4 doors and an older restoration still holding up well make this a very attractive buy and an early example of the compact car meant to be the second car. This simple grocery getter is as utilitarian as it gets, with little trimmings, and white wall tires. We give you the 1st year of the first generation of the Ford Falcon. McNamara, who was promoted to Group Vice President of Cars and Trucks by the time the Falcon was launched, was intimately involved in development, insisting on keeping the costs and weight of the car as low as possible.įor consignment, a result of much market research that aimed at women, a second car for families, and a smaller car that was less cumbersome and expensive. McNamara, who commissioned a team to create what by American standards of the time would be a small car but elsewhere in the world considered a mid-size. Hence the project which became the Falcon was started and sponsored by Ford General Manager Robert S. Furthermore, many American families were now in the market for a second car, and market research showed women especially thought the full-size car had grown too large and cumbersome. Large automobiles were becoming increasingly expensive, making smaller cars such as Fiats, Renaults, Toyotas, and Volkswagens increasingly attractive. Towards the mid-1950s, all three manufacturers realized that this strategy would no longer work. Among many wins, Bonner would score a trifecta in class, Top Stock, and Stock Eliminator at the 1964 AHRA Nationals in Green Valley, Texas, while Brannan won S/SX at the AHRA Summernats.Historically, the "Big Three" auto manufacturers, (GM, Ford and Chrysler), focused purely on the larger and more profitable vehicles in the US and Canadian markets. He liked the idea of the Falcon so much he went back home and began to build one himself." Soon, it was decided that DST should build the Bonner car as well, so the light blue hardtop went to Detroit to become the second factory 427 Falcon. "We were about 90 percent done, when Phil Bonner dropped in on a visit from Georgia. Fiberglass hoods, fenders, doors, and bumpers were part of the program, as were other typical T-bolt modifications. So being that the Falcon shared so much in common, we decided to build one as a development car." A maroon '64 Falcon hardtop was delivered to the subcontractor of the T-bolt project, Dearborn Steel Tubing, where revisions and fitment of a 427 High Riser commenced. We knew the Mustang would be the answer, but couldn't get one at the time. "In the late Winter/early Spring of 1964, we could see the handwriting on the wall-we were going to need something lighter than the Thunderbolt Fairlane. In a recent interview with Modified Mustangs & Fords, Ford R&D guru and factory driver Dick Brannan graciously told us about the background of the two "factory" '64 427 Falcons. As much a styling exercise as it was race car, Challenger III competed at the 1962 Nassau Speed Weeks with NASCAR driver Marvin Panch, where it went wheel to wheel with Cobras and Ferraris before eventually succumbing to suspension failure.Īnother big splash for the Falcon came in the form of drag racing, where a few cars, predominately of '64/'65 vintage, made big headlines. Challenger III was an even bolder effort, with a one-off sectioned body, custom fastback roofline, aluminum body panels, and a Weber-equipped 289. Challenger I raced at the 1962 Sebring 12-hour event, where it finished Second in class. Both Bill Stroppe and Holman Moody worked to create V-8 Falcons well before the factory did, with Holman Moody quickly directing its efforts into a competitive environ with Challenger I-a '62 built for sports car racing using NASCAR rolling stock, aluminum body parts, and a 243ci version of the new Fairlane V-8. Several companies initially dabbled with hopping up the thrifty six with triple-carb induction, but this clearly wasn't the answer to the power vacuum. Ford was soon convinced that getting Falcons into the racing world would make the breed more successful on the sales floor.
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