The Ford Falcon for North America was nothing special. The brainchild of former Secretary of Defense and numbers-crunching Robert McNamara, it was developed to be as cheap as possible, and that’s about it. It was the Blue Oval’s response to small-sided imports such as VeeDubs and Toyotas. But be that as it may, the Ford Falcon has gathered a bit of a following as of late.
It’s hard to understand why people are increasingly interested in buying and restoring these things. The first-generation Falcon, for example, didn’t come with side mirrors, nor did it get reverse lights until 1962. Heck, hazard lights were also missing from the menu, whereas the signal lights were white, not amber. And please, don’t get me started with the godawful 144-cu.in. motor.
But here’s the thing. The Falcon has something about it that attracts classic car enthusiasts like a magnet. It evokes nostalgia and it rekindles memories of days when life was simpler. That doesn’t mean, however, that Falcon fans would like to relive those days in a car restored to its period-correct state.
The art of restomodding offers the best of both worlds, as proven by a Union Pacific engineer from Romance, Arkansas. Mark Sword Jr. is his name, and for his second-gen Falcon Sprint, he decided on swapping the original engine. Instead of a 260-cu.in. Windsor V8, the restomodded 1965 Falcon sends drive to the rear wheels from a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 as found in the Ford Mustang.
And it does so through a Tremec T56 six-speeder manual. Sword highlights that the Coyote V8 powerplant in his Falcon Sprint “was the best decision I've made on a build. The wiring harness from Ford Performance makes this install so much easier and well worth it.” There’s a lot more to this neat restomod than the modern engine and tranny, though. Here's exactly what's what:
But here’s the thing. The Falcon has something about it that attracts classic car enthusiasts like a magnet. It evokes nostalgia and it rekindles memories of days when life was simpler. That doesn’t mean, however, that Falcon fans would like to relive those days in a car restored to its period-correct state.
The art of restomodding offers the best of both worlds, as proven by a Union Pacific engineer from Romance, Arkansas. Mark Sword Jr. is his name, and for his second-gen Falcon Sprint, he decided on swapping the original engine. Instead of a 260-cu.in. Windsor V8, the restomodded 1965 Falcon sends drive to the rear wheels from a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 as found in the Ford Mustang.
And it does so through a Tremec T56 six-speeder manual. Sword highlights that the Coyote V8 powerplant in his Falcon Sprint “was the best decision I've made on a build. The wiring harness from Ford Performance makes this install so much easier and well worth it.” There’s a lot more to this neat restomod than the modern engine and tranny, though. Here's exactly what's what:
- 5.0 Coyote Engine Swap
- Tremec T56 Transmission
- McLeod Clutch
- NASCAR 9" Rearend
- Strange Engineering Posi w/ 3.55's
- Pypes Stainless Exhaust
- Wilwood Disc Brakes
- Wilwood Master Cylinder
- Old Air Products Air Conditioning
- Power Rack & Pinion Steering
- Billet Specialties Mag 20x10.5
- Billet Specialties Mag 17x7
- BFGoodrich KDW Tires
- 1 of 1 Falcon Cobra R Hood
- 1 of 1 Sprint Strut Brace
- Autometer Ultra-Lite Gauges
- Hurst Shifter
- Forever Sharp Billet Steering Wheel
- Custom Interior By Brown's Upholstery
- Kenwood Stereo
- Factory Sprint Tachometer