Today's Nice Price or No Dice Falcon is being sold with only a bill of sale, as the seller claims that New Hampshire doesn't issue titles to vehicles over 20 years old. We'll have to evaluate the car's condition and desirability to see if that's going to be too big of a bill.
Over the past half century or so, the automotive landscape has become littered with marques named for their pie-in-the-sky creators. Every wannabe Ford, from Malcolm Bricklin to John Z. Delorean and, most recently and dramatically, Henrik Fisker, has come and gone, leaving behind a clutch of cars and the tortured stories behind their rise and eventual demise. We looked at one such car from a boutique German car builder last Friday: a 1984 Bitter SC. The car was named for company founder Erich Bitter, who lent his name and energies to a pair of car models in the '70s and '80s.
While Erich Bitter aspired to be a motor industry mogul, the seller of our Bitter had aspirations of their own: to sell the car for $45,000. Rare as it is, that was too much for what is, at its heart, a fancy-pants Opel. That was the consensus amongst all of us, at least, as made evident by the 88% 'No Dice' loss the Bitter brought home.
Small but sensible
There have been people who began motor car companies under their own names to great success. The whimsical Soichiro Honda, mercurial Enzo Ferrari, and industry icon Henry Ford are just three who earned lasting fame long after their deaths. Of those, Ford is arguably the most important and influential in the industry. Long after his passing, Henry's frugal sensibilities continued to shape the company. It was that aversion to excess that drove Ford to eschew the paths of its main competitors, Chevrolet and Chrysler, in entering the untested compact car market in the early 1960s. Chevy, of course, chose the radical rear-engined, air-cooled Corvair, while Chrysler debuted the oddly styled Valiant as its smaller offering.
Ford, meanwhile, debuted the Falcon, a scaled-down version of its full-sized Galaxie that made good use of the Ford parts bin. Of the three cars, the Falcon proved the most successful, so much so that Ford used its basic platform for nearly two decades in the succeeding Maverick, the Mustang, and Granada models.
This 1963 Ford Falcon Futura comes from the original model's fourth year of production, which also saw its fourth grille design. It seems automakers had a lot more time on their hands back then. As a convertible with the sporty Futura trim, it would have been one of the more expensive Falcon models when new.
The big six
Though sporty in trim, this Falcon still had a straight six under the hood. Ford didn't offer Falcons with a V8 until halfway through this model year, in the Sprint trim, and those were stopgap models until the Mustang debuted in April of '64.
This car, however, has a bigger 200 cubic inch six under its hood. That's a step up from the standard 144 CID "Mileage Maker" six or even the optional 170 CID motor. The larger engine offers 120 (gross) horsepower, a solid bump from the 170's 101 and even more over the 140's 84 horses. Regardless of displacement, Ford's family of straight-six engines is generally regarded as one of the best, most durable lineups of engines in the world.
On this car, that's paired with a two-speed automatic with a column shifter. According to the ad, the Falcon's engine received significant maintenance in recent years, including a new timing set, cooling components, and a carburetor. Other work done included a new fuel tank, exhaust, and shocks. The tires are also new, with the seller claiming the car currently "Runs and drives awesome."
A mixed bag
There's more new in the looks department too. The paint and convertible top are less than six years old (the car was originally blue), and the cabin has relatively new seats. The paint and top both look solid, which draws more attention to the crusty, rusty front bumper. That sore thumb appears to be the only rust-worn part of the car, as the seller provides plenty of undercarriage photos showing it's intact.
The interior is likewise a bit of tossed salad with mixed-quality ingredients. The passenger door card is water-damaged, and the driver's side is missing entirely. Both doors retain the car's original blue hue, so they're worth redoing. Then there are those modern seats. They're probably much more comfortable than the Falcon's original seats, but they sure look out of place. And what are they from? A more modern Mustang, maybe? Whatever, the front buckets' electric controls probably don't work, so how do you move them into the right position? Also, don't count on that side airbag to save you in an accident!
Better options probably exist. Based on a quick eBay search, it appears that sourcing a used set of Futura seats would be a pricey proposition, so keep that in mind.
Fly like a falcon
Before we consider additional restoration options, we need to decide whether this Falcon is already too pricey to begin with. The seller is asking $9,000 for the car, which, as noted at the outset, will come with a bill of sale, as the seller's state doesn't issue titles for cars this old. How that plays out in other states that do will be left to the buyer, should they be purchasing across state lines, as is often the case with alcohol and fireworks.
What do you think about this Falcon and that $9,000 price tag? Is that a deal for a classic drop-top? Or do this car's quirks put the kibosh on the whole idea?
You decide!
Boston, Massachusetts, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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