(first posted 1/10/2012. Have things changed since then?) If you wonder “What is the most popular classic car among fashionable urban individuals 18-34 (i.e Hipsters)?” Given my non-scientific guess of living in the hipster enclave of North Oakland, I’d have to say the Ford Falcon, particularly the 1960-65 Sedans and wagons.
Wait, you say, “When did the Volvo 240 and Mercedes 240D lose their ironic chic?” They didn’t, really, the just got too expensive for plain but good examples. The Biodiesel wave sent many a clattering garage queen 240/300D in college professor enclaves to BioDiesel conversion shops, and prices out of the range of most clerks of your local Urban Outfitters.
And most any 240DL Volvo under $3,000 has been beaten within an inch of it’s life, and many essential things beyond the engine and transmission don’t work anymore. Like turn signals and heaters, and things that are 5 times the cost to repair relative to their entry price.
So enters the most highly unlikely of new hip candidates. Of all 1960’s cars, the Falcon in the most basic form (the sedans and wagons) were often the most neglected by the collector market. Sure enough the Sprints and Convertibles long ago started to keep better pace with other vintage iron, but who really wants to remember their youth with a bare metal dashboard? My mother, who has a scar on her forehead from a bare metal dashboard, doesn’t.
But plenty of the simple, wheezing Thriftmaster Six sedans and wagons survived 5 decades with low miles and astute maintenance by souls no longer with us. Aunt Esther’s Falcon Wagon becomes Aiden’s ride to the farmer’s market for organic produce shopping on Saturday morning.
You might ask “Why not the Corvair?” (Too complex, and not as practical/cheap since most sales and survivors are Monza Coupes) or “Why not a Valiant/Dart? They’re infinitely better cars with the same virtues as the Falcon (Simplicity)?” (Same issue as, oddly a vintage Mercedes, as most clean/usable ones stepped out of the reach of a broke college graduate). Chevy II/Nova examples suffer from that weird “everyone owned a Chevy” inflation problem, and not enough of the basic sedans and wagons still exist to satisfy demand.
Given how simple/plentiful parts are for them, and how few came equipped with power accessories that would need replacing, the Falcon represent the best “Set it and Forget it” classic car buy for a generation used to such thinking. When/if it actually breaks there’ll most likely be another hip ride to take its place.
Do we dare cast our votes? My first vote goes for the 1988-91 Toyota Corolla, followed by ironically, another nearly forgotten Ford: the 1991-96 Escort (and the Tracer sibling). But we have a bit of time before used cars from 20 years ago will be universally hip.
Until then, the little plebeian Ford Falcon, puts on a pair of Ray-Bans and gets the last laugh as flocks of them putter down Telegraph Avenue and Valencia St. Cheap is forever Chic.
I would also imagine that the Falcon is the unintended beneficiary of the Mustang’s popularity, which has made certain that mechanical parts are everywhere and cheap. These things sold in huge numbers (much higher, I would imagine, than Chevy/Mopar competitors at the time) and were bought by a class of people who were very utilitarian. With your climate, those folks probably kept those cars a long, long time because the only real enemy that they had was the rust mite.
I will confess that I have always wanted an early Falcon. Just a plain, dowdy little box, but one that has some personality. The car (particularly the 61-63) has always reminded me of a happy puppy, for some reason.
I received a dowdy little ‘box’ of a ’64 Falcon in August 1989. It’s June 20, 2016 and I still have it after nearly 27 years. I’m the 2nd owner; it really was an old lady’s car. She bought it new from Valley Motors in Hanover, PA and the car was put in to service on August 3, 1964. This date is stamped into the original owners manual. It’s a 2-door sedan with a 170-CID engine and a 2-speed Ford-O-Matic. 0-to-60 in half a minute! Well, it really is a simple vehicle. Only ‘options’ are an outside mirror on the driver’s door and back-up lights in the middle of the round, red taillights. No radio, no cigarette lighter, no nothing. If I want music I have to bring a portable unit into the car with me. It’s simplicity has really grown on me over the past 25+ years. It DOES have plenty of personality; I cannot drive it anywhere without people coming up to me and asking about it. Is it for sale? What year is it? What kind of engine does it have? Are you sure you don’t want to sell it? (Yes, I’m sure). In 1974, I figure this car wouldn’t have rated a second look from anyone. Just some 10-year-old car in a sea of automobiles. Now it sticks out markedly from anything else on the modern highway. It impels one to pay attention to it! 🙂 Current mileage: 126,171 miles. Not bad for a car going on 52.
Great story, Carter!
What (if anything) do you reckon is a new or ‘future’ Falcon?
What basic, simple, economical, overlooked car is on the road now, which may evoke such interest, among a new generation?
I’m wondering if my 2nd gen. (2008) base Prius may fit the bill……..
The woody wagon with mags looks awesome. I’ll admit I’ve not been much of a Falcon fan, but I can appreciate their appeal.
These early Falcons are perfect starter classics – nice looks, easy to work on and still affordable. A hippy friend of my brother’s had a wagon version a number of years back and I always admired how right it looked with a nice touch of patina.
I owned a ’68 Falcon for a while which while cheaper and harder to find doesn’t quite have the same charm as the earlier ones.
Ironically, the Falcon was the original “disposable” car. They were so inexpensive that it was thought they would be cheaper to replace than repair.
There’s a 30-something couple at the corner of our street who bought the only mid-century-modern house in a neighborhood of bungalows. I think they’re art designers for one of the super-hip ad agencies in the Pearl District, like Wieden & Kennedy (Nike, Coke, Honda, …) They’ve really sharpened up the house and yard in style.
