Article: Ford Falcon Sprint

[Steve Holmes]

17912

In the late 1950s, in response to increased opposition from foreign companies, General-Motors, Chrysler, and Ford each recognised a need for a domestically produced compact car, to meet growing market demand. To the rest of the world, their offerings, the Chrysler Valiant, Chevrolet Corvair, and Ford Falcon might be considered more mid-sized than compact, but in a market whose local products were expanding in all directions to huge proportions, these new vehicles were, by comparison, exactly as their market segment suggested.

Fords new Falcon first hit the market in late 1959, and sales were strong. But while this new entry-level model lacked frills, it also lacked thrills, and until the 260ci V8 was offered for the first time mid-way through the 1963 model range, its performance was more sedate, than sporting. But the addition of the spritely little V8, originally designed for the Falcons bigger brother, the Fairlane, was introduced along with a new sporty Falcon, the Futura Sprint. The new small block V8 transformed the Falcon, and Ford were keen to target the youth market, using the international stage as their platform, when in 1963 they entered a fleet of Holman-Moody prepared Falcon Sprint hardtops in the most unlikely of events for an American vehicle, the Monte Carlo Rally.

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Even though by US standards the Falcon was considered a compact car, by European standards, it very much wasn’t, and this decision had all the makings for exposing the Fords as being exactly what many considered them to be; large American cars better suited to straight stretches of freeway. But H-M knew how to build strong race cars, and they knew how to get the small block V8 to perform.

Swedish championship winning rally driver Bo Ljungfeldt was contracted to drive one of the three Falcons, and proved an absolute sensation. On anything remotely resembling a straight stretch of road, Ljungfeldt extracted everything from his galloping V8 Falcon. His experience in ice racing also proved crucial, as Europe was in the midst of its coldest winter for many years. He stunned everyone when he set fastest time on all six special performance Alpine pass stages. But ultimately, the Falcons finished the rally well down the order, when they picked up road penalties through traffic delays which put them on the back-foot, and their bristling performances couldn’t make up the short-fall. But Ford had entered the Monte because it was one of the few events at the time to gain international media exposure, and their conquests had brought the Falcon wide-spread positive reviews.

The 1964 model year brought about the bold second-generation Falcon, with spear-side body styling, and which included an attractive new Sprint. Part-way through the 1964 model year, the new 289ci V8 was also offered as the top performing engine package.

Again, Ford entered the Monte Carlo Rally, this time with eight cars. The FIA offered an impossible but tempting homologation minimum racing weight of just 960kg, and in their attempts to get the cars near this weight, Holman-Moody outfitted the Falcons with fibreglass replacement panels for the bonnet, boot lid, front fenders, and doors.

Again, Ljungfeldt was star of the show, once more winning all six Alpine stages, although works BMC Mini Cooper driver Paddy Hopkirk equalled him on one stage, and was ultimately awarded the overall win based on a handicapping system which favoured his smaller engine size. Ljungfeldt was second.

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With Ford releasing the sporty new Mustang in April 1964, their focus towards the compact performance market shifted away from the Falcon, which continued on quietly within their line-up until eventually being dropped in 1970, amidst slumping sales. The 1964 Monte Carlo Rally might well have been the final chapter in the Falcons otherwise very brief motor racing history, and the handsome Sprint models competition life might well have faded quietly into the history books, had it not been for a distinctly different discipline to that of rallying; touring car racing.

Through 1961 to 1965, the British Saloon Car Championship was contested to FIA Group 2 regulations. Internationally, Group 2 was a popular formula, and was also used in the European Touring Car Championship until 1967, Dutch Touring Car Championship from 1964 to 1967, German Touring Car Championship from 1963 to 1966, and in other domestic touring car championships throughout Europe. Group 2 was used in New Zealand during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and were the regulations the Sports Car Club of America initially structured the Trans-Am championship around in 1966.

[Steve Holmes]

17915

Group 2 rules were extremely limiting, allowing only very mild upgrades over that of the standard production vehicle. The final season for Group 2, 1965, was dominated by Roy Pierpoint’s Ford Mustang, whose only real challengers were the similar cars of Gawaine Baillie and Mike Salmon, although Jim Clark beat everyone at Goodwood in the Team Lotus Cortina. Pierpoint’s Mustang was one of the Alan Mann Racing Tour de France cars from 1965, converted for Group 2 touring car racing. Jack Brabham took victory in the final two races of the season, in another Mustang, but by then Pierpoint had done enough to take the title.

Group 5, introduced for 1966, allowed many more modifications to be made than that of Group 2. Wider wheels could be fitted, made of any material available. Induction systems were free, which meant teams could use multiple carburettors, or, if the resources were available to them, fuel-injection. But perhaps the biggest single rule that would determine the outlook of the BSCC over the next four seasons, was that of the minimum racing weight. In factory standard form as produced by Ford, the Falcon comes out a little heftier than the Mustang, and has a larger frontal area, so under Group 2 rules teams generally favoured the Mustang. Indeed, no Falcons competed in the 1964 or 1965 BSCC, or, it would seem, in any other touring car championship in Europe. Even the massive Galaxie looked a better option, with its horsepower advantage from its big block motor.

1966 BSCC

However, FIA Group 5 rules suddenly swung the advantage back in the Falcons court, because of the incredible 960kg minimum racing weight offered the Falcons for the 1964 Monte Carlo, which would also carry over to Group 5 touring car racing. For the teams who really did their homework, the Falcon provided an extremely competitive package, being powered by the same V8 motor as the Mustang, but weighing significantly less. But most teams didn’t dig deep enough to spot the Falcons potential. At least, not to begin with. Indeed, come the opening round of the 1966 British Saloon Car Championship at Snetterton, only two Falcons lined up on the grid, those of reigning champion Pierpoint, and Gawaine Baillie.

17916

The Falcon Sprints that appeared in the BSCC were those mothballed following their rally adventures two years earlier, and teams further skimmed weight off by removing bumpers and fitting wide lightweight magnesium or alloy wheels.
Jack Brabham took victory in the opening BSCC race in the same Alan Brown run Mustang he’d won the final two rounds with the previous season, now upgraded to Group 5 spec and fitted with fuel-injection. He overcame pole man Clark in the rapid Lotus Cortina, as did Muir in the mighty Galaxie. Baillie was fourth in the Falcon, Pierpoint retired. However, both Falcons started off the rear, after problems in qualifying, and Baillie managed to equal Brabham’s best lap time, itself a new lap record. So the Falcons gave some indication of their potential.

Moving to Goodwood for Round 2, and Brabham was on pole with the Mustang, while Baillie was again the best of the Falcons, in fifth. Pierpoint had more troubles, lining up a lowly 22nd, and retired from the race early on following a shunt. Baillie dropped well down the order in the race.

17917

Round 3 was at Silverstone, and while Pierpoint was absent with his own troubled Falcon, Alan Mann Racing had entered a Falcon for John Whitmore to drive, this being the car driven by Peter Jopp in the ’64 Monte, now converted by Alan Mann Racing for Group 5 touring car competition. Whitmore put the beautiful red and gold machine on pole, and while Muir briefly powered the big Galaxie ahead on the opening tour, Whitmore soon rounded him up, took over the front, and proceeded to romp away as he pleased. In doing so he set a new lap record, and won by 16 seconds, from the similar Baillie Falcon, which overcame an early battle with Muir, Mike Salmon’s Mustang, and the Team Lotus Cortinas of Jacky Ickx and Peter Arundell. Baillie’s cause was helped by the retirement of both Muir and Salmon.

Silverstone was to be the only BSCC event entered by Alan Mann Racing in 1966, but for the next round, at Crystal Palace, Pierpoint returned, having ditched his Falcons fuel-injection system in favour of carburettors, and he charged off to lead the race from second on the grid, to head pole man Arundell, and held his position throughout, eventually finishing 6 seconds ahead of Brabham’s Mustang, and Ickx’s Lotus Cortina.

[Steve Holmes]

17918

Pierpoint backed this up with victory at the following event, Brands Hatch for the Grand Prix event, taking pole position ahead of Baillie in the other Falcon. Baillie eventually finished third behind Jackie Oliver, in a Mustang. An imminent sign was when both Falcons passed Muir’s Galaxie, on the straight, in unison.

Brands also hosted the next round, where Jim Clark returned to beat everyone in the Lotus Cortina on a drenched track. Here both Falcons retired with mechanical problems. This was the last appearance for the Pierpont machine, although Baillie continued on in the final two rounds at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch, taking a good second spot at Oulton, and fourth and third in the 2 Heat Brands Hatch season finale.

BSCC rules being what they were, the series champion could come from any of the four classes, as class results counted towards the overall championship. John Fitzpatrick won the championship driving a Class A Broadspeed prepared Anglia.

1967 BSCC

For the 1967 season, Alan Mann Racing returned to the BSCC full-time, now with Frank Gardner driving the Falcon. The Pierpoint and Baillie Falcons returned, while Richard Bond was entered in a fourth Falcon. Brian Muir would drive the Baillie car.

From what was a closely contested championship in 1966 among the big cars and the faster 4 cylinder machines became a one-sided demonstration by Alan Mann Racing in 1967. The Gardner driven Falcon Sprint completely dominated, winning seven of the ten rounds, including both heats in the opener at Brands Hatch. He finished second to Jackie Oliver’s Mustang at Rounds 2 and 3 held at Snetterton and Silverstone, and the only retirement suffered came in Round 8, at Brands Hatch, when a puncture stopped the flying Ford dead in its tracks. Gardner’s dominant performances in Class D were also enough to give him the outright championship, which he comfortably took from Fitzpatrick’s Class A Broadspeed Anglia. Meanwhile, the Galaxies were gone, and Mustang numbers had dwindled, with Oliver’s example being the only one to challenge Gardner.

