The compact body Ford Falcon doesn’t get much respect in the classic car world, particularly the third generation (1966-1970) which wasn’t available with the big hungry engines that you could find in a Mustang or Fairlane etc. However, today’s Falcon has been given an injection of performance with a 390 cubic inch big block, 4-speed […]
It is funny to think that any non-basket case American V8 powered car from the 1960s you can find for less than $10k is a good deal, but that is way the market goes and she has indeed gone in the past decade or two. Regardless, this next car is an interesting find because it […]
Street/strip cars were a big thing back in the 1980s/1990s. You’d take a cheap 60s muscle car (hah, remember when they were cheap) and shove a big engine under the hood, wide tires out back, skinnys in the front, replace some of the sheet metal with fiberglass and cage it. Modified, but street legal. You’d take it to the drags a few times to get that 10.99 ET and then it would become your Friday night car show car. Car customization is different today and most of those 1/4 mile drag strips have been turned into strip malls or condos (at least in the area of SoCal that was the hot rod capital back in the day), but you can relive the glory days when you had hair on the top of your head and could tuck a shirt into those 32 inch waist Levis without needing a mirror. Find this 1965 Mercury Comet offered for $10,500 in Hillsdale, NY via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
The Ford Falcon was introduced for the 1960 model year in various versions and it was an instant hit. Sales were strong until Ford released the Mustang, which was a Falcon in a prettier body, but before the Mustang was released, if you wanted a fun/compact Ford, you got a Falcon. This next one is a really cool 2-door wagon and is offered with some decent resto-mod upgrades including a 5-speed and 17-inch Torque Thrust D wheels. Find this 1960 Ford Falcon 2-Door Wagon offered for $14,000 in Santa Clara, CA via craigslist.
I’ve driven a vintage 60s sedan with manual drum brakes all the way around and I would have said it was terrifying to drive except that the single-barrel carb equipped inline-6 barely made enough horsepower to get you into mildly excited speeds, much less so to sphincter clenching speeds. But upgrading to dual-power brakes is easy, and swapping to Mustang spindles with disc brakes is a weekend project, and swapping in a mildly tuned V8 is just another few days, and soon you have a Super Sammy. Why do I feel like all of my automotive project planning ends with a car that needs wheelie bars? Anyway, maybe grandma’s car should stay stock. Find this 1965 Ford Falcon offered for $6,500 in Ft Lauderdale, FL via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
If you see this next car and get a primordial tingling of deja vu…you might be right, because we’ve featured this car before…and not just another Falcon Caribbean kit car, but this exact Falcon Caribbean was featured in a “what am I?” post in 2014. It is, unfortunately, still in the same semi-finished state as before and the Ford Anglia chassis (probably not the Austin 7 as specified by the seller) is not entirely sorted under the fiberglass body. Get it for cheap, store it, don’t actually do anything to it, and then sell for the same price a few years later. Sounds like a recipe for success. Find this 1959 Falcon Caribbean offered for $7800 via facebag monsterbook.
This next car is one of those hidden secrets of the classic car market that I am somewhat reluctant to share with the world. The problem is that if I say something is a good deal and a few people share this thought with their friends and they share with additional people, and soon, thousands of like minded people are looking to “score a deal” on something like a ’65 Falcon. Regrettably, the market gets enough attention that it is no longer a good deal. Because, while first generation Ford Mustang prices are high, the Falcon (which shares most of its hard parts with the Mustang) continues to be a reasonably priced alternative, at least for now. Find this 1965 Ford Falcon offered for $13,000 in San Jose, CA via craigslist.
This next car comes from all the way around on the other side of the globe in a little place called Australia. Actually…it isn’t little at all. It is roughly the size of mainland USA from Los Angeles to Cleveland, but with the population of Texas. The result is a population density that is only beaten by Mongolia and Namibia if you are looking for places with wide open spaces. However, the people in Australia are car crazy and love horsepower and rear-drive beasts even if they no longer produce automobiles in their own factories thanks to Ford and GM. (Enjoy this tribute the the Australian car industry rock video from Grindhouse…but be warned you’ll see a lot of fat/hairy shirtless dudes past that click. Don’t say I didn’t warn you in the comments). Enjoy this tribute to the old days of Holden and Ford with a turbocharged inline-6. Find this 2005 Ford Falcon XR6T Ute offered for $7500 AUD ($5329 USD) in York, Western Australia via gumtree.
Car lovers sink all sorts of money into Friday car club cars…these are the cars that won’t make headlines at your next Barrett-Jackson auction, but they do offer a significant bang-for-your-buck if you are willing to live with custom flames on your fenders, air bags, and chrome side pipes. Not that any of those things […]
I’m gonna put my flame suit on and say the following: the V8 and 4-speed is overrated. Every other classic ’60s American car that I see running around car shows is powered by a thumping V8 and many have the lauded 4-speed manual. Oooohh…ahhh…pssshaa, meh! Those hot rod upgraded powertrain combos are great if you […]