1960's Ford Falcons
Have the opportunity to purchase a 1962 Ford Falcon wagon (not sure of the body type yet - squire, country, etc) for a really good price. Anyone here own one? I would love to talk to somebody does or has owned one.
Thanks!
bill
Thanks!
bill
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Should you buy one? It depends on your tolerance for boredom. A Falcon wagon will indeed get you from point A to point B but so will the bus.
Pluses: simple, fairly rugged, economical by '60s standards, has the reliability that comes from having few moving parts.
Minuses: tippy handling, acceleration measured with an hourglass, noisy, crude, vacuum wipers leave when you need them most. And when I say gutless I mean so gutless it limits your range. Don't even think of trying to take one over a hill.
How I would improve: 14" four lug wheels from a Mustang or better yet the drum brakes and wheels from a V8 Mustang; 200 or 250 CID six with corresponding "modern" tranny--synchro on first or count 'em three speeds in the automatic.
BTW Falcon wagons always sell at a really good price.
Anyway, I think they are a good little package if you want an older, compact station wagon, lots of practical utility, and of course you can upgrade them in all kinds of ways, just like you can a Mustang.
I saw one once that had the full treatment-5 liter V8, suspension, brakes, tires, etc. Didn't cost all that much to do, either.
Reason I'm asking is that those early '60's Falcons had the gas tank V-E-R-Y close to the rear bumper, as close as any Pinto, and I believe they were also of the drop-in variety that would breach easily in the event of a rear-ender.
I've never heard anything bad about them, but they just look like an explosion waiting to happen!
Anyway, our delivery cars were 62-63 Falcons. We drove the bejezes out of them!
The 170's weren't THAT gutless and they were cheap to fix.
I caught the back seat on fire on one of them once. The can of sterno slid out of the stainless steel ovens we carried in the back seat to keep the chicken hot!
The boss was NOT amused!
I rember it fondly, it was our Surf Wagon, it swallowed a big Hobie board w ease (they were bigger then).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Anyway, one time I was putting away the Falcon wagon after a day of delivery as a mailmen. I happened to look under the seat, and there were a bunch [maybe a hundred or more] of old letters picked up by some previous carrier who forgot to turn them in so they could be mailed. You know when the mailman comes, you put up your flag, and put some letters in your box for him to take as well? Also, sometimes on the route, the carrier will empty smaller deposit boxes along the route to take back. That's why ever since, I NEVER leave mail in the box-or, any other deposit box on the street. I ALWAYS take it down to the post office and mail it. Heck, I even found some old forgotten parcels in one of those Falcon wagons once. Good thing that wasn't forgotten, un-delivered chicken under the seat eh?!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
At that time I barely knew to put gas in it. I did think that after driving it and getting it hot in Oklahoma's summer, that red OIL light coming on at idle didn't seem to be a good thing.
I traded it on a 64 Impala, from a lot run on the side by a couple of my co-workers. One of them later asked me about the OIL light.... I said it always went off when I drove it. They put crank bearings in it and sold it.
I've got a nephew that got a hair about a Falcon a while back. He tried to drive it to some Falcon gathering in Denver. It turned a bearing......
So, from my history the bottom end of that 6 cylinder is weak....
I have to say that the 144 in my Falcon soldiered on for quite a while. I don't know how many miles it had on it but it was over 100k and it was a hard 100k--85 horsepower trying to drag all that weight around and 3.89 gears so it was screaming on the freeway.
I sold it to a friend and immediately the steering wheel came off while she was driving it. A few months later it blew a head gasket and that was the end.
I also consulted Fix Your Ford, 1969 edition (sounds like a play on the old joke Fix Or Repair Daily) and the basic idea is that the 144 lasted from 1960-65, the 170 from 1961-67(?) (I'm at the office doing this from memory) and the 200 from 1965-up. However my recollection is that the 144 was dropped when the 200 came out so I don't think there was any overlap in '65.
For some reason this reminds me that the 153 four was standard in the Nova through around 1968. That must have been a sweet combination ;-).
Yes, it's all the same family from the 144 to the 250 and IIRC they all had the same 3.5" bore--the block was a seriously thinwall casting that couldn't be opened up much. The 250 had a real "long arm" as they used to say, but the upside to that is that the block is very light for its displacement.
When I had the Falcon I hungered for a 200 and the fully synchronized three speed that bolted to it so I did a fair amount of research into those engines then. I probably would have traded my grandmother for a 250.
Didn't that old Chevy 153 have something like 90 hp, gross? Considering that must've been something like 65-70 net, and the Novas were getting kinda bulky with that '68 redesign, I'm sure performance must've been underwhelming.
One time I loaded mine with two friends and our camping equipment and set off for the Sierra. As soon as we got out of the Central Valley and into the foothills I had to pull over every half hour or so to let the car cool down. It wasn't the cooling system, the car just didn't have enough power to go up even slight grades.
I remember that color too, kind of a pastel light green. Imagine that color on a '60 Comet--I've seen it and it's the low point in American car design.
The 223 six was IIRC Ford's first OHV engine, introduced in the '40s, and I've heard it was a better engine than the flathead V8--certainly more modern and with fewer quirks.
I think the 240 came out in 1965, supposedly based on the 289 and with a lot of cutting and welding a 289 head (or two) will fit. I've heard of them being put in Mustangs but it's a good hundred pounds heavier than the 250 and has a short stroke, good for revs but bad for emissions. I think the larger version, the 300, is still around in trucks.
In a sense it's a recognition that the first Mustangs had 1964 model year engines, not 1965 engines. For example the Galaxie's base V8 was the 260 in 1964, the 289 in 1965. 170 sixes didn't show up in any 1965 Ford products aside from the earliest "1964 1/2" '65 Mustangs.
