Of the three US compacts introduced for the 1960 model year, the utterly conventional Falcon was the most successful, so much so that Chevrolet and Chrysler would quickly modify their offerings to match it. The flamboyant Valiant sported a much more conservative suit in its 1963 redesign, and the 1962 Chevy II would become the division’s bread-and-butter offering as the Corvair was first moved upmarket, then put out to pasture.
While the Valiant had the best handling and performance thanks to its Slant Six and torsion bar suspension, its Exner-approved styling was polarizing to say the least. The rear-engined Corvair, while backed by thousands of friendly Chevrolet dealers and the might of General Motors, had a very unusual powertrain design, and some folks just weren’t sure what to make of it. Ford played it safe. They basically made a 3/4 scale full size Ford, with inline six power (up front, of course), rear wheel drive and modern, if somewhat vanilla, styling. It was a hit, even with only two- and four-door sedans initially available. Within three years the Falcon would have a full line of vehicles, with station wagons, two-door hardtops and even a convertible. There was even a Falcon-badged version of the Econoline forward-control van.
The Falcon received only minor changes through 1963, but a new Futura model that debuted in 1962 was a mini-Thunderbird of sorts, with extra chrome trim, full wheel covers and bucket seats with a mini-console.
In 1964 all Falcons received attractive new sheet metal with a forward-leaning front end, thicker Thunderbird-like C-pillars and a rocket-shaped stamping along the bodysides, which were outlined in chrome on Futuras. The trademark Ford tail lights remained, but the rear deck traded its gentle contours for a more squared-off affair.
Despite the updated styling, it was still largely the same old Falcon underneath. The Futura, a single model in 1962, was now a full lineup and boasted sedans, coupes, wagons and a convertible. The basic Falcon was still available for those seeking basic transportation, though.
The standard Falcon was a cheapskate’s dream. As basic as can be, they featured chrome windshield and backlight moldings, hub caps, dual horns and sun visors, armrests on the front doors only, and a horn button in lieu of the Futura’s chrome horn ring. These plain-Jane Falcons came in two- and four-door sedans only, listing at $2040 for the four-door and $1985 for the two-door.
Standard engine for the Falcon was a 144 CID straight six with 85 hp @ 4200 rpm and a single barrel Holley carburetor, though you could get the 170 six or 260 V8 if you desired a less leisurely pace.
The sky blue Falcon I found last week sports a few options to spiff it up a bit, including a chrome side molding, whitewalls and a pair of fuzzy dice on the mirror. It was in excellent shape, and the antique vehicle plates suggest a loving owner. While it’s not flashy, I really like the clean lines. I’d guess that the owner loves the simple mechanicals and reliability. $2040 got you quite the reliable machine in 1964, so long as the rust stayed away.
Going in the opposite direction, the flossy $2611 Squire wagon was just about the most expensive Falcon you could get, with the exception of the Futura Sprint convertible, which ran an extra $49. There really was a Falcon for just about any taste in 1964, but the 1965 Mustang would change all that.
I still love those afterburner taillights, just as iconic in my mind as the 6 rectangular taillights on a Mustang.
I love the Peanuts cartoons on the print ads. ’64 (and possibly ’65) Peanuts was the ad campaign for the Falcon (or was it the entire Ford line?). I remember the animated television ad of Linus doing a calypso number in celebration of the Falcon winning its class in the Mobilgas Economy Run.
The older I get, the more I think the absolute greatest era of American cars was 1960-1965. When I was younger I always had the hots for the late 60s muscle cars, but now these appeal to me much more. The transition from the radical/gaudy late 50s to the clean, sleek lines as seen here was a glorious time for styling, the Big Three compacts debuted (1960 Corvair and 1961 Tempest are very high on my wish list of classics I could realistically own), the horsepower wars were being waged all-out – with factory sponsored racing programs still intact, GM especially was doing lots of interesting, technologically advanced things messing around with fuel injection and turbocharging and lots of cars from this era (which wouldn’t happen again with American cars for a looooong time) looked just as good inside as they did out. Maybe this is a silly reason to idealize this period of car design as well, but the imagery and execution of the advertising was just unbelievably outstanding. Who wouldn’t want to cozy up with that beach bunny in a spiffy new black Falcon droptop? Even one of the most boring, pragmatic vehicles available was still attractive and compelling in the proper setting.
