Mini-Profile: Martin White's Ford Falcon Sprint

[Steve Holmes]

This is the first in a new addition to The Roaring Season. For some time now I’ve been wanting to start putting together mini-profiles of the cars that take part in historic racing events around the world. Although some of these cars have period racing history, many don’t.

Many of the cars featured in our mini-profiles were built specifically because their owner wanted to take part in historic racing. They were constructed using a donor car to a set of historic regulations, and are now enjoyed by that owner in their chosen hobby.

The first car we’re featuring is a very cool 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint. It was built by its owner Martin White, of Queensland, who owns John White Racing Engines & Equipment. The company was started by Martin’s father, who retired in 1995. They specialize in V8 engine work, more specifically for historic racing.

The Falcon was built to the very strict CAMS Historic Group N Touring Car regulations. Group N is broken into three specific groups based on date:

Group Na: For cars commercially available in Australia prior to 31 December 1957.

Group Nb: For cars manufactured prior to 31 December 1964 of which at least 100 have been produced.

Group Nc: For cars of a make and model which competed in Australia between 1 January 1965 and 31 December 1972 in either the Australian Touring Car Championship or in other races for Improved Production Touring Cars.



The Ford Falcon Sprint qualifies for Group Nb, which is similar to FIA Appendix K regulations. As such, the Falcon is allowed to run the lightweight body panels allowed under Appendix K, which include doors, hood, boot lid, and front fenders. These can all be replaced with fibreglass items. The FIA minimum weight for the Falcon is an impossible 980kg. To the best of my knowledge, nobody racing one of these cars (be it in Australia or Europe) has managed to reach the minimum weight.

I suspect there may be a few more freedoms allowed under CAMS Nb rules over Appendix K.

Of course, the good thing about building an Nb car is that you can also race it with Nc cars. It may not be an outright contender, but it opens up a lot more options when going racing.

[Steve Holmes]

The CAMS Group N rules are in use throughout Australia, and as such, someone like Martin can travel from Queensland and race anywhere he likes, against cars built to the same rules. And this is something he enjoys doing, whether it’s the Australian Muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek, or the Phillip Island Classic, where he’ll be competing this month.

For Martin, this is his first proper foray into historic racing. “The Sprint is my first proper race car”, he explains. “I fooled around with a 1967 Mustang Fastback for years both at the drags and on the track. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to build something that could be a winner and I could use what I had learned from years of running the Mustang. Also I have many customers who I have done engine work for and helped out at the race track and this was my opportunity to do my own thing.

“The car was imported into South Australia and was an old drag car. It was a good sound body but the rear quarters had been cut out for slicks. We stripped the car, sandblasted it and rebuilt the car from that. It is an original 260cu.in 4-speed Sprint!

“The engine is .030" 1965 289 block, has an RPM steel crank, Carrillo conrods, JE 12:1 pistons, custom roller cam, Windsor Jnr heads etc….. as per Group Nb specs. We use Webers for the great torque and throttle response so it has a set of 48 IDA carbs with our 42mm chokes and stacks. Peak HP is 509 @ 6950rpm! We run out of camshaft but that helps keep the stock Ford block alive.



“The gearbox is a close-ratio Ford Top Loader with a Hurst Competition Plus shifter. 7.25" Quartermaster triple plate clutch etc.

“The rear end is an 8" Ford with 3.80/3.5:1 ratio, 28 spline axles, Galaxie 11" drums on the rear and Galaxie Kelsey Hayes 4-spot callipers on the front with 298mm ventilated rotors.

“Rims are Halibrand 15 x 6 with 205/60-15 Bridgstone RE11S tyres

“We fitted light-weight boot, bonnet and front guards along with front and rear bars as per our Group N rules but were not allowed the Plexiglass windows! A friend of mine made all the moulds and panels for me.

“The best racing I have had to date is at Lakeside against fellow Queenslander Allen “Cusso” Boughen in his Mercury Comet and Muscle Car Masters 2015 was good too. Looking forward to Phillip Island shortly. I am the current Nb lap record holder at Morgan Park Raceway also”.

These fantastic looking Falcon Sprints are a hugely popular choice among historic racers in Europe, but I believe CAMS only allowed a specific number to compete in Australia. They feature classic looks, and are quite different to the Mustangs of which they share the same platform and running gear.

If you’re at a historic event and Martin is there racing his Falcon Sprint, be sure to stop by and say hello. He is a neat guy, and real car enthusiast. And this beautiful and rare Sprint is a great addition to the Australian historic racing scene.

[Steve Holmes]

Engine bay and interior:

[Steve Holmes]

The Falcon, as purchased:

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

Neat period magazine article here on John White, Martin's father: