Andrew & Vickie Grassman, Pewee Valley, KY   

1963 1/2 Sprint "Betty" , 1963 1/2 Futura "Marilyn" & 1963 1/2 Sprint "Lobo"

Betty's story

I bought my '63 1/2 Falcon Sprint from my sister  Julie in 1972, when I was 15. It was red. The original color was maroon. It had a bad engine, 6-cylinder automatic. My sister had bought it from my dad after he switched the V8 running gear, motor, transmission, rear end, front suspension and air conditioning to a 63 4-door Squire station wagon. Dad bought the Falcon back for me for $50.00. I bought the motor for it from the junkyard for $50.00. Dad picked it up and I helped him put it in. Dad also painted the car black, after I sanded it with his help and instructions. He said "Sand it 'til your fingers bleed, then one more time around and you're done."

I kept the 6 cylinder motor in it 'til I was 17 when I bought a 61 Falcon 2-door wagon from my brother Steve. Then I switched it back to a V8 260 4-speed and changed the suspension, too. I liked it better with a V8. I drove it all through. My brother Tim blew up a 289, 271hp motor. I got these parts from him and built my first 289 hipo motor: 289 hipo rods, steel crank, 271 hipo cam solid lifter, torquer intake, Autolite carb and headers. I also bought an Accel distributor, Manly flat top pistons and 351W heads. I had a 3 angle valve job done, installed adjustable valve train, and put on 302 Boss springs. The block was bored .030 and balanced.

I changed the front end. I welded on a Corvair front suspension. I used the rear springs, just cut off a coil or two and lengthened the steering column 1 foot. I welded the front fenders and hood together for a tilt front end. It handled very well with this front end. I kept it like this for a while.

I sold the motor I had built for $800.00. I took a lot of other stuff off the car and sold it to my brother Steve. He put a 351W 4-speed back in it for a while and sold it to a guy in Portland, (a neighborhood in Louisville, KY.) He sold it to another guy who traded it every weekend for his brother's motorcycle. One weekend his brother blew up the engine so he told him to keep it. The brother lived on St. Catherine Street. I saw it there several times and it had been painted blue. Sometime after that it was stolen. A friend of mine who owns a junkyard called me and said "I bought your car from the police auction." So I went to look at it and bought it back for $200.00. By then it had a 302 in it.

I was glad to have it back after it being gone for three years. To me it was like rescuing a long-lost friend from the junkyard. I sold the 302 motor for $200.00 and had a free car!

I started to put it back together a piece at a time. I cut off the Corvair front end because it was bending in at the springs. I welded on a 78 Pinto front suspension and lengthened the steering column a foot. I threw the tilt front end away and welded on the stock front end. I made it fit over the Pinto suspension. The Pinto suspension is much better than the Corvair, a lot stronger. I also put a 78 Pinto wiring harness and wiper motor in it. I welded 4-inch tubing to connect the sub frames together.

We found the Bluegrass Chapter of the Falcon Club of America at the 2002 Carl Casper Custom Auto Show in Louisville and went to their next meeting. We joined shortly after and have enjoyed making new friends and going to rod runs and shows with everyone. The Falcon National Convention in Nashville was coming up in July 2002 and I wanted to finish my car, (as if it will ever really be finished!)

Before body work began	Primered and ready to paint!
In Spring and Summer 2002 I sanded off 3 layers of paint: blue, black and red, and got down to the original maroon. I spent three weeks doing the major body work, welding, grinding, sanding, priming and painting. I did all the work myself. The paint is a 2-step PPG black with Gold Glamour Poly in the center section. The sparkle comes from PPG Prizmatique mixed in the first clear coat.
The clear with PPG Prizmatique goes on. No, I didn't wear a mask, but the garage was well-ventilated. It was perfectly safe!

I’ve been adding little touches here and there as I find things. I had the seats re-upholstered over the winter of 2002. I put on new bumpers, door handles, dash knobs, trunk lock insert, and various chrome pieces. I’m always looking for ways to make Betty look better. It was a lifelong dream come true to get to display my car in the Carl Casper Custom Auto Show in 2003 along with 5 other cars from the Bluegrass Chapter! 

Because of all her modifications and special touches, Betty gets a lot of attention. It makes all the work I did worth it. But I didn't do it for attention or trophies. I did it because this is the kind of car I've always wanted to build. I did it for myself. If you like her, I'm glad. But I love her and that's all that matters.

Click to go to Page 2 and read about our "new" '63 1/2 Falcon "Marilyn"