One of their cars is a red 1st-gen Falcon Ranchero, with a red tonneau cover. Perfect. They use it too, I’ve seen it carry furniture and landscape supplies. It had a little wreath on the grille for Christmas. I think I’ve heard a very non-stock engine under its hood. Normally garaged, it has so far eluded my camera.
PS: A few blocks away from the pristine red Ranchero is a rather beat-up white Falcon Ranchero with an angle-iron frame in the bed. This Falcon still works for a living.
You nailed it Laurence. I’ve had a similar write-up floating around my head for several years. It’s the same in Eugene; there’s quite a number in the same hipster service here. Chevy II? Zilch, except for one or two hot-rodded ones.
I’ve always had a soft spot for them, since forever. I keep forgetting how lame the one a drove the most was, a GF’s ’64 baby blue sedan with the 170 and Fordomatic. Oh, how that poor think would moan (the car). Still…just make mine a stick shift, please!
When I ran across my 30th distinct Falcon (and 40th in the Falcon/Comet family) in 8 months I knew I had to do something. I wanted to make a weird cross comparison to iPhones and iPads, but realizing the Falcon was such cheap wheels (and disposable) the only correlation I can think of was Planned obsolescence is alive and well, just not in cars anymore.
It’s worth acknowledging the re purposing of what was a phenomenal volume selling car when new, but, I must say there’s a fair number of Dart/Valiant survivors in the Bay Area (I’ve seen 5 of the 1960-62 Valiant/Lancer twins in the last year even) but they tend to appeal to people that obvious like cars, not the crowd that just got enough money from their parents to upgrade from a Fixie.
You don’t find many Corvair fans under 35 for some reason (I find myself being somewhat of a preacher of its virtues to deaf ears). The truly hip, or ironic would really be driving a Lark or an American, especially the 64-69 American, you can buy those all day for under $2000 in the Bay Area.
Bingo! As I was reading the article, my first thought was “I’d really rather have a late 60’s American.”
I am a Corvair owner (and 35 is a hazy memory, full disclosure). I think the difference is that Corvairs appeal to “car enthusiasts” who do more of their own mechanical work or know a “Corvair specialist” in some hole in the wall shop. Whereas a Falcon can be attended to by anyone who knows their way around older Mustangs, and there are 6 or 7 of those people even in the smallest towns. So it’s an easier vintage car for those who do less of their own wrenching (and/or who are living in apartments and don’t really have a space to do wrenching).
I have a ’64 Falcon with the 170-CID engine and the 2-speed Ford-O-Matic. I reckon I should be glad it doesn’t moan when driven! It runs better now than when I got it in 1989. Age catches up with everything eventually so it’s got a couple of quirks, but they are not dangerous quirks! The little engine just loves to gobble up anti-freeze and spit it out.
Wait!, our ’95 Escort has hipster ride potential? I thought the only thing remotely hipster about it was the Cross Crusade sticker now that CX bikes are the new fixie.
Corvairs are pretty simple too, you just have to worry about the belt, but theres no radiator or water pump, but anyway. I have a concern about “hipsters” driving these because they are “ironic” but not understanding some of the shortcommings of cars of this vintage, such as stopping distances and handling. Also, they must all be automatic cause I dont think there is anyone under 40 that understands how to work a 3 on the tree…….
Only the Squire woody, which seems more surfer wagon than Hipster-mobile, was a stick. And I have doubts it had its original V8.
I’m particularly envious of the lead photo car (a well loaded Futura sedan with the 260 and A/C). I think the Falcon is adorable in the hopeless puppy way that JP describes, but I’m still a Corvair person. If say, a Monza Sedan (102hp 4 speed) and a Futura Sedan were on sale for the same price, I’d go for the Corvair.
I almost dont like either one, the first gen sedans are kinda meh…..but a nice little Lakewood wagon…mmmmmm.
Corvair ALL THE WAY!
I think the only thing complicated about the corvair is the driveline arangement, otherwise, it does not get any simpler than a 500 model, brings a smile every time I put the shift lever into non synchro 1st!
The simple fix for that & all non synchro first wen starting out ( I drove my father 49 Hudson ) so you just put it in second first then into first no waiting & need to be gentle by just putting in second I guess it grabs onto that synchro so wen you go to first it does not grind I don’t think it was needed on my mom’s 64 mustang ( 260 3sp ) which is a Falcon in drag ! hope this helps
I too love the woody with the slots.
The Falcon was the best selling car in it’s class in it’s time so there were more to survive. The fact that it was the basis of the Mustang means parts availability is high.
The Corvair’s reputation killed their value so they were worth more as scrap than it was to fix them. Since so many of their parts weren’t shared with any other car availability is low.
The Chevy II was the ricer of it’s day. You wanted a Camaro (RSX) but you got mom’s hand me down II (Civic). So they were stuffed with high power engines and were then wrapped around telephone poles or other wise beaten to death. Those that did survive have had their price driven up by the crowd that wants an old Chevy.
The Vailant did not sell as well as the others and that front suspension that tended to rip it’s upper control arm mounts loose also meant that many of them became worth more as scrap that it would to fix them. The early ones suffered from their way out there styling that also kept there value low so they were more valuable as scrap than as a running car.
