Coming smack dab in my favorite era for cars, since I’m a 1962 myself, this 1962 Ford Falcon Futura would be a fun project. Clearly, it needs work but it looks straight and many parts are available in the aftermarket world. The seller has it listed here on craigslist in Albert Lea, Minnesota, about 90 minutes south of Minneapolis/St. Paul and they’re asking $3,500 for this teal two-door.
I’m not sure what’s going on with the sectioned-off paint, I’m guessing that those areas are an ancient restoration effort on parts of the car to correct rust issues. They seem to be cropping up again as you can see. The quarter panels look incredibly scary but replacement panels are available to make the repairs much easier. The Futura trim level received nice side trim and also interior upgrades.
I don’t see them here but the Futura model reportedly received seat belts which for the early-1960s was still somewhat unusual. The Futura also came with front bucket seats and these seats don’t appear to be as perfect as the seller mentions when they say that the interior is in excellent condition, but they’re repairable and it’s hard to argue with a teal car and a teal interior for a perfect early-60s cruising experience. This one has the standard three-speed manual with a column shifter. A two-speed Fordomatic automatic transmission would have been an option.
The first-generation Falcon is by far my favorite of the series and 1963 was the last year of the round cars as in 1964 Ford squared them up a bit. Give me a first-gen Ranchero or two-door sedan or hardtop and I’d be a happy man. The back seat does appear to be in fine condition as does the headliner.
The V8 version called a Sprint wouldn’t be available until the following year, 1963, but this car has the bigger version of the two straight-sixes available, a 170 cubic-inch engine with around 100 horsepower. This Falcon obviously isn’t ready to jump in and drive home but the seller says that the engine turns over and the brakes work so that’s good news. Any Barn Finds reader would have this car running in no time. Are there any other fans of the first-generation Falcon out there? I’d keep it original spec, how would you restore this Futura?
I learned to drive on this exact car, same color too. I would mod it at all, just put it back to original. I also had a 63 1/2 falcon sprint which was one of my favorite cars of all time.
My older brother has a 1962 Falcon, not a Futura in the same color. He drove the wheels off that car.
I would definitely keep it original. It should keep up with today’s traffic reasonably. The 3 speed is also a plus.
I has a ’62 Falcon, but not a Futura. Bought it used in ’66, it DID have seat belts; drove it for 4 years, sold it to a kid who wanted try it out as a railroad engine. Didn’t run too well after that when he tore the undercarriage out from under it!
Seems like everyone had a falcon one time or another. You could convert to v8 or possibly put a later model six in there like a 200, that 170 was zero to sixty eventually. I had a falcon sprint that my shop teacher gave me. Sure would like another. Slide a 289 or 302 and have a blast. Good luck and happy motoring.
Cheers
GPC