Originally posted by Racer X 69 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint.
Nice shot. I still remember when the '64.5 Mustang was introduced in April/'64. And I also recall the Ford Falcon Sprint. I liked the Mustang, but I also liked the Sprint. Think the Sprint came out in '63, and you could get the 260 cube V8 and 4 speed transmission in them. I liked the looks of the 2 door, hardtop Sprint and I really liked the Monte Carlo Rally Falcons that Ford had set up for the Monte Carlo Rally, I believe in '63 and '64.
Saw photos of them in Road & Track magazine's Rally coverage back then, and these little Fords were tough looking. Big fog lamps in the front end, and all that HD/performance equipment added. .
Wider wheels and tires, beefed up suspension, souped up Ford 260 and 289 cube V8's, plus all sorts of other modifications.
I believe they did very well, great power to weight and handling. Apparently they were ferocious competitors in the European rallies of the time, and I would say opened up the eyes of Europeans that a properly prepared American car, could really be more than competitive on the narrow, European roads, that rallies took place.
Then the Mustang came out...and the performance Falcon seemed to wane. No surprise as the Mustang was going to be the small sporty , performance car for Ford and take over from where the Falcon had just begun.
Now I liked the early Mustang quite a bit, but I also had a fondness for the performance Falcon and have wondered where the Falcon would of gone, as a performance and a muscle car, if fate had not intervened in early '64, when the Mustang was introduced.
I do think Ford could of had both the Mustang and the Falcon in their performance lines. After all, Chevy did the performance thing, with both the Camaro and the Chevy ll/ Nova...through the later '60's.
But anyway, thanks Racer for the pix of the Sprint. Took me back to the days when I was young, performance car and motorcycle mad, teenager.