17919

1968 BSCC

On average, four or five Falcon Sprints contested each BSCC race in 1968, but the Alan Mann team wasn’t one of them. As a Ford supported race team, they needed to be fielding a car race fans could go and buy off the showroom floor. The Falcon was never available in the UK, but even if it was, this particular model had ceased production three years earlier. Alan Mann Racing would instead enter a new Class C Escort Twin-cam, driven by Gardner, joined by a second car pedalled by a fleet of talent including Peter Arundell, Roger Clark, Jackie Oliver, and Graham Hill. The Escorts would miss the opening three rounds, so had to make do running a single MkII Lotus Cortina for Gardner, as a stop-gap.

17920

Ultimately, Gardner’s utter dominance in Class C saw him crowned as champion. The little Escort even took outright race wins against the big cars at the Brands Hatch GP events, and the Brands Hatch Motor Show 200 which concluded the championship. Gardner invariably gave the V8s a hard time, and usually finished within the top four outright, but again the Falcon Sprints dominated. Bill Shaw Racing, with Brian Muir driving, were the class of the field, winning the opening five races, before Gardner broke their winning streak at the GP event. Then the Malcolm Gartlan Racing Falcon Sprint, driven by David Hobbs, won the next two, before Muir returned to the top step at Oulton Park. Pierpoint, who’d strung together a series of top three results throughout much of the season, finally won the penultimate round, when he powered his Falcon to victory at Brands Hatch.

Although the championship fell to Gardner in the Escort, the season was completely dominated by the Falcon Sprints, as it had been the previous year.

[Steve Holmes]

17921

1969 BSCC

For 1969, teams required either factory backing, or to be armed with a Ford Falcon Sprint, to have a genuine shot at outright victory. Alan Mann Racing had the factory backing, everyone else had a Falcon Sprint. For a championship that was supposed to be demonstrating the sporting capabilities of cars similar to what race fans could go and purchase, it seemed bizarre the racing was being completely dominated by a vehicle that had been out of production for four years. But this was the problem with the Group 5 rules.

Four Falcon Sprints were entered for the opening BSCC round for 1969. Muir had switched to the Malcolm Gartlan team, while his spot at Bill Shaw Racing was taken by Pierpoint. Terry Sanger and Martin Birrane were the other two Sprint entries. The opening round at Brands Hatch contained two heats, and both were won by Pierpoint, from Muir and Gardner. Gardner took top spot at Silverstone, followed by Pierpoint and Mike Crabtree in the Willment Racing Escort twin-cam. Muir, from pole position, spun himself out of the race.

On to Snetterton, and Pierpoint was back on top, followed by Sangers Falcon, and backed this with another victory at the high speed Thruxton circuit, followed by another win at Silverstone. Gardner finally took the win at Crystal Palace, the tight confines suiting the little Escort, although Pierpoint retired with mechanical failure. Mallory Park hosted Round 7, which was won by the Escort twin-cam of Rod Mansfield, after Pierpoint, Gardner, and Crabtree had all failed to finish. Dennis Leech had joined the series from Round 4, in yet another Falcon Sprint, and placed second behind Mansfield, and ahead of the Sanger Falcon.

The Croft round was split into two heats, and Pierpoint won both of them. However, it wasn’t behind the wheel of the Falcon. Bill Shaw Racing debuted a newly built 1968 Camaro, running a 350ci small block, and Pierpoint headed home Gardner in both legs, while Leech and Sanger shared the final podium spot. The Pierpoint driven Camaro was first across the stripe again at Silverstone, from Leech, and John Hine in the Duncan Hamilton entered Escort twin-cam.

17922

The Bill Shaw Camaro was destroyed in a heavy shunt at Oulton Park, and Leech took his first BSCC victory, ahead of Gardner and Crabtree. Leech was first home in both heats at the penultimate round at Brands Hatch, taking the Heat 1 win from Crabtree and Willie Green (Escort twin-cam) and the Heat 2 win from Pierpoint, back in the Bill Shaw Falcon, and Crabtree.

Brands also hosted the final round of the 1969 BSCC, and, indeed, this would be the final BSCC race held under Group 5 regulations. It’d also be the last race for the dominant Falcon Sprints. Five Falcon Sprints were entered, for Pierpoint and David Howes in a pair of Bill Shaw entered cars, Leech, Sanger, and Birrane. But Gardner beat them all.

By 1969, Group 5 regulations were in place, not only in Britain, but in various domestic championships right throughout Europe, and the European Touring Car Championship. New Zealand had also adopted Group 5 from the 1968 season. But for 1970, almost everyone would change. For the BSCC, it was a switch to Group 2 once again, although these were a very different set of Group 2 regulations to those used from 1961 to 1965. The 1970 Group 2 rules allowed more freedom, but were not as wild as the outgoing Group 5 rules. And at that, the Falcon Sprints, with their plastic bodywork, were outlawed, after four dominant seasons. Indeed, 1970 had a very different look to it, as Alan Mann had also withdrawn from motor racing.

Some of the lightweight Falcon Sprints of the British Saloon Car Championship made their way into the wild Special Saloon series. Some ended up being destroyed, some had their parts of value removed, and the rest scrapped. And one or two have survived.

Thanks to its impossibly light racing weight gifted to it by the FIA in 1964 for the Monte Carlo Rally, and the approval of fibreglass body panels to try and get down somewhere near that weight, in modern day historic touring car racing held under the popular FIA Appendix J regulations that are used throughout Britain and Europe for cars built prior to 1966, Falcon Sprints are eligible to run to this racing weight, and fit the glass panels. This is also the case in Australian Group Na/Appendix J.

17923

Its unlikely anyone has ever managed to get a Falcon Sprint down to 960kg, but many have tried, and this model is extremely popular in historic racing today as a result. And, indeed, in historic events held throughout Britain and Europe, which mirror touring car racing during the mid-1960s when these cars were new, the Falcon Sprints outnumber the Mustangs and Galaxies, and are invariably at the head of the field.

My thanks to Chris Bennett from Speed Scene www.speedscene.co.uk/ (http://www.speedscene.co.uk/) for supplying the Falcon Sprint photos used throughout this article.

Please also visit Frank de Jong’s excellent Touring Car Racing history website, where I got many of the race results from: www.touringcarracing.net/ (http://www.touringcarracing.net/)

[kiwi285]

Another great article and another great car. I reckon that model Falcon was a really smart looking race car and it certainly had its share of the limelight in its time. It is still a smart looking car.

[Ellis]

CAMS in Australia only issue 4 licenses for Sprints to run in Nb mainly due to none racing in period in Oz but in recognition to their world
popularity and race heritage maybe.
Several years ago , one of the 4 licensed cars (from Tas) was sold and went to England.
A replacement license was obtained from CAMS and new one built to high standards in Tas. It has recently been sold to Victoria. It never raced in Tas....only did display /test laps at Historic meetings.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0559.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0559.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0529.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0529.jpg.html)

That is J Bowe looking in window. He was interested in leasing car at one stage...it never happenned

[aussiemonza]

Fantastic article. Lots of familiar names pop up throughout the Sprint/BSCC era.

[aussiemonza]

CAMS in Australia only issue 4 licenses for Sprints to run in Nb mainly due to none racing in period in Oz but in recognition to their world
popularity and race heritage maybe.
Several years ago , one of the 4 licensed cars (from Tas) was sold and went to England.
A replacement license was obtained from CAMS and new one built to high standards in Tas. It has recently been sold to Victoria. It never raced in Tas....only did display /test laps at Historic meetings.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0559.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0559.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0529.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0529.jpg.html)

That is J Bowe looking in window. He was interested in leasing car at one stage...it never happenned

That would be JB comparing a Falcon Sprint with another Falcon Sprint in another Series!!!!

[kiwi285]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0559.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0559.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0529.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0529.jpg.html)

That is one grouse looking car - wouldn't one of those look good in HMC guise.

[Frosty5]

That is one grouse looking car - wouldn't one of those look good in HMC guise.[/QUOTE]

Patience is a virtue!!!!!!!!!!

[Les Laidlaw]

I was talking to the late Howard Marsden when he was head of Ford V8 Supercar program as I had built a couple of sprints in Oz for Bob Tweedie (sold a few years ago) in Sydney & Bill Meeke in Perth (he still has his car).
Howard was in charge of the Monte Carlo Rallye Sprint build and he said there was a big delay with the front bumpers as they had sent material from the UK to the States. It turns out no one told the guys in quality control of the material change and they kept rejecting them.

[Kiwiboss]

Yep, these are one hell-off a nice looking Falcon and make a grouse looking race car, i have a real soft spot for them and aw-sum GB/euro race history!! Australian Ethan Lind raced one with HMC at the Festival this year and got very favorable feedback, lots of interest as none this shape has ever been race in NZ before. Im sure its only time before one shows up in HMC, 6 cyl versions are still cheap in the USA but not very plentiful, they only made them for 2 years, 64 and 65. All the same mechanics as a 65/6 Mustang so one could be built for a reasonable cost.

Anyone with a pic of Ethan Linds Falcon?

Dale M

[Steve Holmes]

Glad you guys enjoyed this one. The competition histories on these cars have always interested me, but for some reason there is very little written about them. Note several of the cars were fitted with GT40 and MkII wheels. I assume Alan Mann's connections helped here, there were probably sets sitting around his workshop.

[Kiwiboss]

Ethan Linds Falcon Sprint

[Ellis]

The 4 Sprints that ran in Oz a few years ago...maybe at Bathurst
Photographer unknown

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/-2-1_zpsf47364df.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/-2-1_zpsf47364df.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

CAMS in Australia only issue 4 licenses for Sprints to run in Nb mainly due to none racing in period in Oz but in recognition to their world
popularity and race heritage maybe.
Several years ago , one of the 4 licensed cars (from Tas) was sold and went to England.
A replacement license was obtained from CAMS and new one built to high standards in Tas. It has recently been sold to Victoria. It never raced in Tas....only did display /test laps at Historic meetings.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0559.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0559.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0529.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0529.jpg.html)

That is J Bowe looking in window. He was interested in leasing car at one stage...it never happenned

Wow, that is stunning! Interesting that they converted it to rhd. What a beautiful car.

