Father & Son Build A 289 Cobra-Powered Falcon
July 2021 • Video by Nestor Cabrera • Photos Tony Thacker & the Richardson Family
Presented by MicksPaint.com & USAutomotive.co.ukHard to believe it has been 60 years since Ford introduced America’s first compact car. The Ford Falcon was offered in America from 1960 to 1970 and was the basis for the first-generation Mustang.
Halfway through 1963, the Falcon was offered with the Fairlane’s 164 hp ‘Challenger’ 260 ci V8 and a semi-fastback two-door hardtop, but the cars were never really part of the factory performance program so the Falcon had to be modified for any type of impressive performance. Holman-Moody built three ’63s to race in European rally competition with great success and Falcons raced in SCCA’s A-Sedan and even Trans-Am. By 1964 two factory 427 Falcons were built for drag racing before the Mustang was available to modify.
Fast forward and my son, Michael, decided that we had built enough Mustangs, trucks, VWs, and motorcycles together to tackle one of his all-time favorite cars: the ’63½ Falcon. Back in the early-90s, I owned a ’63½ Sprint prepped for road racing and Michael, who was only 6 years old at the time, rode shotgun at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California. That’s when he got the need for speed and when the opportunity arose to build another father-and-son project Michael selected the Falcon.
The Falcon Futura Michael purchased had been fitted with a ’92 5.0 H.O. motor, C4 trans and an 8-inch rear end. It had two-tone grabber blue and white paint, a bench seat, a full interior, stock four-lug drum brakes and 6-cylinder front suspension. After I drove the car for the first time, plans were immediately initiated to make the necessary modifications; all the inadequate and unnecessary parts were quickly removed.
My friend, Michael Eisenberg, owner of MaecoMotorsport.com, races a rare ’63½ Sprint in the Historic Trans-Am group so all of the period correct suspension parts were ordered for the transformation to road race specifications. Michael had recently graduated from Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design in graphic design, and he had a vision for how he wanted to build his Falcon. That’s when he told me to kindly step aside and let him realize his vision.
As the suspension pieces were installed the proper wheels and tires needed to be selected, Michael had no doubt that American Racing Torq-Thrust Ds were the ‘go-to’ wheels: 15x10’s in rear, 15x9.5’s in front, with massive BF Goodrich tires for the street. Major modifications were in order for the fenders and fiberglass ‘eye-brow’ flares were designated to cover the big rubber. The transformation had only begun at that point, but Michael was on the right track all the time reminiscing about my Falcon from 30 years ago.
Over the next three years we installed a narrowed 8.8-inch Explorer disc brake rear end, a Tremec 5-speed, Procar Rally Lowback bucket seats, a massive aluminum radiator, mechanical Stewart-Warner gauges, a narrowed Mustang ‘R-Model’ front valance, and a 6-point roll bar. The Falcon was wrapped in white with a satin black hood and valance, but retained the raw fiberglass bolted on flares.
The Falcon has been tracked at Willow Springs Raceway with Goodyear Sports Car racing tires on a regular basis over the years. Last year the 5.0 finally gave up in turn two so we had no choice but to change the motor out—something we knew was going to happen sooner or later. Our good friend Lynn Park had just taken a vintage legal 289 out of one of his original racing Cobras and a deal was made. Now sporting a 450-475 hp 289 with heads ported and polished by Randy Gillis, the Falcon made some successful shake down laps during Mother’s Day weekend at Willow Springs with the Cobra Club. The engine originally came from Lynn with Webers but the single Holley proved more tractable on the street.
With a little bit of perseverance and a lot of vision, this Falcon was built at home in the garage by me and my son. My father and I built cars together decades ago and that tradition continues in this family to this day and our current project is a 1973 IMSA-bodied Capri, with a 331 ci small-block Ford and a 5-speed—built for road racing, of course.
Vehicle: 1963½ Ford Falcon Futura
Owner/builders: Michael & Randy Richardson
Powertrain
• Engine: 1965 Ford 289 ci
• Horsepower: 450-475 guesstimate
• Heads: 351 ported and polished by Randy Gillis
• Cam: Solid lifter
• Headers: Doug’s long tube
• Carb: 750 Holley double pumper
• Fuel pump: Holley electric
• Trans: Tremec 5-speed
• Driveline: Cable clutch, swing pedals, trans mount and bell housing kit by ModernDriveline.com
Suspension
• Front suspension: Shelby drop, 650 lb springs
• Front sway bar: 1¼-inch sway bar
• Front brakes: Kelsey-Hayes rotors and calipers
• Front shocks: Koni orange adjustable
• Steering: 16:1 steering box, Shelby quick steer kit
• Rear axle: 8.8-inch Ford Explorer with 3:73 gears and Traction-Loc
• Rear brakes: Ford Explorer discs
• Rear springs: Trans-Am
• Rear shocks: Koni orange adjustable
Interior
• Roll cage: 6-point removable
• Seats: Procar low back by SCAT
• Seat belts: 4-point racing
• Steering wheel: Grant (removable)
• Instruments: Stewart Warner mechanical mounted in original dash
Exterior
• Front valence: Stewart
• Wrap: White wrap with satin black hood
• Wheels: American Racing Torq Thrust D 9.5x15 (front), 10x15 (rear)
• Street tires: BFGoodrich 245x60/15 (front), 295x50/15 (rear)
• Track tires: Goodyear Eagle Specials 26.5x8x15 (front), 26.5x10.5x15 (rear)