Although the Rambler American and Studebaker Lark had been around for a year or two, Ford jumped into the new compact car market in 1960. With sales of 435,000 units in the first year alone, it sat atop the leaderboard, beating out the also-new Chevrolet Corvair. This 1960 4-door sedan is said to be an easy project with a running engine, but where is it (the engine bay is empty)? Sharing space with a storage container, this ’60 Falcon is in Kent, Washington, and is available here on craigslist for $2,500.
Nearly 40% of 1960 Falcon sales comprised 4-door sedans like this one. So, they were everywhere when they were new. But they were also cheap wheels, so the majority of these economy automobiles have long ago met up with the crusher. A 144 cubic inch inline-6 was the only engine available in 1960, with the 170 coming along as an option in 1961. A V8 wouldn’t adorn a Falcon’s engine bay before 1963.
We’re told a 200 CI six-cylinder is part of the package, so this car won’t be matching numbers, if that matters to buyers. Much of what we see is covered in what may be satin black or primer, with traces of what might be original white paint inside the doors. A “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission was the typical shifter, and this sedan has or had one. New to the vehicle are the floors, padded dashboard, carpeting, gas tank, rear springs, and a pressure plate for the clutch.
Non-Sprint or Futura Falcons aren’t as collectible as the Mustangs they inspired as the 1960s unfolded. The Falcon was the sales leader until more serious competition entered the compact field, like the Chevy II/Nova that arrived in 1962. Maybe this is a simple driver that would be easy transportation once all the pieces come together. A shout-out goes to “Kendra” for the tip!
No interest,,,see, thing is, years ago, these cars while still running, served a definite purpose. After say, 10 years, these cars were mostly shot, and these, and Americans, and Valiants and any other smaller cars, were simply $100 beaters that we used in the winter while our “good” cars sat inside. Initially designed for local travel, merely city transportation to important places. Church, work, the A&P, and were good cars, just nothing anyone collected. Much better cars were on the horizon, why buy a Falcon?
Today? Sorry, for any attraction it has to have the plastic on the seats,, because it’s so cost prohibitive to rebuild anything today.