(First Posted September 5, 2013) When I was growing up, there was one sure thing around our household–come Labor Day weekend, you could be sure Dad would have some labor for my brothers and me to do. I’ve carried on that tradition in my own family, which this year meant starting the long weekend with a run into Galesburg, IL, for supplies. As I turned off the state highway, this 1962 Falcon pulling a teardrop camper went past me, so I put the 7.3-liter Powerstroke into full boost and caught up with it at the light.
I followed them discreetly (as discreetly as one can, in an F-250 Super Duty diesel) for several miles, drinking in the delicious raspy growl of the straight six every time they would start off from a traffic light. When they reached their destination, I pulled in a couple spaces away and introduced myself, apologizing for having tailed them for about five miles (they didn’t even know I was there – Ninja Truck!).
I was proud to have correctly guessed this to be a 1962 Falcon with the 200 straight six before even noticing the plates or seeing the engine. But this is no ordinary ’62 Falcon; instead, it’s a rolling time warp, as you’ll see. Oh, and as best I can tell, I think that’s actually a 1963 Falcon Sprint grille on the car (someone who knows for sure can confirm or deny in the comments section).
First, let’s have a closer look at that 200 cu. in. (3.3-liter) mill. Triple-carb Offenhauser intake? Check! Clifford cam and Hooker tuned headers? Double-check! As mentioned, the “audio aroma” is simply heavenly but, having once looked into this exact setup for my former ’69 F-100, there’s a price to be paid for all that artistry under the hood. As one reviewer of the Offy setup said, “Be prepared to tune it every other day, and at any time the temperature changes by more the 10 degrees. It requires a lot of patience to keep this setup running well.” Well, I don’t know about all that, but this one sure sounded nice.
Moving around the car, you start to notice that things are not quite as they should be. For example, I was almost done shooting photos when I realized there were no door handles–a remote does that duty now! And kids, if you’re going to shoot your car in flat/matte primer, *this* is how it’s done.
The details on this car just don’t stop… those are definitely not stock taillights, but note how they mimic the wheel- center spike, which is also duplicated on the trailer wheels.
Besides all the 1960s period-correct window decals, the owners had this groovy surfboard mounted up top.
A peek inside reveals even more fun details. The owner clearly had a great time putting this car together, and his wife mentioned to me they recently picked up a Nash Metropolitan for her to drive when they go to shows together.
I would be remiss if I didn’t touch on the home-built teardrop trailer they were pulling. First made popular in the 1930s, when plans were published in hobbyist magazines, teardrops were a fairly common sight until the mid-1960s, when they all but disappeared from the camping mainstream.
Quarters are fairly tight inside, but once the outer tarp is removed an inner screen provides a nearly open-air sleeping experience. Note the period-correct corduroy bedspread, too. (They’re making headlines all over! Badum!)
With so much to like about this car, I think this had to be my absolute favorite detail. For you younger readers, that’s a Hella lens from a vintage VW Beetle doing duty as a porthole in the door.
This car gets around a good bit (Tom mentioned it in a post from last summer) and indeed, the owners were on their way to a show up in Nauvoo when I caught up with them (if they happen to read this, I do hope they feel free to provide more details or corrections regarding the car in the comments section).
Lots of show cars are restored to within an inch of their lives, and then obviously only driven up and down trailer ramps. What made this car such a neat find is that it (and the trailer) get used, and walking into its shadow is like stepping into 1965, in all the good ways.
We have quite a bit of Falcon-related content here at CC, if you’re interested in more…
Nice,who said Americans can’t build a good small car?I like the mini Galaxy look of the early Falcon.Dad had 2 Falcons with 6 cylinder engines,I spent a lot of time in them as a kid in the 60s
Americans built some legendary small cars. Besides those Falcons, MoPar’s Darts and Valiants were virtually indestructible, Many years of Chevy II/Nova were reliable and sharp-looking…it’s just we’ve also had more than our share of rides that put the “epic” in epic fail (Volare/Aspen, some Mavericks, all GM FWD X and J-cars…they were all great recommendations for Toyota/Honda/Nissan etc.).