[Steve Holmes]

The 4 Sprints that ran in Oz a few years ago...maybe at Bathurst
Photographer unknown

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/-2-1_zpsf47364df.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/-2-1_zpsf47364df.jpg.html)

Great photo! I didn't realise only 4 cars could run, I just assumed it was open. But then again, like you say Ellis, this model never actually raced in Aus in period.

Which are the ones you built Les? I have an old ad from Auto Action many years ago where the black one was for sale. On the market for 55K, and it said it was the lightest in Aus.

[Steve Holmes]

I was talking to the late Howard Marsden when he was head of Ford V8 Supercar program as I had built a couple of sprints in Oz for Bob Tweedie (sold a few years ago) in Sydney & Bill Meeke in Perth (he still has his car).
Howard was in charge of the Monte Carlo Rallye Sprint build and he said there was a big delay with the front bumpers as they had sent material from the UK to the States. It turns out no one told the guys in quality control of the material change and they kept rejecting them.

Thats a great story Les! Very funny.

[Steve Holmes]

Something of interest I found while researching this story, an old ad from Alan Mann Racing selling off some of their cars. The two Falcon's would both be ex-Monte cars, and the one on the right is the race winner from Silverstone in 1966, which was the only outing for Alan Mann Racing in the BSCC that year. I'd guess this was from either late 1966 or early 1967. I don't know if the car sold or if its the car driven by Gardner in 1967.

Check out the big block Fairlane. This was special car built as a circuit racer by Holman-Moody. I believe a small series of replica's have been built recently, and one races in historic events in Europe. Do a Google search, there is a great piece of in-car footage of it at the Nurburgring at a historic event there.

17996

[Ellis]

A few pics from the web....photographers not known

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC09303_zpse0be8f7c.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC09303_zpse0be8f7c.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC09286_zpsda5997e8.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC09286_zpsda5997e8.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC09252_zps765f3e2e.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC09252_zps765f3e2e.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC08507_zps11e746c7.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC08507_zps11e746c7.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC08391_zps0358c5b2.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC08391_zps0358c5b2.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC08333_zpsc3c9b221.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC08333_zpsc3c9b221.jpg.html)

[kiwi285]

That is one grouse looking car - wouldn't one of those look good in HMC guise.

Patience is a virtue!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]


Are you hinting at something in the future !!!

[Les Laidlaw]

Great photo! I didn't realise only 4 cars could run, I just assumed it was open. But then again, like you say Ellis, this model never actually raced in Aus in period.

Which are the ones you built Les? I have an old ad from Auto Action many years ago where the black one was for sale. On the market for 55K, and it said it was the lightest in Aus.

The 79 car is Bob Tweedie car, it was originally put together by a guy in Adelaide, when I took over running it for Bob we changed it quite alot to encompass/exploit the rules at the time :)
The other White car is Bill Meeke from Perth, he still campaigns this car, I did the complete car using a 6 cylinder shell, it also had fiberglass rear 1/4's it was 1100 Kgs when it was first built.

[Ellis]

Some web pics continued

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/197404_1838388887066_1460831834_1955828_4102347_n_zps1256eb16.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/197404_1838388887066_1460831834_1955828_4102347_n_zps1256eb16.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/SPA_DSC08315_zps7c4c21b6.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/SPA_DSC08315_zps7c4c21b6.jpg.html)

[Frosty5]

Patience is a virtue!!!!!!!!!!


Are you hinting at something in the future !!![/QUOTE]

Options and investigations at the moment!!!!!!!!!!

[Ellis]

Bob Tweedie
Pic source not known

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/RTweedie1stSprintinOz_zpsee29571c.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/RTweedie1stSprintinOz_zpsee29571c.jpg.html)

More of the Tasssie built car...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_3384-1_zpsa8660109.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_3384-1_zpsa8660109.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_3377_zps44aeebdd.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_3377_zps44aeebdd.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg.html)

[kiwi285]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg.html)[/QUOTE]

Hell that is a smart looking car. A real credit to the builder.

[Ellis]

This was last years advert......car sold

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/Snapshot2013-05-0112-21-29_zps7cf26f4c.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/Snapshot2013-05-0112-21-29_zps7cf26f4c.jpg.html)

[Ellis]

How to keep the kilo's down....

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels0a_zps7a5f7c98.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels0a_zps7a5f7c98.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels8a_zpsee03fb44.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels8a_zpsee03fb44.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels7a_zps566e9c17.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels7a_zps566e9c17.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels5a_zps87562218.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels5a_zps87562218.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels2a_zps75736049.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels2a_zps75736049.jpg.html)

Pic source not known

[zombie289]

Steve, great article as usual, if you like I could post some of my archives on here including the "rallye sprint" owners manual suplemement..

[Steve Holmes]

Yeah that'd be great Pauly, I'd love to see them.

[Steve Holmes]

How to keep the kilo's down....

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels0a_zps7a5f7c98.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels0a_zps7a5f7c98.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels8a_zpsee03fb44.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels8a_zpsee03fb44.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels7a_zps566e9c17.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels7a_zps566e9c17.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels5a_zps87562218.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels5a_zps87562218.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/falconsprintpanels2a_zps75736049.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/falconsprintpanels2a_zps75736049.jpg.html)

Pic source not known

These are fantastic! And made in Tassie?

[Steve Holmes]

Not the Falcon Sprint, but related to the 7 litre Holman-Moody Fairlane that features in the Alan Mann Racing ad I posted on page 1. This is a great in-car from a 7 litre Fairlane at the Nurburgring a couple of years ago. This is a German team, and you can see they know the track very well. I did have a link to their website where there is more info on the car, I'll try and find it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD48OX1wu14

[Frosty5]

Not the Falcon Sprint, but related to the 7 litre Holman-Moody Fairlane that features in the Alan Mann Racing ad I posted on page 1. This is a great in-car from a 7 litre Fairlane at the Nurburgring a couple of years ago. This is a German team, and you can see they know the track very well. I did have a link to their website where there is more info on the car, I'll try and find it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD48OX1wu14
They sure as hell do know the track well. Plenty of use of ripple strips. Some of the corners are reminiscent of Bathurst from Skyline down to Forest Elbow and onto Conrod Straight. Wouldn't mind a crack on this track.

[Ellis]

These are fantastic! And made in Tassie?

These Made in Sth or West Australia from memory
Some were made in Tas for spares but may have gone with car when sold.
I havnt been to see car builder for 3 or 4 months.
New owner has ordered bigger HP engine I think but havnt heard of it running in Oz (Vic) yet.
He runs a very fast highly modified FX Humpy in Targa events.

[225sloper]

Falcon Sprint of Kendal Smith that i have taken pictures of at Nostaligia Drags over the past few years.Dont know much about this car but will try and find more.1799717998

[Frosty5]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_3378_zps840a4c28.jpg.html)

Hell that is a smart looking car. A real credit to the builder.[/QUOTE]

Mike, have sent you a PM

Cheers Dave

[Steve Holmes]

Falcon Sprint of Kendal Smith that i have taken pictures of at Nostaligia Drags over the past few years.Dont know much about this car but will try and find more.1799717998

Good looking car, its US built, Kendal imported it to NZ exactly as pictured.

[Les Laidlaw]

These Made in Sth or West Australia from memory
Some were made in Tas for spares but may have gone with car when sold.
I havnt been to see car builder for 3 or 4 months.
New owner has ordered bigger HP engine I think but havnt heard of it running in Oz (Vic) yet.
He runs a very fast highly modified FX Humpy in Targa events.

The guy in the Pics is Danny from Wollongong NSW. he did all the moulds & body work for our sprints

[zombie289]

Isnt that Sprint ex-tassie now owned by the freestones (former truck racers IIRC?) ??

[Ellis]

Isnt that Sprint ex-tassie now owned by the freestones (former truck racers IIRC?) ??

Yes

and this in Targa events.....not much 48/215 left.... except the number plate:D

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/paul-freestone-1948-holden-48-215-wheel-up_zps89a04d69.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/paul-freestone-1948-holden-48-215-wheel-up_zps89a04d69.jpg.html)

[Ellis]

The guy in the Pics is Danny from Wollongong NSW. he did all the moulds & body work for our sprints

Thanks
Knew it was on the big Island

[DANTRA]

The guy in the Pics is Danny from Wollongong NSW. he did all the moulds & body work for our sprints

Thanks Les for remembering me & the work I did in the Falcon Sprints, the contract called for 1 set of moulds & 3 complete set of panels.

As you may well remember there was also inner door, bonnet & boot panels, gearbox floor cover, front & rear bumpers to complement the outer panels.

Many years have passed since I last spoke to you, what are you up to now, I gave Auto Racing away & now fly R/C model planes, cheers mate.

[Les Laidlaw]

Thanks Les for remembering me & the work I did in the Falcon Sprints, the contract called for 1 set of moulds & 3 complete set of panels.

As you may well remember there was also inner door, bonnet & boot panels, gearbox floor cover, front & rear bumpers to complement the outer panels.




Many years have passed since I last spoke to you, what are you up to now, I gave Auto Racing away & now fly R/C model planes, cheers mate.

Hey Danny, I have sent you a PM

Cheers Les

[DANTRA]

[QUOTE=Frosty5;28274]Hell that is a smart looking car. A real credit to the builder.[/]

Les if this is the ex Tweeds car than it has been sold to the UK where it now resides & races, as for panels being made else where in Oz there was quite a rumble of ownership of the moulds, Tweeds saying that all moulds belonged to him but with Meek insisting that the build his car included one set of panels & the moulds in the building contract.

The last time that I spoke to Bill Meek he stated that his is now the owner of all the moulds.

There is another set of moulds & panels somewhere in Oz from the building of the Qld car that Tony Gone was looking after but they were of very poor quality & very heavy, I think they went with the car when it was sold.

If other panels were made for the Sprints then it would of been out of moulds that others had made which I have never heard off as they were loan from Tweeds & Meek on a Rental basis or they had the panels made & sold them on to the want ant owner.

Hope this clears up the story of Sprint panels made in Australia.

[Steve Holmes]

CAMS in Australia only issue 4 licenses for Sprints to run in Nb mainly due to none racing in period in Oz but in recognition to their world
popularity and race heritage maybe.
Several years ago , one of the 4 licensed cars (from Tas) was sold and went to England.
A replacement license was obtained from CAMS and new one built to high standards in Tas. It has recently been sold to Victoria. It never raced in Tas....only did display /test laps at Historic meetings.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0559.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0559.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/100_0529.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/100_0529.jpg.html)

That is J Bowe looking in window. He was interested in leasing car at one stage...it never happenned

Ellis, I'm just curious, did CAMS make a special exception in the case of the Falcon Sprints? My understanding is that to be eligible for historic touring cars racing, the cars model must have started at least one ATCC race?

While on the subject of historic touring cars that didn't race in period, I remember back in the 1980s Laurie Donaher raced a beautiful Iso Rivolta in Appendix J. Do you know how this slipped through?

[Ellis]

I believe that CAMS made a special exception hence the limit. That what the guys who built up the Blue one inferred. They are friends with the Tassie ex owner of the one sold to GB a few years back so knew it was gone and applied for a replacement license which incidently Cams tried to renig on at a later date but didnt succeed. I believe JR was originally interested in building an Nb Sprint but apparently couldnt get it licensed so went TCM with his.
The Nb record at Symmons is still held by an Iso Rivolta...not sure if its the same car you refer to.

A couple of pics from recent Qld meeting at Morgan Park...Courtesy Saundo

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/-2-1_zpsda759edd.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/-2-1_zpsda759edd.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/-4_zps57e82c11.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/-4_zps57e82c11.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ellis. I have a feeling the Iso was eventually moved across to Grand Touring or Sports Car class, as it was quite fast in Appendix J, and only a small number of Rivolta's were ever built. Donaher did crash it a couple of times, I recall he reversed it into one of the walls at the top of the mountain at Bathurst one year. His car was red with gold stripes from memory.

Those are great pics. The black car with four headlights looks like a Mercury Comet to me?

[Ellis]

Yep
Black car is Comet
Just put it on a closer up as it appears in other shot.

[Marty]

Here are some photos of the Jim Richards -Touring Car Masters version. Taken just before delivery, 2005.

1812118122

[tbro]

Thanks Ellis. I have a feeling the Iso was eventually moved across to Grand Touring or Sports Car class, as it was quite fast in Appendix J, and only a small number of Rivolta's were ever built. Donaher did crash it a couple of times, I recall he reversed it into one of the walls at the top of the mountain at Bathurst one year. His car was red with gold stripes from memory.

Those are great pics. The black car with four headlights looks like a Mercury Comet to me?

Steve,
Last I heard Laurie had the Mustang built as the Rivolta was getting too valuable.
I'll check with Jim Cutler as to where it is now.

Terry

[DANTRA]

Is car #64 the ex Jack Lacey car which was originally red & white or is it one of the other Sprints.

18123

[Steve Holmes]

Steve,
Last I heard Laurie had the Mustang built as the Rivolta was getting too valuable.
I'll check with Jim Cutler as to where it is now.

Terry

Hey thanks heaps for that Terry. Yeah I'd love to know what happened to the Iso. It was a beautiful looking car, and with a small block 327 Chevy, had the legs on the Mustangs. There was an Iso running in the GT category in historics a few years ago, it was a different colour, and different owner, but could possibly be the same car? There can't be that many racing in Aus? There were only about 800 ever made.

[Steve Holmes]

Here are some photos of the Jim Richards -Touring Car Masters version. Taken just before delivery, 2005.

1812118122

Wow, superb! That rollcage is incredible! Was JR allowed to run all the fibreglass panels? Thanks heaps for posting.

[Ellis]

Hey thanks heaps for that Terry. Yeah I'd love to know what happened to the Iso. It was a beautiful looking car, and with a small block 327 Chevy, had the legs on the Mustangs. There was an Iso running in the GT category in historics a few years ago, it was a different colour, and different owner, but could possibly be the same car? There can't be that many racing in Aus? There were only about 800 ever made.

The Iso that has the Nb Symmons Plains record is listed as driven by a Chris Stephen

[Ellis]

Is car #64 the ex Jack Lacey car which was originally red & white or is it one of the other Sprints.

18123

I have done a bit of checking on this #64 car and its apparently not one of THE big 4
Qld have a slightly diiferent class that covers their Historics and the car may not be eligible to run Nb south of the border

Of the originals the ex Tweedie car then Williscroft Tas is the one that went to England. The new Blue car was built as its replacement
approved by CAMS

The Red car was in SA Bryant at one time...not sure currently

[Ellis]

Meeke Oran Park ?...photo credit not known

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/Snapshot2013-05-0820-12-36_zpsb51819f7.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/Snapshot2013-05-0820-12-36_zpsb51819f7.jpg.html)

[zombie289]

Sorry Steve, still need to dig thru my archives... The Stephens ISO ended up in the UK I beleive. maybe Europe.. It was last a frosty green color and you could tell she'd had a hard life! It ended up running in Gp Sb after Nc was introduced IIRC... mega fast cat and I beleive the ONLY reason they let it run Nb in the first place was that it was NOT a Mustang... (same for the Falcon rallye sprint!) ...
As a side note, you can race a 64 falcon in Nb but it will have to run the proper 260 and no glass panels... People think that the 64's had 289's..You could NOT buy a 64 falcon with a 289, only a 65... they ran 289's in the 63's and 64's that ran A/Sedan in the US because there was a 5 litre limit in place and because the 260/289 share the same stroke the SCCA considered the 289 a bored out 260 (not that you can bore a 260 to 289...but thats getting off topic!)

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Pauly, is this the Iso you're referring to? Reading what you've written about the Falcon motors, does this mean only the 1964 Falcon is eligible to run the fibreglass body panels in both FIA historic touring car racing and in Australia, given the '65 Falcons never ran in the Monte?

18132

[Frosty5]

Steve, have sent you an email.

Cheers
Dave

[zombie289]

Yeah Steve, thats the one.. we used to call it the ImSO Revolting... :p Although they are quite a neat looking car, just not in that colour scheme LOL..
Honestly Steve I cant answer the question acurately on the glass panels... I doubt ford homologated them on the 65.... BUT IIRC, appendix J & K rules state (well they used to anyways!) that the car had to be produced before jan 1 1965, which lets the 65 falcons in, and thus 289 powered ones...but Im pretty sure thay would have to run steel panels... You would have to research that one me thinks...

Here in the states I believe they wont let you run a 64 with a 289, only a 65 and several groups will NOT aallow the glass panels... A guy restoring an original Trans Am falcon told me that the glass panelling was allowed when the car originally ran in A/Sedan, but had to be replaced with Steel when the owner wanted to race it in Trans Am in 1966....

[Ellis]

The 4 permitted Grp Nb cars in Oz run Glass panels and 289's...Not sure what year models they are.

[zombie289]

The 4 permitted Grp Nb cars in Oz run Glass panels and 289's...Not sure what year models they are.

They're 64's...

[8000 RPM]

Hi I have the #64 falcon sprint nb car. I made the panels from our own moulds. I run a 289 with 4 x 48IDA Weber carbs. I am hoping to come down to Muscle Car Masters this year & have a run. Our nb rules are the same as the rest of the country. Am looking forward to lining up with some other falcons....
cheers Martin

[Steve Holmes]

Hey Martin, thats awesome! Do you have any photos you could post? Are you allowed any more freedoms in Nb over the Sprints that run in Na?

[Ellis]

Na is pre 1958

[8000 RPM]

I am not great with a computer. I will try once I have guidance!
cheers!

[Ellis]

Here is one while we wait....lol ..... Photographer Credit on pic

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/MartinWhite_zpsa74840a3.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/MartinWhite_zpsa74840a3.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/warwick_zps73398852.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/warwick_zps73398852.jpg.html)

Saundo pic from Warwick Qld

[Ellis]

My spies in Qld tell me Martin is an engine builder with long experience and some excellent results which he may expand on here.

The car is only a couple of meetings old. It seems CAMS have relaxed the numbers regarding Nb Sprints somewhat which is great to hear as they should give almost anything else running Nb some hurry up on the right track.

[superroo69]

Here are a couple of photos of the Bob Tweedie Sprint at Silverstone in 2005, not long after it had arrived in the UK.

As for Martin White's Sprint, I will post some images soon.

18170

18171

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for posting those, the Falcon looks superb!

[Steve Holmes]

Here is one while we wait....lol ..... Photographer Credit on pic

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/MartinWhite_zpsa74840a3.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/MartinWhite_zpsa74840a3.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/warwick_zps73398852.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/warwick_zps73398852.jpg.html)

Saundo pic from Warwick Qld

Thanks Ellis, really nice looking car! Looks great on the American Racing style wheels. Most of them seem to have been fitted with Minilites.

[Ellis]

We should have one of the JR car when it is all painted up to go ....with the construction pics back a bit.....
pic taker not known

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/Richards_Falcon_0044-625x416_zps4e1aaa02.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/Richards_Falcon_0044-625x416_zps4e1aaa02.jpg.html)

JR came to Tas interested in buying the Blue car when it was about 85% completed .He was going to turn it into TCM spec car from its Nb spec build but the owner wanted to take it thru to completion as Nb and pointed JR to the part built one he purchased....from S Aus from memory.