True about the Novas, they were had a nack for getting wrecked, I know an older dude that told me the story of wrecking his brothers L79 engined Chevy II into a boat that was sitting on a trailer in someones driveway in the 60’s, the Chevy II went through the entire boat and came out the other side, but the car was bent from the trailer and from being temporarily airborne at the time!
The ONE thing I recall most about the Falcon was it’s first year, when the advertising concentrated on how the front of the hood sloped and rounded so the driver could see the road a few feet closer to the front of the car! It was advertised as a “safety feature”.
Other than that, it was a Ford, which I ignored until the 1968 Torino coupes came out. I noticed them. A lot. Mom and dad liked them too, but couldn’t afford any new car. The only other Ford I later took notice of was the 1965 Galaxie H/T coupe a certain beautiful blonde drove in Yuba City that I chased for three years.
I later married another beautiful blonde who drove a 1970 Mustang convertible. Now we happily cruise in our MX5 together!
Poor Falcon – I never knew you. Make mine a Chevy II/Nova.
Too bad Ford have since forgotten that feature – ref. F150…
That 2-door wagon can’t be a common sight, even in parts of the country where cars from the early ’60s survive in large numbers as daily drivers (I’m in Massachusetts). Around here I can only think of one that I’ve seen over the past few years, which is in nice shape and is probably only taken out in the summer. Not sure of the year, but definitely in the 1960-63 period. The 2-door Falcon wagon was built through 1965, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one with the 1964-65 styling.
Don’t forget Park Street or Santa Clara Blvd. in Alameda!
Falcons-a-plenty in Curbside Classic ground zero, Alameda, Cal!
Saw a Falcon wagon over Rose Parade weekend in Pasadena (at Whole Foods, no less), when the “Occupy” brigade was in town to stage its post-parade march. The driver and his companion did appear to be likely attendees. It was in fine running shape but not restored by any means.
A Falcon 2 door wagon would be the perfect “Hipster” car. They could brag about how ironic it is to have a Station Wagon with only 2 doors and that they knew about it before you did…
Though most of the Hipsters I’ve run into in the NW suburbs of Chicago seem to be driving late 90s/early 00s Buick Centuries, MN12 ThunderCougars, and on rare occasion Panthers.
Well, they are pretty good cars. I drove a 1965 Falcon sedan for a year or two. My friend (eventually roommate) bought it for $300 in the late nineties and it was his daily driver until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He did only the absolute bare miminum of maintenance or repairs and never washed it. Rather than replacing a bad alternator he just hooked up a battery charger at night…for about six months. It just kept going, shrugging off neglect. It did 43 years with only the absolute minimum of attention.
After the Hurricane a family member gave him another car and since mine were crushed in the storm I drove it for a year or two until I bought another car of my own. You could fix anything that went wrong on the road side with a hand full of tools. It got a consistent 20 mpgs from the 200 six, though the top of the gas tank (bottom of the trunk) was rusty so you couldn’t put more than about four gallons in the tank without it making a mess in the trunk. The thing just wouldn’t quit. It’s still parked in his grandmothers barn but I could probably still be driving that thing without fixing anything too major. It was rusty and ugly but it got compliments everywhere I went, people thought it was so cool.
And see, I was driving a Falcon before they were cool, you probably hadn’t heard of them.
Very rare cars here and not popular back in the day we had Zephyrs which in every respect are better cars. It took till 65 and the XP model for the Falcon to gain any traction but of course it wasnt an economy car out here but a full size family hauler and ill suited for that role. The Falcon of the early 60s is easily the WORST Ford of the era.
This story brings back memories of my fist visit to San Francisco.
I visited the Bay Area in 2003, and I was struck by how many 1960s Fords in general, and Falcons in particular, were being used as daily drivers. One company parking lot in San Francisco had TWO 1964 Falcons!
Falcons weren’t the only old cars I saw on that trip. We drove down the coast to Big Sur on that trip, and I remember stopping at a lighthouse with a gift shop along the way. Parked in a gated area, just outside the actual lighthouse, was a white, relatively clean 1960 Valiant sedan with a bright red interior.
Yeah, I never would have thought 1965-68 Fords were notorious rusters as claimed here on CC. There’s two 1965 Custom 500s in my neighborhood alone.
I think what is more remarkable is the lack of Chevrolets in the Bay Area still around. Given it was the USA-1 at the time there aren’t as many Impala sedans or the sort tooling around as Galaxies. Of all things Chevelles of infinite varieties dominate the “still on the road” factor followed by Nova Coupes. I would guess the more common and dull Impalas became donors for the Convertibles and Coupes, while Galaxies of all stripes lagged in value, therefore there’s more left.
Thats what keeps them from being seen daily, is that someone actually wants the Chevrolets, how many Impalas have been turned into a lowrider or canibalized to save an Impala SS convertible?
And after the low rider 60’s Impalas, theres the 70’s Impalas with the huge wheels and then the boxy Impalas with the huge wheels….etc..etc….
How many Galaxie lowriders have you seen?
Same for Novas, which have increased in value to the point that people want crazy money for non-SS clean grandma 6 banger coupes, look it up on ebay, Malibus, the same, go to a car show and there are dozens of Chevelles and Malibus and hardly a Fairlane.
Somebody must want the Fords, as they are still using them as daily drivers. The mechanicals must be plenty sturdy to have held up after all of these years.
I see plenty of Ford convertibles and hardtops from the 1960s at car shows, too. The real disparity comes in the 1970s. After the 1970 model year is when interest in the Fords and Mopars really drops off compared to interest in the Chevrolets.
