On this cold, dark, wet and windy day, I’m struggling to remember what summer really feels like: Going out for a hike by the river after supper in shorts and sandals, jumping into the cool, fresh water, watching the sun set after 9 PM and getting back to the car at ten, still in the last of the golden daylight. So here’s some visual memories, of a summer’s walk that involved running into this green ’65 Falcon wagon; one that I’d seen running around town for quite some time. And when I got up close, there was a pleasant little moment of serendipity.
This Falcon is riding on Falkens. Was it a conscious choice?
Even though it’s the same under the skin, these restyled 1964-1965 falcons managed to look more substantial than their delicate-looking predecessors, thanks to their squared-off styling.
Although the ’65 looks almost identical to the ’64, there were some meaningful improvements. The two-speed Fordomatic finally gave way to the much better C4 “Select-Shift” automatic, with its three forward gears. And the feeble 85 (gross) hp 144 inch base six was also thankfully ditched. The 170 inch six was now standard, the 200 inch optional, and the V8 option was now the 200 hp 289.
I had a girlfriend with a base baby-blue ’64 two-door. It had the Fordomatic, and I assume the 170, but it might have been the 144. We took it for a trip to NYC all on back highways, and I drove, and it was a miserable thing for the windy, hilly old highways of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The little six moaned and groaned, and could never decide which of the two gears to be in, not that it made any real difference. Jeez, I hated that car; these little sixes really needed a stick; a four speed, preferably, not that those were easy to come by.
The Falcon wagons were very popular in the early sixties, with younger families. And for good reasons; they had a fair amount of room, and were fairly cheap, and fairly durable. Fair; that’s the best word to describe them, although that probably is a bit too positive a word to describe their dynamic qualities. Unless one got the V8 and heavy duty suspension. The steering was still so-so. But folks were fairly happy with them. And if they wanted something a bit bigger, they could always get a Fairlane, which offered a wagon too, since 1963.
I’d be much more than just fairly happy to be able to throw the dog in the back of this one and drive it down to the river for a long hike and swim right now. There’s nothing fair about winter.
Nice! And I love the Maverick wheel covers. And happy Holley-Days to all my Ford loving CC friends.
Falcon owners (especially Falcon wagon owners) were known to be true penny pinchers.
A distant aunt and uncle had a ’62 white two door Falcon wagon because it was cheaper than a 4 door version. It had a 3 speed manual transmission, manual steering, manual brakes, and rubber floor covering. The only option was that my aunt insisted on was a radio (AM vacuum tube radio that took a few minutes to warm up in the winter).
Once my uncle passed away, my aunt splurged and bought a brand new Dodge Coronet with all the bells and whistles, with a green vinyl top to boot. However, the radio stayed AM.
Maverick hubcaps eh, out this way we got those on XA Fairmonts from Aussie, A decent set of tyres can really transform some old cars having owned a 65 XP Fairmont 170 2 speed auto good tyres would have really helped that thing engine power wouldnt have hurt either, I run modern Michelin rims and modern radials on my Hillman it sticks to the road really well and having tried it on its original razor blade cross ply tyres I wont be swapping back, quieter and smoother the old tyres might be but its like driving on ice if it rains so I’ll stay with the selection of used modern tyres it wears.
Great spotting. I had those exact hubcaps on my orig XA Fairmont. For some reason they reminded me of flower petals.
I’d go for a top-of-the-line Falcon Squire.
+1 woody fan here. dad had 2 Falcons in the 60s,both 6 cylinder 4 door sedans.
I am normally a fan of wagons big time but these things just leave me cold. If I had to drive one, it would have to be the Squire with wood, preferably in a dark paint colour.
They did sell Squires here, but they were ultra-rare. Wood trim just looked odd to Aussie eyes back then. Now we know it’s an upmarket American thing.
The wood was a rust magnet as water was trapped behind it. An Art teacher had a Mk 1 Cortina woody which by the early 70s he had repaired by my brother and other boys in metalwork classes.
Looks like a typical hipster-mobile, to me.
What does that even mean anymore?
