Like many of us here, I like to enjoy the occasional car show. I must say that hanging around Curbside Classic over the years has changed my automotive tastes, for the better I like to think. Endless rows of over-restored Tri-5 Chevies do nothing for me anymore: I walk past them without giving them a second thought. But an oddball, base-model, half-year-only Ford with just the right amount of patina? Excuse me while I reach for my phone…
So what exactly is the deal with this “obviously a Torino and not a Falcon” Falcon? The 1970½ Falcon has already been covered fairly thoroughly in these virtual pages, and I recommend you follow the links and the end of this piece for the full deets, which includes a surprising amount of FoMoCo corporate boardroom drama. (Quick recap: The compact car we normally think of as the Ford Falcon went out of production on December 31, 1969, midway through the 1970 model year, because it didn’t meet federal safety standards that went into effect for vehicles produced after January 1, 1970).
The Falcon name getting pulled up from the minor league of the compact segment to the majors of the mid-size segment was quite unheard of in the day, even if the Falcon was just a price leader model. Indeed, nameplate debasement was the order of the day back then, with names like Galaxie and Bel Air starting out at the top of the line models, while an escalator of ever higher model names would push these once-storied nameplates towards the bottom of the lineup before disappearing altogether.
In contrast, the Falcon name, after receiving its brief field promotion in 1970, would go out on top, disappearing at the end of the model year (well, technically it went off to live in exile in Australia).
| Length | Wheelbase | Width | Base Price | Base Price (2023) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 Falcon (4-door) | 184" | 111" | 73.2" | $2,438 | $19,615 |
| 1970 Maverick (2-door) | 179" | 103" | 70.6" | $1,995 | $16,051 |
| 1970.5 Falcon (4-door) | 206" | 117" | 76.7" | $2,500 | $20,114 |
| 1970 Custom 500 (4-door) | 214" | 121" | 79.8" | $2,872 | $23,107 |
| 1971 Pinto | 163" | 94" | 69.4" | $1,919 | $14,410 |
| 1971 Maverick (4-door) | 186" | 110" | 71" | $2,325 | $17,766 |
How big of a promotion was this for the Falcon name? Check out the table above comparing the relative dimensions of various 1970 Fords. The 1970½ Falcon/Torino is within swinging distance of the full-sizers, being much closer dimensionally to the full-sizers than to the old compact Falcon platform.
There has been endless speculation about why the Maverick wasn’t tapped to carry the Falcon name, or why the half-year Falcon was even needed at all, but the answer is right in the table above. I previously thought the 1970½ was a placeholder for the new-for-1971 Pinto at the bottom of the lineup, but the Pinto was a subcompact car (Ford’s first in the US), and not a compact like the Falcon or Maverick.
Looking at the chart above, a 4-door Maverick would have slotted in perfectly where the Falcon had been, both size-wise and price-wise. The only problem was that there was no four-door Maverick sedan until 1971. The Maverick, as introduced in 1970, was available only as a short-wheelbase two-door coupe, while the compact Falcon had been available as a coupe, sedan, and wagon. So for the latter half of the 1970 model year, the cheapest four-door Ford sedan you could buy was the $2,627 Fairlaine 500 sedan, or it would have been were it not for the introduction of the $2,500 1970½ Falcon sedan (just $62 more than the $2,438 compact 1970 Falcon sedan).
Now Ford wasn’t about to give buyers a mid-size car for compact car money without demanding something in return, so of course that something was standard and optional equipment.
For starters, the interior of the 1970½ Falcon is the most humble you will see this side of a Studebaker Scotsman. Next, the Falcon was available only in three body styles: two- and four-door pillared sedans, and a station wagon, with the two-door pillared sedan being exclusive to the Falcon. Hardtop and convertible body styles were reserved for the Fairlane and Torino models.
