The Ford Falcon was perhaps the most successful compact car of the 1960s. The company sold nearly half a million of them in 1961 alone, the model’s best performance year. But the arrival of the sporty Mustang in 1965 stole much of its thunder, and a lack of improvements led to the car’s demise before calendar 1970. Also, Ford had a new compact in 1969 in the form of the Maverick. This 1969 edition is the fancier Futura Sport Coupe, which saw sales of just under 6,000 iterations that year. This partially restored Ford is in Rochester, New York, and is available here on craigslist for a healthy $19,000. Kudos to Rocco B. for another well-thought-out tip!
Ford wasn’t the first U.S. manufacturer to offer a size-sensible compact (AMC and Studebaker arrived a year or two earlier). But they would quickly have loads of company (Chevrolet’s Corvair and later Chevy II, Plymouth Valiant, and Dodge Dart). The Falcon resembled a full-sized Galaxie that had been shrunk in the dryer. The Futura was soon introduced as a sporty model that could be had with bucket seats and a V8, but buyers didn’t care much after the Mustang arrived, and sales dwindled to 95k units when this Lime Green Futura was assembled.
A lot is new or newer about the seller’s ’69 Falcon. The front brakes have been redone as discs (was that even an option on the Falcon that year, which was mostly a carryover car?). We’re told the suspension has been upgraded to include sway bars fore and aft, so the car handles like a rock star now. Dual exhaust is onboard along with new tires on Magnum 500 wheels. A 302 cubic-inch V8 resides under the hood, paired with an automatic transmission, which we assume are both original at 100,000+ miles.
The body and paint present well, as does the contrasting vinyl top. The interior has been reworked and looks stellar, even with an aftermarket steering wheel. The only thing missing from this classic might be air conditioning (so roll down the windows and let the wind blow through what’s left of your hair!). One question is whether this Falcon will sell in a price range that might net you a Mustang instead.
Nice but I think a tad overpriced
I concur.
Yes, it’s different, but presents well. For $19,000 you’d probably want a few of these, PS, PB or AC, maybe even a floor shift. Without a strong following it might be hard to entice a buyer at that price range.
Steve R
Alittle lite on the pics but looks a very cool Ford. 😎 thanks Dixon
Rw, my 6 cyl 4 door had no front swaybar. lol
Must be wider than a Mustang – ez to get at the spark plugs.
Man are those bucket seats thick!
Could 1 get a floor console in these in ’69?
nice looking car
Looks an awful lot like a British Ford Mk2 Cortina, although they didn’t come with V8’s. Ford quit bringing them over the pond after the 1970 model year, although not many units made the trip that year. I understand the Maverick side of the story, but I also believe that Ford was ready to introduce it’s new model, the Pinto, and wanted less inhouse competition on the showroom floors. This Falcon is very clean but as mentioned above, not sure of the asking price.
that passenger side looks very wavy….I’d have to see this one with a magnet in hand
Lovely looking car. If only more pictures were posted.
In the early 80’s my friend had put a 351 Cleveland, a four speed and a different rear in one of these Falcons after he wrecked his Stang. It was light and much faster than the donor car until a rear spring shackle came through the trunk during a launch. The stuff we did when we were kids!
Over 40 years ago I remember hotrod magazine had a guy named Lance who put a 428 in a ’69 falcon, punched it up, and the article is on the web. Some things you never forget.
The ’68 an ’69 Falcon are the same under the hood as the same year Torino’s. A 428 will fit under the hood, real tight, but it will fit.
I had a Futura in high school. Dad bought it for $1k. It had a 200cid 6cyl with auto. No AC. I dressed it up with pinstripes and moved the column shift to the floor. I also added gages and mag wheels to it. On my way home from college one day the car was had an unusual vibration. It turned out someone was trying to steal the mag wheels while I was in class! We sold the car for $900 and used the funds to purchase a 1974 Mercury Capri. I still have the original hub caps to the Falcon Futura.