Of course someone wants them, they just normally want them as “cars” where the Chevies are wanted as low riders and donks, not saying thats better, cause….its not. Ha.
Depends which part of the bay you lived in. Finishing up my 3rd tour in Alameda, and closing out thirty years’ service w/USCG, must say majority of clean, daily driven vintage CC’s were FoMoCos, followed by Mopars and a smattering of old Chevies and the occasional Hudson, Packard and Studebaker. All in Alameda. Northern Marin and Southern Sonoma counties have mostly FoMoCo too, come to think of it. Mostly . . . Falcons (and “F-ies”).
I beg to differ. I ain’t no hipster and every other Falcon owner I know seems quite conservative. Of course, I live in Upstate New York. Maybe things are different on the wacky west coast, but I have always associated the Falcon with old people.
My falcon was a Nova with three on the tree. Had to dump it when I was transferred and needed a pickup to move my bikes. Sure did (and still do) like it. I am sure I would have liked to own a falcom too. The station had a sixty something falcon that went forever on a gallon of gas. Even then, I liked that.
In our house these first generation Falcons are generally referred to as “Bettys”, and not for any attributes shared with the Mitsubishi bombers. As noted they are generally found exhibiting certain needs, typically rehabilitation. In SE Australia they survive in respectable numbers and hit hip some time ago. Squire wagons are blue chip, the local utility and low roof sedan delivery are about the same.
We spent a month in the US in 2010 and the total old daily drivers spotted would number under 10, fitting the pattern one was a 2 door Falcon sedan seen crossing the Golden Gate.
As an aside, and contrary to expectations, it was remarkable how little old iron was on the roads. I’d see as many on any weekday here as sighted in the transcontinental trip, which included 2700 miles in a Grand Marquis rental.
1) Hipsters don’t live in Marin County. The toll to cross the Golden Gate Bridge is $8. It would be highly unlikely anyone that drives a 1962 Falcon Futura would have that bridge on their daily commute.
2) You won’t really see Vintage cars in places you would visit as a Tourist, even in San Francisco. Since a lot of the cars are peoples daily drivers you’d find them in neighborhoods people live (which, on their own level, are more interesting to visit than the typical tourist traps of a big city). Visiting Mission Dolores or the USF campus finds you in a flock of Forward Look Chryslers. Going to an “Off the Grid” foodtruck night will find you in a flock of Falcons and Darts.
Maybe our guy saw the Falcon heading north on the GG. Bridge (free direction).
And that, sir, is why the next trip* will involve a) a lottery win, and b) a Mk II Continental waiting at LAX. Laurence, your photographic technique is great. I know you’ve been asked before but never saw your response, how do you do it?
*No time frame set at time of writing.
I believe, with Michael Freeman’s prodding it’ll be a full on curbside post rather soon. It’s something anyone that’s bored and with a 5 megapixel or greater camera with the photos set on maximum quality can do.
Thanks, I’ll be watching.
And yes Mr Rockfish, the Falcon was indeed heading north. I did spend some time admiring the streamlined bridge administration buildings and never noted the $8 toll. Whoa!
$6 toll. Duno where Laurence came up with $8.
More outrageous is the plan already implemented to phase out all human tolltakers during 2012, and force all users into electronic payment plans of some sort. I don’t have, don’t want, and don’t trust FasTrack. Had it. Somehow ended up with a balance that ended in 40¢. Inasmuch as every toll in the area at the time was charged in whole dollars, I continue to wonder how I somehow was charged 60¢.
Always assumed the GGB was higher than the Bay Bridge (which is $6 during commute, $4 off hours, $5 on weekends). I never actually drive the GGB because I never really need to. Either I’m taking the Bay Bridge into the city or the Richmond/San Rafael into Marin from Oakland.
I don’t know about that. I saw one of the best-kept 1st generation Civics I’ve ever seen on Lombard Street, 1 block from the S curves that all the tourists drive down. Amazing shape. Original California plates, too.
Just explore the streets just outside the East entrance to the former NAS Alameda. I can think of one block where you will see at least 8 CC cars on the block. Many are foreign like an early 1970’s BMW 2002 and MGB. Just around the corner, across from the high school one can find the car below. Wait! Is it the holy grail an unmolested Implala.
Funny Falcon true story. 4th grade – bunch of boys at a classmate’s house for his 10th birthday party. Angelo’s Dad wants to take all of us bowling. There’s about 13 of us including birthday boy ‘s Pop. We pile into an early ’60’s Falcon. Car is parked curbside facing north on a slight incline (Lincoln Avenue; San Rafael). Yes – 13! We’re scrawny 10 year olds and some of us were sitting on the floorboards and on each others laps. I remember this was a Falcon 2-door sedan.
Little Falcon struggles to rotate – 1st gear start – no go. Too much weight, too little horsepower.
We all pile into Mr. Dieli’s other car, an early 60’s Valiant. Torqueflite button punched into “D” – and we all take off smartly. Valiant was parked curbside BEHIND the Valiant!
Me thinks now the Falcon must’ve been the weakling 144 six . . . .
Behind the Falcon, I should’ve written. Valiant was a four door sedan.
At that age I routinely rode in the “far back” of the family ’61 Pontiac Catalina Safari; no 3rd seat!!
I like the Falcon, but a 1963 Fairlane is on the top of my “want” list at the moment. I might even sell my Datsun for one.