[Steve Holmes]

Ellis, with the JR car being part built when he bought it, was it being built for Nb?

[Ellis]

The one he bought had been started ( or was going to be built) as Nb and then stopped as owner bought a ready to go Nb if I remember correctly.
Not sure how much work had been done on it.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ellis. So it sounds like the maximum number of Falcon Sprints allowed by CAMS might have been lifted?

[Ellis]

Talked to Martin White #64 / 99 by email and he said he had no problems getting his log booked Nb. so assume cap lifted.
His is only 2 or 3 race meetings old so assume relatively recently log booked.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ellis.

By the way, the Iso Rivolta of Laurie Donaher I mentioned earlier in this post, there is a photo of it in the latest Australian Muscle Car mag, in the article on Group N. I'll try and scan it.

[DANTRA]

I was speaking with Laurie at Eastern Creek last year & he told me that he wished he still had the car, the front seats in Laurie,s Iso were made up from fibreglass Lotus Cortina shells that I hade made for him during his ownership of the car.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for that, great info! Did he say what happened to the Iso?

Here is the AMC picture of the car (behind the Mustang Geoghegan guest drove) back in 1989. You can't see much but at least the colour scheme can be seen.

18215

[Ellis]

A few of Martins car he fwd to me to post for him...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc21078_zps7bd5ab17.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc21078_zps7bd5ab17.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc3363_zpsc42b19f1.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc3363_zpsc42b19f1.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc21100_zpsdf8e04cd.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc21100_zpsdf8e04cd.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc21081_zps00541307.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc21081_zps00541307.jpg.html)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc21849_zps49c8f7a3.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc21849_zps49c8f7a3.jpg.html)

Martin may do the engine for the Comet ?? The Sprint has the legs on it on longer straights according to my spy.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/falcongtho/20130427hrcc21864_zpsf9d18e4c.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/falcongtho/media/20130427hrcc21864_zpsf9d18e4c.jpg.html)

[kiwi285]

I am not great with a computer. I will try once I have guidance!
cheers!

Hi Martin - have sent you a private message

Cheers Mike

[8000 RPM]

I don't do the motor in the Comet but it it goes well. I like racing it though!

[kiwi285]

Hi Martin - have sent you a private message

Cheers Mike

Looking forward to catching up with and seeing that car in action

Cheers Mike

[zombie289]

Dug up something interesting in my archives today, a program from a brands hatch short track meet on october 31, 1965. Never realized that Howard Mardsen (of GTHO fame, one of Alan Manns first employees) actually drove in some races...(car 131) and I also have a pic of the car he raced, one of the left over Monte cars... Its amazing, the more you think you know, the more you learn!

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/zombie289/AlanMannfairlaneentryform001_zps5cc9a30d.jpg (http://s196.photobucket.com/user/zombie289/media/AlanMannfairlaneentryform001_zps5cc9a30d.jpg.html)

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/zombie289/advertvp9_zps65be38c5.jpg (http://s196.photobucket.com/user/zombie289/media/advertvp9_zps65be38c5.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Oh wow, that is really cool Pauly. I wonder how the Fairlane went against the small block V8s. Interesting looking at the final results, with Anglia finishing first ahead of the Mini Cooper and another Anglia. I wonder what happened to the V8s? Maybe it was raining.

[zombie289]

Yeah thats what I reckon Steve...

[Steve Holmes]

Pauly, what happened to that Fairlane? Does it still exist?

[zombie289]

I started a thread on ten-tenths yonks ago and from what came forth, It is now claimed to be owned by a Martin thomas in the UK... No pics or any info provided, apart from that It may be restored... Interestingly, it is also claimed now that TWO 64 427 race fairlanes were built by Holman Moody, one was the Daytona car that went to AMR, the one we are talking about, and another one was built for NASCAR as a study to see if a unibody car would work in NASCAR, as they were planning to downsize the cars (which they did, in 1966). It obviuosly didn't work out as the 66 fairlanes were converted from a unibody to a modified Galaxie chassis..

[Beedub]

I remember the good looking young man that did some work on bobs car????

[Grant Ellwood]

I started a thread on ten-tenths yonks ago and from what came forth, It is now claimed to be owned by a Martin thomas in the UK... No pics or any info provided, apart from that It may be restored... Interestingly, it is also claimed now that TWO 64 427 race fairlanes were built by Holman Moody, one was the Daytona car that went to AMR, the one we are talking about, and another one was built for NASCAR as a study to see if a unibody car would work in NASCAR, as they were planning to downsize the cars (which they did, in 1966). It obviuosly didn't work out as the 66 fairlanes were converted from a unibody to a modified Galaxie chassis..

And two more Fairlanes were built circa 2005 at Holman Moody in Charlotte, North Carolina. I saw both cars in the closing stages of the build, one car was ordered by a customer in Germany for historic racing in Europe, I don't know where the second car ended up.
The Fairlane was a real rocket, Lee Holman tested one at my local track in Virginia, 180mph through the kink on the front straight...
The German Fairlane is a winning car and although FIA specced, some of the mods are a bit of a stretch! However, the Germans did supply Lee with a list of "homologated" parts approved by FIA before the build began.

[Jay Bowden]

Thanks Pauly, is this the Iso you're referring to? Reading what you've written about the Falcon motors, does this mean only the 1964 Falcon is eligible to run the fibreglass body panels in both FIA historic touring car racing and in Australia, given the '65 Falcons never ran in the Monte?

18132
I found this photo from my albums of Laurie at Lakeside.

http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t346/qugybo/58e80978bb7177d7f3cff3151e929953.jpg

[Milan Fistonic]

Oh wow, that is really cool Pauly. I wonder how the Fairlane went against the small block V8s. Interesting looking at the final results, with Anglia finishing first ahead of the Mini Cooper and another Anglia. I wonder what happened to the V8s? Maybe it was raining.

Yes it was raining.

The Autosport report of the meeting starts out with this.

A sharp shower of rain turned Brands Hatch into a skating rink last Sunday...

As seen on television news later in the day , spectacular accidents were the order of the day.

The report on the saloon car race begins with this.

The bigger saloons promised more excitement, but the weather put paid to any chances of the Mustangs and the V8 Cortina being up with the faster Anglias and Minis.

[grp n eh]

sorry I am a bit confused regarding the falcon sprints.some years ago while talking to david meeks I noticed his sprint fitted with front drums.he told me that no falcon sprint of that era were fitted with front discs.we now have nb sprints using front discs.when did cams allow them to run front discs?could somebody please set me straight regarding this matter.

[Ellis]

Cams regs since July 1997 have permitted disc front on Sprints...

Originally Cams only issued 4 permits for Nb Sprints in Oz as they didnt run here in period.
After one of the 4 was sold to England and another built to take its place it appears they have permitted more to be run than the original 4.

[zombie289]

They WERE Homologated with front disc brakes, in fact TWO disc options were offered. The girlings were the same as what they fitted to the TDF Galaxies IIRC... Of course you could not get these on any showroom floor falcon in 1964... Heres a pic from the rallye sprint owners manual supliment..

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/zombie289/falconrallyesprintbrakespecs_zps2160ad3c.jpg (http://s196.photobucket.com/user/zombie289/media/falconrallyesprintbrakespecs_zps2160ad3c.jpg.html)

[Steve Holmes]

Great info guys!

Here is the superb Pete Cordts Falcon Sprint that contested a couple of very early Trans-Am races, and won a couple of SCCA A/Sedan championships. Now owned by Mike Eddy, it races with Historic Trans-Am, and looks beautiful! I think these cars look great with the bumpers removed.

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More info here: http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/MikeEddy64Falcon17.html

[tbro]

Steve,
Last I heard Laurie had the Mustang built as the Rivolta was getting too valuable.
I'll check with Jim Cutler as to where it is now.

Terry
Again another thread revival.
Unfortunately Jim Cutler has passed but thankfully a few his old race buddies came to show respects. Laurie was one of them and we got to talking so I asked what happened to the Iso.
Seems CAMS in all their wisdom decided that after allowing the car to run for a couple of years they would reclass it as a sports sedan only, rightly so Laurie declined and sold the car detuned to a "collector/developer in the Parramatta area. the car was repainted blue and then the new owner went bellyup and everything disappeared. So no-one know where it is or what has happened to it.

Talk of a Appendix J gossip, Mike Dyer, Lindsey (muff) Dyer and Laurie and many a lap.

[Grant Ellwood]

:cool:
Great info guys!

Here is the superb Pete Cordts Falcon Sprint that contested a couple of very early Trans-Am races, and won a couple of SCCA A/Sedan championships. Now owned by Mike Eddy, it races with Historic Trans-Am, and looks beautiful! I think these cars look great with the bumpers removed.

26851

More info here: http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/MikeEddy64Falcon17.html

Great article in the latest (USA) Vintage Motorsport mag July/Aug issue about a 1963 Falcon Sprint built in England by a guy called Robin Ward. The Falcon complies with FIA regs which he says are more restrictive than US historic specs i.e. "No additional locating links,relocated pivot points or suspension tweaks and trickery as were commonly employed on our domestic Trans-Am, IMSA and even SCCA amateur series. The car also sits high and narrow by American "vintage" standards and runs a 320 but engine. Despite these disadvantages Ward shipped his car to east coast USA and raced at a major Road Atlanta historic series event,drove the " living snot" out of the Falcon and ran 1st in class/2nd overall in wet conditions. Reminded me of watching Gary Sprague running a much later model production class Falcon at Manfeild in the rain (back in I guess the '80s) on tippie toes, very smooth but certainly on the limit and of course at the front of the field. Like JR, a rain-master.

