Let’s be honest; Robert McNamara was never cut out for the car industry. More at home in an accounting office than a design studio or an engineering workshop, he viewed automobiles as a way to make money, and nothing more. That he eventually succumbed to the lure of a Government post is unsurprising, but he did leave a legacy from his time at Ford. It was the Falcon, the company’s successful contender in the compact sector. It sold in impressive numbers, and this 1961 example is a perfect reflection of the design philosophy. Its automatic transmission is its most luxurious feature, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a close look. The seller has listed it here on eBay in Lake Mary, Florida. Solid bidding has pushed the price beyond the reserve to $8,500 with time remaining for interested parties to chime in with a bid or two.
By 1960, Ford was reeling from the folly that was the great Edsel experiment. Timing is everything in automotive production, and the Edsel’s was lousy. However, the economic downturn that contributed to its demise provided the ideal environment for an affordable compact model. The Falcon ticked those boxes, not only selling impressively in North America but becoming the backbone model in markets like Australia. This Cambridge Blue 2-door presents extremely well, with no significant cosmetic shortcomings. It received a recent repaint, helping to explain the lack of chips and marks, and after spending most of its life in a dry climate, rust isn’t a problem. The chrome and glass are excellent, and the trim rings visible in some photos are a recent addition.
The Falcon’s interior features no luxury appointments, but perfectly reflects Ford’s goal of producing an affordable daily driver. There is plenty of painted steel, and don’t go searching for air conditioning, power windows, or a radio. This car doesn’t score those items, but it presents fairly well. The passenger-side door trim shows deterioration, but the seats look good, the headliner is original, and the wheel is crack-free. If someone repairs the door trim and replaces the fraying rope trim around the doors, this interior will look pretty nice.
Ford equipped this Falcon with a 144ci six that generates 85hp and 138 ft/lbs of torque. It is the least potent version in the ’61 Falcon range, courtesy of the first owner’s decision to team the six with a two-speed Fordomatic transmission. How slow is this classic? The ¼-mile journey will take 21.1 seconds, while this Falcon will gasp for breath with the needle sitting at 83mph. Not fast, but with respectable fuel economy and a low sticker price, it is easy to see why so many people bought a Falcon. The seller recently replaced the brakes, shocks, and battery, and fitted the narrow whitewalls visible in some photos. They are including a set of NOS U-Joints for the buyer to fit, although the car runs and drives fine in its current state. Therefore, the installation can probably happen at the buyer’s leisure.
Robert McNamara’s opposition to the Edsel project was almost rabid, but his support for the Falcon was unflinching. He may not have been a genuine “car man,” but he could smell a winner a mile away. Ford sold 474,197 Falcons in 1961, with the 2-door contributing 149,982 vehicles to that tally. Only the 4-door proved more popular, but there is a sting in the tail. The low sticker price allowed many to view these as disposable items, and most made their final journey to the scrapyard many years ago. This might not be the most desirable classic on the market, but ask yourself when you last saw a ’61 Falcon that presented this nicely, and how many you see in your daily travel. They were common when new, but are significantly rarer now. That’s why this survivor deserves a close look.
The white walls and trim rings really added a little spice to this plain vanilla offering! Very nice, GLWTA!! :-)
Good write-up on a good-looking Falcon. It’s not hard to understand why these sold so well: extremely simple and basic, yet pleasant-looking with a hint of style (for example, the side sculpturing), and most importantly, cheap. They were everywhere in my small blue collar town. I’d actually prefer it to be a three-on-the-tree, it fits the bare-bones theme of the car. The whitewalls and trim rings, a simple addition, do help.
Wikipedia tells me at this time Lee Iacocca was vice president and general manager of Ford Division. I’m thinking he had a twinkle in his eye: “I wonder if we could repackage the Falcon into something much more sporty.”
A nice 5.0l under the hood would help too!
I knew there’d be at least one person wanting to ruin this nice little car by “hot-rodding” it. There’s always at least one. SMH.
32MPG in the gas economy promotions of the ‘60’s. A frugal “little” car, it was a good contestant in the spendthrift market. That it has an automatic transmission is surprising when you consider it doesn’t even have a radio!
It’s incredible this one has survived intact considering that they were the U.S. equivalent then to the 1st gen Honda’s of the ‘70’s.
GLWTA
Back then there were people that couldn’t drive a stick. My Father was one. He bought a 1960 with the auto and six, but it had a radio at least. No carpets though.
In the mid 80s we had a teacher in high school that bought a very early 60s Falcon. 6 with a 3 speed stick on the column. Black with a red interior. That man had a smile on his face every time he drove it. He daily drove to our high school every day. I’d see him driving it in other towns, I’d tell uim I saw him driving it, he’d always say he was on a test drive. Then he’d say he’s always on a test drive every day and he’d smile. He just loved that thing. These early Falcons had a great style to them like Bob brought out. I’d also go for a stick with that small 6 instead of an automatic. This is one sweet Falcon, and shouldn’t have a hard time finding a new home especially that nice shade of blue.
These were great economy cars. Some had vacuum windshield wipers. The fuel pump provided the vacuum to run the wipers. Someone took care of this one. I would strongly prefer a three on the tree. This is a lot of car for the money.
Its gorgeous. No p/s, no p/b no radio, definitely very entry level. In a sense that was the perfect car for the housewife to get the groceries and maybe bring the kids to school and still have something stylish and economical. It deserves a good home
For those unfamiliar with McNamara’ role at Ford, he analyzed the production cost of a VW beetle, part by part, and then emulated the design concept using the Ford parts bin. (As a “whiz kid”,he had performed a similar role at the War Department during WW2). He brought the terms “cost effectiveness” and “bang for the buck” into the American industrial lexicon. In a second nod to VW, Ford also introduced the Econoline van, which, like its VW Type 2 predecessor (an offshoot of the Beetle), was based on the Falcon.
weren’t these engines red back then ?
She’s a beauty; That convex grille is the best-looking of all the early Falcons, in my opinion.
The 144 engine is pretty lame, though. Maybe could swap in a 200.
My grandma in Wisconsin had a 4 door 3 speed colum shift same year and color. It got driven only a few thousand miles a year and spent most of its life in a garage. Never saw Wisconsin roads in the winter. My dad tried teaching me how to drive a stick in this car which was only partially successful. I remember how big the steering wheel was compared to our 67 vista cruiser that had power steering. My dad would not work on our Olds but when we went to Wisconsin for vacations, he wasted no time doing a tune up while I Simonized the original paint. It had a vacuum tube radio that took some time to warm up and work and vacuum wipers which stopped working when you were on the gas then went crazy as you got off the throttle to shift. A basic car with clean lines and easy to work on. Too bad we don’t have something like this today.
This one really takes me back in time.
I had a 61 that I paid $150 bucks for. I remember those wipers as you describe them. On the gas, almost no wiping power, off the gas, off to the races. Thanks for that memory
What a slick little car!
CT Dave
I had a 6th grade English teacher named Ms.Sweet she drove a falcon like this one for years.
I used to know when she was coming down the street because that little 6 was just screaming. I don’t think she ever took it out of 2nd gear the whole time she owed it accept she probably used 1st to get it moving.
I accept that.