Hello, Here is an old story I wrote in 2023. The topic was called: THE CHALLENGER III . (by @Ryan ) Since we knew a young guy that had a small block Ford v8 in a Falcon, this was an unusual article and research. Back then, it was a nice street driven small car that had a ton of potential. It was our foray reading all about the so-called factory support movement of USA factories doing their part to compete against the vast sporty car group in the world’s car races. 5th car from bottom. We have always liked the small stature of the Ford Falcon cars. Small, but if set up correctly, could give anyone a run for the money. A 289, 4 speed, 4 barrel or dual quads, etc. all in a 2300 pound sedan or wagon? A high performance motor, plus around 300 lbs. more than a high cost Porsche. The ground zero build was possible. A great platform for performance. The little car had the roots and with Holman-Moody behind the modifications, it was a shining road ahead. In the photos below, the body modifications are seen. Jnaki But, sometimes it does not take a radical build to make a small sedan popular with the masses. The section was a challenge sales folks would not have been able to sell to most buyers. The radical sloped roof was another design adding to the all around view for comfort and driving. Look at the photo on the right, if they had left the normal sloping sedan narrow window frame, it would have looked fine. Great views and room inside for 4. Perhaps a hardtop version could have been part of the design for public consumption… another “bubbletop” in the works… Section line visible at the taillight (left); The plywood mold for the fastback roof (right) Note: Whatever the reason, the product was good and bad. A small Ford sedan made itself known, but only to race folks. The public still got the standard bland version that did not make much of a dent in all sales. But driving a small sectioned car with a high performance v8 motor and 4 speed? Affordable to teenagers? It could have started a trend over the larger cars with larger v8 motors. A sectioned small Ford Falcon rolling down the streets of Bixby Knolls would have been something, but, cramped for 4 teenagers out for a cruising night. YRMV “Challenger III on display as part of the Ford Custom Car Caravan. It showed at the 1962 and 1963 season, a different color each time, and once with (Moon disc) wheel covers, once without.” “Challenger III at the Nassau Trophy Race between a Dailu MKI and 289 Cobra, with a Ferrari tailing lose behind; Challenger III was leading the event until it suffered a mechanical failure…” Note 2 : Someone mentioned Moon Discs for a stylish treatment or visions of high speed runs at Bonneville or El Mirage? Either that model is over 6 feet tall or she makes the Ford Falcon look puny… no photoshop back then...
The Jalopy Journal