Standard equipment was sparse, with niceties like carpet and an AM radio being relegated to the option sheet. To prevent buyers from using the Falcon to “back door” their way into a cheaper Fairlaine or Torino, options on the Falcon were limited. While items like hidden headlights, passenger side mirror, bodyside and wheel well moldings with were either standard or optional on the Torino and Fairlane, they were not available at all on the decontented Falcon. Power windows were only available on the Falcon Wagon.
The optional tachometer in the lower left gives a clue as to the original mission of this Falcon
There was one place, however, where the ’70½ Falcon option sheet was not limited, and that was in the powertrain department. Every engine and transmission that was available on the Torino, from the lowly 250 six to the (conservatively-rated) 370 HP 429 Cobra-Jet V8 was available on the Falcon. This would have made the Falcon by far the cheapest way to get the 429 V8 in 1970, and likely one of the best bang-for-the-buck muscle cars from any manufacturer in 1970.
Ford clearly knew what they were on to here with cheap performance, so not surprisingly a significant number of the on the 1970½ Falcon were performance related, including a Hurst shifter, tachometer, wide-oval tires, and a “drag pack.”
License plates never lie, do they?
Back to the featured car. I was unable to find the owner, and there are no engine callouts anywhere on the car, but if the license plate is to be believed, then it sports either the Cobra or Cobra Jet 429 V8. It certainly looks the part, with dog dish hubcaps and optional tachometer. Other options appear to be an AM-FM radio and the Cruise-o-matic 3-speed automatic transmission.
Alas, the 1970½ Falcon represented the swan (falcon?) song not just for the Falcon name in the US, but for cheap performance in general. Buyer tastes were rapidly changing in the early ’70s as the Great Brougham Epoch was reaching full stride. Emissions and safety regulations, rising insurance costs, and soon-to-come fuel crises would quickly finish off the muscle car for the few interested buyers that were left. The Cobra Jet would be gone from the lineup after 1971.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1970 1/2 Ford Falcon Sedan – Needle, Meet Haystack
I remember having trouble making sense of these when they were new. I knew what Falcons were and I knew what Fairlanes/Torinos were, but I never took the effort to figure it out until years later.
What I did know was how badly these rusted. When I was around 13 or so, a teacher had a lower trim sedan (I think it was a Fairlane) in this exact color, and he told me how much work he had done to try to stay ahead of the rust – and the car was probably only 4 or 5 years old!
I have such mixed feelings on these. I always thought they were attractive cars – on the outside. The interiors of these were really grim, even on models a little higher up the food chain. The cars also felt thin and lightweight, much like a 60’s Mustang. The 1972 Torino was like night and day from these cars in they way they came across inside.
Thin and lightweight like the 60’s mustang?
That’s funny. Close the doors and decklid on a Mustang and a Camaro and tell me which one sounds more like a tin can. Guarantee it wont be the Mustang
Not as thin as a 1964 International Harvester Scout , with no options and Vacuum Wiper blades !
“Leon Ames” had a “Ford dealership”?
According to Wikipedia, the actor had “several” Ford dealerships, but “citation needed.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Ames
Yes. Leon Ames Ford was right down the street from us on PCH in Redondo Beach.
Australia wasn’t the only place where the Falcon goes in an exile. It also gone in an exile in Argentina as well although it was the first-gen Falcon. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-classicsautomotive-history-the-near-immortal-ford-falcon-of-argentina/
What I find humorous about the Argentine Falcons is how Ford grafted late ‘80s “Euro” styling cues onto a body that was designed 30 years prior.
Ford had missed an opportunity, they could have shipped the tooling of the 1966-70 Falcon to Argentina or Brazil where it could have competed against the Ika-Renault Torino or the Chevrolet Opala.
Or another strategy Ford could had used is to get the Falcon soldiering a couple of additional years and releasing the Granada/Monarch earlier.
Still Australians menaged to get more mileage of the 1966 Falcon body until the 1972 Falcon XA.
