Hiding in this carport is a classic that could be ideal for an enthusiast contemplating a first restoration project. This 1963½ Ford Falcon Futura is a genuine survivor with a documented history and 38,000 miles on the clock. It is rock-solid and in excellent mechanical health. A cosmetic refresh would be straightforward, although opting for preservation would be a valid approach. The Futura is listed here on eBay in Grass Valley, California. Bidding sits below the reserve at $8,300, but there is a BIN option of $21,000.
Post-war American buyers preferred larger vehicles, although smaller foreign models began to gain a foothold in the domestic market during the 1950s. Local manufacturers didn’t have a weapon in their armory to counter this trend, but all embarked upon development programs that brought compact models to the market. The Falcon appeared in Ford showrooms for the 1960 model year, competing head-to-head with the imports and the Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Dart, and Chevrolet Corvair. Its engineering was not radical, but the styling found favor courtesy of the clean lines and restrained chrome. This Falcon Futura rolled off the line in 1963 and has a documented history dating back to Day One. The seller includes the original Dealer Invoice, Vehicle Inspection paperwork, and original Owner’s Manual. Its Tucson Yellow paint retains a respectable shine, although there is evidence of peeling and other deterioration. A cosmetic restoration would be straightforward because the panels are straight, and this gem is rust-free. The trim, including the damage-prone wheel covers, is in excellent condition for its age. The first owner didn’t load the car with factory options, but those living in sunny areas will undoubtedly welcome the spotless tinted windshield.
Buyers could choose from several engines to power their 1963½ Futura, including a V8. This car’s first owner selected the 170ci six, producing a relatively modest 101hp and 156 ft/lbs of torque. Shifting duties are tackled by a two-speed Ford-O-Matic transmission. Outright performance wasn’t the aim of the exercise with the Futura, demonstrated by its ¼-mile ET of 20.2 seconds. However, these cars cope exceptionally well in heavy traffic, while pegging the needle at 70mph on the open road will produce fuel consumption figures that were considered very competitive when this car was new. The news for potential buyers is positive, with the Ford in excellent mechanical health. It has a genuine 38,385 miles showing on its odometer, and the seller has this fully documented.
The Futura’s interior presentation is better than its exterior, indicating the car has always been treated respectfully. The seller acknowledges a dirty mark on the headliner, believing that a professional cleaner could reduce or potentially eliminate the problem. The dome light cover is crumbling, but those are the only significant faults or flaws. The vinyl upholstered surfaces are excellent, and the dash is spotless. Surprisingly, the wheel has little wear, further supporting the mileage claim. Ford targeted the budget-conscious buyer with the Falcon, but those willing to spend some money had access to a wide range of comfort and convenience items. This car isn’t loaded, but most potential buyers will enjoy the tunes emanating from the factory AM radio on long journeys.
This 1963½ Ford Falcon Futura won’t appeal to everyone, but it is ideal for someone seeking a practical classic that isn’t weighed down by automotive tinsel. It is crisp, clean, rust-free, and ready to provide immediate motoring pleasure. The seller’s BIN sits at the top end of the market and might be slightly optimistic. However, the documented history and odometer reading are factors to consider, and with values climbing, they might justify rolling the dice. Do you agree?
Very well kept-and if that’s really the original I-6, well protected from those who would’ve dropped in a SBC-sorry, SBF.
This was about the time that Harley was pushing the 250 Sprint (made by Aermacchi) and Indian (Royal Enfield) had the 700cc Chief…
Interesting times, and this little gem survived it.
Hope the new owner will just leave it be and enjoy it.
Maybe other states use rear plate for tolls, not California. When I get my monthly invoice it has a picture of the front of the car passing through the toll booth with the license plate clearly in focus. California has required front plates since at least the early-1980’s, a missing front plate was one of the main reasons they would pull cars over at the local cruise. When local municipalities brought in red light cameras those town then wrote citations for everyone without a front plate since the red light citations had a close up of the front of the car showing the drivers face, license plate and where it was in relations to the limit line along with the red light on the signal.
Steve R
In Australia we made the Falcon RHD from 1960
unfortunatly we made it the way Ford USA did and as our roads are third world country they fell apart the front end was not good enough.Ford Aust then remade the front end with heavy duty parts and it sold well till the USA model finished production.We made our own models till 2014 then Ford closed shop.We only used the USA Falcon body for 1960 after that we made our own front section and rear they still command good prices.
MICK George, I figured out in the early 70’s these Falcons & Mustangs would not take much abuse on tough stuff. My 62 Impala Would Jump, 1st Gen Camaros not so much but would not break. Enter 68 Charger, torsion bar front suspension that thing could really Jump.