Always amazes me how many old cars are still on the road there. Here, near Chicago, those things are either rusted and gone (salt gets ’em every time) or are garage queens at shows. The “hipster” type car here tends to be a B-Body GM, a 90’s Ford Taurus, or a 90’s Toyota Camry due to cheapness and numbers, and even the B-Bodies are getting harder to find.
I hate hipsters.
Always wondered why the 1966-70 Falcons are so rare/unpopular. The Futura Coupe looks almost like a foreshadowing of the Brougham Epoch to me.
Actually the 66-70s had a popular run in East Oakland about 15-20 years ago as cheap low-rider/dub alternatives.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-03-06/bay-area/17365062_1_falcon-boys-cars-cost-east-oakland
I would guess anyone who really wanted them already has them. I felt that those Falcons seemed like a weird precursor to the 1968-74 Novas, without all the infinite personalizing options the Nova would get.
One factor may be that the 1966-70 models didn’t sell in anywhere near as large of numbers as the 1960-65’s did, so there weren’t as many of them around to begin with.
In the first few years of the ’60s, Ford just did crazy business with the Falcon — IINM, nearly 500K were built in 1961. Over the ensuing years, Falcon sales would drop steadily as the economy improved (lessening buyer interest in compacts), as GM and Chrysler introduced cars that were more competitive with the Falcon than what they had in the first few years of the ’60s (Chevy II, newly restyled 1963 Chrysler compacts), and as intermediates and later ponycars pulled away some customers who may have previously bought a compact (including Ford’s own Fairlane and Mustang). I believe that Falcon production was still over 200K as late as 1965 or 1966, though, and I think it remained the best-selling single compact model throughout this entire period, unless you count the 1965-66 Mustang as a “compact”.
After 1966, however, Ford seemed to conclude that so much of the compact market had been taken away by cars like the Fairlane and Mustang that it no longer made sense to focus much attention on compacts, and kind of let the Falcon go a bit. Towards the end of the ’60s I believe there was at least one year where Falcon production actually fell below 100K. Ironically, the tide of small car sales began to lift again in the late ’60s, but Falcon didn’t benefit much from that; Ford’s response was to introduce the Maverick, which cut even further into the Falcon’s market territory.
The later 60s Falcons were popular in this part of the world ford finally convinced us they wouldnt fall apart first time crossing a curb and they installed a V8 motor in the 66 XR and won the annual Bathurst car race which helped the street cred no end. Gettin to be rare now though our 6 monthly inspections have weeded out most of them and $10 per gallon gas makes them poor daily runners.
The same thing happens out here to a degree, also the Holdens of the same era, like the EH is vaguely similar to the Chevy II although completely different, and Valiants, which are vaguely… hmm, never mind!
These aren’t cars you would many would drive because they were after the cheapest transport, scarcity sees them costing the same as later model bottom-of-barrel cars and they usually need work (if they don’t they cost more). So you see either those who have done the work & are cobbling them along, including the flat paint, pinstriping Kustom crowd, as well as people who have done a ‘daily driver’ restoration rather than a ‘show/museum’ type, with everything done including updates from later models and have a good reliable car – typically because they like the car rather than making a statement.
They are not all Big 3 cars either, old British ones have the same effect. A friend has a 1957 Hillman Minx that he bought, had the minimal rust cut out and plated, and drove it with a mix of faded off-white original paint, some sort of brown sealer used (liberally) to treat the rust & the seal coat on the repaired sections – a real ‘survivor’ condition. This included entering in a rally (navigation trial, not special stage type) – apparently it has been a while since the scruitineers have seen a car on cross-ply tyres! He has since had it painted in a really pretty two tone cream & green but it still has the original interior because it is undamaged & in good condition even if it does show its 55 years.
Edit: Bryce I’m fairly sure its only NSW that has annual inspections, the other states don’t & thats where you see the old girls still going.
Having said that I agree it is very rare to see 25-30+ y.o. cars now, my theory is the phasing out of leaded and lead-replacement petrol got them out of the daily driver & into the weekender or classic usage
My old EH went thru several blue slip inspections in NSW I had a habit of leaving it parked and using my 82 Commodore for fruitpicking runs aircon was one reason and I also used to change the plates over sometimes rather than fork over$750 for rego but there was only 3 other EHs being used as daily drivers in the Hawkesbury area in the mid-late 90s despite being the best selling Holden ever the EHs disappeared. Mine ended up in southern Tassie I sold it to a young guy who wanted to restore it wish now Id kept it and taken it to NZ with me.
I lived in Tasmania the land of old cars NO Falcons from the early 60s there was a one owner XW Futura in Geeveston but thats all.
These Falcons were everywhere when I was in my teens in the ’60s. Two in particular I remember. I rode to school in a early ’60s Falcon w/ 170 engine/automatic. I drove an early 60s pastel blue Falcon w/ 144 and two speed automatic. It was one of the slowest if not the slowest car I have ever driven. Even the hills in Long Beach CA. were a struggle for it when four people were onboard. Light would turn green and you would just glue the throttle to the floor, no point of thinking about it. It seemed to be all the way off or all the way on. I wondered how it would do at high elevations starting on a hill. The thought crossed my mind it would not establish any motion at all. The only thing I drove which probably was slower was an early ’60s VW camper.
They were for the most part very simple and easy cars to work on.
We had bigger GM stuff in the family. One thing I noticed about the Falcons, even as a teen was the bodies were tight. They didn’t seem to have a lot of rattles and they felt pretty solid in town driving.
