1964 · Ford · United States
1964 Ford Falcon Sprint: A Restyled Body, and a Fresh Rival That Stole the Spotlight
The restyled Falcon kept the Sprint hardtop and convertible with the 164 hp 260 V8 standard; the club counts 18,108 built, many with a bench seat.
United States · researched through 2026-09-23
For 1964 Ford carried the Sprint over onto a restyled Falcon body, keeping the Fairlane-sourced 260 V8, a stiffer suspension, and a louder exhaust as the package's core, with the 289 V8 arriving only very late in the model year as a replacement. It was also the year the Sprint's spotlight dimmed: the new Mustang, launched that same model year, drew attention the smaller Falcon-based performance car had previously held largely to itself. The Sprint continued in the same two body styles as before, a 2-door hardtop coded 63D and a convertible coded 76D, both built on the newly restyled body and both carrying the 260 as their standard powerplant.1,2,3
The Falcon Club of America's own body-and-seat-type breakdown shows 13,830 Sprint hardtops built, split 10,001 with bucket seats against 3,829 with a bench seat and no console, and 4,278 convertibles, split 3,652 buckets to 626 bench, for a combined 18,108 Sprints when the four rows are summed. That split matters for more than trivia: it shows a clear majority of hardtop buyers, better than seven in ten, chose the sportier bucket-seat layout over the plainer bench, while convertible buyers leaned toward buckets even more heavily, at roughly six in seven, a preference this record can compute directly from the club's own four production rows rather than from any rounded summary figure published elsewhere.3
The club's reproduced period sales copy credits the standard 260 V8 with helping Falcon take the manufacturer's team prize in the grueling 4,000-mile Trans-Canada Rally that year, a competition result Ford's marketing leaned on to sell an otherwise mild-mannered compact car as something with genuine motorsport credibility. Buyers chose between a standard three-speed manual, an optional four-speed manual, or the optional Fordomatic automatic, and the Sprint's own dimensions stayed modest: a 109.5-inch wheelbase, 181.6 inches overall, and 71.6 inches wide, with the hardtop standing 53.2 inches tall against the convertible's 53.8. The club's own basic specifications table lists the hardtop's curb weight at just 1,935 pounds, a figure evidently far too light for a car of this size and class and likely a transcription error, but the record carries it as printed rather than silently correcting it against the convertible's more plausible 3,130-pound curb weight, since no corrected factory figure was found to replace it.3
Beyond the drivetrain, the 1964 Sprint's popular options and accessories list ran mostly to comfort and appearance items rather than performance hardware: bucket front seats with a console, an eye-level tachometer, bright-metal rocker panel moldings, a black or white vinyl roof on the hardtop, power steering, power brakes with Fordomatic, a Courtesy Light Group, a radio, a padded instrument panel, seat belts, a heater-defroster, a tonneau cover for the convertible, and white sidewall tires. Trunk space differed meaningfully by body style too, 12.2 cubic feet in the hardtop against 9.1 in the convertible, the soft top's folding mechanism eating into cargo room the fixed-roof car didn't have to give up, one more practical trade-off buyers weighed alongside the bucket-versus-bench seat choice when ordering a 1964 Sprint hardtop or convertible.3
Fact sheet · 1964 · United States
The numbers
1964 Ford Falcon Sprint — The restyled Falcon kept the Sprint hardtop and convertible with the 164 hp 260 V8 standard; the club counts 18,108 built, many with a bench seat.
Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-23.
Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.
Key facts
- 1964 Sprint production: 13,830 hardtops and 4,278 convertibles (18,108 in all), per the Falcon Club of America's body and seat-type rows.3
Production
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint hardtop (63D), bucket seats3 Sprint · 2-door hardtop, 63D · 260 V8 · as published | 10,001 | built, model-year | Reported |
| Sprint hardtop (63D), bench seat, no console3 Sprint · 2-door hardtop, 63D · 260 V8 · as published | 3,829 | built, model-year | Reported |
| Sprint convertible (76D), bucket seats3 Sprint · convertible, 76D · 260 V8 · as published | 3,652 | built, model-year | Reported |
| Sprint convertible (76D), bench seat, no console3 Sprint · convertible, 76D · 260 V8 · as published | 626 | built, model-year | Reported |
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| All 1964 Sprints3 Sprint · as published Method: sum of the club's four body and seat-type rows, which partition Sprint production as presented. The same total appears on secondary sites. | 18,108 | built, model-year | Estimate |
Rows are separately scoped; the four body/seat rows partition the Sprint total as presented by the club.
The club's reproduced 1964 sales copy lists standard equipment as the 164 hp 260 V8 with chrome dress-up, a fully synchronized 3-speed manual, wire-style wheel covers, a full-width 'bucket-styled' front seat, 12 Diamond Lustre enamel colors and 5 color-keyed all-vinyl trims, and a power top in black, white or blue on the convertible. The individual color and trim names are not listed.
Engines
| Engine | Factory rating | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260 V8 2-bbl3,2 260 cu in · 2-barrel | 164 hp (SAE gross) | standard in the Sprint; replaced by the 289 very late in 1964 per the club | Not yet sourced |
Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.
Transmissions
| Transmission | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|
| 3-speed manual (fully synchronized)3 | standard | Not yet sourced |
| 4-speed manual3 | optional | Not yet sourced |
| Fordomatic automatic3 | optional | Not yet sourced |
Options and packages
| Code | Option | Price | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bucket front seats and console3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Eye-level tachometer3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Bright-metal rocker panel moldings3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Black or white vinyl roof covering (hardtop)3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Power steering3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Power brakes (with Fordomatic)3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
4-speed manual transmission3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Courtesy Light Group3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Radio3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Padded instrument panel3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Seat belts3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Heater-defroster3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
Tonneau cover (convertible)3 | — | Not yet sourced |
|
White sidewall tires3 | — | Not yet sourced |
Specifications
| Measure | Value | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase3 | 109.5 in | Sprint |
| Overall length3 | 181.6 in | Sprint |
| Overall width3 | 71.6 in | Sprint |
| Overall height3 | 53.2 in | hardtop; convertible 53.8 |
| Curb weight, convertible (approx.)3 | 3,130 lb | Sprint convertible |
| Curb weight, hardtop (as printed)3 | 1,935 lb | Sprint hardtop; printed 1935, evidently a typo, recorded as printed |
| Trunk volume, hardtop3 | 12.2 cu ft | Sprint hardtop |
| Trunk volume, convertible3 | 9.1 cu ft | Sprint convertible |
Identification
- Body codes
- 63D Sprint hardtop; 76D Sprint convertible.3
Identification
Read a 1964 Ford VIN
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Same model year
Also in 1964
- Buick Riviera The 425 became standard, the dual-quad Super Wildcat 360 arrived as an option, and the Super Turbine 400 replaced the twin-turbine automatic.
- Buick Wildcat The best Wildcat year at 84,245, with a 425 in 340- or 360-hp form and an available four-speed.
- Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The first Chevelle; the Malibu SS was a series, and its strongest released engine was the midyear 300 hp L74 327.
- Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova First V8 (283) year in the source engine table. Enthusiast-compiled production: 191,691 cars; Super Sport 10,576.
- Chevrolet El Camino SS No factory Super Sport El Camino is documented for this year; the record carries the host El Camino production as context.
- Chevrolet Impala SS Super Sport becomes its own series: 185,325 built.
- Chrysler 300 letter series Cheaper by about $1,000, with a single-four-barrel 360 hp 413 standard, leather made optional and the convertible restored, the 300K became the best-selling letter car: 3,022 hardtops and 625 convertibles.
- Dodge Dart 330/440, Polara and Max Wedge The Max Wedge's last year brought the Ramcharger 426-III, a 365 hp street 426 for Polara buyers, and in midyear a competition-only 426 Hemi in lightened 330/440 bodies; Roger Lindamood's Dodge won Top Stock at the Nationals.
- Ford Fairlane The year of the Thunderbolt: a midsize Fairlane with a 427 installed for NHRA Super Stock, which carried Gas Ronda to the national Stock title.
- Ford Galaxie Ford sold its 427 in the restyled full-size range in two advertised versions, 410 hp with one four-barrel and 425 hp with two, and the Galaxie 500 XL hardtop was the bucket-seat flagship.
- Ford Thunderbird The redesigned fourth-generation car offered one drivetrain, a 300-hp 390 with Cruise-O-Matic, and output rose to 92,465.
- Mercury Comet and Cyclone The Cyclone name first appeared on a 1964 Comet hardtop; the only production figure found is a single secondary total.
- Mercury Marauder and S-55 Marauder now meant the fastback roof on any full-size Mercury series, two-door or four-door, with the 390 standard and the 427 optional.
- Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds Oldsmobile's first 4-4-2 was a mid-year option package, B09 Police Apprehender Pursuit, with a 310 hp 330, a four-speed and dual exhausts; 2,999 are tabulated.
- Oldsmobile Starfire Production fell to 16,163 as the cheaper Jetstar I took the same body; Motor Trend timed a convertible at 9.7 s to 60.
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda Plymouth's glassback Valiant-based fastback launched in a short first season and sold 23,443 cars.
- Plymouth Savoy, Fury and Max Wedge Plymouth's last Max Wedge year offered the Super Stock 426-III beside a 365 hp street 426 Commando, while a competition-only 426 Hemi went into lightened Savoy/Belvedere drag cars and swept the Daytona 500.
- Pontiac Catalina 2+2 and Super Duty The 2+2 arrived as a $291 Catalina option and the 370 hp 421 HO replaced the Super Duty at the top.
- Pontiac GTO A $295 option on the Tempest LeMans that put Pontiac's 389 in the intermediate body; 32,450 were built.
- Pontiac Grand Prix A carryover year: 63,810 built, with the 370 hp 421 HO at the top of the option list.
- Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The Tempest becomes a 115-inch intermediate with a 326 V8, and the LeMans carries the new GTO option.
- Studebaker Avanti The last Studebaker Avanti, cut short when South Bend stopped building cars on 20 December 1963. It got rectangular headlamp bezels and a level stance, and 809 were built, including the nine production R3s.
- Studebaker Hawk The final Hawk, with a new deck lid and an optional vinyl 'Sports Roof', ended when South Bend closed on 20 December 1963. 1,767 were built, 1,484 of them domestic.
- Studebaker Lark and Super Lark Brooks Stevens restyled the Lark-type line and the Daytona became its top series. Of the V8 Daytonas, 111 got the R1 and 48 the supercharged R2, and one got the only production R4, before South Bend closed in December 1963.