There was a time when Ford’s new for 1960 Falcon wasn’t taken seriously. Many considered them to be throw-away commodity cars – buy it-use it-wear it out-ditch it-buy another. But Ford tapped into a large and nascent market managing to sell 435K in its first year. For ’61, the more upscale, if that’s the proper descriptor to use, Futura was introduced and for review today, that’s exactly what Larry D has found for us, a fully restored 1961 Falcon Futura. It’s located in Springdale, Arkansas and is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $13,500. There is a make-an-offer option too.
I never thought I’d see the day when I wrote a review of a Ford Falcon, but I’ve covered Pintos and Vegas too, so go figure. What caught my attention, in this case, is the stock-restored condition of this Robert McNamara special and the fact that it’s a sporty Futura model, newly introduced for ’61. The Falcon’s popularity continued in ’61 with 474K rolling off of Ford assembly lines and 44K of those wore the Futura’s distinctive quarter panel trim.
The restoration job performed on this Falcon has been a high-quality undertaking. I’m actually surprised at the subject chosen as the time, effort, and investment placed in a car like a Falcon is probably not going to earn a return. Regardless of the subject, it’s always enjoyable to see a 60-plus-year-old car returned to its original and planned state. The listing, unfortunately, is almost moot as it only proclaims, “Beautifully restored in 2017. Runs great, you can hop in and drive it today! Inline 6-cylinder engine, auto transmission” – gotta hope the images do the selling. Anyway, this Falcon has it all going on with its deep lustrous finish, bright chrome, and complete, straight trim, as minimal as it is.
Projecting a real sleeper vibe, this Falcon looks like it’s ready to rumble, but alas, it’s powered by a 120 HP, 170 CI, in-line, six-cylinder engine so the rumble is more like humble. That said, the engine’s appearance is a visual feast – I don’t know if all of that under-hood red is correct, but there’s certainly no missing it. Attached to a Fordomatic, automatic transmission, there’s no mention as to how the six-banger performs or what mechanical activity it has experienced.
The most notable feature of a ’61 Falcon Futura is the bucket seats and center console interior. The upholstery, in this case, has to be a redo, the black vinyl material is nothing short of perfect! And that perfection extends to what can be seen of the door panels, dash pad, and instrument panel. The interior of this car needs absolutely nothing!
Here’s the trick, finding someone who’s willing to pay $13,500 for a fully restored Ford Falcon. Think about that number for a minute, when a high-quality paint job can cost you $8k plus – well you can imagine how much someone has sunk into this Futura. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a capital restoration job, and the price isn’t out of line for where generic 60-year-old domestics trade these days. I have to imagine that the Futura trim level helps a bit too. But finding someone that wants a fully refurbished, completely stock 1961 Ford Falcon may take some digging. But, hope springs eternal, right?
Think of the American automotive industry in the mid- to late-50’s when the Falcon was being conceived. Big, brash, over-styled, over-trimmed cars were the norm. Enter the Falcon. Robert McNamara’s influence was obvious. Design: basic downsize of a larger car. Engineering: tried-and-true drivetrain and components. Styling: simple, almost frumpy. But somehow, it all worked, and was a sales success. And aren’t we glad it existed, since it served as the basis for the wildly successful Mustang.
As Jim notes, this has to have been a labor of love. But it looks great, and would be an attention-getter. Who cares if it is slow, that’s part of its charm. For me, a three-on-the-tree would be more fitting. The bucket seats do give it a touch of sportiness. I like the blackwall/ hubcap look, but it would be tempting to spruce it up with a tire/wheel package.
It’s a shame Ford didn’t include a manual floor shift with the Futura package (with or preferably without an automatic option). 3 on the floor was acceptable at the time if they couldn’t get enough Dagenham 4-speeds and they didn’t want to buy them in from Borg-Warner.
I knew someone that had a identical car, but it had a factory 4 speed.
Never in a Futura, but Ford did come out with a factory 4spd in the 63 Sprint.
I would like it with wide whitewalls and the optional full-size Falcon wheel covers.
Futuras came with special full wheel covers as standard. NEVER had dog dishes on a Futura!
This is a little short of perfection, the reupholstered seats aren’t the correct pattern and the distinct telephone-dial full wheel covers of the early Futura are missing. That’s the sort of quibbles that come up with a car like this when the asking price is top dollar.
And to your point, I notice some overspray in the engine compartment. It’s all about the details.
Should be black under the hood. Nice job otherwise.