Oh, another from the dusty abyss. Remember the guy I told of when I was in HS, that dismantled a ’64 Sprint, 260, 4V, 4 speed, ( that wasn’t that bad) putting everything into a 63.5 Futura? This was that car. White, 6 cylinder, in perfect shape, and like Homer Simpsons teachers coat, he ruined TWO Falcons. Okay, the white Falcon was no $22grand, maybe $100 and the Sprint he probably got for nothing, so t’was all in good fun,,,,for A HUNDRED BUCKS,,,sigh, and that’s the way it was,,,
Overpriced for its condition. No documentation to back up the mileage claim, nor pictures of rust pro net e areas on a car that lived much of its life in Kansas.
Steve R
It says that the owner has full documentation.
Nice car, but twice the money. With the auto, it must be a slug.
That’ a 2 speed automatic. Imagine how slow it would be if it had the 144 cu in
6 cyl – with 4 people in it – going uphill. lol
and in 1964 they just put another body on it and called it a mustang always liked falcon Sprint better
Three of the four helped pushed it up.
Anybody that puts a personalized plate on a car like this must have taken good care of it!
It doesn’t mean much in this cars case, those plates have only been available for 3 or 4 years.
Steve R
Not sure if this is a real California plate? May be a novelty item, sold in gift shops with your name? Disneyland sold miniature ones you could put on your bike.
Gavin, it’s real. The state started issuing personalized black plates a few years ago and this one has a month sticker. I’ve seen plates like you mention on the front, but that’s rare nowadays since bridge tolls, express lanes, as well as red light cameras use the front plate for billing. You will get pulled over and written up without real plates in short order. Dealers don’t even use cardboard “dealer plates anymore, they are required to affix a temporary state issued plastic plate on any purchase until you get your permanent plate in the mail from the DMV.
Steve R
I do not know what state you are in but New York State has several years in their license plate history where they only issued a single plate which was to be installed in the back of the car. !964 & 1965 were two of the years. I have had a NYS 1965 plate on the back of my 1965 Chevy for 25+ years and I use a Chevy USA1 plate for fill the license plate space on the front of the car. When I have been questioned by a police officer I explain that it was a single plate year and approved by NYS DMV. Never have I received a ticket.
There were some of these Futuras around my small Ohio blue collar home town. It was as if the typical folks, who maybe could not afford to step up to a Galaxie or even a Fairlane, could splurge for the nicely-trimmed Falcon. I remember thinking how pleasant they looked, including such details as the red/white/blue wheel cover inserts.
“Patty” would be a fun car to putter around town in, and to take to local car shows.
This car was only made for half a year. The hardtop was a midyear addition and in ’64 Ford changed the body style. This was always one of my favorites and I’m surprised at the money they bring. Not too many left, but this one looks like a keeper.
Too bad it’s not a Sprint with a 4 speed . I had a ’63 Comet 6 cylinder automatic that I got cheap back in the early 90s and used it as a commuter for a 140 mi r/t to work and back . 70 was the absolute top speed and although it got okay mileage (low 20s), I spent most of my drive on the freeway portion of the commute in the right lane watching semis go by.
Slightly overpriced???
Nice vehicle that will need a complete repaint, and repairs to whatever else needs to be replaced or refurbished. 21K is way too high. It’s sitting at 8900.00 right now and that’s even pushing the price a bit.
Brings back alot of memories, my late brother who passed in 1981 at age 35 had white 63′ Falcon with red interior, same engine and transmission .
In 1975 I was living in Jersey and my gf’s parents lived in Greeville S.C,they bought her a car,we fly down there and it was a black 63′ Falcon,must have been a old person’s car,low milage.Drove it back with no problem.
I like it because it’s a 6cyl personally I think current bid price is about what its worth in this condition, this would be one to just drive for a few years then restore possible hotrod it unfortunately with the electric car push from the government I think we may see more people converting things like this to electric.
My favorite 1963 1/2. I can tell you at 70 mph this thing was all rung out with that two speed, you felt like you were doing 120, busy sawing the wheel, and that engine was singing. 50-55 was more of a comfortable speed. I owned one for twelve years with that drivetrain.
Very spurious mileage claim – and that “black” California plate is recent issue. When the original black plates came out, personalization was not an option. They all began with three letters, then three numbers. The original six digit blue plates began with three numbers, then three letters.
As Bob said this was the car for people who aspired to something better but without the resources. It’s a stylish vehicle that few others will possess.
This is the exact car I have been thinking about buying once I retire in 3-4 years to hit rod. So I would wish it was a V8 from the factory. If it was a factory V8 I could put a hipo 289 solid lifter beast in it to tool around in. I’d never buy a six cylinder to butcher though, I’d want to start with a 260 to swap out, therefore it could be put back quite easily. Really neat cat though.
… and the original owner traded in a 1958 Stude-Packard for it…!