[khyndart in CA]

Grant,
Here are a couple of photos I took of Mike Eddy in the 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint at Sonoma Raceway. June 3rd 2017.
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( Ken H photos )

[Steve Holmes]

:cool:

Great article in the latest (USA) Vintage Motorsport mag July/Aug issue about a 1963 Falcon Sprint built in England by a guy called Robin Ward. The Falcon complies with FIA regs which he says are more restrictive than US historic specs i.e. "No additional locating links,relocated pivot points or suspension tweaks and trickery as were commonly employed on our domestic Trans-Am, IMSA and even SCCA amateur series. The car also sits high and narrow by American "vintage" standards and runs a 320 but engine. Despite these disadvantages Ward shipped his car to east coast USA and raced at a major Road Atlanta historic series event,drove the " living snot" out of the Falcon and ran 1st in class/2nd overall in wet conditions. Reminded me of watching Gary Sprague running a much later model production class Falcon at Manfeild in the rain (back in I guess the '80s) on tippie toes, very smooth but certainly on the limit and of course at the front of the field. Like JR, a rain-master.

Thanks Grant, would love to see that article.

[Steve Holmes]

Again another thread revival.
Unfortunately Jim Cutler has passed but thankfully a few his old race buddies came to show respects. Laurie was one of them and we got to talking so I asked what happened to the Iso.
Seems CAMS in all their wisdom decided that after allowing the car to run for a couple of years they would reclass it as a sports sedan only, rightly so Laurie declined and sold the car detuned to a "collector/developer in the Parramatta area. the car was repainted blue and then the new owner went bellyup and everything disappeared. So no-one know where it is or what has happened to it.

Talk of a Appendix J gossip, Mike Dyer, Lindsey (muff) Dyer and Laurie and many a lap.

Wow, great post! Thanks. This is a car that has always fascinated me. In fact, I first saw a photo of the car when owned by Laurie in the 1980s and it was the first time I'd ever seen an Iso Rivolta. Too bad CAMS effectively outlawed it. I really don't understand that. At the very least they should have classified it as a GT, which is the category these cars run in European historic racing. Sports Sedan is just crazy. What a shame the car has vanished.

[Paul B]

They WERE Homologated with front disc brakes, in fact TWO disc options were offered. The girlings were the same as what they fitted to the TDF Galaxies IIRC... Of course you could not get these on any showroom floor falcon in 1964... Heres a pic from the rallye sprint owners manual supliment..

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/zombie289/falconrallyesprintbrakespecs_zps2160ad3c.jpg (http://s196.photobucket.com/user/zombie289/media/falconrallyesprintbrakespecs_zps2160ad3c.jpg.html)

I would really like to get a rallye sprint owner suppliment do you know of any available?
Cheers

[Spgeti]

I would really like to get a rallye sprint owner suppliment do you know of any available?
Cheers

Paul, have you got a copy of the homologation papers for your Sprint ?. If you haven't I am sure that we can help as Steve and I have access to them.

[Paul B]

Thanks Bruce,
I have 2 copies of FIA Homologation #1250 papers,
1 copy from the FIA historic data base.
1 copy that was sent back to Ford by FIA that was stamped with FIA as acceptance.
The Rallye Sprint supplement owners manual is something I have not seen and very rare. Could have some more useful information, likely the same as the homologation papers.
Cheers

[khyndart in CA]

Lest we forget.
Paul, This could be you. Never give up on your tremendous restoration.
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Frank Gardner at speed in 1967.


(Ken H)

[Steve Holmes]

Thats ^^ an awesome photo Ken. Thats one of the Group 5 Falcon Sprints that dominated the British Saloon Car Championship. A fair bit more modified than Paul is allowed with his car being built to Group 2 specs, but most definitely many similarities.

[Paul B]

Thanks very much Ken! I wish!!!
Frank Gardner was a legend in that car in Group 5.
I am still banging away in the workshop, working on the rear suspension and diff set up.
I was drooling at the mouth at the Mk4 GT40 pics you posted. Oh to see that in the flesh!
I love looking at all your pics.
My wife and I will go over to Sonoma after the Sprint is done.
Cheers
Paul

[Steve Holmes]

I found these on facebook, posted by Larry Fulhorst. Amazing unrestored time-warp:

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Paul B]

There is nothing like an unrestored original car. They are only original once. That is so cool.
Holman Moody say they built 15 Falcon Sprints for racing, 8 went to Allan Mann for the Monte Carlo Rally so the other 7 cars have been a bit of a mystery.
I wonder if this was one of the 7 cars.

[Steve Holmes]

There is nothing like an unrestored original car. They are only original once. That is so cool.
Holman Moody say they built 15 Falcon Sprints for racing, 8 went to Allan Mann for the Monte Carlo Rally so the other 7 cars have been a bit of a mystery.
I wonder if this was one of the 7 cars.

Yeah it'd be interesting to know Paul. I agree, they're only original once, and they just have so much character like this.

[Paul B]

This is another interesting link I found, an unrestored 64 Falcon AFX drag car, 427 FE big block, super quick machines... in the day
http://ssamx.com/afx_falcon.htm

[Steve Holmes]

This is another interesting link I found, an unrestored 64 Falcon AFX drag car, 427 FE big block, super quick machines... in the day
http://ssamx.com/afx_falcon.htm

Wow, that is really neat Paul. I'd love to know more about the car and how it survived untouched for so many years. Sadly, the owner appears to be restoring it which I don't think it needs at all.

[Paul B]

Agree, its so much more interesting and cooler in its original build form, warts and all. I only hope they rebuild the motor & trans and just preserve everything else. Unrestored cars in the US are sort after now and values are still climbing, so hopefully they mat see the light.

[Steve Holmes]

Hopefully Paul. They're only original once. Looks like they're replaced the lower rear quarters. The wheel openings are much reduced compared to the period racing photos.

[Paul B]

Yes, back then they used to clean cut out the rear fenders and mostly leave them. All of the fiberglass drag race panels were only about 5lb - 7lb each.
I do have another link somewhere on 60s AFX drag car parts and how they were made.

[Neville Milne]

In the early (ish) 2000's a friend called me from Ohio ( I was living in Baltimore) and asked if I was up for a trip to visit Lee Holman at his facility on the south side of the Charlotte Airport. Apparently an offer to purchase the site had been accepted and in preparation to moving premises, savings were possible in the purchase of parts and cars.
So off we went, met with Lee and one of his staff and had a great time looking, buying and talking.
ISTR amongst several cars, there were several Falcon Sprints.......Lee mentioned that these were "Monte Carlo" equipped. At the time, I THOUGHT that these were 'continuation' versions, rather like the MK-4 continuations that were under construction at that time....BUT my friend assures me that at least 2 of these were originals. They had ben stripped of most of their specialized mechanical parts and the shells sent to a local junk-yard.......where Lee was able to repurchase them some time later.....luckily they had not been crushed.
When Hank the Duece decided to end (temporarily, as it turned out) Ford's racing efforts, he ceded a ton of parts and all rights to various trade names, not the least being "GT-40"....to Holman Moody......similar deals occurred with other major Ford sub-contractors.
Anyway, these were the Falcon Sprints that I saw in the hanger that was then the base for H/M.......goodness knows where they are now...but i'm sure they wouldn't be hard to find

[Paul B]

In the early (ish) 2000's a friend called me from Ohio ( I was living in Baltimore) and asked if I was up for a trip to visit Lee Holman at his facility on the south side of the Charlotte Airport. Apparently an offer to purchase the site had been accepted and in preparation to moving premises, savings were possible in the purchase of parts and cars.
So off we went, met with Lee and one of his staff and had a great time looking, buying and talking.
ISTR amongst several cars, there were several Falcon Sprints.......Lee mentioned that these were "Monte Carlo" equipped. At the time, I THOUGHT that these were 'continuation' versions, rather like the MK-4 continuations that were under construction at that time....BUT my friend assures me that at least 2 of these were originals. They had ben stripped of most of their specialized mechanical parts and the shells sent to a local junk-yard.......where Lee was able to repurchase them some time later.....luckily they had not been crushed.
When Hank the Duece decided to end (temporarily, as it turned out) Ford's racing efforts, he ceded a ton of parts and all rights to various trade names, not the least being "GT-40"....to Holman Moody......similar deals occurred with other major Ford sub-contractors.
Anyway, these were the Falcon Sprints that I saw in the hanger that was then the base for H/M.......goodness knows where they are now...but i'm sure they wouldn't be hard to find

Wow, Thanks for your post Neville, now that would be a find and on half! I only know of 1 real Monte Carlo Sprint left in the world that I believe (hear say) is in Sweden. I have heard that there could also be 1 survivor also in the UK.

The word (or as I understand it, happy to be corrected) was back in 66 or 67 that the Sprints were doing very well has a well developed race car and Ford or Shelby told Alan Mann to scrap them as the focus was on selling Mustangs. That was when Alan Mann Racing sold off the the Experimental big block Fairlane, 427 Galaxie and I think 2 Falcons all from earlier race programs.
I will ask Lee Holman if he knows of these cars.

