Remember when a small, economical car could be a perfectly good reason to visit your local Ford dealer? When the Falcon arrived for 1960, that was exactly the idea. It wasn’t trying to be a luxury car or a hot rod. It was a straightforward little Ford that could handle the daily grind without asking its owner to spend big money. And look at this one, finished in a shade of green that seems right at home in 1960.
This two-door sedan is listed on Facebook Marketplace in Corbin, Kentucky for $11,500 or best offer. The first thing that caught my eye is the color, which I believe to be Mint Green (Light), Ford paint code M-1373, followed by those skinny whitewall tires and matching green wheels. The front end is about as simple as they come, with round headlights, a wide grille, and just enough chrome to dress things up. Around back, the big round taillights and Falcon script leave no doubt about what you’re looking at.
The interior features a black vinyl bench seat and a dash that puts everything where you’d expect it. No giant touchscreen, no confusing menus, and no need to scroll through three screens just to find the radio. There’s also a three-speed manual transmission shifted from the steering column. If you’ve never driven a car with three on the tree, you’re missing one of those little experiences that made driving older cars different.
Under the hood is the 144-cubic-inch Mileage Maker inline-six. Rated at 90 horsepower when new, it wasn’t going to win many stoplight races, but that wasn’t the point. The seller says this Falcon has 62,000 miles, has had one owner, and runs and drives great. New tires, a new fuel system, and new brake cylinders are also mentioned in the ad.
Here’s another interesting bit of Ford history: the Falcon helped pave the way for the Mustang. When Ford introduced the Mustang in April 1964, it borrowed heavily from the Falcon’s platform and mechanical components. Some enthusiasts jokingly call the early “1964½” Mustangs rebadged Falcons, although the Mustang had its own body and identity. Not bad for a little economy car, is it?
At $11,500, this Falcon isn’t pocket change, but the right buyer might appreciate its simple mechanicals, tidy appearance, and old-school driving experience. Would you keep it as-is, or would you be tempted to make a few changes? Let us know in the comments. And thanks to Pnuts for sending us this tip!
Welcome to Conrado too. Sheesh, major overhaul at BFs? Maybe, but always room for one more. Barn Find writers are some of our favorite people. I can say from all of us, we enjoy all the work that is done by them.
This stuff is seemingly coming out of the woodwork( storage sheds) in alarming numbers, practically insuring a writers job here for years to come. Never in our wildest dreams, did we think the Falcon would achieve such greatness. Falcons, and such, were for spinster old biddys who knew nothing about cars, except they needed one once a week. Gas mileage was of little concern then, when ’57 Olds J2s were around, but someone had a vision for the future, with average mileage about 13 mpg then. One could say Rambler was the start, but Valiant, Falcon and Corvair proved it was the next big thing, 20 years later. Once again, the stick. I’ll maintain my stance, the sticks are the ones not selling. Shame, it would be a great car for someone.
Thanks, Howard! Glad to be part of the Barn Finds team. It’s been fun discovering these old cars and hearing everyone’s stories and opinions. And I hear you on the sticks! 😂
I could go for this, although it seems the days of being able to pick up a decent Falcon for a Hundo or less are long, long gone.
Fast enough for the real world, economical, simple, and reliable. Those are traits sorely missed today. And even if this Falcon isn’t one of them, Ford developed it into models that really grab me (like, for example, the Sprint with its little V8). I even like the body design. Wouldn’t change a thing, as this one is too nice as-is to mess around with.
What a beauty! If US manufacturers had been able to make cars like this (though updated of course) in the 70’s and 80’s I don’t think the imports would’ve gotten nearly as strong a foothold in the market here. Love the simplicity of this Falcon.
The Maverick was based on the Falcon platform. There was the Hornet. The Dart & Valiant dated back to the early 60s as well.
They were loss leaders and made to be as miserable as possible to quickly get buyers back into larger cars.
Detroit never wanted to be in this market in the first place and at the first opportunity started offering V8s, options, luxury, extra weight….
Come 70-71 they did the same thing with the Vega and Pinto. Chrysler just dumped the Colt and Marina on the market, the ultimate low effort fung-gu to the customer. The GM “Something to sell in the segment” philosophy.They wanted to sell large, high profit cars back then. Philosophy of which has morphed into overpriced SUVs and trucks today.
The sort of buyer who would want a car like this Falcon [me] has been abandoned completely.
I love the clean simple lines of the Facon. Personally I would turn this into a sleeper, Bucket Seats, 4 speed, and a 289.
Hard to believe you can squeeze a V8 in that little engine compartmenf.
Glad this is finding a new home, whether staying stock, like RayT or my route. Keep it alive.
I wouldn’t have thought there were any original Falcons from the beginning that would be in almost perfect condition. I especially like what appears to be an original color that it would have came with, along with the original hub caps. I remember my uncle owned a couple of these, one being a station wagon as a kid.
I always thought thay these are great looking cars. Just stop for a minute a d really look at the design of the car. The lines, they great round tail lights that mimic the larger Fords, the body lines. They could have styled it simpler and made it more plain, this was just suppsed to be an economy car. But Ford didn’t, they made a handsome design with these early Falcons. This is one I would want to buy for sure. Absolutely beautiful.
My exact thoughts Dave. For being a very basic car mechanically, the styling was clean and attractive– not like a sixth grader styled it. I assume Ford put some time (and money) into the styling of the car.
So, for me, the Falcon is a key car in the long history of Ford because the combination of its simplicity and styling made it very successful, and (of course) that it was the basis of the Mustang.
Good job Conrado.
