By Jim Yu
I am biased, but I think Hooniverse is the best car blog out there. A big reason for this is YOU, the readers and commenters. The wealth of experience and the oddball vehicles owned are second to none. Today, I present Hooniverse commenter Matthew’s XE Falcon ute. I’ll give the Cliffs Notes version. For the full tale, go here.
Like many all of us, Matthew of Michigan was surfing the web, passively car shopping. He came upon an XE Falcon ute for sale outside of Los Angeles. Most of us would have dug a little further by looking at the truck’s Wikipedia entry, browsed a few enthusiasts’ forums, and started a new keyword search. But Matthew actually bought the ute.
He and his bud Andrew flew to L.A. to pick it up to drive it 2,305 miles home. They filled their luggage with tools and away they went. Other than some suspect wiring, the rig looked good. But as soon as they hit the desert highway, the truck overheated over and over again. A number of quick fixes, including driving with the hood/bonnet off, actually worked. Well, kind of.
Wait. You know what? There are so many twists and turns, a summary just won’t do the story justice. Just go to Matthew’s blog and read it yourself from top to bottom. It is well worth it. Go ahead, you deserve an extra 23 minute break from that cubicle!
Postscript: Oh, and Matthew also happens to own:
1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport (4×4, 4.0, 5-speed): Perhaps the only truly useful vehicle
1989 Shelby CSX-T: Broken rent-a-racer
1971 Simca 1204 (Yellow): Driven daily with new brakes
1971 Simca 1204 (Blue): Currently parts car, to be Turbo-Dodged
1974 AMC Javelin: Undergoing boosted 4.0 and pro-touring conversion, albeit very slowly
1989 Ford Falcon S: Towed away and currently missing
1984 Ford Falcon Utility: Newly built 351C, running well enough
1955 Sportsman Balboa 14′ Fishing Boat: Waiting for spring
1981 Yamaha Chappy 50cc Moped: In serious need of some reserve power
2004 Mini Cooper: Wife’s daily transport
Images source: Matthew at BeaterBlog
Jeff Glucker 
Kamil Kaluski
If you need an excuse to read his blog let me give you this. Its the third vehicle on the page.
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I5GnZiCki_Q/UW9W2cNLPzI/AAAAAAAABiA/Vgn3r6F5TFI/s1600/marvia.jpg" width=500 />
Hey, I saw that last year at Fabulous Fords Forever! You neglected to mention that this has an LTD nose swap.
Here's the direct link to the California to Michigan trip:
http://www.beaterblog.com/2011/09/roo-chasin-adve…
I think "awesome" is not strong enough of a sentiment to describe this.
Way more epic than the NorCal to North Texas trip I did with a friend back in '87, in a '68 GTO.
What an awesome story.
Damn, now I've got Ute Fever again. Makes you wonder how difficult it would be to import a rolling chassis in amazing condition and shoehorn in a Ford crate motor. I'll just leave this here…
<img src="http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/blnc/120717/935r1/3330183_20.jpeg" width="600"> http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/hillcrest/cars-van…
Damn, that's a clean XF! Those things aren't worth anything in Oz…but after I'm finished with the XE I'd like an EL sedan…
My buddy and I are seriously considering doing the same trip in a GTV6 very soon … the guy won't sell it to me unless I show up in LA to buy it…. I'm pretty sure its an awful/excellent idea.