Ford was one of the first U.S. manufacturers to introduce a compact car, but not the first. American Motors and Studebaker got there a year earlier and their entries helped keep those brands relevant. The Falcon debuted in 1960, the same year as the Chevrolet Corvair which mechanically was a different kind of beast (the more conventional Chevy II wasn’t out until 1962). This 1961 Falcon coupe has had only one prior owner and is a survivor-quality automobile except that the powertrain has been rebuilt. Located in Millbrae, California, this sharp Ford is looking for a new home as the seller has lost his storage space. It’s available here on craigslist for $7,500. Pat L. comes through for us again in the tips department!
The Falcon quickly became the sales leader in this new category of domestic cars. More than 435,000 deliveries were made in 1960 followed by 475,000 more in 1961 when the most noticeable change was in the grille which was no longer inverted. The Falcon would go on to spawn many other Ford products, including the Mustang and Maverick and you can see a little of the former in the Falcon. These little cars would get a V8 engine until 1963, so some version of an inline-six performs duties under the hood.
This Falcon has only had two owners, both of whom appear to have treated the automobile with kid gloves. The Ford is nicely trimmed for the day and could be mistaken for a Futura except that it doesn’t have that model’s front bucket seats. With an automatic transmission, this Ford runabout starts and drives well thanks to a rebuild that happened before the odometer reaching its current 77,000 miles. More recently, the car has been treated to new tires and at least a tune-up.
Other than some light surface rust which is hard to track down in the photos, the body and white paint present quite nicely. As does the blue interior which looks as though it has been treated to new seat covers, but no such work is mentioned. The AM radio comes with an auxiliary switch, which must mean it can toggle between speakers fore and aft. Overall, like seems like a nice vintage automobile that could be had without spending a king’s ransom to get and keep up.
Another cool old Falcon. White/blue, I remember that combination being common. It’s not very expensive in the big picture. And you could have fun with it, running errands and such. If you want something fast, I suppose one could do an engine transplant, but I’d be content puttering around with the straight six.
Or…. gather up some pre-teens and start to quiz them. Where is the button to start the car? What is that knob sticking out of the floor to the left of the brake pedal? How do you roll down the window? How do you set the parking brake? And so forth.
Keep it stock, drive it.
Nice one, Russ and Pat! I looked at a car exactly like this from a dealer in Boise in the mid-2000s for $3,700 and it was just as nice if not nicer. I guess that isn’t a bad rise in value after almost 20 years, given that a dozen eggs is almost $7,500 today…
SEVENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a dozen eggs, Scotty??!?!?! WOWSER!! And we were complaining about paying $4.49 a gallon for diesel here in Nevada!!!!
FWIW, some of us BF subscribers will gladly donate a few chickens to help..😆
Nice find, BTW. A kid in the neighborhood years ago shoved a nicely built 302 into a twin to this one with the appropriate sleeper looks and mechanical upgrades. Surprised a few folks..he later went on to become a crew chief on U2’s then SR71’s at Beale AFB, sold the car to someone back East when he enlisted.
$4.49 for diesel in Nevada? Wow. It’s over $5 out east.
$8.62 Canadian for an Imperial gallon of diesel this morning just outside Toronto.
I will buy your eggs, but I suspect you’re on the wrong end of Nevada.
Diesel in Columbia, SC is $3.87 this morning… I learned to drive on one of these cars that had a 3 on the tree and bucket seats. My dad was frugal so he ran 4 snow tires all year long. No power nothing..
EVAN,
Thank you for the offer! FWIW though just about all the rest of our state considers Lost Wages,er,Las Vegas as the wrong end the state and…..everything else.🤔😉
But then every state has that problem IIRC.
Nice car and a reasonable price. No restomoding, but a little 289 or 302 would make it more enjoyable.
Price is right.
Simple to repair. And, given its shape, it would probably last as long, as a DD, as a newish used car would.
I guess sanity is returning to the classic-car market. I like this one – a lot. And it’s actually something I could use. Unfortunately, buying it involves pain (financial) – and the slush-box is a de-motivator for me…
I want this car and I don’t even know Why?
I had two of these in the 70’s. I parked my Super Bee in the winter and drove them.
Dent on passenger side front fender, but very nice car
I almost bought a 1961 Falcon as my first car (I bought a 1961 Plymouth Valiant instead). The Falcon was dead stock with a six banger and a three-on-the-tree manual transmission. If i bought this car I would keep it stock, drive it and enjoy it.
If ya’ wanna do a V-8 swap, start with
a shell and leave this car alone. There
are plenty of ’61 Falcon carcasses out
there just right for that purpose. Cars
Alike this one need to be preserved
as is for future generations to see and study. As Bob In Tn said, they
probably wouldn’t know how to
roll down the windows!
Just nit-picking: slight damage to the inside door cards, dent in right front fender, rear bumper caved slightly in center, after-market cup holders and locking gas cap. But still, what a steal!
I would buy it in a heartbeat. Had a 63 Comet, similar to this, 6 cylinder 3 on the tree. but it had the 144 C.I. 6 in it. peddling fast, downhill with a strong tail wind you could get almost 60 MPH out of it. Going up any kind of a hill was a whole different story. but 30 MPG was great. Could drive from Ft. Leonard wood Mo down to Grove Oklahoma on the weekend and not even use a 1/2 tank of gas round trip, sure made the wife happy.
the 144 couldn’t spin the tires in gravel or going through a wet street corner !!