A note to the writer, the 1960 Dodge Dart was a full-size car, Dodge’s first compact was the Lancer in 61, replaced by the compact Dart in 63.
Is it just me or does there seem to be a lot of, shall we say; extremely optimistic asking prices recently here on BF? Did this site morph into BaT? I guess these days everything has to be pricier. This BIN price would be too high if this car was a fully accessorized Sprint with the 260 V8 and a four speed in my estimation.
Cars that are reasonably priced are hard to find and sell quickly, often before they could be queued up for a feature and post to the site. How frustrating would it be if 1/2 the cars featured were sold and the ad was deleted before you could read it.
Steve R
Most of the readers are looking at BarnFinds purely from an entertainment perspective. It really wouldn’t matter to most readers if the vehicle was already sold. Writers like Scotty G. will copy the original ad to view if the seller deletes the listing. Just gives some of the readers that say “I would have bought it if it was closer” another excuse not to buy it.
Steve R,
Thanks for the update on California’s litigation controls (previous comment in this string on license plate laws). No wonder half the immigrants to Arizona are from California.
Jack M. Some of us don’t have access to private jets. So flitting out to Cali, from Ohio, to check out a 63 Falcon, then fly back to make it to work on Monday, doesn’t work. But I’m glad there are those that have that luxury.
Like to have that Falcon, however I am out of garage space. Really don’t want to put a nice car like that out in the snow.
Neat to see one in nice shape, but not worth anywhere near that price for such a boring, A-B car.
Neat little pre-mustang. Amazing to see the grill and corners still straight.
The car that made Robert Strange McNamara President of Ford Motor Company! A car designed by a bean counter, for bean counters, LOL! Then he became the SecDef for JFK and LBJ, where he helped LBJ get us into that little tussle in Vietnam, but I digress…
As this has evolved to a side discussion of license plates, note that toll road tolling booth cameras use the REAR license plate. That’s because the majority of states do not require front license plates, Ohio being the most recent one to make this change. And temporary tags are done in different ways in different states. Texas over recent years has had to make changes as their cardboard tags were easily forged.
Thanks for pointing out our divergence.
My state Iowa still requires a front plate but it’s loosely enforced. Daily I see alot of cars corvettes teslas 911s bearing no front plate. On my 911 there is even no provisions to put a front plate and I’ll have to go to jail before I am forced to butcher my vehicle drilling holes in it. Tinted front side windows is also illegal but allowable in others. I think it’s a revenue source on slow ticket days/months.
Frog, you might look for a “No Drill” Plate Holder. I bought a New Camaro & found a nice Bracket & it is Detachable with a quick release pin. Mine is a Sto N Sho bracket. Good Luck!
Racerdave how is it secured in place to the bumper? I haven’t spent any time looking for a solution to be honest with you and IMO it really distracts from the looks and beauty of the car.
A better option might be to move to another state I think too many people are consuming too much fermented corn.
Frog, my bracket mounts under car with existing screw/bolts. Look Stuff Up, search no drill, read reviews on stuff, maybe check some forums? Took me awhile (had some time while paper plate was on back)& now I’m happy I spent time searching.
Racerdave I really don’t believe that is going to work on my vehicle. The ground clearance is only 4 inches and there are no bolts to attach anything to anyway. I have to be extra cautious not to hit anything in the road, blown tire debris road kill etc.
I don’t care how nice it is to me it will never be worth $22,000.00. Maybe if it was a Sprint.
like the 1st 4 yrs “round body”. ’64’n up (“square body” yes, just not as much). “Invented” to stem the tidea Ve Dubs desimatin the merican auto industry. They killed them (power, comfort, etc) & brought in the muscle era (stang isa sporty falcon) and suv eras were still in the latter (my 1st gen bronk is justa 4WD falcon). My fav of the lot is the ’60s era chero…
If this 1 hada ’65+ motor (enlargened dizzy block hole) & the ‘68+ non feed back carb/dizzy one could hop it up w/a good carb – 2100 or 32/36holly/weber
(actually the pinto 5200 progressive 2v) & the fantastic DSII (‘77+) breakerless hot ignition. I did~
Huh?
To be, or not to be. Is that the question?
I bought a wrecked 63 Futura 6 cyl auto, frame bent in front, chained it to a tree & backed up repeatedly. Bumper & Grille Delete. Put some 14″ wheels on back with big tires and drove it for long time. & Then got a 66 Mustang 6, then got a 64 Falcon Sprint 260 4 speed, yanked motor & put a 289 short block in it. Nice a lot of the parts interchanged.
Nuts, I wanted to send that internet pic to you of an early white ‘60 or so Falcon atop a real tree when you described your bent frame, but no pics can be added to replies….