There were always several of these 60-66 Falcons around while I was growing up in the 80s. All Aussie-built RHD models. Very few of the first XK model (the one with the reputation for weakness), but more and more of the better-engineered XL, XM and XP facelifts. Mind you I liked the concave grille and lower taillights of the original XK the best. The Australian ones were practically the same as the USA ones, except there wasn’t a 2-door windowed wagon (there was a panelvan version though), and the 4-door wagon was about a foot shorter at the back end.
There are still quite a few of the 60-66 shape around today – with 5-10 for sale on trademe most weeks. But most of the survivors are either so original or so modified (usually with later model V8 transplants) that they’re priced way out of reach. Of the 6 XK-XP Falcs listed today, the lowest asking price is NZ$20K for an ex-USA ’63 Futura convertible. Dearest is $25K for an XP coupe; rarest is a $24K ’65 Sprint convertible that needs painting and re-assembling – it’s 1 of 300 made and apparently the only one outside the USA.
But overall, they look good (nice and subtle) and there’s little to go wrong mechanically (and many of the ’70s-’90s Australian Falcon bits fit if any upgrading is needed), so I agree it’d be a good hipster-mobile 🙂
Most of the early Falcons Ive seen forsale on TM are recent imports either ex US or OZ as they did not sell well new after the first model fell apart Kiwis went back to Zephyrs untill the MK4 in 66 The MK4 Zephyr Zodiac range was a bit sophisticated with V6 4 wheel independant suspension 4 wheel discs etc the simpler more agricultural Falcon suddenly looked attractive
Well that and the fact the Mk4 Zephyr/Zodiac was as ugly as sin lol! 3 of the 6 Falcs on TM are NZ-new though, and the ones from my late 70s/80s childhood were NZ-new – mainly XMs and XPs though. And it was in rural Waikato, where farmers generally preferred American cars (the Falcon was considered one by design if not build). The XK was pretty weak, but it’s generally accepted that by the time they got to the XM and XP the Falc was a much-improved car. The ’66 XR took that to its ultimate conclusion of course, but that’s another story…!
As a kid in the 60s and with a father in the car business I kept up with what went on and knew what all the kids at school boasted of their parents buying Nobody and I do mean nobody had Falcons when they were new they were popular used cars in the 70s/80s but by the Falcons were selling as new cars Zephyrs had gone the Policy was to import from Australia for large cars but in rural north Auckland and in the 70s northland Falcons were virtually unknown and quite a rare sighting. Yes they existed in Auckland and in Whangerei but not in rural areas on gravel roads the reputation lasted a long time noone bought a car that may not last the money simply wasnt available and credit was not easy like now The entire time Iwas at school till 74 one friends parents bought a Falcon so sorry Scott but they were not a well thought of car the XR by the way had a rep of cracking across the rear wheel arches the XT XW & XY had a good name but not prior to those.
I agree the Mk3 Zephyr was better than the XK/XL, and part of this is it was quite different in design and ethos (the Zephyr was a lot more sophisticated I think). This difference in ethos meant as the 60s wore on, the Z-Cars and the Falcs appealed to quite different people, hence the differing opinions on their reputations. Having said that, I love them both – the Zephyr is suave and sophisticated; and the Falcon is simple and cool. I also agree with Laurence that the early 60s Falcons are great hipster cars – the majority in the Waikato are just that: gently decaying, with great patina, and driven by the ‘cool’ folk (I’m not one lol!).
This is the great thing about CC: it’s a meeting place for so many different thoughts and opinions, and agree or not, the depth and variety makes of info makes it so very interesting! 🙂
While I worked a Wairakei 3 different people I worked with bought used XR Falcons these guys were all UK immigrants all 3 wound up repairing cracked chassis rails on those cars, Australian Falcons were substantially different to US versions only disasterous XK was identical what the US used under their V8 model was stock equipment in OZ pretty much compact Fairlane like the Mustang the XK was crap it was cheaply engineered Id be very surprised if any of the survivors Lawrence found is still using XK under pinnings they were just rubbish thats why there was talk of ditching the Falcon name in OZ these cards were not a cheap throwaway out here or in OZ they were an expensive car and the fact they were junk tarnished the Ford name that had been built on the back of the Customline and Zephyr cars which were tough durable machines. It took Ford a long time to convince a very sceptical public to buy Falcons after the first few models. What else killed them in OZ was the EH Holden with a modern engine it outperformed both the Valiant and the gutless Falcon To give our US readers an idea on cost of cars back then my exes father bought a brand new Holde EH Special autoimatic in 1963 for 2,300 pounds the following year he bought 5 acres of land near Baulkham hills for 2,500 pounds, The company he worked for had bought a fleet of XK Falcons that didnt last a year on the road he was the demographic that was buying new cars and did he want a Falcon no way ever he was an accountant and knew how much those terrible cars cost his firm in downtime. Ford kept building and improving them and in NZ they were helped by the terrible Essex V6 2.5 in the early MK4 the cooked at a phenominal rate though the actual car was good as long as you got the 3litre engine. So now the hipsters have discovered the cute little early Falcon no surprise there but lack of knowledge of previous sins must really help but me I had a 2 door XP Falcon a Fairmont up market model it was crap so never again Id happily take an old Valiant but never an early Falcon
I can’t help but be amused by this because I jsut picked up this ’64 falcon wagon a few weeks ago. It is pretty rough everywhere but runs & drives(with a least 1 bad valve) and cost me all of $1000.
The plan is to make it a solid driver and use the hell out of it. I don’t have much urge to pretty it up as it has an amazing patina right now.
SWEET.
