"K-Code" 1965 Ford Falcon

[msclassiccars]

Pretty interesting read from Hemmings.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/202...-compact-sedan

"Ford’s early Falcon-based Mustang had plenty of power available—not least of which was the legendary "K-code" 271-hp 289-cubic inch V-8. A solid-lifter cam, 10.5:1 compression, special heads with smaller combustion chambers, low-restriction exhaust manifolds, 2-inch dual exhausts with a crossover pipe and low-restriction mufflers, beefier main bearing caps, and a carburetor that flowed 595 cfm were the hard parts that got the performance nuts drooling. But the package was much more: it also included a dual-point, centrifugal-advance distributor, Autolite BF32 plugs, a water pump with fewer vanes, a fuel pump with an extra spring, a larger-diameter alternator pulley, and a special four-blade cooling fan, as well as larger-diameter rod bolts and a counterweighted crankshaft, all to help the K-code mill rev to its 6,000 rpm redline repeatedly without issue. A chrome dress-up kit belied the seriousness of the package. No power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, or air conditioning could be specified with the 271 hp engine in 1965; there was only a Toploader four-speed and a 9-inch rear filled with a series of increasingly hairy gearsets, clear up to 4.11:1. Such were the guts of Ford’s Hi-Po package, as it became known.

Despite shared mechanicals, Ford refused to drop the K-code 289 into Falcons—doubtless so it could keep pumping out pony cars by the gross. But Ford of Canada, whose assembly line pumped out Falcons rather than Mustangs, announced that the K-code engine was available in all Falcon models, except station wagons, sold in Canada for the 1965 model year. Per a letter sent to the NHRA’s National Dragsterby Ford Motor Company of Canada, all were equipped with the Toploader four-speed, heavy-duty suspension, 10-inch drum brakes, and Traction-Lok, which was unavailable even on ’65 Mustang K-codes. All would be special orders, and indeed research indicates that a total of seven were built through the end of July, 1965. Seven. This is one of the seven."