Scam Alert? Falcon with OEM Cobra 289?

On a certain auction site that starts with an "E" a guy has listed a 63 Falcon convertible with a rare factory option Cobra 289.

I call Bull$hit on this. What do you guys think?

 

WTF is a cobra 289?

 

If that were in fact a factory option there would be factory do***entation and the proud owners all along the trail would have kept and transferred same to each new owner....I would bet the farm it is "owner price enhancement" optioned......
A 289 out of a Cobra then transplanted in a Falcon convert seems even more unlikely

 

A Cobra 289 is a Ford HiPo 289 modified by Carroll Shelby for insertion in either an AC Cobra or a Shelby Mustang.


My real question is whether anyone knows if it was even possible to order such a combination in 1963. The 289 existed in 63 and Shelby was building Cobras (obviously not Mustangs yet) under his own name with Ford parts, but only the 260 was offered in Falcons that year.

 

Same as all sbc being a Vette motor because it has corvette valve covers.

 

That one may just be misrepresented a bit. It could have had a 260 V8 in it though. I thought that the V8 Falcons showed up with the 63-1/2 sprint fastbacks that were/are a hell for good looking Falcon that were pretty good runners with the 260.

A search says that the The Falcon got the 289 as an option sometime in 64.

There is no doubt a Falcon board somewhere where they have serious discussions on proper placement of firewall chalk marks and detailed discussions on engine options and what not.

I think G***er Garage nailed it perfectly in post 5. A set of valve covers adds a lot of embellishment to the whole thing.

 

I guess they bought the alum. valve covers that say "Cobra" on them and put them on the engine so that makes it a so called cobra engine .
Ford NEVER made a Cobra 289 for a Falcon !
hey we all know people use anything to sell stuff on that on line auction . Remember , that's why you always make sure on you know what you are bidding on !

Retro Jim

 

Kinda like "Newly rebuilt" aka Krylon rattlecan!

 

i see a 65 falcon with a factory cobra 289 pkg also on that site

 

Wow.

Are those cars really worth that much? I would have a hard time believing anything over 8-10k is reasonable. The buy-it-now 63 falcon for $24,000 seems way overpriced.

 

I had a 63 Fairlane 289 Hi-Po (271 hp), then in 64 I bought a 64 Falcon 260 and the dealer installed a 289. The Hi-Po may have been available as a special option, but Shelby was building A/C Cobras and hadn't started supplying engines in 63 . My .02 worth!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...8927464?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item256fc453e8

Yes, total BS. In 1963, the 2-bbl 260" 164hp was the V8 option for Falcon. Not a 4-bbl, not a 289", not a Cobra engine factory delivered in a Falcon convertible in 1963. FWIW, I was there in a large Ford dealership late in the '63 MY and was flatly told, "No way to get the Hi-Po 289" in a Falcon. Wait for the Mustang if you want a sporty Ford."

Later on, Ford did have a catalog full of Cobra rocker covers, aluminum 4-bbl intake manifold, chrome air cleaner, cams and so on. They advertised regularly in HRM and other mags. The parts could be special ordered, just not factory installed in a dealer delivered car.

jack vines

 

I can't remember the exact year of Falcon, it was the earlier style looking, but a friend of mine had Falcon convert. A black one with the sprint package , 260 4spd with the cobra covers and aircleaner that said cobra on it. That was a running little b......

 

Complete and utter BS in my opinion. Falcon Sprints came out in 63 1/2. They were available in both Hardtop and Convertible (but not sedan). The engine was a 260, the ONLY engine! The K-Code Hi Po 289 (which some folks like to call the Cobra motor)did come out in 63 but was ONLY available in Fairlanes. You could Not order one in a Falcon.
Also Falcon Sprints came with special Sprint fender badges (not on this car), Woodgrain steering wheels with a Sprint center cap (not on this car) FALCON letters across the back (this one has Futura), the center of the trim is Not painted on the Sprint (this one is white which is standard Futura) a tach mounted on top of the dash (not on this car) Sprint emblem on the dash (not on this car). They also had Chrome Rocker trim (this one does not) There were only 4602 Sprint Convertibles made in 63 and if one were optioned as this clown claims then it would be well do***ented in the Falcon World - and it is not.

 

The only way I could believe that is that it was owned by someone (read high-level) working at Ford who pulled some strings to have it done that way (or maybe a prototype). Do***entation should come with the car though.

 

Or the guy who pulled a LT-1 from a Buick Roadmaster and says it's a Corvette motor.

 

if my memory servs me right the 289 cobra engine had a solid lifter cam shaft

and needed to be behind a 3 or 4 speed trans this thing has an auto on the colum

 

I just took my first look at the car . Take a look at the engine bay . Paint pealing off the valve cover , the carb linkage is rusty along with other parts in the engine . I can't see where that Falcon will be worth more than $7500 on a good day . It has too many things wrong with it and you can tell it was a 1/2 *** job that someone stuck together !
If you look at their F/B , they have a whopping 2 ! That would make me run for the hills right there !
It would be a nice driver to enjoy but that's it .
Has anyone asked him for the VIN ? That would tell you right there what the car was !

** OK I just went on Ebay and asked him to send me the VIN number . If he does reply I will post his answer ! **

Retro Jim

 

I'd be asking to see proof, and do***entation..copies sent to me electronically or mailed..either way I bet when or if someone calls his bluff he will word it differently on the phone if he knows he has someone on the other end with knowledge.

 

if the "cobra" motor is a 271 hi-po wouldn't the vin tell what it came with originally like the "K code" Mustangs?.

 

Armed with the information from this book http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/interchange2.html I would want to see pictures of the block codes,head codes and the VIN plate.

 

VIN decodes as factory 170 cid six cylinder. And the pics look like transplant, hoses, clamps, coil, etc. NOT from the era...

Cosmo

 

There's a Sprint on that site that I would love to make a daily driver..

 

The VIN is listed and its a 170" Six Cylinder car.

 

double post......

 

One of my Ford decoder books shows that the HiPo K-code 289 was an option in the 64 Falcon, but I have never seen one equipped that way. It would be very rare.

It was not available in 63 or in 65-later. One year only, at least in the Ford book.

 

Did Ford even use the name "Cobra" back then?
Wasn't that Shelby's name for his cars?

 

Car has a 62 dash also. It is a Phony!!!!

 

The Falcon here is an obvious crock, but this is interesting:

"The only way I could believe that is that it was owned by someone (read high-level) working at Ford who pulled some strings to have it done that way (or maybe a prototype). Do***entation should come with the car though. "

I do know of one such oddity, a T-bird built for Tasca, a big Rhode Island Ford dealer heavily involved in drag racing and performance Fords. The car (I think a '64??) was covered in one of the magazines at the time. Tasca wanted a 427 Thunderbird, and presumably wanted it to be "real" since he went through the factory rather than simply having his parts department make one.
The plant custom ***embled the car with no disruption of the ***embly line by having the 427 custom dressed and then just inserted into the ***embly process.
A change I remember was that the 3-carb 427 manifold was swapped with the over-the-counter T bird version because carb angle was different from Galaxy. I would imagine that exhaust manifolds and probably minor bracketry was also involved.
The car and its process were covered in onr of the road test magazines...maybe Car Life?
(Pretty sure it was actually CARS.)

 

I thought it was interesting it wasn't even a Sprint to begin with. One would think that even if the factory were installing 289s on an experimental basis, they'd start with the top performance model.