IN THE BUILD

We’re suckers for a car built to a slightly uncommon theme, and Paul Berkahn’s build is just that and a whole lot more. The car is a 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint, which he’s deep into the build of to create a replica of the Sprints that competed in the Monte Carlo Rally. Paul’s created a build thread for this car on The Roaring Season website, and the build will blow your mind. There have certainly been no shortcuts taken here, with the whole car being built by the book, or, as the case may be, the 1964 homologation papers. An example of the detail is that plenty of rust work was required as part of the build, but, rather than just dive in, Paul made sure to measure the thickness of the original steel and replace it with the exact right thickness. Even the spot welds have been measured and recreated perfectly, right down to the correct number and position. The engine is being built as per the original Holman and Moody items. Based on a 289 block with twin Carter four-barrel carburettors, modified heads, larger valves, and a 12:1 compression ratio. Paul’s even managed to track down the correct manifold and 500cfm carbs — a big achievement in itself. The details continue to a boot-mounted auxiliary fuel tank, giving the car a total capacity of 102 litres, which is pumped through an electric Stewart Warner fuel pump to transfer fuel to the main tank from which it’s fed to the engine by a mechanical pump. Even the paintwork is accurate — with an intentional amount of peel to make it look like it would have in its day. There’s much more to this build, so, if you get a chance, we suggest you sit down and read the build thread on The Roaring Season — or, of course, you can wait here and read the condensed version when we feature the car upon its completion. It’ll be well worth the wait!