This Falcon may look pretty forlorn, but there is a good story behind it. The car has been in the same family since new and has lived in New York, Florida, California, and then back in New York before being parked in 1993. It supposedly only covered 54k miles in that time. The engine hasn’t run since then and there’s some rust in the floor. At least the seller is realistic about the fact that it will either need to be completely restored or used for parts. They mention that the mice and mildew have taken over the interior too. The $500 asking price here on craigslist gives a glimmer of hope though. What do you think – can it still be saved?
This is a first generation Falcon so it’s not surprising to find an inline-six under the hood. Ford only offered a V8 option at the end of ’63 before releasing the second generation design. If it’s not seized up and wasn’t parked because of a catastrophic failure, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the next owner can get it running with some fresh fuel and a new battery.
Lots of moisture has made its way into the cabin so I’m guessing that mildew is going to be the least of your problems. Rust can take hold quickly and make a seemingly good project into a money pit. Even with the cheap price, I would want to take a good look at the underside so I knew what I was getting myself into before forking over the money. These cars featured uni-body construction, so rust really will be the deal breaker here.
This probably isn’t the kind of car you would want to buy long distance and have shipped. If someone is in the the area though, they could go inspect it and drag it home without any other expense. Either way, I hope it gets saved and that the next owner is kind enough to offer a ride to the previous owner’s family when they get it back on the road.
It isn’t until you look closely at the Falcon to be reminded what a basic car it was. Not really sure what can be done with this to make it worth spending even the $500 asking price. There are many of these in good-to-excellent condition being driven regularly here in SoCal, so when rebuilt they do have a following and get looks. But as an investment, I can’t see any up side to bringing this particular car back to life as everything needs to be done on it.
I’d buy it if I already had a Falcoon. Cheap replacement parts if you have a collision.
Well, you wouldn’t want it anyway. It sold within the first hour so somebody must love Falcons. I dare you to try buying even a banged-up non-running Falcon in LA for $500!
It’s a very solid car, esp. for New York. Too bad Ford always put their elephant-dung interiors in their low-end cars with nicer body colors. Ming Green is a fragile, but knock-out color. The b/w’s and hub caps are very unique. Only real problem is the mileage is 154M, but still a negligible issue considering how nice the rest is.
The car was sold this morning to a guy in my parent’s town for the asking price who is going to restore it. Sorry you do not believe me Jason as I am a very honest person, but the mileage is accurate and I would not lie about that!
That is great that the car went to a good home. Don’t let others run you off or get you down. Some folks go through life with a heavy heart and need to strike out at others.
Thanks Randy! Agree 100%!
Alec, If you look at the majority of Jason’s comments, you won’t be surprised..
Glad the car went to a good home!
Thanks for that Paul as I was pretty blunt about the car with the pictures and the CL post, so it would not serve me any purpose to lie about the mileage! My dad is very happy also that someone will restore it!
Falcons, Comets, Ramblers and just about any other be bones “economy” car of the 60s’ is a cheap way to get into the classic car hobby, and you can bring the whole family along, too! As most of us on this site are into “car-nography” often times our spouse or significant other does not have the same feelings we have when it comes to cars. “Honey, it’s only $500 bucks” is sometimes all it takes to not have them be perpetually pissed off you for buying another old car. These cheap cars can be a lot of fun. Many of the cars I’ve shown were 2 door or 4 door sedans. These are the cars that bring back the memories to folks. “My granddad had one of these, or my uncle had one just like it” this is some of what this hobby is about.
I bought a 62 a few years ago, put clean gas in, a battery, new ignition switch and it started right up and purred, I paid $800 for it, very reliable and fun to drive, the am radio worked.
Looks to me like a great buy for someone local for the 500 dollar asking price. If the motor on this thing was operational when it was parked I would bet that a battery and some fresh fuel would have it running in a few minutes.
It was operational when parked and the tires actually held air today when my dad used the compressor to pump them up. The new buyer checked it out and it was all solid aside from the driver’s side floor pan which I showed in the CL posting.
Great news. Thanks for the update.
Now, if anyone wants the boat, let me know! 1960 Crestliner and full of leaves!
+ 1 PaulG and randy
Thank you, thank you very much. Now, where’s my peanut butter and banana sammich?
I wonder if that straight six got good gas mileage back in the day
There are a ’68 Fairlane and ’64-65 Falcon Ranchero sitting outside in Winston-Salem, NC, if anyone is interested. They are white. They were brought home in perfectly OK condition 15 years ago or more by an old fella who was “going to restore” them. They sat OUTSIDE a freshly built two-car garage, where they remain today, Still worth getting back on the road. They have plenty of surface rust now that the paint has worn off, but appear otherwise intact. I can’t believe what people let happen to perfectly serviceable old cars. Except that I can. I parked my daily driver ’66 Saab and let it sit outside and then under a shelter for years because I had neither the time nor money to keep it going, procure parts, or recondition it back in the 1980s. Finally sold it to a young man who loved and refurbished it. So I hope this Falcon 2-door has been sold to a very good home. And I hope someday someone will buy those two old Fords in my neighborhood before they are beyond salvation.
Get some pics and prices, we are all interested in keeping old Iron on the road.
BF will help I am sure.
i glad the car went to a good home. i hope the buyer will keep us updated. great find.
I’d be more interested in the boat that’s in the background with the vintage Evinrude on it
Hey Keith, it is a 1960 Crestliner that has not been used since ’85. As a child, we had the boat on Candlewood Lake in CT for many years. It is full of leaves now, but I think my Dad is just about ready to part with it – I took pics to sell that also!
Anybody ever see a Falcon with rusted rocker panels? The legend I heard was that Ford experimented with a zinc coating on the Falcon rockers that proved to be too expensive for production.