What do you do with a classic when the roof gets crushed in and the insurance company totals the car? Well, you could just let them scrap the car or you could buy it back, chop the roof off and make it into a one of a kind roadster. That’s exactly what happened to this Ford Falcon Sprint after the roof was crushed in. The customization appears to be nicely done and really does make this a unique find. So, if you’ve been looking for a roadster to enjoy this summer, be sure to message Keith M via the form below. The car is currently in Phoenix, Arizona with a $9,500 asking price.
What Makes It Special? This vehicle is a true survivor. Its roof was crushed many years ago and the insurance company totaled it, resulting in its salvage title but thankfully someone had the foresight to save this beauty from the crusher and repair it to its very unique condition. Normally a salvage title is a black mark in a car’s history but I believe it has absolutely no bearing on this one at all simply because it would not be here at all if someone had not “salvaged” it.
Body Condition: Body and chrome I would put in very good condition for its age. The car could use a new paint job as there are chips, nicks and scratches and also tiny holes all around the back window areas where I’m thinking someone maybe had snaps for a soft top which I do not have. There is absolutely no rust at all in the body or floorboards or anywhere else that I have found and I’ve been over it closely. Bumpers appear to be re-chromed and are excellent. I would list body condition as “good to very good”
Mechanical Condition: The 289 with Holley 2 barrel carb and 3 speed on the floor. It runs excellent and burns or leaks no oil at all. Clutch is new along with shocks, axle bearings, u joints and brakes have a few miles but are fairly new. It drives, handles and stops very well and honestly, could drive this car anywhere in its present condition. Transmission shifts smoothly in all gears with no grinding or growling. The front end has been inspected and is very tight with no problems found with it.
The Sprint option gave the Falcon a much-needed boost in performance. Due to the fact that the Mustang was essentially the same car, just in a sportier body, most shoppers went with the Mustang over the Falcon. As a result, there weren’t nearly as many Sprints built as V8 equipped Mustangs. So it really would have been a shame to scrap this one and while turning it into a roadster might not have been the best possible route, it at least kept it around and made for an interesting ride.
I’d love to see how exactly this conversion was done and whether the chassis has been reinforced to handle going without a roof. The doors appear to line-up nicely with good gaps, so it seems likely that the car was strengthened. If you have any questions about the car, be sure to message Keith via the form below!
- Asking Price: $9,500
- Location: Phoenix, Arizona
- Mileage: unknown
- Title Status: Salvage
- VIN: 4R17F123398
This would have come with a 260, correct?
Since the Falcons were built body-on-frame (IIRC), it may not suffer much structurally from the missing roof. Since the changes are already significant, why not install a 5 or 6-speed trans?
I like it. But it would best be bought by someone who lives where rain is not a factor for much of the year. And the sun would ravage the interior in short order unless the car could be protected from it somehow.
If someone thinks it would be worth doing, putting a roof back on would always be an option, even if tough to accomplish.
A tonneau cover would solve some of the weather concerns. The holes by the back windows could be used to mount snaps for the tonneau cover and ones could be installed on the dash so that you could stretch it tight. With a zipper down the middle, you could open the driver’s area up just like a British Roadster. It wouldn’t be completely watertight but would keep the worst of the elements and sun out, plus it would just look plain cool!
Falcons were of monocoque construction. Factory convertibles had beefy inner rocker panels and torque boxes at the cowl to compensate for the lack of a roof.
The ’65 Falcon Sprint, or any Falcon Sprint, for that matter, was a sweet little car. Someone went through a lot of work to turn this into a convertible, and I’m sure it’s structurally fine, but severely limits who could actually use this car. Most of us have crummy weather most of the year. Someone has to have a bunch of Falcons they could have cut a roof off, glued it back on this car, a white ’65 Falcon Sprint hardtop with red interior would be one sharp car today.
If you have access to a spare roof, rather than gluing it on, why not make it into a removable hardtop? It would be a bit heavy, but you’d get the best of both worlds and you wouldn’t have to repaint the car.
A lot of velours were killed to trim the interior.
I might have used a Falcon vinyl kit.and a tonneau top would be a solution for sure.
Had a friend who raced a Sprint at the Barona Drags out here in San Diego County……..fast little sucker
Not a Sprint with that VIN! Just a Futura hardtop.
First thing that popped into my mind was “Repo Man” – the Rodriguez brothers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN2AXsF-kwc
(Though granted, the movie car was maroon rather than white.)
@Robs66gt looks like a Futura convertible to me, I don’t see any Sprint badges. Futura’s were if i remember correctly the lesser sibling to the Sprint that was the top of the line model. Has later model valve covers, and by 65 the 260 was out and the 289 was in..
Hey, for ten grand you get a beautiful sunny day cruiser. I garage my collector cars, and have two roadsters. Being in Texas, we get a lot of sun, and when I head out I am mindful of the weather.
Nice little car at an attractive price.
What Jeff said…..my 64 Sprint convert came with that 260 – pulled the heads to update the guides for the unleaded stuff – it only helped a little to keep it running cool with the small radiator and hole they provided. 1965 got a little bigger opening and radiator….still looks like a nice driver for a sunny local…….