If I am reading it right, the odometer has over 324K on it! Quite the survivor. Shame the owner wasn’t available to talk about the car’s story.
Never knew the Falcon name appeared on a big car’s flanks. I learn something every time I come here. Thanks for today’s lesson!
In 1970, it didn’t go that high.
Duh – Yes; I see that now.Thanks for the correction.
“…it didn’t meet federal safety standards that went into effect for vehicles produced after January 1, 1970.”
From what I’ve read, the new 1970 standards were relatively minor and involved things like door mechanisms and windshield mountings—nothing that couldn’t have been fixed with some minor retooling at the factory had they wanted to eek out another model year. Plus, I can’t think of another major model that was discontinued because of these issues. Is there?
Clearly, Ford let venerable Falcon expire because of their own disorganization and indifference—and I think it deserved better after so many years of service.
That said, I do like weirdo half-year models.
Also, the ignition key would have been required to be moved to the steering column…the ’70 Falcon still had it on the dashboard.
I was in college when we inherited grandma’s 1970 Falcon. I noticed it had hazard flashers and a day/nite rearview mirror, but I don’t remember the ignition switch.
Years later, I met a co-worker who drove a 429 1970 1/2 Falcon; he had added Cobra insignia to the front fenders.
Very good ! That’s a good reminder ! I’ll keep that on mind .
Thanks !
“ Plus, I can’t think of another major model that was discontinued because of these issues.”
Perhaps not a “major model” by 1969, but the Corvair comes to mind. But GM had been letting it wither on the vine through benign neglect for at least the prior two model years, and was phasing it out anyway. Some speculate that it only hung on as long as it did because GM didn’t want it to appear as though “Ralph Nader killed the Corvair.”
I can find quick reference to two regs effective 1-1-70:
Standard 114 – Anti theft – required steering/gearshift/ignition lock
Standard 212 – Windshield mounting – required a certain percentage of windshield remain fixed to the car in a crash
Either of these were probably minor changes, but they would require investment into a car that Ford probably only intended to build through the rest of the 1970 model year, so maybe January-July or so. With the 4 door Maverick in the wings and the likely non-existent return on any investments into the dead-end Falcon, I can understand why that decision was made.
Ford and Nash had theft-proof ignition / wheel lock from about 1934 to 1948, then both abandoned it in ’49.
Yes the changes required were minor but the fact is the Maverick had already started production so it didn’t make sense to spend money on a car that would have been so short lived and could potentially cut into the Maverick’s sales.
I suspect the primary reasons for the odd ‘70.5 Falcon may be with Chevrolet. Up through 1969, the Chevelle’s lowest offering was the 300 Deluxe 2-door sedan. Yet, Ford had eliminated a direct competitor with the ’68-’69 Fairlane when they offered not one, but two 2-door hardtops (fastback and formal roofs). It’s worth noting that there was a 1967 Fairlane 2-door sedan which, strangely, used the 1967 Falcon passenger center section with longer Fairlane front and rear ends, an ironic reversal of the old Studebaker Lark which used the Champion center section and shorter Lark front and rear.
So, anticipating Chevrolet to continue with another 300 Deluxe for 1970, Ford decided to bring back their 2-door sedan for 1970 with their new intermediate.
Problem was, Chevrolet didn’t follow that playbook and, instead, used the 2-door hardtop Chevelle as the lowest model for their new 1970 intermediates.
Now, Ford was in a quandry with a base, intermediate 2-door sedan with no direct GM competition (although, inexplicably, Oldsmobile and Pontiac did keep a 2-door sedan with Cutlass F-85 and Tempest T-37 models). I can only surmise the plan at GM was to let the Vega pick up the lowest end of the Chevy line-up and, therefore, no longer needed the 300 Deluxe, particularly with the new-for-1968 Nova still around. Unlike Ford, they saw no reason for all the nameplate juggling to fill a perceived model gap in 1970.
