Jay Leno Buys His Dream Car: a 1963.5 Ford Falcon Sprint

Jay Leno probably has the best private car collection in the world. You can spend literally hours on his site browsing videos of new and old cars from all over the world. He has a very discerning eye in terms of quality but seems to love all cars great and small. 

Surprisingly, there are still cars that he wants missing from his collection, but there is one less now. Leno says that when he was young in the early 60s he worked as the lot boy at a Ford dealership, and one of the cars that he loved was the 1963.5 FordFordUnited States of America, 1903 > present84 models
1719 photos
10 videos
Falcon SprintFord FalconUnited States of America, 1962 > present2 photos
. These cars were essentially the proto-MustangFord Mustang Gen.1United States of America, 1964 > 197329 versions
43 photos
1 video
with the same platform and engine options but a year earlier and lacking the Mustang's style. 

On April 10th, a well-modified example showed up on the classic car web site Bring a Trailer. The site identifies and features cool, classic cars on sale mostly in the US but occasionally also in Europe. One day later, the site said that the car had been sold. On April 14, the site identified Leno as the buyer and posted photos of the car being shipped away. On the 16th, Leno posted photos with the car hugging it. Then on July 30, Leno featured the car on his site, which is the video you can see below. 

This particular car is not what you would call stock even if it appears that way from the outside. According to the original ad, the seller was the third owner of the car. He added a five-speed transmission, alloy headers and relocated the battery to the trunk to save about 200lbs. In addition to that the car has custom rear suspension based up the upgraded unit in the Mustang, front disc brakes from a 1970 Ford TorinoFord TorinoUnited States of America, 1968 > 197218 versions
1 photo
, 20 gallon fuel tank, a 1965 289ci engine that has been bored to 302ci to produce 360hp, forged pistons, performance cam, Holley carburetor.

Source: Bring a Trailer