Yep, that underhood slathering of paint ruins the whole car, otherwise looks “cute”, until you open the hood…
not in 61 its body color 63 was 1st yr for semi gloss black
If I had to pick between a KIA soul & this Futura the blue oval would win me over everytime! I’m actually what i consider a Big 3 Detroit guy and I’m old enough to remember & a veteran to know I would never be caught in something labeled KIA unless i was KIA then box me up & ship me home, pin my metals on my chest & bury me in the leaning rest!
First, thank you for serving our country, BA. Depending on when you were born one might think you’re a bit younger than me. I refer to Detroit as the big 4, as it was when Edward Deming tried to get the bean counters there to think quality and not just quantity. That was back in 1950.
W.Edwards Deming. The man who taught Quality to the Japanese. Legend has it he walked out of his first meeting with Ford executives basically telling them “You are not ready for this”. Remember when “Quality is Job One?” was a big part of the Ford ads? It stuck for a little while, then Ford and the other two went back to business as usual. Sorry for the mini-lecture, but I spent over 40 years in Quality Assurance/Control and I still do ISO 9001 auditing as my retirement gig. P.S. That looks like a “Quality” Falcon to me. I would enjoy Cars and Coffee with that car.
Or any other japanese jellybean
Hey, I would like to think of myself as a more “upscale” version of my siblings when I was “introduced” in 1961. I have lately been thinking of acquiring something from that auspicious year, maybe this?
Amen my brother in arms!!!!!
Very nice weekend driver.Love all the red.
I’ve driven a restored Falcon. For that money, I’d rather have a 2cv.
A 2cv would be almost as fast. Or not fast.
Depending on if you missed your monthly premium or not
The only thing I would change on this little pearl is a period-correct set of whitewalls (last year for the broader whitewalls) and the Futura-specific wheelcovers. An old lady down the block had a white `61 Futura with red interior; a beautiful little car that was spotless all the time! I don’t think she ever took it out in the rain, either.
And then the manufacturers decided that Planned obsolescence would make them more money.
Upscale Falcons in 1961 had a bright metal trim surrounding the side sculpting. This “perfect restoration” does not have it. Of course the engine would not be red, either, and whitewalls and wheel covers would be more likely. This is a very nice car though.
My 2nd car ever was a deluxe 61 2-dr sedan with chrome around the windows and the side trim chrome u mentioned. However this subject car being the Futura is correct as they did not have that side chrome on both sides.
61 Falcon was my first car, inherited from my Grandfather. 144, 3 on-the-tree, two door, Corinthian white. I was working on putting a 302 4 speed in it but an icy morning on the way to work and a telephone pole ended that. Still miss that car.
Yep that’s the way to do it, 331 small block, 5 speed and 8.8 rear differential. Keep the innocent looks and drive it. The 170 with the auto can’t be much fun.
Reminds me of an event from my youth- as a 14 year old kid, my sister was ready for her first car and she decided on a ’62 Falcon. It needed paint and she decided on orange. So I spent a week sanding it and removing the chrome like I would on my projects. With a Sears paint gun I was only going to get so so results and as usual I mixed the paint a bit dry, which resulted in severe orange peel. You could hear my sister several neighborhoods away screaming at me when she saw her “giant orange”.
Engine bay paint should be semi-gloss black not inch-thick red paint over rust. Also, didn’t the Futura have a chrome moulding that swept across the sides and around the taillights?
This exact car sold at Mecum’s Tulsa auction in June, 2022, for $13,200.
Everybody is being so petty about this falcon. This should be like this, or this should not be like this. It was restored in the fashion the owner wanted and I say nicely done. Better car than a lot of new imports and costs less to purchase and operate. I was 6 years old in a 61 falcon rental car in Florida in a downpour that was so bad my mother had to pull over and wait for it to stop. The 60 thru 62 falcon had vacuum operated wipers which did not help matters with heavy rains. Great memory car. I had a 62 Ford Econoline van for many years with the 170 cube 3 on the tree and that old van never broke down, very similar vehicle to the falcon. America could really use a 2023 falcon. A back to basics, affordable, reliable as a hammer, anybody can work on it kind of car. I would buy one. I think a lot of other people would too. I like this old falcon. Fair price, great old classic.
“America could really use a 2023 falcon. A back to basics, affordable, reliable as a hammer, anybody can work on it kind of car“.
Boy oh boy, you got that right!
JO
Nicest one I’ve ever seen.
