Ford Falcon guys: need your input on buying project

My 170 and two speed auto will win no races and ****s *** because it turns three grand at 55 but it does fine in light to light traffic. Only thing that may piss people off about mine is the puff of smoke it puts out now and then but if they want to ***** about that all of those smoking dodge caravans that are no where near as old as my car have to fix there **** first. LOL

 

What kind of gas mileage do you get from your car? My daily driver gets 15mpg so I'm hoping to drive the falcon a few days a week when the weather is nice.

 

Get that 63.. there harder to find, and most sought after.

 

I have not really checked but to guess I would say 20 to 25 MPG. Pretty good IMO. Hell, my 2005 Mazda only gets 25 and its a four banger.

 

You guys are doing something wrong, i had a '63 falcon futura i scored from a buddy who had just gotten the 170 motor rebuilt and it had the stock 2 speed trans and i drove the piss out of it daily for about 2 years. always kept the car tuned up and maintained and that bad boy coulda keep up just fine with daily traffic on los angeles freeways. and their is some one making an adapter for a t-5 trans. try looking around on the tffn.net website. its an all falcon messageboard.

 

How many RPMs did you turn on the interstate at 55 and 65? I would like to know if my car has funny gearing in the rearend or something. Thought about trying some bigger rear tires as I dont need fast but being able to drive it 30 miles each way to work on the freeway at 65 would be ideal.

 

I consider my self a Falcon nut...President of a FCA Chapter, if you find me a nice 60-63 falcon fixed up nice for 1500 call me, I sell my stuff a hell of a lot higher than that! falconwagon62 on evil bay is my ID...... my web site is www.ovcfca.com my guys would DISAGREE what you are saying a Nice Falcon is worth.....Just sold my 63 2 door wagon, 200 2 speed auto, needing it all, but did run and drive just fine...3500...we have a few in the 20-30K range....

John

 

Ya, falcon's are great cars. The first car I bought was a '61 4dr and 2 weeks ago I go an absolutely amazing deal on a '62 2dr Futura for $500. Its is setup for a 302(no motor/******) has disc brakes, lowered 3", custom offset steel wheels, KYB road race shocks, rebuilt suspension, new exhaust, sub-frame connectors, etc. And its black to boot!

 

Just scored this 60 Ranchero for $200. Came with all kinds of engine rebuild parts. clutch parts, and new shocks in the front seat. I had to shake some bushes for this one... but it's better than the 63 Rancher daily I have now. There are some deals out there yet!!

 

Go for it, you will get a lot of looks and you can do what some of the other guys are talking about by using the other 6 cylinders that are out there.

 

If you really want it do it but i think the prices are a bit high.
They go cheap. my cousin sold a 60, 4 door Cheap for $50 it was mechanically good and would have ran with a little work. The interior was good except for the seats but the body was really rough. banged up some, door bottoms gone, front edge of hood rusted off and most trim had fallen off. I would have ask $100 for it since the interior was so good.

 

I'm sure the prices seem high to a lot of you guys and I agree the price of the 61 is a little high, but here in Michigan you can't find a decent car that doesn't require **** loads of rust repair for cheap. Sure theres the occasional deal where someones grandma kept it in her garage since 1970 but let's be honest most of these cars are not coveted enough that most people would not take good care of them. They were like the ford focus of that time and most of them were probably left outside to rot.

Like I said the 61' seems high but it has really nice interior, freshened engine, good fenders, hood, gl***, trim, and not that I'm into this too much but it comes with a pretty kick*** stereo system that she paid about $500 for last year right before it got rearended.

 

I've now put nearly 30,000 mile on my 20+mpg 63 hardtop. I installed a different rear end and taller tires (a**** other things) to help highway RPM. I don't hold up traffic for no one. It will run just fine with all of them topping out at about 100mph.
It's a '63 — cheap to register, cheap to insure, cheap to drive, no smog checks, and is appreciating unlike any new car. What's not to love?

 

I'm just curious if this applies or not. It sounds like you want us to tell you "no more projects!". If the 49 is not going to get done, then you should sell it.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Kurt,

I'm not trying to have you guys tell me that. The point of this thread was to see if this deal was worth while and to learn the differences between the 61 and 63 and the different drivetrain options. I'll never sell my 49'. In fact I'm working on it right now.

 

I have heard all kinds off stories about people buying this car and that car for $100 and $50 bucks ,but what can you honestly buy now days for that much?I had people tell me in the past that i am a dumb*** for spending that much for this car and that much for parts and how they used to have one even better for $200 .I have bought old cars for less than a grand yes ,but by the time i had it to what i would call roadworthy and safe ,i spent 3 times that much.You get what you pay for plan and simple.I have spent a **** load (to me) on my Ranchero ,but it hauls *** and is dependable and cool.If you want those falcons then but them if you dont want them then dont buy them.If you are worried about getting screwed than bring someone with you to look at them who knows cars...

 

I'm not worried about getting screwed. The 61' is my buddies girls car and the 63' is my cousins. If there are any hidden things I know where to find them.

 

Like this:



250 w/ T-5 in a 66. Hood clearance is a problem though. A 200 is the easiest way to go cause it's a direct bolt-in and you can get a bit more power out it with hi-perf parts from cl***icinline.com

 

Very nice set-up! Where do you get the stuff for that, cl***icinline.com?

Does having a 200 head on the 170 bottom do anything for performace?

Also how did you go about doing the T-5 conversion?

 

Thanks! ya, www.cl***icinlines.com ( i forgot 's' at the end )

You have to mill the **** out of a 200/250 head to retain the compression ratio on a 170, but it can be done - no problem. edit: performance is minor unless you opt for a modern head such as 1980 Fairmont or Zepher that has a larger intake chamber, valves and carb throat; that with a 2 bbl adapted or larger 1 bbl additional performance can be had.

Another plus is that the 200 has 7 mains versus 5 for the 170. The 250 shares the same bell housing as a SBF, so the T-5 was practically a bolt-in on my 66; Modern Drivelines carry conversion kits for 200, 170 & 144s into any Falcon.

Good luck,