For Sale: 1962 Ford Falcon Futura 2dr Coupe, 170 6cyl. 4-Speed manual - $8,500 - Corbett, OR - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1962 Ford Falcon Futura 2dr Coupe, 170 6cyl. 4-Speed manual - $8,500 - Corbett, OR

1962 ford falcon for sale by owner - Troutdale, OR - craigslist
Seller's Description:

1962 Ford Falcon Futura 2 Door - 170 Inline 6 - Runs great - 4 Speed manual - Electric choke - 99% rust free - Great interior w/lap belts - newer headliner - Many extra parts included - Clean WA Title.  

Please email with contact info.
Contact: No phone listed. 
Copy and paste in your email: 05af3c90cbb631fa931ce081d0a71d89@sale.craigslist.org

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1962 Ford Falcon Futura 2dr Coupe, 170 6cyl. 4-Speed manual.

[rocketraider]

I like Falcons but this one troubles me with that four-speed. I know it was available with either six or V8 for 1963 but I can't find a reference for its availability in 1962. It looks like a factory Ford shifter, but natcherly no pic of the shifter side of the steering column.

 

Those redlines don't do a thing for it.

[George Smolinski]

2 hours ago, rocketraider said:

I like Falcons but this one troubles me with that four-speed. I know it was available with either six or V8 for 1963 but I can't find a reference for its availability in 1962. It looks like a factory Ford shifter, but natcherly no pic of the shifter side of the steering column.

 

Those redlines don't do a thing for it.

[Reynard]

Might be a fun little driver, but the street racers at the stoplight wouldn't stop laughing unless they were driving MG's or stock Henry J's. Put the stock steering wheel back on along with factory wheel covers and tires and be happy with what you have.

 

 

[m-mman]

4 hours ago, rocketraider said:

 

I like Falcons but this one troubles me with that four-speed. I know it was available with either six or V8 for 1963 but I can't find a reference for its availability in 1962.

 

Mid year release on the sports Futura only. 
From the 1962 data book.  

[JohnS25]

Without looking at it person it seems like a decent car. There isn’t much out there for under 10g that isn’t just junk. I like it and think it would make a fun economy cruise night car. After a steering wheel change. 😉

[Fossil]

Sweet little car. For around town driving 3 gears is enough shifting. No joy in shifting more than that in stop and go traffic. 

 

[m-mman]

52 minutes ago, Fossil said:

Sweet little car. For around town driving 3 gears is enough shifting. No joy in shifting more than that in stop and go traffic

A four speed transmission behind a Falcon six served two different buyers.  

First of course it was the sporty transmission for people who actually LIKE to shift gears.

 my daily driver is a 2013 Nissan Versa with a 5 speed. I was thrilled to find it in 2021 and I really enjoy driving it.  I get very bored when driving something with an automatic.  Traffic or not. I like to shift.  🤓

 

While not available in the other body styles until 1963, the 4 speed manual made the Falcon a worthy contender to those buyers who are looking at an imported car.

 Renault, Volkswagen, British cars. (no Japanese yet in 1963) would all have a 4 speed and not even offer an automatic. 

 

Now these imports required 4 ratios because their 4 cylinders were devoid of torque.  Their torque and horsepower were maximized in a very narrow RPM. The ratio divide between 2 & 3 in a 3 speed was too great and going up hills with just three choices you would have to choose between over reving and lugging, hence 4 ratios. 

The 144-200 Ford six did have the torque to climb all but the steepest hills in third and if not, second wouldn’t have the engine screaming.  

 

Now buyers wouldn’t likely understand all this but the imports advertised that they were better because they used a 4 speed transmission. And Falcon was happy to make it available.  (It could also compete with Corvair) 
 

Years ago I had a 63 Falcon Futura 4 door, factory 6 with 4 speed and a bench seat.  Dark blue, blue interior, nothing sporty about it. I couldn’t understand why it was equipped that way until I realized what it was meant to compete against. 

[supercub]

I believe my father may have had this similar car when I was a kid. I think it was green or blue. I remember the seats and the center console. It must have been a stick because he loved the car and always talked it up, and he hated automatics. Not being mechanically inclined, I believe he had to sell it due to a major breakdown and he brought a new VW bug to replace it.
Looks like a fun car. I like the seats. Its a little sporty but yet still a classic. The steering wheel would be fine for me as long as it has power steering. 