I’m a convert – keep the long-haired SS396s and Boss Mustangs. In my dreams I’m laying rubber leaving the World’s Fair parking lot in a Corvair Monza Spyder with an Audrey Hepburn lookalike riding shotgun.
I really wish I’d kept the ’64 Comet wagon I drove in the late 90s… Awesome car, dead simple, factory V-8 and dealer air that blew ice cold in the hot Atlanta summer. Great car.
Also had a ’65 Ranchero in the ’80s. Had similar feelings about that one, except putting the seat all the way back still didn’t give enough legroom — and I’m only 5’6″! Can’t imagine how taller people must’ve felt…
But that Comet wagon really was Just Right, in so many ways.
During all of the retro touches on new cars during the last decade, how on earth did Ford miss a reissue of the classic big round taillights?
I have always liked these Falcons – particularly the converts and the wagons. Unfortunately, they have always come a half-step behind the Valiants and Darts in my hierarchy, so I may never get to own one. Which is too bad. I saw a low-mile original sedan for sale at a car show a few years ago that had me thinking, but I let the urge pass.
Imagine the Fivehundred/Taurus with big round taillight homage and the name “Galaxie”. That would get my attention.
(Still waiting for someone to try retro tailfins in a design…
)
Sniff sniff……I love (and miss) my old Falcon! This was back in 1987, before “restomod” was even coined. I called it +1………as in what someone would have done, a year later, after the original tires/shocks wore out and needed a power boost
Back in 05 when the Mustang came out I thought it would be cool to photochop a retro Falcon Squire also.
[IMG]http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z281/timmm55/corel%20photo%20shop/squireRear2.jpg[/IMG]
link didn’t work
They should have made that instead of the Freestyle.
Nice job – i’d buy it!
The blue featured car picture is like a step back in time. The neighborhood with the lower middle class houses is like a time machine. The cape cod and little ranches illustrate 50′s and 60′s life.
What a great time in America.
I thought the same thing about those shots – sensible little cars belong in front of tidy little houses.
The blue ’64 was my mother’s car in 1965. Her’s was an ex-Hertz rental car with absolutely no chrome. As we lived in San Juan, PR, the car had the heater-delete option. It was incredibly roomy inside and didn’t give up much to my dad’s ’63 Chevy Bel Air. The unit body was very tight and the doors closed with a solid thunk, much unlike the Bel Air that sounded like the doors were filled with random pieces of junk. The single speaker AM radio did a fine job of belting out Fun, Fun, Fun and Satisfaction. No power steering or brakes. Didn’t need it. With the 101/170, I could out-drag my friend’s MGA. Good little car.
Back in High School a friend’s dad had a 64 Falcon Sprint drop top. I geeked out when he popped the horn button off and it had a Mustang embossed on the back side.
Find myself wondering how these cars would have done if we hadn’t been raised on a diet of front engine and rwd. I drove a number of vw beetles and loved them so I think it’s something cultural that makes me think these cars might have been better than the vw. I think the corvair ran up against the same problem as the vw.
A lot of us older guys still buy rwd when we get the chance. I could be convinced that is the reason trucks are so popular. Oh well, time for my meds so gotta go.
Well, here’s one old fart that has no use for front engine/rear wheel drive. During one semester break in college, my squeeze drove her dad’s Saab 96 Monte Carlo to meet me at my aunt and uncle’s home in western Illinois. It was a real revelation. It handled the snow-packed gravel roads with precision and control that my 1960 Plymouth Fury couldn’t approach. Aside from the fact that it needed a new engine on an yearly basis (roller bearing mains don’t like 2-stroke carbon), I was hooked on FWD. Once I had graduated from school and had built up a bit of savings, I bought a brand new Fiat 128. Say what you will, I really loved that car. It made my wife’s Datsun B210 feel and look like the piece of junk that it was.
After the 128 I did not buy anything but FWD until this year when I bought a new 2012 Subaru Impreza. Sweet car. Given my wife’s experience with two Subarus in Salt Lake City, I probably will never own anything except AWD from now on.
Had a GF in about 1972 or so with a sky-blue ’64 Falcon Tudor. BTW, these were everywhere then…the equivalent of a Corolla today, the obvious cheap used car for a girl to buy then. Anyway, we drove up to NYC and back, via the back roads of NJ. The personalities of these were defined by which transmission they had: three-speed manual or the two-speed Fordomatic. The latter is what her’s had, and it made it really pokey….the little six just moaning away forever, until it shifted into high, which it couldn’t maintain on any grades…deadly combination, except for granny to drive to the store. It just cried out for a four-speed stick, a little tighter steering, decent shocks. With a bit of the right stuff, these could have been a decent little driving car. Close, but….
Done properly the Falcon could have as good as a Zephyr but it was cheaped out in the suspension the body integrity and powertrain so it was basicly crap which is why Zephyrs sold so well here and Falcons didnt
Ford in Argentina keeped the original 1960 Falcon with some changes over the years like 4 lights and later squared headlights and a redesigned dash and made the Falcon to 1991. I spotted some publicity pictures of a 1970 Argentinian Falcon http://www.todofalcon.com.ar/pub70.htm
Wow – Ship the tooling to South America and keep making ‘em down there, quite profitable I imagine. Appears that there have been very few changes, the quad lamps are an interesting touch.
I wonder how frequently US manufacturers did this “recycling” trick? I have seen a couple of examples documented here @ CC
I’ve always liked these, vanilla or no, especially the 60-63 versions, but the 64-66′s were nice too.
I see these every so often still chugging along here in Seattle, some restored, some definitely not.
When I lived on Queen Anne Hill, a resident in my building had a metallic blue 2 door sedan, I’m guessing a 60 or 61 since it had the front turn signals in the grill, rather in the bumper and yes, it was stock, but unrestored though but very straight and complete.
I learned to drive in my father’s 1961 sky-blue Falcon deluxe 4-door. A company car, it was slower than molasses in January, guess he thought I couldn’t get into any trouble with it. I remember it taking a half hour to accelerate from a stop, although it did have the Fordomatic, so that made it easier on the learning process. Rubber floor mats and a manual choke (whatever that was in those days) made this a true down market econobox. It sat in the garage next to my mother’s fully loaded Colonial White 1959 Galaxie Club Victoria, looking like big and baby brothers watching out for each other. They were, indeed, the epitome of vanilla, and ubiquitous in Los Angeles in those days. My father was so damn enamored of that Falcon, when it came time for me to get my first car, he was insistent that he buy a new 1965 two-door post Falcon for me to commute to USC. In those teenage years, I was already so horrified to be seen in the 1961, I put my foot down, and ultimately prevailed with my 1964 Pontiac LeMans, much to my everlasting relief. Great memories!
Falcons are great classic cars to own, dirt simple and cheap, with a little bit of style. I’m currently working on this deluxe ’64 wagon. The chassis they share with the early mustangs make many parts very inexpensive too.
Nice honest little Falcon.
Anyone notice the Buick loyal house in the background with the 2 white LeSabres?
We had three Falcons…a dark blue ’60 sedan, replaced by a white ’64 four-door wagon like Pixel’s except ours was the base model (no side molding or roof rack)…and then, in ’72, for my first car, I bought a white ’66 sedan. I’d be happy to have any of them back.
By the way, the changes in terms of variety and performance came in ’66, not ’65. Still, if I ever run across a good or better ’66 or ’67 Sport Coupe, I’m buying it.
Falcon is a great model name and I wish Ford made a four-door sedan on the Mustang platform called Falcon to compete against the likes of A4/3-series/ATS, along with a Lincoln twin. That platform could be adapted to be fitted with an IRS and 2.0/3.5 or ecoboost motors, both to go head to head with the aforementioned competition and to clearly mark it as separate from the Ponycar’s live axle (except Cobra) & V8 image. A Mustang V8 of some variety could go into Falcon’s Lincoln twin to compete with the likes of M3.
It makes sense to me, honestly. Lincoln could use a Eurofied Mustang based car to reboot its image (which is pretty murky). Lincoln LS failed by being cheap looking (very Detroit in its stying execution), but the Falcon and its Lincoln twin would be smaller and convincingly European, more in the vein of the one-Ford policy. I bet the Falcon could even have a shot in Europe’s compact executive market.
Ford already has the technology necessary in its Mustang and Ecoboost engine families.
I like the little Falcons. I have 3! A ’62 2 door wagon(not pretty), a ’62 Falcon Futura currently on the rotisserie and a ’64 Ranchero: