register ‘Blue Edition’ costs $275 plus shipping, with deliveries due to commence from 30 November 2023.

MORE: Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 1 Register