Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale January 19th - 22nd, 2017 at Russo and Steele's 17th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Please contact us for more information.
This 1963 Falcon Shells Competition Mk3 is a front-engine sports racer based on Ford Cortina crossflow 1300cc drivetrain components. Falcon Shells was founded in 1956 in Essex, England and the company produced lightweight competition bodies that could be fitted to a variety of existing chassis. The Falcon Competition was available as either a bare shell or as a complete kit including a Ford 100E sidevalve engine. The Mk3 has a flip front clamshell bonnet and boot which distinguishes it from the Mk2. According to the Falcon Shells registry, this is the last known Falcon Shells Competition Mk3 known to exist.
From late 1990 through early 1994 this car received a comprehensive ground-up restoration by Steve Ferron's Specialty Fabrication in California. This restoration included a completely new frame fabricated from 1.25 by .095 4130 chrome moly material to replace the rusted original frame. The original MGA drivetrain was also replaced with that from a Ford Cortina.
The 1300cc Crossflow race engine was professionally built by AVO and is fitted with dual twin-throat Weber DCOE 40 carburetors and MSD ignition. The engine also features a dry sump oiling system, six-bolt Tufftrided crankshaft, Venolia pistons, custom ground camshaft, steel rods, Gilmer drive, Deves rings, Duplex timing chain and sprockets, and dual valve springs.
Other features of this car include custom built headers with ceramic coating, custom built radiator and tanks, hand built custom suspension system, Halon fire system, Fuel Safe 8-gallon fuel cell with new bladder in 2012, wide ratio 4 speed Cortina transmission and narrowed rear end with Summers Brothers axles. It also has a Tilton clutch and flywheel. The Minilite wheels wear newer tires with disc front brakes and rear drums. The body is a clamshell design for easy access and maintenance with dual headrest fairings and is painted early Mazda Miata blue.
The car was raced with VARA between 1994 and 2003 at tracks including Willow Springs and Buttonwillow. In 2013 the car was gone through by David Irwin in Evergreen, Colorado. David Irwin's shop converted the braking system to use dual master cylinders and filled all excess holes in the firewall. The car was used once for a 2013 test and tune day and was then stored. In September 2016 it was gone through again and received it's 2016 annual inspection and cleared for racing with RMVR. It raced RMVR's 2016 Fall Sprints at High Plains Raceway where it ran flawlessly through the weekend. The Falcon runs very cool and it is both dependable and fast. It competes in the E/SR class and was a two-time season champion with VARA. It competes in the CSR class with RMVR.