Mom had a ‘63 Falcon Squire wagon (black and phony wood trim) with a V8 engine. Was a hard riding car but fast and fun to drive. Good-looking thing, too; a compact car with class.
The Falcon was built to compete with Chevy’s Corvair and sold rings around the ‘vair. Hence, the Chevy II came along to compete with the Falcon. And then the Mustang came along to compete with the Falcon and Corvair. Then the Camaro came along to compete with the Mustang.
…or something like that.
My dad bought a 1960 Ford falcon red station wagon with no options three speed on the column and the heater. He drove that for six years in 1966 he bought a blue Ford falcon station wagon and 66 they change the body style and made it a little bigger but my dad still had the same options three on the tree and just a heater. That car last until 1971.
My first car was a 1960 Falcon. What a toad. It had the three-on-the-tree shifter. My second car was a 1965 Chevy Bel-air with an automatic. More than once while accelerating, I stomped my left foot down on the floor boards and slapped the shifter up into Park!
These early models are beautiful. Hats off to the detectives who notice the little out of place details. Yeah, making simple cars again would be an interesting undertaking for the big 3; electric or not. The automatic trans makes this falcon have broader appeal to a new buyer. Hope it gets a lot of use.
Just as riding a scooter can be fun as long as your buddies don’t see you, I think a lot of us secretly dig these beautifully restored anemic little guys. I’m one. They seem to get the most comments.
Decades back these were called compact cars but with downsizing they are now considered an intermediate size. I guess it started in early 1950’s with the Nash Rambler, discontinued then slightly updated and reintroduced in late 1950’s as the (AMC) Rambler American. then came the big-3 versions: Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Dart and Chevy-2 (Nova). I’m not sure why, but all companies renamed their compacts, Falcon became the new model called Maverick, Chevy-2 became just Nova, AMC Rambler became Hornet then Concord and Chryslers had a bunch of names, Demon, Swinger and others.
Actually the first year Valiant, was just called Valiant, in 1960 it became part of the Plymouth division, and named the Plymouth Valiant. Just a little automotive tid bit.
And I almost forgot, the Dodge Lancer, the short lived Dodge version of the Valiant from 61-62, which was replaced by the Dart in 63.
I’m not a Ford fan but I’ve always looked at the Futura/Falcons like this one and think “it needs a Windsor” or a least stick an Australian 2V head on the 6. I like them!
We had a wagon as a kid. Love this car, hate the exterior color.
@Ward William
Did he say he hates red???
It went from beautifully restored to perfectly restored with no underside pictures?
But there again there is that Georgia junkyard with a few in it. Hence my comment under that post, buy them done and let the previous owner take the loss.
If this one is actually “restored” it’s a deal. As far as cost to restore goes.
Put in a dual master cylinder and disk brakes for safety, an 8.8 rear with a 3.55 gear, convert the front hubs to 5 lugs and replace the auto with a four or five-speed manual. Maybe even hop up the six a little. That would be a fun little car to cruise in.
Don’t forget the 500hp nitrous.
@Mustang Sally
You wrote: ” America could really use a 2023 falcon. A back to basics, affordable, reliable as a hammer, anybody can work on it kind of car.”
First of all, nobody needs to work on their cars anymore. There is nothing fixable since cars are mostly electronic. But the car that is closest in concept to what the original Falcon was like today is the Toyota Corolla. It is the best selling car of all time at over 50 million units. It’s basic transportation as that term applies today. And a new one sells for just a touch over $20k. I think that would be comparable to the 1961 Falcon accounting for inflation.
I know it’s not an American car but it is made in America and is as dependable as they come. But as far as that goes, Ford has abandoned making cars except for the Mustang so that wouldn’t be possible anyway.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m not here to talk about, or hear about Japanese cars, I don’t care where they’re made, they’re still Japanese, un-American
Yeah,,that’s a gray area. While I’m inclined to agree with you, I’m not sure what IS American these days. I suppose if you want a truck, America has that cornered, but if you want a car, the stark reality is, the Asians have THAT market cornered. I grew up in the most American city you could think of, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Imports were a tough sell, for obvious reasons, but today, cars have taken on a much different meaning, and point of origin is no longer an issue. I do agree, “oh, but it’s made in Ohio”, BALONEY, tell the people of Lordstown that, but,,,here we are, and it’s here forever, futile to speak negatively about it. The time for that was 40 years ago, and our parents denial didn’t help matters.