Enter the whole Falcon/Maverick/Fairlane/Pinto scheme. The original plan was to have the Maverick (the smallest compact of the Big 3) be Ford’s early Beetle-fighter until the Pinto arrived, and slot the renamed-as-Falcon 1970 Fairlane 2-door sedan as a ersatz replacement for the ‘real’ 1969-70 Falcon and thereby save the money it would have cost Ford to meet new regulations to keep building it past 1969.
Ford marketing may have seen the upcoming gap in the 1970 Chevrolet line-up and thought they could exploit it. Unfortunately, all of these machinations to beat Chevrolet to the subcompact market all went for naught with little to show for it.
When the Pinto arrived for 1971, the strange 70.5 Fairlane/Falcon was gone, and everything at Ford returned to a normal line-up that matched what Chevrolet was doing, i.e., Vega/Nova/Chevelle versus Pinto/Maverick/Torino, with the Fairlane nameplate being replaced by the Torino as the base Ford intermediate.
Chevrolet did continued with another 300 Deluxe for 1970….only in Canada, adding more to the confusion. http://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/GM-Canada/Chevrolet/1970_Chevrolet_Chevelle_Brochure-Cdn/slides/1970_Chevrolet_Chevelle__Cdn_-08.html
Buick also kept a 2-door sedan as well for the 1970 model year for its Skylark line-up who covered all the mid-size now then they dropped the Special (who’ll return later for 1976 as a package for the Century).
There might have been a 300 Deluxe in Canada, but it was in name only.
To me, a ‘true’ 1970 300 Deluxe would have been a pillared 2-door sedan with front window frames. The Canadian 300 Deluxe was just a base Chevelle hardtop, the same as in the US.
But, yeah, I’d forgotten that, in addition to the Olds F-85 and Pontiac T-37, there was a Buick Skylark 2-door sedan, too. I’m going to guess that, if not for the upcoming Vega, there really would have been a 1970 Chevelle 2-door sedan, too.
Excellent points rudiger. I have never understood why there was no Chevelle 300 Deluxe 2 door post coupe from 1970 to 1972. I brought this up several years ago in reply to another Curbsider and he replied that if a customer wanted an entry level no frills Chevelle 2 door sedan he could always buy a Nova, which only came as a 2 or 4 door sedan even though the Cutlass (F85), Tempest and Skylark offered 2 door posts from 1970 to 1972. This became even more confounding to me when during the 1971 model year Pontiac debuted the Ventura II (a badge-engineered Nova) yet continued to offer a Tempest 2 door post coupe. I would think the tooling costs to make a 2 door Chevelle post would have been minimal because the 2 door Buick Skylark used the same roof panel and window shapes as the 2 door Chevelle.
Terrific find, and biographical info. So much car, for so little money. The huge trunk, and decent back seat, a significant advantage over a Maverick. A small family, could work with this car. I do like this ‘compact’ dash, over the awkward ‘cockpit’ dashes of full-sized Fords. And more impressive-looking, than a Maverick dash.
As a little kid, I started eagle-eye car spotting, around 1974. And the Ford intermediates of this era, were some of the leaner sightings, in Ottawa. In fact, I saw more compact Falcons. Perhaps rust, was already killing them off? I do remember seeing a creampuff medium blue 1970ish Torino wagon, at a small used car dealer around 1976. But nary a memory of routine sightings of other Falcon/Torinos of this vintage. Likely, some of the most rust-prone Fords of that era. They disappeared quickly.
Also, the ignition key would have been required to be moved to the steering column…the ’70 Falcon still had it on the dashboard.
When I was very small my Dad traded in a ’67 Falcon to buy a ’70 Fairlane and I’m actually a little surprised we didn’t end up with one of these instead.
Given the survival rates of Torinos over everything thing else, this is quite the find.
I’ve always liked the 1970-1973 Ford Torino’s in all forms. Yes, I know there was a major change between the 1970-1971 and the 1972 models from unibody to body on frame with full coil springs.