I was in high school in 1978 when my father gave me his 1960 Ford Falcon which was sitting under a tree. Part of the motor was in the backseat of that car. He told me, “if you want a car, here it is. Fix it and it’s yours”. Yes, I fixed it with my own hands. I had that car until the day I got married in 1988. Wish I still had it. Thank you for bringing back a whole lot of memories.
Wow a flashback. Right after I got married (1971), I purchased a 1961 falcon (144 ci) to drive to work so I could leave the 70 Mustang Sportsroof (351 Cleveland) at home for the wife. After observing her driving habits for the last 55 years, it probably wasn’t a good idea. Anyway, that Falcon was tough as nails, followed it up with a 62 that was just as tough. Finally sold the Mustang after a few years for a more family-friendly Mercury Monterey. Spring forward 30 years and I surprised my wife on our anniversary with a 63 Falcon convertible. Nice car but She couldn’t handle the manual choke or non power brakes or steering. Wish I still had the Mustang and Falcon.
Going thru my memory trying to recall the last car I drove with a choke.
Maybe a 60 Ford, my Dad got cheap after our 64 Tempest died.
I used to pretend my Western Flyer bike had one. And a push button automatic.
I own one my Granddaddy built ground up matching numbers. White, red interior. Falcon Futura. 67. Convertible. Manual. I have to completely rework it these days. I can’t wait to do it. I lost him and all my other Grandparents in one year when I was young. I can’t wait to be behind the wheel of his. Soon……
What a wonderful little car. Unpretentious and charming.
Many oldsters like us learned to drive with a column shifter tight in our fist. Someone will enjoy this one. What a sweet car !!
clean plain and simple. can’t ask for much more. be a good buy under 10k.
I like it. These still were a common sight in the 1980s. But that was 40 years ago. They did tend to rust, though. Without overdrive, could it still cruise the Interstate?
Funny, the ad states automatic, obviously not.
Harrison- Judging by specs for the model, it looks like it should pull ’bout 3250 rpm at 70 mph. So, yeah, looks like it’ll cruise the I-pikes. And Ford had a number of years of that thin-wall I-6 under its belt plus the I-6 is inherently balanced; it shouldn’t shake itself apart.
Nice car. I was 25 when they came out and I had the “hots” for it (in addition to my new bride) but was already into itty-bitty FIATs and this was comparatively HUGE!
Are the tail light bezels missing? Somehow the car looks odd with all of that red in the back. Nice little car, my grandma drove one.
I used to like the front of the 62 and 63s better, but I’ve grown to liking the integrated grille of this one better. Definitely need a stick with that little 144. I personally would prefer the 170 for a whopping 11 extra horses.
I know I’m in the minority but I admire simple “poverty packs” like this way more than fully optioned luxury barges…………..
I had a 1960 2 door Falcon, same exact color.
Dropped a 200 cid/3speed syncro from a 68 mustang in it.
It was a tight fit in the tranny tunnel but worked great.
Stayed with the 3/tree shifting.
Replaced generator with alternator.
Manual brake drum adjusting. :-)
Very reliable, gas sipping 27 mpg.
Truely one of my favorite rides.
My first car was a 1960 Falcon 2-door with a 3-speed on the tree. I had the high-powered 160-cubic-inch 6-cylinder. It did not come with a heater; my father installed one from a wrecking yard. Heaters were optional, at an additional cost when the car was made. It had vacuum wipers. The higher the revolutions the engine worked, the better the wipers worked. I bought it for $25.00 with no transmission.
Looks like good raw material for a gasser!
In high-school my best buddy bought a black one from one of my coworkers. For $50 because it had a rod knock. We figured that when it let go, we would just get a junk yard engine and keep on driving it. That 144 ran like a top for the 3 years in High-school and another year with his Dad when he went into the Navy. When get got home from the Navy, he found the car at the side of the road where his Dad left it when the connecting rod ventilated the engine block. We were ever kind to that engine. (Figuring that a replacement was easy and cheap) But it had about 60k miles on it when he got it . And my coworker said it had been banging/knocking for 20,000 miles. The odo had rolled over just before the banging stopped. Many of great memories with that car!
My first car (and love, at 17) was a blue ’61’ just like this one, would love to scoop it up, but at 75 now, just too many commitments, and too little time.
I had to find a donor 65 mustang to restore another 65…
When I removed the steering wheel the plastic trim under the original trim had a falcon sprint logo on it
Always loved these little cars and the simplicity of them. Something severely lacking in todays rolling computers. Beautiful color too. I’d own it and wouldn’t change a thing.
Rode to school with a guy who had one just like this. Always thought it was a neat little car, only thing I thought was weird was the vacuum wipers. At take off, they stopped and you couldn’t see, when you stopped and didn’t need them they went back and forth so fast you couldn’t see around them either. They weren’t fun in the rain for sure. I guess that went away on later models? Dunno, never rode in another one, and when I started driving it was Chevy all the way! Still is, frankly…
Seem to remember an aftermarket reserve vacuum tank was available to help with the wipers when under load.
Am I dreamin’?
They had that for my 1946 Ford: I don’t know about the 1960 Falcon.
I had one very similar to this, in white with a 2-speed automatic. Bought it from the family who was friends with my wife’s family for $50. They had 4 daughters and it was handed down from one to the next one until the youngest one left home. Then I got it. It was like a tank in the winter.
Previous rust repairs please? My dad bought a 1963 Falcon station wagon 2 door tan with tan interior and said it was my high school car to drive. 3 on the tree and a six banger. I hated him for this. Today I would love to have that car back. This car is close.