Any one have a 1960 Falcon?

I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty good price. I haven't seen it yet, but the guy says its in great shape. Lived its whole life in the rust free south east. What are some things I should look out for? Its a 6cyl auto.


Thanks

 

Mine's a 61 Comet but nearly the same car.

Expect rusty front floorpans and rear fender wells. If possible I'd want to get a peek under the carpet even if the bottom of the car looks good. 60's FOMOCO products often rusted from the top of the floorpans even in the South.

 

Yes. I second looking under the carpet (especially on the psgr side under the heater core) and in the rear fender lip area. The engine bay is a bit narrow with the shock towers in there.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

I have a front clip for one for sale if you'll need it. Also a couple of heaters for the same.

Another common rust area is the front air intake area

 

144 automatic, huh? Be sure to allow extra time on any trip involving hills!

 

Speaking of which... Does anyone know of a overdrive automatic that will go with this motor?

This would be my first Ford so I don't know a damn thing about them.

 

Early - "Roundbody" Falcon/Comets share mechanical parts with later year Mustangs, Mavericks, Granada's, Fairmonts and even early 80's Mustangs. The mechanicals are readily available and comparitively affordable.

You can easily "restore" it to it's original meek condition or easily upgrade to later engine, tranny and disc brakes with mostly bolt-on modifications.

The previous mentioned floor board trouble spots are mostly due to the rubber carpets trapping moisture. You should also check the rear frame rails where the spring shackles mount.

For more info than you can humanely absorb, visit :
The Ford Falcon News:
http://tffn.net/phpBB2/index.php?sid=bf3c19f29630e8b24928b4991df83f21

And my favorite, the SIX CYLINDER crazy - fanatic site. Check it out these guys eat, sleep and shit ford six info :

FordSix.Com:
http://fordsix.com/forum/

Powerband :




Don't think that Ford "small" sixes can't get the same respect as V8's. There are many options with more interesting results:

My 61:


Powerband

 

Hey Powerband, whats with the motor. Lets see it.

 

Thanks everyone for the great info! I'll keep you posted. Supposed to go tomorrow morning. If it looks good I'll be bringing it home.

 

Is that thre different carbs with various aircleaners? I would like to see how that works as well. As far as the OD question goes, I am pretty sure Gear Vendors offers a bolt on OD so you would not need to change to any of the pathetic AOD units ford offers.

 

If it is the stock 144, then grab up a maverick more door with a 200 six and an auto(they are usually very cheap). The 200 is a much better motor and will bolt right it.

The maverick will also give you a better rearend, the Falcon has the funky tapering at the ends.

 

Cheap and easy cars to keep on the road. Parts at any parts counter and interchange with most other compact Fords. www.classicinlines.com has all the go fast parts with many more coming in 2007.

 

LaGrasta,

What is that color? I'm liking it.

 

Cool....

post pics if you it!

 

One thing I just found that's different between the Falcon (60) and Comet (61) is a suspension bushing. The shackle bushing where it goes in the frame is larger on the Falcon (~1.4") versus the Comet (1.0"). IIRC, when I bought the suspension parts for the Falcon I bought 65 V8 Mustang parts.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Mike, leave it alone and concentrate on the truck.

Just because you have a bunch of garage space doesn't mean you should fill
it right now.

 

This is a replacement for the Talon. Wanna buy a 92 Talon TSi?

 

Thanks for the comments. Saturn used Sublime Lime for 2004 on the Ion and Vue; didn't sell too many, then discontinued it. I had it sprayed with a matte clear instead of gloss. The roof is silver flaked with a monster/micro combination.

 

lagrasta... looks great. you have a closeup of those wheels? trying to figure out what you've done there.

 

For those who know... What is the rear end ratio on these? And how about the stock 144 HP/TQ ratings?

 

A lot of them had 3.10 gears. Torque? A little less than my cat has when he runs across the yard after a bird.

 

Most have a 3.50 rear except for rare "taxi" models . With the low rear, torquey but low HP 144, the earliest Falcon/Comets were hardly speedsters but were suficient for the travel modes of the time. The lowly 2spd auto and non-synchro 3spd are to be enjoyed as anachronisms of a 45MPH world. Vacuum wipers, AM pushbuttons, steel dashes, deep steering wheels are part of the texture of the early 60's. Drive your nice '60, they ain't makin any more - then deccide what you want to do with it... Powerband

 

Thanks again. This will be just a driver for us. Its going to replace our more modern, but getting old, daily driver. The biggest thing I want to do is see about putting overdrive in it. I don't much mind the low HP. (at lest not yet! )

 

I have to put my vote in for ditching the 144 as well. They are painfully underpowered (85 factory HP) and coupled to a 2-spd auto they are down right painful. I had one in my '62 comet, and more than once I dump trucks and busses passed me on city streets while i was going full throttle.

I swapped in a 200ci, C4 automatic and 8" rear out of a '71 Comet and the difference is night and day. SHe's gone from anemicly underpowered to light and zippy, with enough acceleration to feel pretty quick.

PM me and I'd be more than glad to help give you a rundown of parts needed to do the swap.

 

Look for rust on the front floorpans and meadight bucket panels. The 200 with auto is NOT a drop in into the early falcon..... There are issues....
The folks telling you its a switchout are incorrect
The 60 falcon is a cool little car - maybe the future of rodding ( I'm gonna get it for that comment) I think you should keep the 144. Send it my way if you do a changeout.

 

As borderline as the power issue is with a 144, I really think that the time you would spend on adapting an overdrive to it would be a waste. It takes all it's got to haul itself down the road in direct drive, let alone overdrive. Like a few of the guys have already said, spend your money and effort on a 200 swap, if anything.

 

This site too, just gettting started but is solid to the round body.

http://www.falconearlybirds.com/smf1/index.php

 

Spinners are from www.custombuiltsteelwheels.com. I mounted them on centercaps instead of hubcaps, added bullet lugnuts and 2 1/2 chrome trim rings. All on a flat black steel 14" rim.

 

Well it was too good a deal to pass up, so I got it. All the places you all said to look for rust had NONE on it. I haven't found any yet. (I'm sure I will) Paid $2400 for it. Was told the motor was rebuilt in 97 and hasn't really run much since then. It fires RIGHT up and runs good. Has a drive shaft vibration, but I haven't looked into that yet.

The 144 is in a world all its own! Not sure I've driven something this slow before.

Pix here: http://public.fotki.com/oldcarpilot/1960-ford-falcon/

For those who may know. I have a Mustang II out of an old mustang. It has the 4 lug disk brakes on it right now. Does this bolt up to the Falcon in any way?

 

Wow. That looks great.