Today it’s much better…Cruze and Sonic get high marks, so do the new Focus and Fiesta…Dart’s not too bad…a real comeback for the US “Home” team…often thanks to overseas subsidiaries but hey, I’ll take it.
Big fan of A bodys we had an Aussie Valiant with upright 6
Hard not to like those.
Mum was a big fan as she never got the hang of driving left hookers solo especially overtaking and turning right although she liked the style of American cars.Sadly Dad sold it before we were old enough to drive.
What a fantastic pair. I absolutely love all the neat little details.
Yes, like the dancing girl and the bottle opener(?) on the side of the trailer. I also like how when you rotate the door knob inside the trailer it turns a wheel which winds up two wires which pull on latches which releases the door.
I’m not really a Falcon fan; but I love this one. I hadn’t thought of rat-rod wagons in a long time…painted in primer…but there were several roaming the roads when I was a kid. The one that I remember best was a 1959 Ranch Wagon two-door – the reason I remember it so well was that the owner was in the senior class in my high school, when I was a freshman. And “dating” the cutest freshman girl…you know why the quotes. Rumor was there was a lot of action in the back there; the way the girl and her friends would smirk, it seemed she was proud of her rep. That was thirty years before slutty was kewel.
That was one. Now that I scratch the memory banks, I seem to remember a Gen1 Falcon wagon out there somewhere, too. A two-door, always…four doors on an old wagon screamed broke father or single mother. Two doors made it a swinger’s toy…a van-type before vans trickled down to kids and their limited budgets.
Not wild about the no-door handles. I’d seen that before, also…on the West Coast, again. What happens if the battery goes dead? How do you get in? Especially if there’s an inside hood release. Or, what if the fuse pops with a short?
Thanks-no-thanks to that – but his car, his taste.
I wonder what it takes to change the intake manifold on one of these; the original is cast with the head.
You actually don’t “change” the intake, on that setup, but you mill two flat pads on the ends of the cast on intake, bore holes for the air to get in, and drill / tap 4 holes for studs to hold the ends down. Certainly NOT a bolt on, and you wont be installing this at home. Unless you are a machinist. And you can still get this, complete with brand new Weber 1 barrel carbs, but lordy, hope your wallet is heavy because it will be lightened considerably! Forgot to mention, but I saw one of these setups not long ago on a 250 six in a ’70 Maverick with a T5 5 speed, at the Ford Fever Classic car show/drag race held every year at Woodburn Dragstrip here in Oregon.
The inlet manifold is detachable on later alloy head Falcons here, Honda redesigned Fords effort in a bid to extend the engines life span they threw fuel injection at it but no they could not save the old 6 or the new one either.
It seems we will get Tauruses again, ok have they improved? my student neighbours across the street have a fishfaced one it doesnt go very often under its own power though Ive seen it driven recently its dead again and was assisted away to be repaired.
Nice find! I love these old first gen Falcons, as Falcons or US entry level cars go. I’ve always liked the Ranch wagon (2 door variant) of them all.
Those taillights may be original, just not from the correct year as the very early Falcons had rounded lenses. The later variants of this body did not and the bullets look to be from another car, perhaps from a 59 Cadillac? They appear to have been added for effect. Still nicely done, and well sprayed with flat grey primer.
Not exactly what I’d have done but it’s far more tastefully done than most custom jobs IMO.
Love that tear drop as well.
Sadly, that 200 CID inline 6 was still in use in 1978, though badly choked off by emissions controls. I know, my 78 Fairmont had that motor, and it was a dog by them. as a result and my car was not all that high mileaged, I think still less than 100K miles on it the whole time I had it (1987-1992)
Knew some neighbors who had a very early very weathered dark green Ranch wagon that he drove still in the early 70’s. Sadly, he died around 1974, or so, with kids still in JH/HS so he was probably in his 40’s, or 50’s at that point. I also had an Uncle (now deceased) who had a white Falcon, I think a 64, or 65 two door bought new that his no good son (also now deceased through suicide) ended up with and drove it for years, and I mean, years before finally buying I think an Escort, sometime in the 1980’s. The son worked, but never moved out of the family home, ever.
I’ve heard that if you bought the Falcon with the inline 6, the motor would often outlast the window cranks, as they were that long lived, and durable.
The taillights are NOT original – rest assured.
The owner grafted a rocket-pod tailfin light lens into the center of the Falcon taillight unit. Creative…but tacky, IMHO.
Yup, the 200 was used up to ’82 or ’83 in the Fox bodys. They were dogs, but the funny thing is, the cylinder head was changed by Ford in ’78, and had the biggest valves and intake manifold volume of any of these engines. And now these late heads are sought after, but finding one that isn’t cracked is difficult. All these heads, including the older ones, have a habit of cracking from the center exhaust port up to the carb flange.
With alloy head the 200 made it to 83 in Aussie but the cars were much too big for it 10 years before.
Actually, this wouldn’t be a 200 unless it was swapped in later. The 200 didn’t exist until MY 1965. If it’s original, it would be a 144 or more likely the 170.
The owner said it was a 200.
it is a later 200 the most common in 62 was the 144 with the 170 being the option . I know Mike that owns this set and have traded parts and sold him some as I have a 62 sports futura with the late model year change to the c pillar wish it had the floor mounted 4 speed but has the ford-o-matic 2 speed
Chalk me up as another hater of these engines. We had a 200 in my moms ’66 Mustang.
“A nice little gas saving runabout” my dad likely thought. It replaced a ’62 Corvair that spooked my parents after Nader’s book came out.
I remember there was a V8 version in the showroom next to it, with spiffy wire wheel covers and more options. Even as a 5 year old, I knew that one was better and pleaded with my parents to get that one. Undoubtedly cost more.
My older brother abused that 200 relentlessly, to the point of needing a rebuild at 26,000 miles. We sold it in ’87 with about 80,000 on the car.
One thing I remember, when it was new it could actually lay a small patch if you punched it.
I hated the clattery crummy sound it made as it aged, especially after the exhaust manifold cracked (another common problem). Of course, it was fixed, but still…..
These sixes were a false economy, having only about a 3 MPG advantage over a 289.
And with the six, you got a flimsy chassis, with weak wheel bearings, little brakes,
spindly little 4 lug wheels and a fragile integral carrier rear, instead of the much stronger 8 inch, or 9 inch with the 289 HiPo.
Although ours had the C4 auto, the 3-speed manual trans that came with the six before ’67 was a non-syncro 1st breakage prone POS.
Converting these to a V8 properly requires changing everything but the body.
Entire front suspension, real axle, springs, radiator, trans, driveshaft, you name it, it all has to go, in favor of the stronger 5 lug components.
Because of the 4-lug config, you couldn’t even get disc brakes. Many of these in the hotter climes had AC, which resulted in a choice of standing still and staying cool, or turning it off if if you actually needed any forward motion.
Sorry, when it comes to Ford compacts, I’m solidly in the Windsor V8 camp.
My lament for the over 20 years we had the car, why oh why couldn’t have been a 289?
yeah I thought the motor sounded wrong for the year at least here it is , we didnt get the 2door wagon from Aussie they only made fordor wagons but did make panel vans Ive actually seen one very few exist now, they had all the pieces to make it but 2door passenger cars never did sell well in Aussie. Ranchwagons from the US were a kiwi favourite untill the supply dried up but 4 years of 56 Ford production showed them they could restrict the lineup and still sell cars
I’m pretty sure that bedspread is chenille not corduroy.
Correct.
Quite an interesting car. There were many Falcon’s on the road when I was growing up in the sixties. They were good, basic cars. I always liked two door wagons, but I don’t recall seeing many of them in the day. My father-in-law had a ’62 sedan that he drove for 17 or 18 years.
I presume the license plate is the clue to the year. Other than that, it is hard to tell if it is a ’62 with a ”63 grille, or a ’63 with ’62 park lamp lens. And I see he has upgraded to a Comet instrument cluster.
As for me, this is not how I would fix up this car. I am a purist for originality. But I have to give him credit. He has a mild custom, but has retained the usability of the car in the way it was intended to be used.
I’d almost forgotten that bit of North American car trivia – amber parking light lenses replacing clear ones in 1963.
I just noticed that the instrument cluster has been swapped too. That one is from a Comet.
What a great setup. Some of the details aren’t my thing (for instance I’m so over the whole red rim thing) but the VW headlight porthole makes up it! Brilliant!
Still not a fan of flat paint. Other than that, it’s pretty neat, and definately more interesting than some trailer queen.
While I’m not exactly crazy about hot rodding vintage cars, one thing in the genre I can appreciate is someone who tries to hot rod a car in the exact manner that it would have been done back in the day, using the same aftermarket parts. For the most part, this is one of them.
Granted, it’s a bit of a mixture in its effort: Elements of high-end custom show customizing (the lack of door handles, the engine) mixed with straight out local high school efforts (paint, the inevitable use of ’59 Cadillac tail light lenses – they were incredibly ubiquitous in the early ’60’s, the wheel treatment), but I could have visualized this around Johnstown High School in the mid-60’s or a bit later.
Love it all, except the shag dash cover.
My father had a 1962 Falcon wagon. I don’t know whether it had the 144 or 170 but it had a 3 speed manual. I do remember it was worn out at around 90,000 miles and was running on only 5 cylinders when he traded it for a 1970 Fairlane 500 wagon (with a 302 and also a 3 speed manual) in December 1969.
Hey! I was at that Wally World a few weeks ago. Bought this Brady Bunch ’71 Satellite wagon while there (I got the Aspen earlier this summer).
Oh right, the Falcon! As Ed mentioned, I’ve seen it at a couple of the Quad Cities Cruisers shows in Moline, but hadn’t seen the trailer.
And if that wasn’t coincidence enough, I was at the Nauvoo show too!
A fine-tuned Carter AVS 4bbl gives me enough satisfaction.
This setup in a non-daily driver with today’s fuel….Tsjoe Muskie !
This is more of a car show classic than a curbside classic, IMHO. The car is way, way from stock, and it’s made to look like a beater (notice the fancy primer finish) when in actual fact it’s been restored to a high (and expensive) standard.
I have a 1962 Ranchero (the sibling to this wagon) that falls more into the “CC” mode of things, and it has mostly original or stock components in it, although perhaps not as fastidiously as the Corvette folks like to do. And the paint is, well…I wouldn’t be afraid to park it at a Wal-Mart.
Paul is correct: The engines available in 1962 were the 144 and 170, with a 1-barrel carb sitting atop a “log” manifold that was integrally cast with the cylinder head (my Ranchero has a 170, but it originally came with a 144 — you can tell from the tag riveted to the door sill). The 200 wasn’t available for a couple more years. The grill is from a ’63, and the taillights have aftermarket “bullets” grafted into the center of them.
The most interesting part is the intake setup. That is seriously RARE! In order to install it, the intake would have to be machined to accept the 3-hole add-on Offy manifold. This is no mean feat, considering that the intake is part of the head casting. But if I ever scored one of those, I would certainly go to the trouble.
The first aid kit in the camper came from a Thomas Built Bus! I recognized their logo from 1968-96.
I do love the hot rod straight-6 just for the “dare to be different” nature of it.
It would never work for me just because the multi-carb set up would scare me off having to keep it tuned etc.
I’m hoping the owner is a carb tuning expert because crossing the country, changing altitudes etc you’d want to be.