Pretty much anything older than 1995 😉
Nice car. It’s owner has spent some money to keep it on the road. Upgraded upholstery (interesting design on the front door trim panels) and three point seat/shoulder belts. Ditch the Maverick wheel covers for the standard dog dishes and it would pass for an Army car.
I have an Aunt and Uncle that bought a new Falcon sedan in ’65. It was very plain, I don’t think it had any options, not even a radio. It served them and their four kid family well for seven or eight years until the extreme weather and roads of Alaska took their toll.
I always find it interesting how certain details really stand out on the older cars years later. When they were new you probably didn’t even notice them! Case in point – the arched, boomerang-style rear wheel openings. Such a cool design and distinctive too. Makes that little wagon look very “art deco”. And the wrap-around rear window also adds a very unique touch as well. A car that was very mainstream when new often has its details overlooked because they are so popular and everywhere. I’ve probably seen these wagons a million times over the years and never really noticed those two details.
Those rear wheel openings – copied by Mercedes for the W123 wagon.
Nice looking car. It looks better without the faux wood trim used on the Country Squire.
Motor Trend tested a variety of 64 Wagons and their Falcon was the 144 and 2 speed automatic. They said it wasn’t enough engine for the extra weight of the wagon and you had to have your foot to the floor all the time to get any power out of it, so any extra fuel economy one might expect was out the door.
With they auto, it was described as not being able to find a “happy place”, just as Mr. N wrote about his girl friend’s Falcon.
They thought it was inadequate for passing and that people trying to save money with this combination would be better served by buying the larger engine as it wouldn’t have to work so hard. It wasn’t a positive review.
Still, I’d have one in a second. With rubber flooring and an AM radio.
You might want to go back and recheck that, because the 144 was specifically not available on the wagon 1964. Probably the 170, which wasn’t a whole lot better, with the Fordomatic.
My GF’s car might well have had the 170 too. It didn’t make a whole lot of difference. 🙂
Sorry, but Ford offered the Fairlane wagon beginning in 1963. My uncle had a 63 Fairlane Ranch Wagon and 2 63 Galaxie wagons (Country Sedans) in his “fleet”. Ford offered the 63 Fairlane wagon as a Ranch Wagon or Country Squire.
The Falcon was offered as a 2 door or 4 door wagon up through 1965, after 1965 all Falcon wagons were 4 doors, and you could get a full-sized Ford wagon as a 2 door or 4 door up through the 1961 models.
Now that I know the 65 Falcon was better specced, I’m still going to hold out for a 64 and add the C4 if I can’t find a “3 on the tree”.
My bad; I meant to say 1963…
Until recently, I too dreaded Oregon’s dreary winters. Because of our recent droughts and 107 degree days, for the first time in 58 years, I actually welcome these “healing” rains. I just wish they’d occasionally turn to snow.
I second your sentiments on our Oregon weather only mine are 64 years time frame. It snowed the day I was born in Eugene on 03-02-1951. For 20 years after it snowed on my birthday about 50% of the time in Portland. Unfortunately, since then it has only been once or twice.
Great looking wagon and a nice size to navigate in today’s traffic. As Bryce stated above, those Falkens would make it drive a whole lot better. I would love to cruise this wagon with a hopped-up six and a disc brake conversion!
The Falkens on the Falcon may not be a specific performance idea; it’s getting really hard to find certain sizes of tires these days. As tire size “inflation” has taken off, the availability of sizes between 13″ & 15″ seemed to have dried up. These may have been the only manufacturer that made tires to that exact size.
I recently purchased a GM Oldsmobile U-van; on one hand I was glad I found one highly equipped, on the other, I wished it would have come with 15″ tires. While the 16″s it came with aren’t that expensive, even with limited selections, they’re still cheaper than 16″ tires. Oh well…
Still makes for an attention-grabbing title, and it seems like an awfully nice old Falcon station wagon, to boot.
Do other CC’ers share an interest of mine? When stopped in traffic, or even strolling along sidewalks, I like to check out tire sidewalls for unusual names. Not the usual Goodyears or Bridgestones, though Turanza and Assurance TripleTred don’t win any awards in my book, but the really odd ones, typically off-brands. Years ago, I bought a used Land Cruiser with “Land Rover” branded tires. Not sure how that made it past the lawyers. Anyway, Falken is the “globalized” brand name for Ohtsu, and way back I remember seeing a Beetle (air cooled) with stylish, whitewall, “Ohtsu Carpet S” tires. They were skinny bias plies, so maybe they did indeed provide a magic carpet ride. Not sure about the S suffix, though.
I carpooled in a maroon wagon just like that for a year or so, driving it a couple of times when the owner was off work. It was a 6-cylinder 3-speed car with a floor-shift conversion. It worked well enough for the 20-mile round-drip commute. I ended up quitting that carpool because the three other guys smoked, and it seemed to me that this had to do with my getting so many colds that winter.
My father had the ’64 version of this. White with red interior, 260 V8 and 3/tree. I learned to drive stick in that car. My friend’s stepdad had a Sprint with same engine. Not bad in a small, light car with manual trans.
Like Paul Niedermeyer’s dad, mine didn’t believe in A/C back then. At least the wagon had AM radio.
Back then Mom had a ’62 Falcon tudor sedan, 170 and Fordomatic, no radio, under-dash air. When the compressor cycled on, it was like the hand of God grabbed the back bumper and held on.
My first car purchase upon “Going to California” in 73 was a 1960 Falcon (144, 2 spd auto). It was “primer” grey (faded grey?). It was not running and I paid $40 for it. A battery, tune up and U-joints later I was running. I used to run the hell out of it up on Hwy 9, I believe between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. Reliable. Sold it a year or so later for $100, the first of very few times I actually made money on a car. The new owner promptly painted flames on the front. 🙂
Of the many memories, I never saw them as less than substantial, always favoring the first body style over the next one. Styling-wise, to me, it kinda looked like the same vintage T-bird, squished and pushed upright. Well, it was a time of wonder for me, so…
I’m just old enough to remember the wide range of wagons that Ford used to offer. Only the Fiesta and Capri didn’t have a wagon version; the Escort, Taunus and Granada were all available as no-nonsense pre-“life-style” wagons in the seventies.
Plenty of German Taunus models from the sixties were also still around, of course. From the same era as this article’s CC is this Ford Taunus (P5 gen) 20M Turnier with a two liter V6 engine.
Mmmmm…. delicious.
I recall taking a 60 Comet on a fairly long test drive. The 144 cid 6 mated to a 3 speed stick was no speed demon either. I cannot imagine how unbearable one of those would have been with a Ford O Matic.
Cute little car .
Considering how cheaply they were made , they really did stand up although I remember them going to the Junk Yards in droves when they were still new , not worth fixing if crashed or rusty and in New England they rusted like _Vegas_ .
I had a ’61 Comet Coupe with the two speed slush box and 170 engine , it wouldn’t go up the steep hill I lived on in Los Angeles unless I took a hard run at it .
-Nate
My friend Roy was given his first car by his dad in high school. Too bad it was a 64 ford
fairlane six cylinder,two speed fordomatic I Think dad figured It was too slow to get him
into trouble!
This Falcon wagon reminds me a lot of a ’66 a miserly neighbor had. This tightwad’s previous cars were a ’57 Plymouth Plaza and ’62 Rambler American, both with ZERO options. I was surprised when the new Falcon showed up with whitewalls and wheel covers. Alas it was not meant to be as a few days later it reappeared with blackwalls and dog dishes. Apparently he convinced the dealer to remove the unwanted options to save a few bucks.
PS: He died a few years later and his wife, with her new husband, traded the Falcon for a loaded ’69 Country Squire Wagon.
My father had the 64 Falcon squire with the 170 CID and 2 speed auto.Trying to tow a pop-up camp trailer was more than that combo could handle though daily driving at 1964 speeds was ..adequate.In fact in retrospect maybe the whole package (small tires, brakes and weak suspension) was better balanced than most.
I owned a ’64 with a miserable 170 with the 2 speed automatic.
Would loved to have had the much better 200 with a 4 speed manual.
it is amazing how crude (simple) these cars were – manual chokes – almost zero rust protection – but they were roomy as can be.
I wouldn’t mind another to totally refurbish and to have the engine rebuilt to today’s standards of tolerance and better quality parts.