Ford is beyond making anything reliable as well… “Fixing quality is my No. 1 priority,” Farley said, according to Ford Authority. “It is the most important initiative in the whole company. And it’s going to take several years. We didn’t lose it in just one or two years. Until we fix quality, nothing else matters.” But that is good for my son, who is a senior master tech at a Ford dealership, keeps him well employed!
50 million, but only because they’ve used the same name for over 54 years ! Imagine if the Falcon went from 1960-64, and the 65-69 Mustang was called Falcon instead ,. then the 70-77 Maverick was actually named Falcon, Then later, the Ford Escort named the Falcon, then the Focus…etc… . All big sellers, but Ford changed the names of their compact cars, while Toyota kept with the same name. Granted, they have sold millions, but its not like its even close to the same Corollas of the past
ford made FALCON till 1970 last year of FALCON in the TORINO body …
Yes I know that, I was just using the dates as an example to show how Ford could claim millions of Falcons sold, even though the first models were no where near the later mode l ones, as opposed to having new names for new model cars
The”Younger Generation” might just start thinking a lot more like the people writing these comments. MONEY will determine how people look at their cars and their next purchase. FORD may build a car similar in nature but modern day of course if they “HAVE TOO” in order to compete. The “MAJORITY” of the population has to literally demand and need a car like this Ford Futura,(Modern day). Unfortunately, the “Leading Deciders” are the current 20-30+year olds and especially the new generation Z’s. Maybe an electric Ford Futura?
The console in this is installed backwards, the pushbutton release goes to the front of the car. Other comments about a satin black in the engine compartment are correct, and the red on the 170 C.I. 6 is the wrong shade., the 144 cube 6, which I had in a 63 Comet, 3 on the tree, radio and heater, was great on gas, but good luck getting much over 55M.P.H. unless going downhill with a strong tail wind. You could get a good 90 M.P.H. out of the 170 6. BTW, the Comet had just had the valves done and a new (thinner) head gasket done on it. This specific Falcon I would be all in around $11K.
The 144s were blue, the 170s were red. Owned both in the family..
Well it’s no hotrod, but not everybody’s looking to scorch tires, some people might just want a nice classic car to cruise around in now and then, and considering the price of gas these days, one could cruise around all night without breaking the bank. And how many fully restored cars can you buy for $13g? Not many, most basket cases on here have a higher price tag. Beautiful restoration, hope it finds a good home.
Looks nice, way over priced, you would need to look at it. Too much red. That 170 with the slush-o-matic, zero to 60 eventually. Friend swapped a later 200 with a c4 tranny, big difference. Good luck.
Cheers
GPC
My first car was a 1960 Falcon 4 door with a 144 and an automatic. Not fast but it always got me where I needed to go. I still have the fender skirts and the wire wheel hub caps off of it. Anyone interested in them?
I remember growing upas a small child mom&dad didnot have much money and Dad bought one just like this one when dad was at work mom would take me and my sister for rides in that car we really felt rich in that little car we were so happy to have a car Thank you for sharing it brings back good members thank U from Donnie Ford not related to Henry Ford
Bought a 63 conv. Fixer-upper and did a resto & paint. Had a 170 auto. Gave it to my wife as a 30th anniversary gift. She couldn’t get used to the manual choke, brakes and steering. Talked me into selling it after a couple of years. Still miss her. (the Falcon, not the Wife)
To me this little car looks perfect. A body color engine compartment, while not correct, just looks finished imo. Same with the poverty caps, I like them better than the full covers. Both items easily corrected if so inclined.
The color of the engine compartment is correct, 1961 was the same color as the car. The black came later, not sure but I think 1963.
Whoo-wee, everybody got in on this one. I had a red 4 door Falcon, it was one of the many $100 beaters I got while my MGB was still nice.( 70s) Every winter, I’d get a different one, for maybe 5 or 6 years until the MG became a beater itself. Mine was a 144 with the 2 speed automatic, and was a gutless thing. I know, we ooh and ahh over this car, but many here are correct, we’ve moved on from these for a reason. I say this everytime, but can’t be overstated. Unless folks have actually spent any time in a car like this, it will be a rude awakening. Someone mentioned the Corolla is the modern day Falcon, and that’s partially true, it does appeal to the lowest common denominator, but is no Falcon. Both were however, designed as “throw away” cars. I predict, buyers remorse will be high on this one. The seats help, but the steering, the brakes, the wallowing in turns, and the ever “foot to the floor” will have them thinking,,this isn’t like my Corolla at all. A gross maladjustment of value here. This was a poor car, and if it didn’t help create the most popular car ever, most people wouldn’t give the Falcon, or it’s cousin the Comet( had 1 of those too one winter) a 2nd look.