But you're right, Ford never made that distinction. Mustang was introduced in April(?) 1964 as a 1965 model and IIRC that was the first time a manufacturer fudged the model year like that.
After I totaled the Corvair I got my father's next hand-me-down, his '61 Falcon wagon. The first time I tried to take it up this road I got as far as the first steep part and it started to overheat. This was a car that rarely ran hot, even in very hot weather, and the engine had good compression. It just had a worse power-to-weight ratio than a tired '60 Corvair.
So for performance or charm I wouldn't recommend a Falcon wagon. (I wonder if Bill's still around?) I could see maybe a '62 Futura, the "sporty" version, with a bigger six. I could definitely see a Sprint or the Comet S-22 with a 260 or 289. Neither would break the bank and both are a lot more fun.
Sorry to run on. I forgot how much fun it was, until I started reading this forum. Thanks for the memories......Leo
Nowadays, we don't think twice about multiple-car families, but I guess it was something rare back then.
If you don't mind me asking, Andre, how many cars do you personally own at this moment?
You can see the rise of the two-car family in housing. Up until around 1950 in my area, and up to about 1960 is surrounding areas, almost all houses had just a one-car garage. Mom stayed home and ran the house. Consumables like vegetables, baked and dairy goods (and ice in the days before refrigerators) were delivered every few days. People ran errands on the week-end when Dad and his car were available.
You also see evidence of the one-car family in apartment buildings built through the '70s--I guess renters, being less affluent, got their second car later. Virtually all these older buildings in my area have just one parking space per unit, resulting in a serious parking shortage today.
The Model T may have put a car in almost everyone's garage but the subsequent Depression and World War II apparently delayed the second car for a good 20-40 years depending on what rung on the economic ladder you occupied.
I wonder if it will get to the point that 3-car garages become the norm? They seem to becoming popular with more expensive homes. I've started seeing townhouses nowadays with 2-car garages, so I guess the garage will continue to proliferate.
People are often shocked when I tell them that my condo, which was built in 1973, has a 1-car garage. I guess they're still a rarity for condos.
However, if you just want to collect them and look at them and start them up once in a while, or putter over to a car show, I guess you can have as many as you want, like that guy in Washington--he had...what...a couple thousand cars in his collection. That would be fun. I'd like to have a thousand cars or so and "review my fleet" every now and then in my WW II command car.
I remember when the Falcon came out in 1960, it became alot of people's first second car. Especially the wagon. Most of the LA suburb tract homes in the late 50s-60s had 2 car garages. For my Dad, though, it was a 48 Crosley, and then, um, a 58 Renault Dauphine. Hey, would you rather have a Falcon or a Dauphine??
MGs) and 2.) domestic compacts ( Corvairs, Falcons etc. It was also instrumental in the creation of a large market for intermediates.
The difference between then and now is that the second car is likely to be a truck.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
And it's also why I can't collect old cars anymore! Garage space is ridiculously priced. If I wanted to store an old Falcon, I'd eat up the entire value of the car in about one year's garage rent. Crazy world, ain't it?
I think his recently completed Lake Washington waterfront mansion has something like a fifteen car garage or something?
Then again, getting through his security just might be a problem...
Actually I have no problem with 50,000 square foot houses as long as 46,000 sq ft are devoted to cars. And of course we can always convert those extra ground level bedrooms into tool rooms. And kitchen cabinets make great parts bins.
He is a car guy and I understand he has some kind of Porsche (959 maybe..can this be right?) that he can't even drive because it isn't legal in the U.S.
He has some other interesting cars as well I hear.
It does make it hard to be a collector (just sold my "collectible" 86 5-liter convert). If the market comes back we'll look into garage expansion.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
But in truth, having a car lay around unused is the worst thing for it. This is why I always encourage people to use their cars, even if they are worth a substantial sum. That's what insurance is for. "Hoarding" a car like it was the Mona Lisa makes no sense to me personally. I see 1/2 million dollar cars on the track all the time and applaud the owners heartily. Even once a week for ice cream for the kids would be great.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
As a college student, I had a '61 Falcon with the same 144 cid set-up: Point A-to-Point B kind of transportation. Car got "dolled-up" a bit with GT "racing stripes" (all show, no go) at the bottom of the doors, 4/8-track tape player, Goodyear "Boots" ("wide" 78s), and acrylic "fake fur" rear deck mat.
Now, the '64 and '65 V-8 Sprint hardtops and convertibles were a different breed altogether. Wouldn't mind getting my hands on any of those.
Grove City woman dies in collision
Monday, August 19, 2002
DISPATCH STATE SERVICE
WEST JEFFERSON, Ohio -- A Grove City woman, riding in an older model car without seat belts, was killed in a collision with a sport-utility vehicle about 5 miles northwest of here yesterday.
The State Highway Patrol was called to the intersection of Rt. 42 and Middle Pike at about 12:30 p.m. Della M. Coldiron, 69, of 5960 Kirkwood Dr., was pronounced dead at Doctor's Hospital West.
Coldiron was in the front passenger seat of a 1963 Ford Falcon that was westbound on Middle Pike, the patrol reported.
The driver, James H. Moore, ran a stop sign while trying to turn right into the northbound lane of Rt. 42, the patrol said. The car collided with a northbound sport-utility vehicle in the intersection.
Mr. Moore, 55, of 216 W. Columbus St., Pickerington, and his wife Marsha L. Moore, 49, who was a passenger, both were taken to Grant Medical Center. Mr. Moore was listed in serious condition. Mrs. Moore was in fair condition.
The driver of the SUV, Lorri T. Gholson, 42, of 1520 Rt. 29 N.E., London, and her two passengers, sons Duncan, 5, and Dwight, 6, were wearing seat belts in the 1997 Chevy Tahoe. None was injured.
The crash is under investigation.