[Grant Ellwood]

In the early (ish) 2000's a friend called me from Ohio ( I was living in Baltimore) and asked if I was up for a trip to visit Lee Holman at his facility on the south side of the Charlotte Airport. Apparently an offer to purchase the site had been accepted and in preparation to moving premises, savings were possible in the purchase of parts and cars.
So off we went, met with Lee and one of his staff and had a great time looking, buying and talking.
ISTR amongst several cars, there were several Falcon Sprints.......Lee mentioned that these were "Monte Carlo" equipped. At the time, I THOUGHT that these were 'continuation' versions, rather like the MK-4 continuations that were under construction at that time....BUT my friend assures me that at least 2 of these were originals. They had ben stripped of most of their specialized mechanical parts and the shells sent to a local junk-yard.......where Lee was able to repurchase them some time later.....luckily they had not been crushed.
When Hank the Duece decided to end (temporarily, as it turned out) Ford's racing efforts, he ceded a ton of parts and all rights to various trade names, not the least being "GT-40"....to Holman Moody......similar deals occurred with other major Ford sub-contractors.
Anyway, these were the Falcon Sprints that I saw in the hanger that was then the base for H/M.......goodness knows where they are now...but i'm sure they wouldn't be hard to find

Hi Neville, I visited HM in 2005 (might have that date wrong) and saw a couple of Falcons prepped for racing in Europe, posted comments in page 5, #90 of this thread. Also visited again after Lee moved to the new premises in Charlotte, heck of a difference between the old and new buildings! Cheers, Grant

[Neville Milne]

I'm sure that Lee Holman's memory will be rather better than that of 2 old fogies, trying to recall details of a road-trip some 15 years, or so, ago. In any event...he should be able to flesh out the details of those cars

[Paul B]

Hi Neville, I visited HM in 2005 (might have that date wrong) and saw a couple of Falcons prepped for racing in Europe, posted comments in page 5, #90 of this thread. Also visited again after Lee moved to the new premises in Charlotte, heck of a difference between the old and new buildings! Cheers, Grant

Hi Grant, Were the 2 cars you saw possibly Big block 427 64 Fairlanes, I have seen (on line) the one in Germany and it is a rocket ship for sure.
Its hard to beat the sound of a big block at 6500+ rpm. Certainly gets my blood pumping.

This Falcon trail is very interesting, I mentioned in an earlier post, Lee H said 15 were built, 8 went to UK for MC rally. So the other 7 is still a mystery, The orange falcon in the earlier post could be 1 of the 7.

It would also be very interesting to find the original experimental 427 64 Fairlane that went to Alan Mann racing and was sold off in late 60s, (pic of add in prior post #84 from Zombie289) I believe this car had independent suspension all round and heavily modified

[Grant Ellwood]

Hi Grant, Were the 2 cars you saw possibly Big block 427 64 Fairlanes, I have seen (on line) the one in Germany and it is a rocket ship for sure.
Its hard to beat the sound of a big block at 6500+ rpm. Certainly gets my blood pumping.

This Falcon trail is very interesting, I mentioned in an earlier post, Lee H said 15 were built, 8 went to UK for MC rally. So the other 7 is still a mystery, The orange falcon in the earlier post could be 1 of the 7.

It would also be very interesting to find the original experimental 427 64 Fairlane that went to Alan Mann racing and was sold off in late 60s, (pic of add in prior post #84 from Zombie289) I believe this car had independent suspension all round and heavily modified

Yes Paul, you are correct, they were Fairlanes. The one that went to a German customer was painted an olive green, almost military color.
It certainly blitzed the opposition in Europe!

[Steve Holmes]

This one?

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[khyndart in CA]

What a mean machine. Magnificent !
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/autos/holman-moody-1964-ford-fairlane-7-litre-goodwood

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From "Classic Driver Magazine " 2012.
"While Alan Mann’s car (later owned and raced by Martin Birrane) is now lost to posterity, this faithful recreation was constructed by Holman Moody in 2002-2003. The famous North Carolina-based race shop built the originals, so it was logical to choose them to build up another, using all their expertise and comprehensive record-keeping to produce a correct facsimile of the 1964 original. "


(Ken H )

[Paul B]

Yes that ^^ is the Beastie. Great pics Ken & Steve!
The then, experimental machine was sent to Alan Mann in UK for testing (away from USA likely a well kept secret then) for Ford to move into uni-body cars for NASCAR to save weight over the heavy Galaxie full chassis.
I dont believe they had the 427 high riser engine as there would be a raised teardrop front hood to accommodate the 2 x 4bbl carbs on the very tall intake manifold.
I think this car likely had the 427 tunnel port engine producing 500+hp .... in the day. The High riser engine was banned by NASCAR I think in 65 due the the teardrop hood, so the tunnel port was born to keep it all under the factory hood.

Grant, If I had to pick the colour name, I would call it Battleship Gray - A destroyer of a car, I believe it cleaned up everything at Goodwood... very impressive.

[Steve Holmes]

So is this the same car as the grey one pictured above Paul?

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[Paul B]

I think the above ^^ could possibly be the 2nd car that H-M recreated. Or its been repainted?
The original 1964 experimental 427 Fairlane actually was NOT a 1964 Fairlane 427 high riser Thunderbolt and very far from it.
Note the roof line on the above car, The roof looks nothing like a Fairlane roof. It looks more like a 1963 T bird roof which were lower. It also looks like its had a 2 inch roof chop to probably improve wind drag.
Also looks like the front & rear fender wheel arch has been made much larger also.

The 64 Fairlane Thunderbolt was part of the Ford AFX drag race program which most people will know about. Very quick cars

The 1964 experimental 427 Fairlane was built for NASCAR racing (experimental) so a completely different construction for this car. This car was real and was a track car and probably should not have been banned at Goodwood.... well in my view. Maybe they had another reason?
But, I completely understand the AFX drag cars being banned from Goodwood - and the AFX Thunderbolt certainly falls into that category
Pic of the Thunderbird Drag car
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Factory slicks on the back and skinnys on the front, and the Teardrop Fiber hood, Also had forced induction through the inside headlights into an oval aluminum sealed intake

[Steve Holmes]

The historic circuit racing 427 Fairlane's pictured above (the grey car and the white car) are Sports Coupe models, whereas the Thunderbolt drag cars were two door sedans with (b-pillar). The roofline is quite different. The most notable difference is the curvature of the of the c-pillar around the top of the window. They're really good looking cars.

The original Holman Moody 427 Fairlane that ran Daytona in 1964 was also a Sports Coupe, as was the car advertised by Allan Mann (is this car one and the same?).

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[Steve Holmes]

The 1964 experimental 427 Fairlane was built for NASCAR racing (experimental) so a completely different construction for this car. This car was real and was a track car and probably should not have been banned at Goodwood.... well in my view. Maybe they had another reason?
But, I completely understand the AFX drag cars being banned from Goodwood - and the AFX Thunderbolt certainly falls into that category


I think the issues with the circuit racing 427 Fairlane competing in historics is that in period it never raced in a British Saloon Car Championship race. The Allan Mann Fairlane only raced as an open formula sedan, for want of a better term? I guess its what we'd refer to as a Sports Sedan. I don't believe there is a homologation sheet for the 427 Faorlane. So its legality creates some issues in UK/European historic racing.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the grey car pictured above actually races in the sports prototype division, rather than in the touring car division.

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[Paul B]

Thanks for pointing that out about the roof lines, I never noticed that until now.
Yes, I heard the the battleship Grey 427 Fairlane was only racing in the European continent

[khyndart in CA]

Some "Alan Mann Racing" Falcons racing in the Sixties.
I think the ZE1051 car is a 1964 Rallye Monte Carlo Falcon.
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( Ken H )

[Bruce302]

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[Paul B]

Nice shots Ken, I think the last pic (post #131) was Frank Gardner in 1967 in the British Saloon car Champs
if so this would be the Alan Mann racing car

[khyndart in CA]

Not sure when this Falcon was for sale but site has some good photos plus a great racing history. Where is this car now ?

http://www.vrmotors.com/ford_falcon_1964.html

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(Ken H)

[Paul B]

Great post Ken, what a find!
Very interesting. As it turns out this car is the surviving Graham Hill car (that I did not even know existed) and was also the Pierpoint car as shown 2 posts above. It was in Washington state, now sold.
It has some very interesting group 5 Information
Alan Mann racing rebuilt into a Group 5 BSCC (British Saloon Car Championship) racer and sold to Roy Pierpoint.
Pierpoint drove this car ( race history on file) sold car to Martin Birrane in 1969.
Birrane races car in late 1969. Somewhere in here a 500hp 351ci gets added in that was also raced at BSCC
Birrane sells car to Martin Thomas in 1970s. Thomas then has it comprehensively rebuilt by Cambridge Motorsports in the UK in 1990's
Thomas sold the car to Ken McBride, Seattle WA, who imported the car into the US.
Now sold to a new US owner


A race report is on file that shows the car entered as running a 5.7-liter capacity in the British Saloon Car Championship.
Alan Mann rebuilt the car for Pierpoint (BSCC Group 5, 1966-69), the car said to have had a 289 with dual quads and Weslake heads.
Front suspension is control arm and coil over as OEM, the rear suspension is Ford 9-inch with four link and watts link.
Discs brakes fitted all round.

[kiwi285]

Here is one of the You Tube clips of Bill,s Falcon Sprint in action at Barbargallo in October 2013.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1v1CEp17LE

and here is the other one at a V8 Supercar meeting in Perth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWl5MpTBYfw

[Bruce302]

Great post Ken, what a find!
Very interesting. As it turns out this car is the surviving Graham Hill car (that I did not even know existed) and was also the Pierpoint car as shown 2 posts above. It was in Washington state, now sold.
It has some very interesting group 5 Information
Alan Mann racing rebuilt into a Group 5 BSCC (British Saloon Car Championship) racer and sold to Roy Pierpoint.
Pierpoint drove this car ( race history on file) sold car to Martin Birrane in 1969.
Birrane races car in late 1969. Somewhere in here a 500hp 351ci gets added in that was also raced at BSCC
Birrane sells car to Martin Thomas in 1970s. Thomas then has it comprehensively rebuilt by Cambridge Motorsports in the UK in 1990's
Thomas sold the car to Ken McBride, Seattle WA, who imported the car into the US.
Now sold to a new US owner


A race report is on file that shows the car entered as running a 5.7-liter capacity in the British Saloon Car Championship.
Alan Mann rebuilt the car for Pierpoint (BSCC Group 5, 1966-69), the car said to have had a 289 with dual quads and Weslake heads.
Front suspension is control arm and coil over as OEM, the rear suspension is Ford 9-inch with four link and watts link.
Discs brakes fitted all round.

