A 40-Year Custodianship: The Farm-Kept XW GTHO Time Capsule

Some cars are simply owned. Others are cared for, preserved and quietly become part of a family’s story.

A recent visit by the Burns & Co team took us on a four-hour drive from our Newcastle Auction Rooms to a 6,000-acre farm near Gunnedah, home to Allan Riordan and family and home to something truly special, Allan’s prized 1969 Ford XW GTHO Phase 1.

The car has been on the property since the mid-1980s and remains a genuine time warp. Stored on the same rural property for decades, it has lived a quiet, sheltered life away from heavy use and modification. Still wearing its original paint and interior, and accompanied by its books, it represents the kind of authenticity collectors dream about.

The odometer now shows 28,032 miles, and the car remains a matching-numbers example, importantly unrestored and unmodified, preserving its originality.

Allan purchased the GTHO from a Tamworth yard in 1983 for $13,000 and it has remained in his care ever since.

Over four decades of continuous ownership is a rarity for any GTHO, and this long-term custodianship forms a key part of the car’s story.

The history stretches back even further. Allan later tracked down the original owner, Mr Harold Bunting, a former Ford employee in Geelong. Harold shared that the car was one of the very last sold by Ford, having been retained as a backup for the great Alan Moffat. The service books show Harold purchased the car from Ford with just 1,226 miles on the clock, described at the time as having “a lot of extra work done at the factory.”

Documented history and traceable ownership further strengthen the car’s provenance.

Now, after more than 40 years as part of the Riordan family, the time has come for the next chapter. With Allan’s health not what it once was, the decision has been made to pass the car on to its next custodian.

Finished in Candy Apple Red with Dark Saddle interior and presented in remarkably original condition, this is an honest and highly desirable example.

Cars with this level of continuous ownership and documented history rarely surface.

The XW GTHO Phase 1 is now booked into the Burns & Co Classic & Collectable Car Auction scheduled for Monday 16 March 2026.

For collectors who value story, provenance and authenticity, this is a special opportunity.

Because cars like this aren’t just vehicles, they’re part of Australian motoring heritage.

If you would like to know more about this particularly car, please call Ashley Burns 0408 618 294 or
Phil Shaw 0437 637 644 (NSW / QLD).