The Ford Falcon was a practical and affordable compact car, and certainly remains a timeless classic to this day. But for Serge Anderson, it's more than that. Anderson saw potential for a fast and agile track weapon, so he began modifying this '63 Falcon to unlock that potential. The result is a very cool build with some subtle but significant changes, including a 550hp V8 under the hood.
1963 Falcon from Anderson's House of Speed
Anderson, who clearly loves classic Ford restoration and restomod projects, owns several Mustangs and two Falcons. He told Autotopia LA that this one, dubbed "Red Rocket," was started during COVID after scouring eBay for an appropriate red-on-red V8 car with a manual transmission.
The "Red Rocket" Falcon is fully set up for road racing with a complete Mike Maier suspension and JRI adjustable shocks. The rear still uses leaf springs and a Panhard bar to support the Ford 9-inch rear end. A Mike Maier power steering system helps the car corner effortlessly at lower speeds.
One especially unique touch on this Falcon is the custom wheel arches to accommodate the lowered stance and prevent rubbing. New Metal Coachworks cut the front fenders and grafted in new lips from 1965 Mustang fenders, then stretched and re-radiused the rear arches. Anyone not familiar with the lines of a stock Falcon might not even notice these changes!
The modified arches frame a set of gold 17x7 and 17x8 wheels from Legendary Wheels, as well as matching red Wilwood big brakes. The 49ers-style color combo feels fitting for a car from Northern California.
This car is powered by a Windsor-based 347ci V8 that produces about 550 horsepower. That may not sound like a lot in our current era of 700+ horsepower production cars, but in a car this small and light, it's plenty. It's backed by a Tremec T5 transmission, which barely fit under the modified transmission tunnel on this compact car.
The interior features matching red TMI bucket seats as well as a rear bench, though the triangulated roll cage makes the rear seats into more of a storage area than a passenger compartment. There's also a set of Dakota Digital gauges and a Retrosound radio with a subwoofer hidden behind the trunk lining.
Anderson's '63 Falcon is a cool blend of classic style and modern performance, and given the fact that he's had it up to 137 miles per hour on the track, it seems like it performs just as good as it looks. Check out the full Autotopia LA episode below for more about this Falcon:
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