The motor and trans were from a 62 Fairlane 221 with 3 speed no overdrive running a 9 inch with 3.56 gears A swap from the Autolite 2100 to a AFB 2800S was worth 4 mpg.
With fresh plugs and wires I'm now getting 22.5 mpg, still not achieving '63 falcon numbers but comfortably cruising at 65mph.
A Canadian gallon? We're metric up here friend, i converted it all to US gallons and miles in an attempt to make sense to y'all. My car is getting 9.565 Km/L Edit: whoops i see that you're up here too. Canadian gallons? what's that aboot, eh?
I don't see why if your doing 50-55 mph that the falcon couldn't pull a 30 mpg pass. Its gutless engine topped out at 65 I think going downhill..... Freeway speed limits here in Texas were 55 for a LONG time....A stock model a banger can get mid 20s in fuel economy... Probably as safe as a falcon anyways but cooler.
I had my 60 Falcon when Kansas speed limit was 70 day 60 night It was adequate at highway speeds 70 mph it was a at 2800 rpm but remember a 144 only had a 2 1/2 stroke.
Amazing how much speculation continues here, even after present and former Falcon owners have already spoken up.
A close friend of mine’s dad bought a new 1960 falcon, two door, 6 cyl, 3 on the tree, 13” wheels, with a radio, heater, and a rubber mat. He was a route salesman for a meat packing plant, making 20-25 stops per day. He kept track of his gas mileage religiously and his little car got 26 mpg. Now we are a rural area and it’s pretty flat terrain around here so I’m sure that helped. Anyway, he got paid mileage from the company and that little car paid for itself in 2 years. He then bought a new 62, and then later a new 64. They all performed pretty much the same.
Mine got 24-25 in the city, and in our copious traffic. The low 30's were steady-state on the freeway, only stopping for fuel. 3.56:1 gears, 13" wheels.
One thing to remember was the lack of traffic in the 60s less slowing down and speeding up there are many roads today you cant use cruise.
I had a 60 four door. Bone stock when I got it except the previous owner had replaced the 144 with 200. Still used the 2.77 three on the tree and 3.10 rear with 6.00 X 13s. It would get a solid 26 if I kept my foot out of it...which wasn't that often.
<<< My 63 with a 170 can keep up on the freeway at 65 - 70 without getting run over by a Prius. The 170 is a little weak and needs a tweak so mileage isn't great, I'm guess 17 - 18, I don't drive it enough that mileage matters.
There was a 62 Meteor wagon for sale near me recently that claimed to have the 177 and 3 on the tree. I thought bout picking it up for a day or two for a daily driver, but ultimately was too slow and it already sold. Devin
It wasn't a Falcon, but around twenty years ago, I had a '64 Pontiac Tempest two door, 215 cubic inch six and a three speed with a 3.08 rear. No options to speak of, other that seat belts and a day/night mirror. I tuned it, rebuilt the carb, jacked up the initial timing setting about 6 degrees over stock, and it got 24.7 mpg on the open road. 19 in town.
Falcons are pretty light but not aerodynamic. I forget the name of the engine efficiency curve. As I understood it from ecomodders.com, the fuel mileage goal would be to keep the engine in the sweet spots of the efficiency curve. For stop-and-go driving that was generally said to be pressing the pedal down and getting to cruising speed fairly quickly because of the fact that gasoline engines are throttled is a significant inefficiency. I never felt like I really understood the engine conditions for freeway cruise speed. You want the engine in a sweet spot, maybe with the engine rotating slower. I'm wondering how the throttle (butterfly/ies) position figures into it. I want to say that it was a given that the efficiency sucked because of throttling. Anyone know? And know how to read the brake specific fuel consumption (I think) curve/chart? I believe the best strategy is reducing aerodynamic drag. And using an electric motor because they're generally much more efficient. And they reduce emissions.
They were economy cars and I knew many that got 30 mpg on steady hyway driving 60-65. Of the 3 US the Falcon was the best.
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