When an owner makes a claim about the relative rarity of a particular vehicle, I have a tendency to treat such claims with a level of skepticism. However, the owner of this Falcon Sprint Convertible is correct when he claims that there were only 300 examples of this model built during the 1965 model year. This one is going to need some major restoration work, but this relative rarity should make it worth the effort. The Sprint is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is listed for sale here on eBay. Some pretty spirited bidding between two potential buyers has pushed the price to a dizzying $56 (really) and the reserve has not been met.

If this had been a Futura Convertible, the rarity factor would not have been present. After all, there were 6,191 of those produced in 1965. The launch of the Mustang hit sales of the similarly equipped Sprint Convertible a fatal blow, and production of the car ceased in June of 1965 after a mere 300 cars had rolled off the line. I’m not going to pretend for one moment that whipping this one back into shape is going to only require a quick buff and polish because there is plenty of rust to be addressed. Both of the quarter panels are pretty bad, as is the trunk floor and the area surrounding the rear spring hangers. The passenger side fender also has rust issues, but the owner does say that the rest of the panels are okay. The majority of the external trim is present, but some of it is damaged. The good news here is that even if the side moldings are damaged, a full replacement set can now be sourced for around $300. The owner doesn’t mention the state of the floors, so they might just be okay.

The interior of the Sprint is said to be complete, but it is hard to see a lot under the collection of parts that now reside inside the car. The dash hasn’t been cut to fit any aftermarket equipment, which is a bit of a surprise. The rear seat looks like it might be okay, as does the center console. The rest of it is an unknown quantity, but the good thing is that almost all of the interior trim parts that might be required to bring the car back up to scratch are readily available. The biggest sticking point here is going to be the wheel. This one looks like it is missing the horn ring, and reproduction Sprint-specific wheels are not currently available. That means that the next owner is going to have to undertake some hunting to find a good replacement.

For the 1965 model year, the only engine available in the Sprint Convertible was the 289ci V8. This one is missing a lot of parts, but the engine block, all of the internal components, and the 4-speed manual transmission are all still present. Being a normal 289, items such as cylinder heads and the intake are also easy to locate, so it would be possible to get the car up and running again. When the Sprint rolled off the production line, the engine bay glistened with the addition of chrome valve covers and a chrome air cleaner as standard. It looks like these are now both gone, but replacement items are readily available. Even the correct Sprint stickers for the valve covers can be bought new, and these cost less than $20 per set. The mechanical configuration was one of the factors that led to the demise of the Sprint. It was essentially mechanically identical to the Mustang, but it was the difference in the images of the two cars that saw so many people choose the Mustang over the Sprint. This was a shame because while the Mustang definitely had the image, the Sprint was the more practical car.

You would think that the relative rarity of the 1965 Sprint Convertible would equate to high market values, but the values for these are surprisingly modest. A pretty decent one can be found for around the $20,000 mark, while an immaculate example will sell for around the $32,000 mark. One of the positive factors that will help this car is the fact that the only piece of optional equipment specified on this one when new was the 4-speed manual transmission. This is the single most sought after option today, as the vast majority of Sprint Convertibles either featured the 3-speed manual or automatic transmission. With that in mind, it would seem to make this car a worthwhile candidate for restoration.