[58L-Y8]

m-mman:

 

Thanks for the documentation that the 4-speed was optionally available for 1962.  My late brother, a loyal Ford man, got a 1963 260 V8, 4-speed from a wrecked 1963 Mercury Comet S-22 convertible, put it in a 1961 Ford Falcon Futura 2-door coupe for this first car.  He always referred to that transmission as a 'Dagenham 4-speed' which apparently Ford sourced from their Ford of England operations.  

 

About this Falcon, an observation, searching Craigslists over the last few years, this is one of the extremely few early 1960's Falcons that seemed good enough in condition and price to re-post it here.  Almost universally, Falcons advertised are in rough condition and badly overpriced for what they are.  Conversely, its easy almost on a daily basis to find Corvairs in good condition and reasonably priced.  Beyond those, early 1960's Comets, Meteors, Valiants, Tempest/Lemans and Special/Skylarks appear with regularity at realistic prices for their condition.  Even decent Lancers and F-85/Cutlass pop-up occasionally.  My conclusion is for those who appreciate early 1960's compacts and intermediates best forget about Falcons for the most part, concentrate on the less popular makes for a reasonably-priced buy they can enjoy.... without mortgaging the house.

 

Steve

[m-mman]

Further Falcon Facts:

 

Not mentioned is the reason Ford released the Futura Sports variation.  It was to compete with the 1961 Corvair Monza. (Sporty with bucket seats). 
From the 1920s Americans have wanted big comfortable sedan cars. Tiny economical cars (Bantam, Austin, Crosley never gained any traction). Our roads were wide, our turns were wide and our distances were long.  (Unlike Europe where they made a small size Rolls-Royce to maneuver around the city). We also like the ability to have 3 people in the front seat. 
It’s, 1960 small imports are seeing increased sales. Probably as a reaction to the behemoths of the 1950s that are difficult to maneuver around a parking lot.

 

 BUT is it just the small economy size that is attracting buyers? European cars come standard with buckets and floor shifters because with those small dimensions you can’t sit 3 across and it is much easier to put the shifter control next to the transmission than on the column. 
So the focus of the original 1960 compacts was to mimic a large sedan in a small package.  Bench seats, dashboard shifting preferred. 
Then GM introduced the Monza and added a sports image to an economy car. And it sold really well!!   
So Ford had to make the Falcon sporty too. 
 

There are TWO different 4 speed transmissions. One for the V8 and one for the six. The V8 used the strong American built BW T10.  It could take the torque and the abuse. 
The six cylinder Falcons did use the (light duty) gearbox brought over from the plant in Dagenham England.  They were great behind a four cylinder British engine that was shifted for economy.  But sell them in America as a “racing” transmission where kids might put them behind a V8 and they earned a reputation as weak and difficult to get parts.
 
It should be remembered that the Falcon 3 speed was no heavy duty transmission and it failed with frequency when driven hard but people accepted this because it wasn’t a racing setup. 
 

Condition of Falcons in the 21st century.  Are there lots of junky Falcons? You bet!  They are 65 years old and many, many are STILL being used as daily beaters in California.  (Not collector cars, but transportation to get people to work and shopping). Falcons have proven themselves to be the modern Model T.  They last, they are incredibly easy to repair. Parts are cheap and easy to get and most importantly their styling is timeless. 
 

Corvairs cannot be repaired like any other car. For decades they leaked oil and of course they are “unsafe at any speed”. Who (besides an enthusiast) would drive one? But maybe they are valuable so in 1975 when you have given up on your Corvair instead of scraping it, you put it in the backyard.  And now it exists in the 21st century and it is in decent condition.  
 

The Valiants and Lancers have a (slant six) drive train that just won’t quit, and parts are available but OMG that styling!! Come 1975-1980 they are just freakish.  It looks out of place wherever you go.  That push button transmission is also just strange and annoying.  SO, when your Valiant breaks you either junk it or if you like it, (maybe it’s still a good car?) you push it in the garage and hide it behind a door.  
 