Seriously cool car and exceptional history. Indeed a very neat find.

Bruce.

[Bruce302]

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Just because it is a cool looking car, I have no history on this one.

B.

[Paul B]

Nice pic Bruce this is - from American Hot rod Foundation
Picture of Don Pike in the Hayward Motors ‘64 Falcon Futura originally powered by a 260” V8. A little back story is in order on this shot. Driver Don and his brother Gary just happened to work for a guy named Carroll Shelby. Since a Falcon running gear etc was the basis of the new Mustang, lots of Shelby’s GT350 parts bolted right on and could be used as an undercover testbed. Needless to say it was hard to beat Don. My gut says they even might of had a 289” under the hood.....

Definitely a 289 under the hood I would say.
Cheers
see you on Saturday

[Bruce302]

Thanks Paul, They are a great looking car and with the Shelby parts bolted on they must have been pretty competitive.
It is so neat to have the background the the cars and the pics.

Indeed see you Saturday, though we will hit town before midday Friday.

Bruce.

[Paul B]

From Bill Meek:
I have had the Falcon rally sprint for 28-years and have been the only owner as a race car. The car has lap records at a number of circuits including my home circuit -- Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. I started racing historic touring cars in 1985 in a Mini Cooper S and graduated to the Rally Sprint in 1989.
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[Bruce302]

That goes very well and not a lot of tyre on the road. Bill obviously knows the car well.

B.

[Paul B]

Cool pic' of Bills car. Note the rear right wheel getting a bit of air

[Steve Holmes]

Photo I snapped of Bill's Falcon Sprint at the Muscle Car Masters back in 2007.

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[Paul B]

Bill Meeke has researched the 1964 Falcon Rallye Sprint and the Monte Carlo Rallye thoroughly. He has been to Holman Moody and also been to the UK and interviewed Alan Mann and his lead mechanic regarding this subject. He is regarded as an expert on the subject.
It has been great to have some input from Bill with my build.

[Bruce302]

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First with drivers, dates and location wins.

[Paul B]

Riverside white tires In similar livery after its upgrade to ’64 Falcon specs, Pete Cordts #17a chases down Shelby driver Don Pike’s (# 69a) ’64 Falcon approaching Riverside International Raceway’s distinctive white tires in Turn 7. this was in 1964.

Pete Cordts had purchased a brand new 1963½ Falcon Sprint (car 17a) from his employer, Downey Ford. Within eight months, Cordts transformed this little commuter into a race car — destined to burn up tires and brake pads negotiating road race circuits instead of the quarter-mile. Mike Eddy and his family lived down the street from Cordts, and Mike’s father, Doug, worked for Carroll Shelby, so the connection between the Eddys and the Cordts was destined to be fortuitous for all. It became a life-long connection for the younger Eddy - who now owns and races the car today.
from Power & Performance News.
http://www.powerperformancenews.com/features/coming-home-mike-eddy-and-the-unlikeliest-of-trans-am-race-cars/

[Spgeti]

Awesome article Paul. I love the detailed photos of the interior.

[Kiwiboss]

Mike Eddy worked for Vic Edelbrock on his race cars for many years, my first stop when flying into LAX was to drive 15min down HWY1 and have a cuppa and a catch up with Mike, and a look though the shop...Dale M

[Paul B]

Thanks Dale, That is a very nice restoration, I agree with Spgeti, the interior looks fantastic.

[Spgeti]

Those historic seats are for sale thru Kirkey, but you would need to check with MSNZ if you can use them under Schedule AA.

[Paul B]

A combined field of pre-65 and pre-72 historic touring cars at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth October 2017.
Bill Meek in his 64 Falcon Sprint did very well and came 1st in his class (pre 65) and 4th overall!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvGOZ7x7SME&feature=youtu.be

[Bruce302]

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One of the Alan Mann cars that went to Sweden. Neat exhaust system.

B

[Oldfart]

I don't know that I would call it neat, if it means tidy, but probably very effective!

[Bruce302]

just me being naughty..Probably worth 3 or 4 hp.

[Spgeti]

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One of the Alan Mann cars that went to Sweden. Neat exhaust system.

B

Just a bit of slight flaring of the guards as well...

[Paul B]

It definitely has that Swedish look about it, Its been heavily modified over the years. See the fuel filler hole in the left rear panel,since blocked up, they had the filler at the back originally.
Where did you discover that Bruce?
Another unearthed MCR car.

[Steve Holmes]

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One of the Alan Mann cars that went to Sweden. Neat exhaust system.

B

I remember seeing this car for sale in a UK historic racing magazine back in the 1990s. Looked much like this at the time.

During the 1980s a guy in the UK called Eric Walker owned both the Falcon, plus the Dennis Leech 1970 Mustang and the Martin Birrane 1970 Mustang. I made contact with him when I wrote a story on the Leech Mustang a few years ago for The Roaring Season which can be found here: http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?771-Article-The-Dennis-Leech-Boss-429-Mustang

Eric knew all three cars would become quite valuable in time, and so was keeping them with the intention to restore them, but a divorce in 1987 meant he had to sell them.

Both Mustangs eventually ended up in the US, with the Biranne car restored back to how he raced it in the BSCC. I believe this was a Ford test or mule car for building the Kar-Kraft Mustangs?

The Leech Mustang is now back in the UK, having recently been purchased by long-time Ford/Cobra historic racer Bill Shepperd.

This is how the Leech and Biranne Mustangs looked when Eric owned them:

48071

48070

[Paul B]

Eric was not wrong Steve! Great machines there.
The poor old Falcon has had the "cut and paste". the Mustangs are very cool.
Nonetheless all good history!

[bmeeke]

I can't believe that is an 'original' Alan Mann Racing unit -- if it is, they have completely destroyed its value by making such outlandish mods to the car that bear no resemblance to the period specification. Just because its painted red and gold ...................?

[Paul B]

Agree Bill, Its such a shame to see them cut up, or any period car for that matter.
The Falcon would require a lot of work to get it where it should be but all do-able and well worth it.
I would like to get an original Monte Carlo Rallye Sprint car to restore. I would not care what condition.

[bmeeke]

Agree Bill, Its such a shame to see them cut up, or any period car for that matter.
The Falcon would require a lot of work to get it where it should be but all do-able and well worth it.
I would like to get an original Monte Carlo Rallye Sprint car to restore. I would not care what condition.

As with many 'collectable' cars, there appear to be more 'original' 1964 Rally Sprints than were ever consigned to Alan Mann. Back in the early 1990s I had a lot of correspondence with Julian Balme and he was of the view that there was only (at that time) one genuine '64 Rally Sprint in the UK and it belonged to a guy named Rob Sherring whom, I believe, worked with Graham Hill back in the era. Julian believed there was one other original car and it was in Sweden. There there was the Frank Gardiner car in which he won the 1967 British Touring Car Championship -- nobody seems to know what happened to that car? Those are the only three originals I have ever been aware of. Interesting!

Julian has a fabulous-looking '64 himself, but has never claimed it as an original, any more than my car is!

I will send you a pic if the Sherring car to your email address which you should feel free to upload here -- I seem to have trouble doing that!

[khyndart in CA]

Here is a 1993 race from Snetterton where Dennis Clark, driving a 1964 Alan Mann ? Falcon # 9 is shown briefly.
Is this one of the original ones ?
Some enjoyable sounds from all cars involved..

Snetterton, 3.5.1993, 1960s Saloon Cars' Race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PWylI979F8


48180
(Dennis Clark. 1964 Ford Falcon )

( Ken H )

[Paul B]

I think this ^^ may be a recreation of the Allan Mann/ Frank Gardiner car,
which now is in USA as you found Ken on page 7 post #134
Also the original MCR cars had Michigan Registration plates.

http://www.vrmotors.com/ford_falcon_1964.html

[Paul B]

As with many 'collectable' cars, there appear to be more 'original' 1964 Rally Sprints than were ever consigned to Alan Mann. Back in the early 1990s I had a lot of correspondence with Julian Balme and he was of the view that there was only (at that time) one genuine '64 Rally Sprint in the UK and it belonged to a guy named Rob Sherring whom, I believe, worked with Graham Hill back in the era. Julian believed there was one other original car and it was in Sweden. There there was the Frank Gardiner car in which he won the 1967 British Touring Car Championship -- nobody seems to know what happened to that car? Those are the only three originals I have ever been aware of. Interesting!

Julian has a fabulous-looking '64 himself, but has never claimed it as an original, any more than my car is!

I will send you a pic if the Sherring car to your email address which you should feel free to upload here -- I seem to have trouble doing that!
Rob Sherring’s original Falcon Rallye Sprint hard at work somewhere in the UK
48181

Graham Hill’s battered Falcon Rallye Sprint during the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally
48182

[928]

your photo showing car number11 is taken at brands hatch with the car turning into druids

[Paul B]

your photo showing car number11 is taken at brands hatch with the car turning into druids

Thanks 928... Great spotting!
Cheers

[Terry S]

As with many 'collectable' cars, there appear to be more 'original' 1964 Rally Sprints than were ever consigned to Alan Mann. Back in the early 1990s I had a lot of correspondence with Julian Balme and he was of the view that there was only (at that time) one genuine '64 Rally Sprint in the UK and it belonged to a guy named Rob Sherring whom, I believe, worked with Graham Hill back in the era. Julian believed there was one other original car and it was in Sweden. There there was the Frank Gardiner car in which he won the 1967 British Touring Car Championship -- nobody seems to know what happened to that car? Those are the only three originals I have ever been aware of. Interesting!



Sounds a bit like the Aussie Ford Falcon GTHO ph 3. There were 300 made.

Now there are only 700 left on the road.......