Well Howard. There’s a difference between made here, and built here.
Even in Milwaukee Harley davidson is built here with Globally SOURCED PARTS. All the American auto and motorcycle brands rely on them for the finished product.
No more redundancy left in America. When the one world order fails, we all fail.
Here here! Dan.
Most on here probably have not heard of a lot of things that are going on. I asked my nephew who is 50, what he thought of woke, he never heard of it, he is up in bingo ny! Probably most on here never heard of it either. Next question I asked was about the twitter files, never heard of that either. My next buy will be a 70’s LTD, Torino, Cougar, or mercury version. Because they cannot be shut off from their computer, they do not have one!
To the editor wrote this article on the falcon
I’m not a big falcon fan. I’ve always drove Lincoln’s and Cadillac convertibles since I was in high school and still have some of them over 50 years later that I bought new as a kid. Referring to the last of the ELDO convertibles. 1970’s
But considering what this guy’s asking for this car I don’t think it’s b******* with the money exchange difference of 1960 today is 10 times differentn. you’re not going to buy a new Lincoln for $6,500 bucks my last diamond jubilee was $ 26,000 and 1979 yeah 1979 when I was in the Marine corps
If you figure today’s money versus then that car is going for about $1,400 bucks of yesterday’s money not bad at all 🤔😁
less than what it was when it was brand new off a lot and what the hell you going to buy for $13 / $14 Grand anymore
realistically except A. POS if this thing was done right it’s worth every dime I’ll defend the little car and like I said I’m not a big fan of falcons valiant darts novas or any of those things they were grocery getters they were a bang for the buck
I would have owned that before a ( kraut can. ) but whole whopping tire burning 20 horsepower rolling oil slick 😂😂💰
all these cars would make it 100 Grand or more without usually a problem and better gas mileage than some of the foreign jobs with their sixes everybody’s rambler and Studebaker 2
with proper maintenance g change the oil every couple of grand and the timing set when it got around. 70 80 grand
now a Volkswagen bug wouldn’t make it 20 grand 🤣😁💰and granite they were a thousand bucks back then yeah $ 995 💰 they were designed as a throwaway car they didn’t even have parts to rebuild them. thanks to JC Whitney catalog yes wear pimps got all their crap for their cars and other yo-yo heads they started manufacturing parts to rebuild the engines did you know that. Well there’s a little trivia information for some of you. because they had no intention of being rebuilt they blew up at 15 / 20 Grand if you didn’t constantly adjust the valves or fix the oil leaks which couldn’t be fixed back then because we didn’t have silicone or better gaskets at that time where the hell was Mr gasket. Then haha
hard to believe how stupid things cost now huh really huh 😠
Who out there remembers the 19-cent burgers and things a dime Coke that same Coke cause you’re $ 3 bucks now 👃💰😠
So yeah getting on my soapbox and 👑 defending the little chicken somebody’s got to defend the falcon they weren’t a bad car they weren’t a great car. but remember this is what the mustangs original platform was based off of and the fairlanes
And come on the valgrunt and the Dodge dart where no beauty queens until 1967. Still trying to figure out what the hell went wrong in Virgil Xner’s Head you’re all laughing yeah the guy built Christine and all those cool Mopar from 1955 on 1960
Note. the shoe boxes Nova’s they weren’t bad but they were a piece of s*** I’ve had them restored them there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot great about them until 1966 when the baby Chevelle came out. Early tempest Skylark f-85 they’re cool
Goes back to like the rambler classics and they were good little cars for what they were. they were. better cars when we put big engines in them and a lot wider tires than they were supposed to have to get traction now some of you old farts out there starting to laugh about it because I know because we’ve all done it hahaha. 😁 Good times. you know you’re having a good morning when you’re smelling rubber burning victory in the air like the smell of napalm in the morning. Haha good day
You all take care be safe from the Old Baron
I’m the editor and I have zero idea what you’re talking about. Some will like this car, some won’t. Some will think the price is OK, others won’t. It’s that simple.
(I’ll dispense with emojis)
Thx,
JO
Overall a Grand (or is it grand) statement from Baron…
All of this noise over a Ford Falcon? I didn’t know that anyone really cared?
I’m going to bed.
Goodnight!