I know these were made in the 60's but why did they call these Sprints and then produce the Pinto, Mav, and Mustang Sprint? Anyone know what the differences were with the different era Sprint packages? I know the Mav, Pinto and Mustang were blue/white but what were the items offered in the 60's Mustangs, Flacons, etc.? Also were any other Stallion packages offered? http://tampa.craigslist.org/car/456845811.html
My grandpa's brother (great uncle?) bought a Falcon Sprint new. The car is long gone, but we have a projector film taken of the car when it was brand new. Nothing like the later Sprints.
The Falcon was the only model to use the Sprint designation in the 60s that I am aware of. This was a V8 and trim package that ran late 1963 to 1965. They could be optioned with a 4 speed. They probably dropped it after 1965 as to not compete with the Mustang.
The big difference between earlier Ford Sprint packages and the 72s is that there was actually a performance edge to the earlier versions. The 72s are nothing more than an appearance package, as are the Grabbers and any other 'special' Maverick/Comet. The earlier versions came with bigger engines standard and could be had with K-codes as an option. (K-code is aka HiPo 289) Also, the appearance parts involved were more sporty... Like bucket seats and consoles with floor shifters. They were something like a Chevy II SS fighter.
In the Spring of '63, Ford introduced the '63 1/2 Sprint Falcon. It was a promotion to promote the newly introduced 260 engine and these little preMustangs came in convertible and hartops with automatic or 3 or 4 speed transmissions. A friend of mine in high school had a white conv. with red interior and a 260/4 speed. It would scream! I would love to have one of these little cars. The Falcon Sprint continued on with the '64 and I believe into the '65 model, changing over to the 289 when it became available. In April of '66, Ford reintroduced the Sprint in the Mustang. This specially equipped Limited Edition Mustangs came with a lively 200 cubic inch six, special 14 inch wire wheel covers, distinctive accent stripe, and a chrome air cleaner. Some cars had a chrome oil filler and radiator cap. 75% of them were automatics and the majority were hardtops, but there were some convertibles and even a few fastbacks. This continued into the '67 models. In '68, two packages were offered, Sprint package A, available in either 6 or 8 cylinder, including the C-shaped side stripes, wheel lip mouldings, full wheel covers, and a pop-open gas cap. Sprint package B, for 8 cylinder mustangs only, had argent painted Style steel wheels with E70 Wide Oval white sidewall tires and grille mounted fog lamps. Other options, such as the Tu-tone hood, the interior Decor Group, and the vinyl roof could be combined with the Sprint package. According to Kevin Marti, 101,419 hardtops and 8,527 convertibles were offered in 1967. 25,012 hardtops, 1 convertible, and 1 fastback were offered in Package A. 15,105 hardtops and 1 convertible were offered in Package B in 1968. In the Spring of '72, to promote the Olympics, Ford once again revived the name Sprint. Sometimes called the Olympic Sprint, they were offered in the Mustang, Maverick, and Pinto models. Offered in Wimbleton White only, they featured a special paint with a dual Shelby style stripes across the hood in Grabber Blue surrounded by 1/4" red stripes. Lower Grabber Blue lower mouldings were featured along with Grabber Blue tail panels. The thin red stripe went above the Blue lower stripes and on the trunk. A flag shield was placed on the rear quarters to show the Olympic spirit of the country. Canadian versions got a Maple leaf shield. Special red, white, and blue interiors with blue lambeth cloth were used. 9,383 Mustang units total were produced. 6,247 hardtops, 3,086 Sportroofs, and 50 were convertibles. It was again offered in Package A and B. The package A had a Mach 1 style bumper and grille, color keyed dual racing mirrrors, dog dish hubcaps, and E70/14 tires. The package B also included 15" Magnums on F60 tires and competition handling package. The 351CJ(4V) also got staggered shocks. This was the last time the name Sprint has been used. Jim
To the best of my knowledge, the name Sprint was never used on a Comet. Also, the '72 Sprint was offered with all available drivetrains in the Mustang except the 351HO which used ram air from the NASA hood. The NASA hood was not available in the Sprint Stang. The Maverick and Pinto had not drivetrain restrictions. I find it interesting that fewer Mustangs were produced with the Sprint package than the Maverick. I believe there were over 14,000 Maverick Sprints compared to 9,000 Mustangs. My Mustang Sprint is one of 1700 Sportroofs with the Package A. Jim
Are you sure all HOs came with a NACA hood? I was at a Stang restoration shop about 15 years ago and he had a Sportroof Sprint with 'R' code engine. No NACA hood, but it had the HO. He was hanging on to it in the back of his shop. Said it was one of very few ever made. That said, I know it was a Sprint for a fact, but I never leaned over to look at the VIN and see the R code. I just took his word. He is still professionally restoring Stangs, but last time I was there, the Sprint was gone. Never asked what he did with it.
Ratio, I doubt the Sprint was an R code. It may have had an HO motor in it, but I am sure they made no R code Sprints. According to the '72 Car Merchandising Newsflash put out by Ford to all Ford salesmen, which I have an original dated February 28, 1972. It includes a copy of the "Put a little Sprint in your life" ad which will appear in Time magazine and Sports Illustrated on March 20, and the April issue of Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and Sport magazines. It clearly lines out what is included in each package for the Mustang, Maverick, and Pinto. It also clearly states what is excluded in each. It clearly states that the 351 HO and Ram Air engine is not available on the Mustang. It also includes the NASA and several other options are not included in the package. It also states that a fold down is not available. The salesman who sold me the one I special ordered back in '72 must not have read this publication. He included it on my order. I still have my copy of the order. When the car came in 2 months later, it did not have a fold down. At that time, I found out it was not available. They had informed the salesman soon after he submitted the order. The salesman's attitude was, "oh well if you don't want it we will sell it to someone else". Needless to say, I never went back to that dealership after taking possession of my Sprint. I was going to put a fold down in my current Sprint but it is major surgery and I decided against it, even though I accumulated the fold down parts to do it. The cost of the Maverick Sprint package was $186.93. Package A for the Stang was $156.00 and Package B, which I ordered, was $347.46. Jim
I stand corrected. What I should have said was the 351HO was a limited production in the beginning of the 1972 year and was limited to 1000 cars. By the time the Sprint rolled around in April, those cars were already built and the engine was not available for the Sprint. I got side tracked with the NASA hood issue. The Ram Air option was only available to 351 2V engines during the second half of 1972. Getting back to the Falcon Sprint, it was another push by then Ford Pres., Lee Iacocca to carry through his "Total Performance" theme. Ford had reentered the track and strip scene. He chose the Falcon to participate not on the big tracks but on Road Rallies and Sprints. Perhaps that had something to do with the name. The Falcon Sprint came equipped a deluxe interior trim package with bucket seats and big box console, a 6000 tach, sports car style steering wheel with woodgrain plastic rim and simulated drill holes in the spokes, distinctive exterior mouldings and Sprint script on both front fenders, simulated knockoff wheel covers, and chrome dress up engine kit. It was avilable in both htp and convertibles. 15,081 were built in the Spring of 1963, 10,479 htps and 4,602 convertibles. It is ironic that this little car started it's own demise by setting the stage for the Mustang, then setting the stage for the Maverick as it's replacement later on. Jim
