The Falcon holds a place dear in the hearts of Australian blue-oval enthusiasts. The car evolved from its humble beginnings in 1960, and it remained the backbone of the company’s model line-up until local production ended in 2016. This 1963 Falcon XL is the range-topping Futura model, and it is in excellent condition. It is also a rarity because it is 1-of-4 Futuras known to wear Raven Black paint when it rolled off the Broadmeadows production line. It is located in Tullamarine, Victoria, Australia, and has recently been listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of A$45,000 for this Australian classic.
As the 1950s progressed, Ford Australia found itself in an unsustainable position. The company’s offerings were largely derived from British models like the Zephyr and Consul, imported in CKD form and assembled locally. Their range-topping models like the Fairlane and Customline were also imported as CKD kits but were sourced from Ford of Canada. The issue here was that Australia was operating under a “protectionist” economic model at that point, and even in CKD form, these cars attracted heavy import duties. Also, none of them were particularly cheap for the Australian subsidiary to buy from their suppliers, which compounded the problem. General Motors had received financial support from the Federal Government and had established Holden as their Australian arm to develop, manufacture, and sell cars that were soon dubbed as “Australia’s Own.” With no duties to pay, Holden found itself in the enviable position in the late 1950s, where they commanded more than 50% of the total new car sales in the country with a single model, albeit in sedan, station wagon, and pickup (ute) forms. Ford needed to respond, so after a fact-finding tour to Detroit in 1958, the decision was taken to manufacture the new Falcon locally. Ford Australia introduced the first Falcon XK in 1960, and when compared to Holden’s FB model, it was a massive leap forward in styling and design. The FB featured a dogleg windshield, a domed roof, and fins. The Falcon was lower, wider, and looked altogether more modern. The Falcon XK soldiered on until August of 1962 when Ford replaced it with the updated XL model. This was available in several derivations, including the range-topping Futura sedan. This is one of those cars, and its condition is superb. The owner claims that this is 1-of-4 Futuras that was built wearing Raven Black paint, and while I can’t positively confirm this, it is a plausible claim. The owner gives the impression that the paint is original, and while it shines beautifully, there is some checking which would be consistent with a finish that is more than 48-years-old. The panels are laser straight, and there is no evidence of rust or prior accident damage. The trim and chrome shine as nicely as the paint, with no damage or missing pieces. The glass is flawless, and the whitewall tires that the car wears add the perfect finishing touch to the exterior.
Buyers who bought a new Falcon in 1963 had the choice of two engines and two transmissions. The entry-level motor was a 144ci six that produced 90hp. This car features the 170ci Pursuit Six under the hood, which brought 101hp to the party. Those horses find their way to the rear wheels via the optional 2-speed Fordomatic transmission. This option did stifle performance noticeably because while those vehicles fitted with the manual transmission could romp through the ¼ mile in 18.8 seconds, the automatic versions took a leisurely 20 seconds. The XL represented the beginning of a philosophical shift by Ford Australia when it came to vehicle development. When the Falcon was introduced in 1960, the only significant difference between it and its American cousin was a switch from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive configuration. However, nobody acknowledged one fatal flaw. It is a fact that Australia has some of the harshest road conditions in the Western World. The Falcon’s suspension had been designed to provide a comfortable ride on smooth American freeways, and Australia’s notoriously harsh and rough rural and outback roads exacted a heavy toll on the vehicle’s front suspension and steering. Ball joint failure was the chief concern, while adjustment shims were prone to shake loose pretty quickly. These problems brought with them significant front camber changes. Falcons were soon banging and thumping along local roads and consuming front tires at an alarming rate. The model was developing a tarnished reputation, and it soon became known in many quarters as the “Foul Can.” The XL model brought some locally engineered suspension and structural upgrades, but significant changes didn’t occur until the subsequent XM model. It is worth noting that any Falcon XL that has survived for this long must be a good one and will have been carefully maintained by its owners. This car is all of those things and more. Both the engine and transmission have been recently rebuilt, and the engine bay presents superbly. It doesn’t flatter to deceive because the owner says that it runs and drives perfectly.
