60's 4 dr Falcon 6 cyl for family car?

[Faltura]

I have had a 63 Futura 4 door since 1993. It has a 170 2 speed automatic. It is a really good car for general transportation. Its not my primary transportation, but it has been dependable for all these years. Its not a speed demond but it has enough pep for stop and go and does good on the interstate too. I bought a parts car and plenty of parts on hand but have not had do much repair since I got it. My plans were to keep it forever. However, things have changed and a truck is more in line for what I need. I am not sorry I bought it and am not happy about turning it loose.......... I guess these old cars kind of grow on you.

[1972hiboy]

You have a cummins in your expedition?

That was my first thought too. thats pretty sweet.
The Falcon for those years arent bad little cars. The 200 behind a four speed is quite peppy acually. Ive only driven a tired 200 behind a automatic in a stang and it wasnt bad. it was faster than a diesel mercedes from the 80s thats for sure. I like the suggestion about the 64-67 fairlane. Its still in the same size family as the falcon and mustang but does give you a little elbow room. I had a 67 fairlane in high school with a 289, it was amazinly peppy and got high teens mpg consistantly with the automatic. I think its worth considering for you. Parts are very plentiful as well.

[marxtoys]

Someone mentioned a Falcon Futura. Coulda swore I had a pic somewhere but anyway...



Granddad bought one off the dealer lot and I got it a couple decades later. It's about due for another overhaul. and an upgrade or two or three. He didn't get the roof rack, and the dog dish hubcaps got replaced with Magnum 500 wheels from a Granada.



That 4BT would work nice in my '55 GMC 1 ton.

[two-bit]

The Falcons i have seen w/ a six and a slush box were good town cars, but horrible on the Eisenhower system.
My wife had a '64 Fairlane 500 when i met her. 289, Cruise-O-Matic trans, four slammer. Had P.S., P.B., very nice car to drive.
Plenty of room inside. Would get 20-22mpg on the hwy. No problems on acceleration. It is a uni-body design. Larger than the Stang/Falcon format ( I think???). IMHO, that car had character, no cookie cutter crap there. Lots of style. Parts were easy enough to come by. I would get one again in a heartbeat!
I do know the 200 was an option for the Fairlane, not sure about 170.

Safety options were thin. No rear seatbelts. Only belts in the front. Easy enough to change i suppose.
Four drum brakes. I don't mind them, but front discs are nice.

The Rambler 660 was one i always liked. I know of a few owners. YES, parts are a B!$@&!!!

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Two-bit

[Ranchero50]

It's a hard sell for me, I looked under my '64 fairlane 2 door post and there isn't anything there from torquebox to torquebox. Mine suffered a front end whack sometime in it's life and it pushed the pass door 1/4" tighter than it should be. I can see a wrinkle at the base of the door pillar. I can't imagine the 4drs being stronger. They are great looking cars but there isn't any structure under the sheetmetal. The '65 Mustang is years ahead of the '64 fairlane in structure and safety.

I just spent an hour in my 38k mile '68 fairlane fastback, put the first gas in four years in it, paid some cute girls $10 to wash it, did some shopping and put 40 miles on it running around the county running the old '68 tags and other than the seat killing my back after most of the ride it feels like any newer 70's-90's car. 289/C4 and 2.79 gears is pretty gutless but driving granddad style a it's really nice ride, much softer than anything else I own but it handles 'poorly' compared to the newer stuff too. Maybe I should put some newer than '68 shocks under it

Jamie

[NM5K]

I drove a 1960 Falcon 2 door for a long time. It had the mighty 144 six.. Not fast, but
was dependable. One thing about old cars.. Sometimes goofy non engine related things
will break or wear out.. Some can be hard to find.. IE: I remember with my Falcon,
eventually the gear shifter broke off.. All the years of abuse and flexing wore the
thing out, and it broke leaving just a short knub.. But I was still able to shift it..
But anyway, stuff like that can be hard to find at junkyards these days.
Another type I might consider if you like the six banger cars are the old Mavericks,
Comets, etc.. Those are solid cars, and you still see a few here and there.
Most had the 200-250 range sixes in them. Pretty comfy cars, and fairly bulletproof.
Course, those were 70's era cars..