But each of these models are attractive to me. I like the hardtop coupes and fastback coupes the best. And I think I’ve read the ’72-’73 models were big sellers.
Serving as a Military Policeman in Germany, early 1971, we had a couple of these outfitted as out patrol cars. I don’t know what size the 6 cylinder/automatic transmission was, but I do know that when I was taking a GI and family to Frankfurt for their return home, 90 mph was all I could get out of it on the Autobahn. The big Mercedes and BMW’s would fly around me like I was standing still.
Bought one new.. 351C , 4speed and limited slip (not locker) .. dark blue/black (carpeted, rubber mat didn’t fit floor shift). Air conditioning and AM/FM (no power steering).. The headrests were used regularly to keep my head out of the back seat.. Fastest car that I ever owned.
Given the lack of a 429 call out on the fender and no dual exhausts, I’m guessing the “XL 429” license plate is a bit of wishful thinking. 250 six? 351?
This ^^ . I don’t know about Ohio, but California’s DMV does ask for a meaning for personalized plates, and screens for “inappropriate” number/letter combinations, but I don’t think they’re checking for technical veracity 😀
Such an interesting model, I recall thinking… what was Ford doing? when it came out mid-70. The Ford intermediates were the best looking family car they had in ’70, and the 4 door sedan or wagon would have been a decent buy with a 302 as a grocery-getter for a young family at the time. The big Fords got a very squishy ride and consequently much poorer handling in ’71, while the ’70s were still decent, Dad had a ’69 Galaxie and I drove a ’70 Galaxie rental once… wonder how these intermediate Fords handled? Never drove one.
I vaguely recall these, but to show where my automotive tastes were, having just turned 13 at the end of 1969, I was mourning the demise of the Cortina Mk2 in the US. I was particularly annoyed a few years later when I saw a Cortina Mk3 with Canadian plates in my town. I didn’t really care about Meteors or Beaumonts; why did those lucky guys still get Cortina’s?
I have a 1970 Mustang — wow, it looks like a lot of interior bits are the same.
Steering wheel, those black pull-out knobs for headlights, the blue plastic patterns.
Maybe even the rear side indicator lights.
Ford’s parts bin was deep!
These were introduced at 1970 Chicago Auto Show, and it was my first visit. Even at 8, I didn’t understand why use same body as Fairlane/Torino and proclaim “it’s the new Falcon”.
Earlier post about mid-size Falcon “countering base Chevelle” is possible. Also, maybe Ford wanted Falcon to replace Fairlane name eventually?
But all for naught, since ’71 MY saw all called Torino. Base, 500, and Brougham trims. Then another change for ’72, adding ‘Gran’.
Plymouth did similar for their mid-size cars in 1971 ditching Belvedere name for all Satellites. Former ‘top trim’ to base price leader. Dodge replaced Coronet coupe with ‘price leader’ Charger, which is looks odd in hind sight.
Had I been car buying age at the time, I would have loved a 1966-70 Falcon or 1970 1/2 Falcon. However, the 1970 Fairlane 500 (final year) was quite spartan itself (my father had a 1970 Fairlane 500 wagon for 11 years), so I don’t know why Ford bothered with the 1970 1/2 Falcon.
Great idea to have a Half Model Year Day! The whole ½ year thing is still something I find peculiar, but this has me wondering: What was the last ½-year car model? I can’t think of an example in the 21st century.
The 1970½ Ford Falcon is like the unsung hero of the muscle car era. It’s like finding out that the quiet kid in class was actually a rock star on the weekends.
The focus on performance over frills is a refreshing change from the usual bells and whistles we see in today’s cars. It’s like Ford was saying, “You want power? We’ll give you power. But don’t expect any fancy extras.”
And the fact that it was a budget-friendly option for performance enthusiasts? That’s like finding a designer dress at a thrift store. A rare gem indeed.
Thanks for this nostalgic piece, Curbside Classic.