This pristine '64 Falcon Sprint--4H13F192518--was scheduled for assemblyon April 6, 1964. The Mustang's introduction was only 11 days away.Though the Mustang's introduction would impact the Falcon heavily, itwould never change what the Falcon was--a successful, economical compactcar for the masses. The Falcon Sprint package took America's mostpopular compact car and turned it into a sporty, exciting ride thatquite a few buyers chose over the Mustang in 1964 and 1965. One Memphisarea Ford dealer must have believed in the Falcon. He ordered thisFalcon Sprint originally clad in Guardsman Blue with a blue vinylinterior, 260-2V V-8, four-speed transmission, 3.25:1 cogs, and more.The Falcon Sprint was a nice alternative to the new Mustang because itwas something you could order and get right away. Ford dealers hadplenty of them on the lot. Forty years later, the Falcon Sprint remainsa nice alternative to the Mustang because it still has that sportypersona. Detroit's Alan Aniol must have thought so too. At 51 years ofage, he remembers the Falcon Sprint quite well because he grew up withthese cars. When he found this car it was scheduled to become a racecar, which would never do, especially with something as rare as a V-8Falcon Sprint hardtop. Most of the interior and wiring were gone, butAlan looked at the car, saw potential, and hauled it home.
Alan workedthe body and repainted his Falcon in PPG/Ditzler Sunset Red lacquer overa gold basecoat. We asked Alan why he chose lacquer in an age wheneveryone is using urethane basecoat/clearcoat paint. He told us he optedfor lacquer because he trusted himself with it. We're convinced he didthe right thing. Alan went with a 302ci small-block underhood instead ofthe original 260 because he wanted the six-bolt bellhousing and a morecurrent casting. He sidelined the T-10 four-speed and went with a C4Cruise-O-Matic transmission. Eventually, Alan intends to install a9-inch Ford rearend with 3.70:1 gears for improved performance. Alanpunched the 302 engine .030-inch oversize, fitted it with TRW forgedpistons, ground the crank .010/.010-inch undersize, installed a CompCams Extreme Energy CL35-238-3 camshaft, fitted the top end withEdelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake, a 600-cfm Holley, an Acceldistributor, March pulleys, Ford Racing valve covers, and Doug's Tri-Yheaders. Inside, the Falcon remains much as he remembers Falcons fromthe '60s--full bench seat, center console, Sprint tachometer, andhorizontal-sweep 0-120-mph Falcon speedometer. Despite the Mustang'soverwhelming performance for 40 years, there will always be a Falcon toturn heads, and cause some to break out of the ponycar mold.