Gary, I found the Pic’s of Falcon in a tree & some other car’s & trucks, pretty Cool, Thanks. Had to chainsaw some trees the other day that Liked my 69 Chevy Pu that’s been sitting.
I may have mentioned this before. About 23 years ago I bought a 63 Falcon conv. to give to my wife as a 30th anniversary gift (on the day we were engaged a guy ran a stop sign and totalled hers while I was driving). Spent about 3 months sneaking out to get it ready to surprise Her. It too was a 170 auto. Didn’t mind that it wasn’t a muscle car (Her and horsepower wouldn’t mix well). Anyway, She wasn’t real happy driving the car (no ps., no pb. & couldn’t get the hang of a manual choke). She thanked me for the sentiment but convinced me to sell it. Too bad, because I loved the top down cruising. Oh well, sweet little car and I even had it painted canary yellow for Her.
My first car in 1976 was a black 62 falcon, 170 with a 3 on the tree. Put fat tires on the rear, jacked it up with shackles and put a huge white stripe on it so I could hang with my buddies with the mustangs and mopars. Broke a dozen motor mounts trying to do burn outs which it wouldn’t do. Used to wind it out on country roads, would do a tad over 80. Fun times.
The most interesting part of this Futura is the original owner traded a ’58 Packard hardtop… a $904 credit! That vehicle had pwr steering and air conditioning…
Quite a difference all the way around.
Now sitting at over 10k.
I doubt the Packard had ac not even many caddy’s had ac in 1958 I had a Fleetwood 60 special top line even had air bags when new 1958 caddy no ac
Packard had AC available in 1940
yes Steve it did but in 1958 very few of them had it you assumed his 1958 did it most likely did and in 1958 Packards where just Studebakers with trim changes
it most likely didn’t
101 hp and 150 lbs torque seem like low numbers but in a car that weighs only 2300 lbs , it is not so bad.
Of course it is not fast, but it is not so bad.
If you’ve ever driven small light cars that weigh about 1000 lbs less than the average car, then you know what I mean.
small light cars feel ” nimble” and “responsive” even with moderate power….kind of like a go kart.
You can really notice the difference in nimbleness even between a stripper 6 cyl 1st gen camaro & much heavier loaded ’74 firebird v8 with 5 mph bumpers.
Yes, old Falcon & Mustang’s 6’s were fun to drive, 67 Mustang 289 was pretty decent also. Had all Gen Camaros except for 5th. New Camaro 2.0L Turbo feels like a go kart, was pleasantly surprised. 93 Z28 is Light in back. I still want to build a 69-70 351 Cleveland Mustang. My Friend has a early 60-62 Falcon 6 & a 64 Galaxy, 289 maybe, not sure yet.
Sprint 260 V8 4 speed at the BIN price in this condition would be a real bargain and probably sold already. This one 10-12 k at most.I bet there is someone out there that will pay more but that won’t be most of us.Pretty car for what it is.
There must be some good dope in the seller’s ‘hood.
We had one in the family; a 61. It was largely bulletproof. It was also antiquated. Its steering must have had five turns lock-to-lock. The three-speed column shift whined like a truck in every gear. It had ZERO safety considerations (steel dash, no padding, and we added seatbelts). But it took my Dad to work for many years and it took three of us through college and it still ran. The last time I saw it, its odometer read 23000 miles – it had turned over twice. It was surprisingly roomy. My Dad could wear his cowboy hat in it without coming near the headliner (much to our embarrassment).
It was a horrible old car whose only redeeming quality was longevity. We spent years hoping it would wear out. It never did. It averaged around 15 mpg. We thought that was AMAZING mileage. Our real car got 12.
It’s hard to believe that can now command a $10K price. The window sticker in ours was just over $2k and we had the optional heater and Philco AM radio (one speaker in the dash). I believe my Dad negotiated it down to $1900.
Well, it was by far the biggest selling “horrible” car lol
My grandfather had a ’57 Packard Flipped he bought used in ’59 from the original owner, it had factory air. It was a beauty, two tone paint, copper and white.
Sorry damn auto correct, Clipper.
Anybody check these out for Gasser Drag Cars? Found one like this car, White, Straight Axle, I kept stopping by this house & could not catch anybody. Beautiful Car, American Torq Thrust wheels, wanted to buy that car Bad. Wound up building a 68 Camaro, still have it. My 66 T Bird is pretty Cool. I searched 60’s Falcon Gasser’s yesterday, some Nice Rides came up.
I’d rather put that BIN money towards a Falcon Sprint with either a 260 or a 289 in similar, condition. Optimistic price for a basic 6 with very few options, despite its overall clean, condition. It’s a great entry level car at its current bid price of $8900.
Interesting it appears to have a bench seat in front. Our ’63 Futura had bucket seats in vinyl, and a console.
As most did, even in 62