That looks ok as an autoshite car just repair the head and drive it till it falls apart, you could be one of the lucky ones the one I had was nothing but trouble.
I once drove my cousin’s 64 two door wagon with three on the tree. Self shifting didn’t make it much faster!
Interesting to see what’s turned up kewel in other lands. Nearly all my life I’ve lived in Tinwormland; and things like first-generation Falcons disappeared long, long ago.
I have to think back to kidhood to recall Falcons and their owners; but they were definitely blue-collar owners with flinty eyes and sharp pencils. Typically they’d have a lot of other costs, e.g. family and kids, and the car was just an appliance. Dowdy, drab; gets the job done but with none of the panache of the Chevy II or even the restyled Valiant.
Hardscrabble. Wrong-side-of-the-tracks. “You don’t want to date HER; her dad drives a FALCON!!”
Odd how things shift. When I was that age, the yips and hips were driving castoff bakery trucks and fifties Hudsons. I thought that was just natural…normal.
Of course that was just as much a shift as was the cool-crowd’s later embrace of the Failure Special chariot.
This is interesting. I just saw this today – a new ad campaign from Target for Converse, aimed at the Hipster and using a Gen 1 Falcon wagon as their backdrop.
Hey Laurence –
So I am a yup-ster who lives in North Oakland and was thinking of buying a Falco…and ran across your post. Makes me feel like the gentrifying schmuck that I am, but I love the look and like that so many of them are still daily drivers.
Anyways, can you recommend a good mechanic?
Thanks! Matt
Super late, but I put basic care of my 280E in Babbits on San Pablo and Seans Mobile Mechanic, depending on what needs to be done.
60-65 models were still common as daily drivers up to the late 80’s in the Northeast. Mechanically they can be kept alive forever, since the greasy bits are the same as the Mustangs, so availability was/is no problem. The tin worm killed these off as daily drivers around these parts. The only ones I see now are beautiful restorations that only come out on nice sunny days. There is a stunningly beautiful blue 65 hardtop owned by a dude a couple of towns over. 289 and 4 speed with factory buckets. Gets an amazing amount of attention when he takes it out.
Check out http://www.65bbq.com I took a bunch of junkyard parts and made a matching trailer for my Falcon Ranchero
that is sharp
My first car was a 5.0L Chevy Nova. I honestly like my 4.7L Sprint better — she has more character and gets a LOT more attention when we are out and about. 🙂
I guess I’m no hipster. Nothing so plebeian for me, I drive a Comet.
https://plus.google.com/photos/109020522851068365085/albums/5629038676719951297
I was going to chastise you for posting inflamitory words (“plebeian”) in a Falcon forum — but then I went and looked at your restoration photos, and I decided I can’t come down too hard on you…
But seriously — “plebeian”?! Really?! My 1963-1/2 Sprint Convertible was only manufactured for 6 months, and they only made 4,602 of them!
How many 1964 Comets were made? (The answer is 299,431.)
Therefore, the Comet is about 65 times MORE COMMON than the 1963 Sprint Convertible. (How’s THAT for “plebeian”?) 🙂
Take it easy on me. My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek. I am a lover of all things Falcon (and Falcon based.) They are a central preoccupation in my life – you know, after the wife and daughter. Although, my wife would probably argue with that order at times. 🙂
LOL — fair enough! 🙂
Well, either things haven’t changed since this update, or this trend is slow to leave the Midwest. I just spotted a turquoise ’62 or so Falcon wagon, lowered on white walls at the “hipster-iest” bar in an up & coming, industrial part of town.
Maybe it’s the upscale nature of the Washington DC area, but I’ve never seen anyone that’s described as close to being hip driving a Falcon. To be fair, I haven’t actually seen any Falcons on the road ’round here. (Tho’ there is a Maverick that shows up with some frequency. But it’s a low-rider’s car, not a hipster’s….)
20-somethings driving Volvo 240s? They’re everywhere. (along with a good supply of N.O.S. owners, now ‘of a certain age’). Also there’s lots of Mercedes 240-D and 300-D’s on the road, but only with older owners.
You know what’s seems to be most hip, alas? NOT having a car….
I had a 1960 Falcon 2 door coupe with the 144 and 2 speed auto; and it seems funny that THE slowest, most gutless car i ever owned is now popular. It didn’t even get good gas mileage to compensate; and if you drove it at 65mph to keep up with traffic the engine made such a racket, you couldn’t hear the cheap tinny AM radio. After the camshaft broke into from driving in reverse at a fast (for the engine) clip; I bought an 1954 Old’s four door with a rebuilt engine, which was much faster and got better mileage; that was a great car. Now the car i should of bought and would make a more usable collector car now; was a 1964 Sprint with 260 and 4 speed like my friend back then had.
Did you really expect such a sedate and inexpensive vehicle to be speedy? Did anyone even care about gas mileage in 1960 when fuel was cheap? I concur about driving 65 MPH: If I go past 62 MPH in my ’64 sedan with it’s 170 engine and 2-speed automatic it begins to get angry. Fastest I’ve ever driven it in 26+ years of ownership was 67/68 mph on I-95 in South Florida. It didn’t like it. That said, I like the humble Falcon enough to look past it’s obvious limits. I don’t drive it up steep inclines unless I have to! That said, I can easily drive my Falcon around town having multiple errands to run. It rides well. The few passengers I have are always surprised it rides as smoothly as it does. I do use radial tires because the original ‘bias-ply’ tires were more expensive.
