Who is John Goss and why is he special?
For those that didn't follow Australian Touring Cars in the 1970's and 1980's, you most likely have never heard of John Goss so let us tell you about him and why he is special enough to have a car named after him.
John Goss is a Legend. Tasmanian-born Goss won Bathurst 1000 touring car race in 1974 as a privateer and again in 1985. In 1976 he made history again when he won the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Sandown Park. In doing so, he became the only man in Australian motor racing history to win both of Australia's premier races - the Bathurst 1000 endurance event for touring cars and the Australian Grand Prix for open wheelers.
John Goss flew to the Ford 100th Anniversary in Dearborn, Michigan in 2003 to the delight of the Australian Ford Falcon owners that made the trip. There were a total of three John Goss Specials at the event - two stock examples and one heavily modified.
John Goss greeting a fan at the Ford 100th Anniversary in 2003 (above)
Why a "John Goss Special"
The 1974 Bathurst win was not anticipated by Ford Australia, they anticipated that if a Ford were to win it would be one of the factory works teams. This didn't happen and John Goss / Kevin Bartlett walked away outright winners.
Ford seized the opportunity to boost lagging Hardtop sales by taking a base Falcon 500 Hardtop, dressing it up with decals and other bolt on options and call it a John Goss Special. These 'Specials' were only available in White with a choice of two accent colors: Emerald Fire and Apollo Blue.
Sadly it was seen as just that for many years by the average Australian Ford connoisseur, a Hardtop with flash paint. This is true, to a point. It had the small V8 (302 Cleveland), the smaller of the two 4 speed gearboxes (Borg Warner Single Rail) and the Borg Warner 8" rear end. But it also included color coded bumpers like the GT, a GS/GT hood and instrumentation. It was also only made in very limited numbers. Ford never kept track of how many they made but the number is commonly quoted as 260. So flash paint on a base model doesn't spell collectible but give is a cool name and limit the numbers and sure enough you have a collector car on your hands. Australians ignored the fact for 20+ years and it is only recently, as the price of all Hardtops have increased, so have the John Goss Specials.
Identifying a John Goss Specials
As Ford didn't assign a specific model code to the JGS, identifying one is more of a process of elimination than anything else.
- VIN. Will be JG65R [S,T,J,U or M] XXXXX K
- Model must be 18313 with Paint code of S or Q and Trim code of W
- Contact Ford Australia with the VIN and they should confirm the options 32, 39, 48 and 68 were fitted to the car.
Price guide
As with any collectable vehicle prices vary wildly depending on rarity, factory options, condition etc. The below guide reflects conditions 5/10 - 10/10 and are based on sales prices that would not include shipping and other associated costs in getting a vehicle to the USA.
| John Goss Special |
U$12,000 - U$25,000 |
Interested in obtaining an JGS?
Like any limited run vehicle, these will continue to increase in value and probably faster than a Falcon 500 GS or Fairmont as there were far fewer produced. Get yours today!
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