So now it’s 2024 and the EXISTING Corvairs and Valiants have been sitting and are in decent surviving condition. The Falcons however have been continually in service continuously repaired and STILL performing their intended duties.  

Prices in 2024?  Well they are all classics so asking prices can be anything. But with Falcons you are going to have competition from buyers who still want transportation and junky or not (they are not collectors) they will pay more.  

Corvairs (survival that exceeds demand) GM compacts that no one wants to fix (transaxles, aluminum blocks, small Dynaflows, V6) Mopars that still look strange (but people have come to like this) and you have vehicles that are only useful for a hobby. 

[58L-Y8]

1 hour ago, m-mman said:

"Condition of Falcons in the 21st century.  Are there lots of junky Falcons? You bet!  They are 65 years old and many, many are STILL being used as daily beaters in California.  (Not collector cars, but transportation to get people to work and shopping). Falcons have proven themselves to be the modern Model T.  They last, they are incredibly easy to repair. Parts are cheap and easy to get and most importantly their styling is timeless. "
 

"... The Falcons however have been continually in service continuously repaired and STILL performing their intended duties."  

"Prices in 2024?  Well they are all classics so asking prices can be anything. But with Falcons you are going to have competition from buyers who still want transportation and junky or not (they are not collectors) they will pay more."

Thanks m-mman, that situation with 1960's Falcons still in daily transportation usage currently is definitely a West Coast phenomenon.  Here in the Northeast, the rust dissolved Falcons before our very eyes as well as most other cars.  It was rare by the early 1980's to find a Falcon in any condition anywhere unless it was the proverbial old lady sedan.  Mavericks had pretty much taken their place by then.   

 

In the period of 1970's inflation where folks were looking for hard assets to store their money with hopes of later profits, three very different cars got saved in pursuit of that goal: any Edsel, most Corvair especially two door and convertible and the Lincoln Continental four door convertible.  It didn't matter how rundown, rusty any of these cars were, someone was buying them up in hopes of cashing-in at a later date...which never came.

Edited July 28 by 58L-Y8
syntax corrected (see edit history)

[m-mman]

In California we don’t have rust but we have Smog Checks.  

The laws change but in 1982 I had to get a sniffer smog test on my 1966 Fairlane (200 3 speed) The air pump had to be in place on this 16 year old car! Eventually they set it to 20 year old test exemption and finally today all cars 1976 and newer get tested every other year.

 1975-1976 Cadillac convertible? Guess which one you would never want in California? 

About 1963(?) California required plugging the road draft tube and installing a PCV system on all cars.

 

  In the 70s they disconnected the vacuum advance on all cars. 

So the early Falcons were all exempt from this smog test hassle and made for good transportation.
Corvairs had difficulty passing their tests and didn’t like going without the vacuum advance. 

Good transportation that is smog exempt.  The reason Falcons stayed on the road.  

Mavericks were good cars but they required smog testing so they have disappeared. Getting that 200 six to pass smog when new was difficult for Ford and when they aged and the vacuum lines and components became brittle and parts were obsolete, passing the test became impossible.
 
FYI the unavailability of parts is not an exception to California smog testing.  No rust, we have laws that remove old cars from the road. 

 

[JACK M]

On 7/28/2024 at 11:23 AM, m-mman said:

Mavericks were good cars but they required smog testing so they have disappeared. Getting that 200 six to pass smog when new was difficult for Ford and when they aged and the vacuum lines and components became brittle and parts were obsolete, passing the test became impossible.

I had a Mustang convertible with a 200 six and a three speed.

I drove it almost 200,000 miles and the poor old thing was falling apart.

I was in my early twenties and didn't have much, but the Mustang was done.

I found a free 53 Chrysler Windsor, other than water in the oil it was in great shape.

I know, sacrilege. But I did it anyway. (rings and bearings) The tranny didn't last long so I got one out of a Maverick that was a much heavier transmission. Still a three speed.

The Chrystang went another hundred thousand until I traded it off. 

Last I saw of it was some college student was heading home to Utah from here in Oregon.

I often wonder what ever became of it. I suppose some wrecking yard owner got a good laugh.