I don’t associate much with any of them, but there seem to be a few distinct subcultures that get lumped under the “hipster” banner. Some of those subcultures flock to lowered VW products with nonsensical license plates, while others drive rusty Subarus with so many stickers on the window you can’t see out.
And I just noticed Laurence lives on the west coast – any 1960s car as a daily driver is extremely rare in the Northeast. You’ll see Falcons driving to cruise nights, but that’s about it.
But if I go along with the “hipster” archetype described in this article, I will nominate the XJ Jeep Wagoneer. I saw one in a neighborhood associated with this archetype, and I though to myself – this fits right in!
Example.
I always love Laurence’s photography.
Absolutely! And as a fellow Bay Area native and resident, I love trying to guess the locations when possible!
I can’t imagine anyone under 35 wanting a Falcon. They ‘re slow with lousy brakes and iffy handling. AM radio, dome light and cigarette lighter are all of the “electronics” that these cars have. Compared to today’s offerings, these are stylish golfcarts.
I could personally understand someone wanting some of the more sportier ones like a sport coupe. But i’d rather have a Thunderbolt or Fairlane GT/Comet Cyclone GT any day of the week.
Falcons aren’t recommended for people who want ‘goodies’. There aren’t any on my ’64 2-door sedan. I haven’t power steering or power brakes nor is there a radio or cigarette lighter. It is bare-bones motoring. That said, I expect this would be the main reason anyone under 35 would want one: It is very uncommon in this day to own a car with so little in it or on it. Just about everyone has a computerized car with all manner of goodies inside in 2016, but hardly anyone has a car with nothing. Also, my manual brakes are still working just fine.
possible hipster sighting
The popularity of early Falcons seems to be growing unlike the supply here A query on a facebook classic car site for a early Falcon wagon the other nite had me send the phone number of a friend who has a tidy 62 Wagon and his asking price of 10K, saw my friend last Friday asked if he’d had any calls, yep the guy is super keen and coming halfway up the island to view, so that one should be back on the road soon. My neighbour has bought a MK3 Zephyr once he has built a shed for it he’s bringing it home Ive already booked a photo session.
Their simplicity is a major part of their appeal. They are so easy and cheap to repair and maintain. They really aren’t very good cars, but conversely they aren’t really bad cars either. They are honest. They will start and stop reliably, they will cruise at legal freeway speeds and burn more gas than you expected. If you want more from a car, find something else. They are really just transportation cars. Their styling is so simple and unadorned. Sure you could drive an old Civic or Corolla but wheres the irony in that?
Well put, José. Falcons were cheap cars that Ford probably meant to last 5 years. I can’t imagine driving my ’64 2-door sedan in a parade; fancy stuff is meant for Futuras and Sprints. But it does well going to the grocery store! You must have driven a Falcon or two to know even the smaller Falcon engines (mine is the 170 with the 2-speed Ford-O-Matic) don’t get very good gas mileage in relation to its engine size. I know mine doesn’t, but I forgive it! A phrase I would use is “the gas mileage my ’64 Falcon gets was reasonable for its time”. The owners manual says it has a 13-gallon tank. If I got more than 15 MPG on an un-restored 170-CID engine after nearly 52 years I’d be shocked. I suspect the original horsepower listing of 101hp would be more like 85hp now. The simplicity of my ’64 Falcon keeps me interested in the car to this day.
What’s also interesting is how the Falcon got transplanted to other countries and became stalwarts,even icons, there – such as Australia, and Argentina, with local adaptations.
The Argentine Falcon unfortunately got tarnished a bit as the favorite car of the death squad security force in the 1970s.
The Aussie Falcon will be ending its run in the next year or two as Ford Australia halts its local assembly operations in 2016.
My dad HATED the Falcon. It was one of those irrational things. He couldn’t stand the sound of its engine. He was sure they were all going to fall apart.
Funny, that. There are sure a lot of Falcons still running around here in Tucson! Now, if I had had one, I wouldn’t have wanted that base-level engine, and I probably wouldn’t have wanted an automatic, either. But they seemed visually to be rather well put-together cars.
Maybe things have changed, maybe things have stayed the same; keep up with my latest finds here:
https://dynamicdrives.wordpress.com/
I just can`t equate any Falcon with hipster types. They`re like sooooo mainstream, and hipsters hate anything mainstream. They do obscure until obscure goes mainstream, then…….
One of the pleasant surprises since moving back to Northern California almost two years ago is how often I see first-and-second-generation Falcons on the street. Ford may have been #2 in sales to Chevy nationally, but they beat them in California for most of the 1960s, and there are still so many ’60s Fords rolling with black plates.
Meh. I’d rather have something more plush. Give me an Ambassador wagon (Preferably the final ones around the time of the OPEC embargo).
I’m just up the road from you in SE Berkeley, Laurence. And yes, Falcons as well as their competitors at the time are pretty plentiful around here. I’ve never seen a woody wagon, however.
This one dates back to 2004.
Many happy memories of a 62 and 64 Falcon Dad owned in the 60s. A few RHD Falcons were sold here in the 60s, today you’re most likely to see Falcons in classic car racing.
I’m 99% sure the CC effect is working again as I think I’ve seen Bif Naked in a Falcon on the cover of her Purge CD.Make mine a woody please.
Wait, I can get $3,000 for a ’91 240 sedan with rusty rear doors and hood? Everything works, even the AC, but I couldn’t imagine anyone giving me more than maybe $750 for it, which is why I still have it after buying a new car last year.