BUILD THREAD For 1964 Falcon Sprint to Monte Carlo Rallye FIA spec'

[Paul B]

Maybe the panels were like the Pacific Ocean in the day Paul In that area you are "allowed" to improve.

Rhys, I was researching an old Motorsport Magazine article from 1964 that very interestingly it covered a road test on a 1964 Monte Carlo Rallye Falcon and they stated in that article that the "fiberglass panels were wafer thin" so you are right they would have looked like the pacific ocean when looking down the side of a painted fiber panel. I have left some of that type of deflection in my build (it is fairly marginal though).
They also commented on how surprisingly well the American Falcon handled and how relatively light the manual steering was.

[bill hollingsworth]

Group 2 footage at Brands Hatch.

[Paul B]

Great footage Bill!
Thanks for posting.
Cheers

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, fantastic video! Thanks for posting Bill. I think it might be Group 5 though, as opposed to Group 2. The BSCC used Group 5 from 1966 - 1969. Group 5 allowed more freedom than Group 2. Group 5 was used in New Zealand from 1968 to circa 1972. Group 2 was used during the 1966 and 1967 seasons, introduced by MANZ alongside the Allcomers, as they wanted to get the cars back closer to showroom stock.

[bill hollingsworth]

Here is some colour footage of the Group 5 Falcons at Brands Hatch in 1967.

[bill hollingsworth]

Here is some colour footage of Falcons at Oulton Park 1967.

[Paul B]

Excellent Footage & great viewing from 67' Brand Hatch Bill, very much appreciated!
Cheers

[Paul B]

Here is some colour footage of Falcons at Oulton Park 1967.
https://youtu.be/pYQKKlir6sY

Some great footage here of some Lotus Mk2 Cortinas Tri-poding around Oulton Park and the Allan Mann Group 5 Falcon sprint.
Certainly put a smile on my dial!
Cheers

[kiwi285]

Graham Hill is really giving that Mk II Cortina some curry until he had a ride into the shrubbery.

[Paul B]

Good spotting Mike, he had his trademark helmet on.
I did not spot that on first view.
Cheers

[Paul B]

I have painted the roll cage now but had some deliberation over what colour to paint it as I wanted something that would be neutral and unobvious. Also I wanted a metal look finish on the cage.
So I settled on a Satin Nickle colour and I think it looks great.





The cage is Homologated and I have received my log book.

[John McKechnie]

Congratulations Paul, you are now past first base and you have a race car

[khyndart in CA]

Paul,
Again your attention to detail is amazing. Looking forward to seeing you out and enjoying it.
My gift to you this evening is this Jack Sears documentary and especially about the 17 minute 40 second mark, I know you will enjoy.
Cheers mate, Ken.

[Roger Dowding]

Ken H, what a good video, the story, by the Men of the Time,
Thanks for sharing..

[Paul B]

Ken,
Absolutely brilliant video (post #313), some excellent racing and history.
The Big 1963 Galaxie, John Willment Racing Team, Raced by The late great Jack Sears at 17.40 is one of the very rare factory lightweight Holman Moody racers. (the car was sold on 9/9/2017 at Bonhams for a record £471,900.00) !! more than NZ$900,000
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24122/lot/217/
There are some great pics of the original car on this site

The light weight cars were also available through Ford dealers. Amazing how well they did given the size of the huge car but brute HP prevailed
I just love these big beasts and those 7 ltr big blocks thundering around the race track is surely another sight to be seen.


Bonhams Photo

Thanks very much for posting!

John, Yes your are right all I have to do now is get it painted and assemble the beast.
Cheers

[bmeeke]

By way of an update, earlier this year I sold my 1964 Falcon Rallye Sprint replica after 28-years of fabulous racing enjoyment. It has gone to a new owner in Melbourne who has upgraded from a '64 Mustang. My soft landing was a 2004 Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR which I am using in speed events (time trials) and thoroughly enjoying all the 'mod cons'.

All the recent nostalgia stuff on this thread prompted me to go find some of my old stuff. I was fortunate to spend the 1992 British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone with (Sir) Jackie Stewart; courtesy of British Aerospace who were trying to sell my company some new aircraft. At the time JYS was heavily involved in Paul Stewart Racing who were contesting F3 and F3000.Their drivers (with whom I got to spend quite a bit of time) were Gil DeFerran and Dario Franchitti. Both went on to great feats in motor racing.

Knowing of my Rallye Sprint racing, JYS had arranged lunch (at the BRDC) with Jack Sears. We spent a leisurely lunch (2+ hours) talking all things Lotus Cortina, Falcon and Galaxie. I managed to get a couple of happy snaps which are attached. I was saddened to hear of Jack Sears' death in May this year.

When I find them, I'll also post some details of my visit to Alan Mann on another trip to the UK.

[Paul B]

It must have been a fantastic trip Bill, and being able to have lunch and talk to two racing legends.... epic!
Looking forward to seeing your post regarding your trip to meet Alan Mann from Alan Mann Racing UK, another epic trip for you.
Thanks very much for posting.
Cheers

[bill hollingsworth]

The close cousin of the 1964 Falcon Sprint.
https://youtu.be/zx5ibowTLlE

[Paul B]

Thanks Bill,
The Mercury Comet Caliente 427 A/FX where a fantastic machine. Ford claimed 425hp on the high riser engine but it was more like 525hp at 7200 rpm.
Great to see such a nice example of an original survivor car.
Certainly gets my blood pumpin!

[Paul B]

Well it has been a big weekend getting the Falcon Rallye Sprint in for pre-paint primer. The car is looking great. It will come back to my garage and will be carefully hand blocked for the final colour spray.
After this point, it will get a very light first cut with 320grit then a guide coat applied and moderate 400grit longboard, then a light 500grit.