When we look inside the Futura, we can gain some insight into why so few of these early cars were produced wearing Raven Black paint. Anyone who has spent significant time in Australia will know how brutal the climate can be. Even in the cooler southern states, temperatures and UV levels can run pretty high. Combine Black paint and vinyl upholstery, and occupants could face an unpleasant experience on a warmer day. “Can someone smell something cooking? That’s okay, it’s just my thighs!” Thus, neither Ford nor Holden sold many black cars during this period. Cloth seat trim did help, but that was a rarity in 1960s Australian cars. Being the flagship model, the Futura’s upholstery was more luxurious than in other models and also featured contrast piping. The red vinyl trim in this car appears to be reasonably new, and it shows no evidence of wear or damage. The same is true of the dash and door trims, while the carpet is close to perfect. Ford Australia didn’t offer buyers many luxury appointments in the XL Futura, but this one features a pushbutton AM radio, bucket seats, a center console, and rear seat armrests.
The suspension flaws that were unearthed in the Falcon XK nearly bankrupted Ford Australia. Warranty claims cost both it and the parent company a lot of money, and it placed a huge question mark over the financial viability of the entire enterprise. Incredibly, similar issues would plague the company in 1988 when the all-new Falcon EA faced quality control issues that were even worse. Ford Australia survived both times, but the curtain was drawn on local manufacturing in 2016. That brings us to the question of the BIN price of this car. Ford Australia produced 75,643 examples of the Falcon XL across all of its derivatives. A more specific breakdown is hard to find, but the 1-of-4 claim made for this car would seem plausible. That already makes it a rare car, but the secret here is the end of local manufacturing in Australia. When this occurred, the values of Australian-produced vehicles skyrocketed. This trend shows no signs of slowing, and if anything, it has accelerated over the past 12 months. I admit that this 1963 Ford Falcon XL Futura is not a cheap car, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it finds a buyer fairly quickly.
Thorough and interesting write-up Adam, explaining the history of the Australian car market and putting this Falcon in context. Nice car. It’s fun to review the pics to pick out differences from its American brother.
I’m amazed the hood has springs to hold it up! – my ’60 domestic comet didn’t, nor do the most expensive domestic 2021 mustang or chally! Ridiculous.
I had black JCW very thin flexible aluminum(?) venetian blinds in my old car
back in the day on the inside of the rear window – made a racket driving on the highway with the windows down. lol
Anybody notice no mirror on either door? Imagine that on new “cars” these days & the outcry.
I guess amber rear turn signals were not req’d down under in ’63?
I bet they made thousands of these in the states this black color.
I would not order a/c on these cars with EITHER of these tiny strait 6s. lol – can i assume the 289 was available on these down under too?
No. The 170ci Pursuit Six was the biggest you could get in a Falcon till 1967.
I wonder how much it would cost to convert this car to left hand drive.
Why? It would lose much of its value if you did that. The car can be driven in USA w/right hand drive. Postal workers do it every day!
Nice looking car. I find this version of the Ford Falcon more attractive than our American Falcon. If only more pics were posted of the car. When you sell a car, or buy a car, you want to see the whole car, warts and all.
$34,000 for a 4-door Falcon? And you don’t even get the F—O–R–D letters on the leading edge of the hood??
It will reach that BIN price easily. A 1965 HD Holden Premier sedan sold at auction last week for AU$120,000. It didn’t even have the twin carb X2 engine. 4 door sedans aren’t a problem here, most of our cars were. I can’t see the attraction that 2 doors have with Americans. 2 doors? Your getting short changed, and they are so inconvenient for rear seat passengers. You can’t tell me that the roofline of a 2 door 57 Chev hardtop looks better than a 57 4 door pillarless hardtop.
Let me try to explain.
Short changed? EVERY SINGLE made in usa car 1975 or older was available as a 2 door!!! & MAYBE a 4 door, station wagon, &/or convertible(depending on the model).
ALL the small cars avail here in the early 70’s were 2 doors ONLY – gremlin, vw bug, vega & pinto(the latter 2 also came in 2 door ONLY wagons!).
I guess you would love 4 door corvettes, mustangs, camaros, cudas, javelins, novas, etc.?
I would not want to see a 4 door mustang or charger in “Bullitt”, or 4 door challenger in “Vanishing Point” or “Dirty Mary Crazy Larry”, or a 4 door dukes of hazard charger,
or a 4 door ’55 chevy driven by Falfa or 4 door hot rod driven by Milner in “American Grafitti”! Or even a 4 door starsky & hutch striped tomato torino! lol
2 door cars with lower roofs are inherentlty way more SPORTY looking – especially the hardtops – with no frame around the side windows. & are for single people whose single friends are not supposed to be lazy to get in the back seat of a 2 door! lol
I guess it depends where you live, because things might be a LOT different down under if ALL cars there back in the day were available as a 2 door AS WELL.
In 1972, all my friends LAFFED at me driving around in my mom’s 4 door boxy falcon at age 16. I could not WAIT to get my own 2 door ANYTHING! Enthusiasts here back in the day would have shook their heads sideways repeatedly at any 4 door with a SHAKER HOOD – especially a 4 door Falcon of all things, regardless of what was under the hood.
This 2 door
http://bestmoviecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1971-Chrysler-by-Chrysler-Hardtop-CH.jpg
from down under is very kewl! From …
http://bestmoviecars.com/all-cars-in-mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-1981/
IMO, 4 doors are fine & practical for taxis, limos, families, very old slow moving people who still drive, & the police – tho if you watch TV’s Highway Patrol from 1955, Broderick Crawford is driving a 2 door police car!
@Wayne from oz
I am from the US and I like 2 doors for the various reasons:
1- I watched the cool cars cruise in our town as I was growing up and as I became old enough to cruise myself. And the cool cars were the 2-door versions. I do not ever remember seeing any 4-doors cruising.
2-The 2-door hardtops were introduced to the public before the 4-door hardtops. That should tell you something.
3-I went to the drag strips around here a lot as a teenager and in my 20s. Nearly all the cars racing were 2-doors.
4-I went to a lot of short-track races as a kid and a teenager. And all the race cars were 2-doors.
5-All of the vintage muscle cars are 2-doors.
6-I bought a 1932 Ford street rod in 1994. The pecking order in price then was as it is now;
Highest price-Roadster which is a 2-door
2nd highest-3-window coupe which is a 2-door
3rd highest price-5-window coupe which is a 2-door
4th highest-2-door sedan
5th highest-4-door sedan
7-My first car was a 1967 Camaro SS 350 with a 4-speed. Hell, I passed on a black ’66 Chevelle SS 396 b/c it was an automatic. So that leaves 4-doors our for sure.
8-I have owned 13 Corvettes and not a single one of them was a 4-door.
I guess there is no right or wrong here. You like what you like in your county. And we like what we like. But I’ll just say that grandmas, parents and old people in general drove 4-door cars here. And the younger people drove 2-doors.
1 of 4? Might be, but remember this is really a 6 cylinder 4 door sedan we are looking at and right hand drive at that. I will say the red interior is attractive and in beautiful condition for the car’s age.But! There are a ton of truly classic cars that can be had in this price range which will not only hold their value but will also appreciate in time as well. Maybe I’m looking at this wrong here but a 4 door Falcon straight 6 sedan is what it is, you can write a book on it but it doesn’t change the facts. This car was all about basic and economical transportation when it was marketed in the 1960’s, nothing more and nothing less.
Keep in mind this is the Australian ‘car market time capsule’….
One cannot apply US impressions of this car to those of an Australian enthusiast. This car should bring good money there since it wasn’t a throwaway cheap car like it was here.
Truly interesting – thanks for this.
VERY FEW (IF ANY) 2 drs were built in Australia until the mid-60s when Holden and Ford both brought out sporty two-door hts (the Holden Monaro–mid-67, and the XM Falcon in mid-64; the 2 dr ht Valiants came a few yrs later). The 4 dr sedans were much more popular in Australia for mostly practical reasons. Just like here in the US, the 2 dr versions disappeared, with the exception of Holden Monaro of the late 90s which morphed into the short-lived Pontiac GTO in the US. Being a 4 dr is not a real demerit on a car Down Under like it is here.
Is there really someone in their right mind that would pay $45,000.00 for a ford falcon, it would take 40 of them as clean as this one to pay that much money for a ford falcon,I don’t think I’ve ever seen a falcon over $ 1,000
Thank You! A Falcon is a Falcon is a Falcon, nothing more, nothing less. Like other things in life, you can put perfume on them, cover them up, whatever but they will always be what they are. The fact that Australia embraced this automobile and attempted to turn it into an up scale cruiser, has me confused and confounded! Remember this was the dawn of the muscle car era and big cars of the early to late 1960’s! Does make me wonder what makeover they would have done to a Mustang FB!
Blue Oldsmobile, early ’50 Chevy pickup; this guy has a handful.
Going to watch this sale, to get an idea of what to do with my Aussie Falcon XP.
I would like to apologize for some of the comments made by other Americans. You have to understand that they grew up being told they were better than everyone else and that the only opinion that was right was what Americans thought. Most Americans still don’t own passports. You can’t expect them to understand that some people might like something that they don’t.
A ridiculous comment.
Not one person on this site said anything vulgar or nasty about anyone or their cars,mitch must be reading from another site.
Probably referring to your original post and the one below it.