THE SONOMA COUNTY FALCONS FOR FUN CHAPTER
In my last article, I
described the basic vehicle specifications for the Rally Falcons that would compete in the
1963 Monte Carlo Rally. This month, final preparations are made prior to the World’s
most famous road rally.
As testing progressed in Europe, a significant performance improvement was realized by the use of special tires. Ford alternated between the use of Dunlop SPs, and a special spiked tire that was manufactured in Sweden by Fagersta Bruk. The Swedish tire was recommended by Bo Ljungfeldt--Ford’s top rally driver. The spiked tires really improved the performance of the rally Falcons on icy roads which were the prevailing road hazard during the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally.
John Holman and George Merwin (Competition Manager) decided to travel to Europe to obtain some hands-on experience with the rally cars and their drivers. In an article that George Merwin later wrote for Automobile Quarterly, he relates some memorable stories regarding practice runs in the rally Falcons.
George once spent a whole night in the back seat of Bo Ljungfeldt’s rally Falcon as he practiced a special hill-climb section of the event over-and-over again. Bo would hurl the falcon around icy corners as his navigator (Gunnar Haggbom) yelled out directions to go right or left in the fog and darkness ahead.
George went into a state of shock as the car raced up the mountain. He finally relaxed after reaching the top of the mountain. He assumed that Bo would drive more slowly on the way back down the mountain, but quickly learned that the word "slow" was not part of Bo’s vocabulary. Bo raced down the mountain and started another run up the mountain to see if he could shave a few seconds off his best time.
George also arranged for an interesting ride for his boss—Lee Iacocca. George wanted the Ford brass to gain some appreciation for the European rally experience. After Mr. Iacocca went for a hair-raising ride with the Swedish team, he uttered two words to George without a smile—"You’re fired!"
George thought Lee was joking, but really wasn’t sure until later that day when Lee finally spoke to him again at a press conference. Lee indicated he went for the ride of his life on mountain roads that included memorable icy hairpin turns. Iacocca told George he could keep his job if the Falcons performed well during the rally event. I assume that Mr. Iacocca was joking.
Between November 1962 and January 1963, the rally Falcon drivers logged over 15,000 practice miles on their Falcons. Thirty-seven service depots were established along the rally route to service the Falcons.
As the date for the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally event neared, the Ford Motor Company began an advertising blitz for the new Falcon Sprint. In January, Benson Ford hosted a plane-load of journalists who traveled with him to Monaco to christen the new Falcon Sprint, and announce Ford’s involvement in the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally. Lee Iacocca was also present for the festivities.
This is a portion of a Ford Motor Company advertisement that appeared in several magazines
in 1963. The new Falcon Sprint's participation in the Monte Carlo Rally was a big selling
point.
The final preparation for the big event was the tuning of the three rally Falcons at the local Ford dealer in Monte Carlo. After a few months of intensive preparation, Ford was now ready to make the first serious American entry in the then 52-year old Monte Carlo Rally.