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1960's Ford Falcons

133 messages,  Last post on Feb 05, 2008 at 7:50 AM

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#10 of 133 My buddy had one... by andys120 Jul 16, 2002 (8:56 am)
It wasn't too gutless with a three speed. Very bare bones, I don't remember a Detroiter with less stuff on it...AM radio was the only option on this car! Very rugged, a kind of American Volvo (at a time when Volvo imported few wagons).   I rember it fondly, it was our Surf Wagon, it swallowed a big Hobie board w ease (they were bigger then).
#11 of 133 One other memory... by carnut4 Jul 16, 2002 (12:01 pm)
Yeah I sure do remember chicken delight Isell. Was that just a southern California company? Anyway, one time I was putting away the Falcon wagon after a day of delivery as a mailmen. I happened to look under the seat, and there were a bunch [maybe a hundred or more] of old letters picked up by some previous carrier who forgot to turn them in so they could be mailed. You know when the mailman comes, you put up your flag, and put some letters in your box for him to take as well? Also, sometimes on the route, the carrier will empty smaller deposit boxes along the route to take back. That's why ever since, I NEVER leave mail in the box-or, any other deposit box on the street. I ALWAYS take it down to the post office and mail it. Heck, I even found some old forgotten parcels in one of those Falcon wagons once. Good thing that wasn't forgotten, un-delivered chicken under the seat eh?!
#12 of 133 carnut4 by ghulet Jul 17, 2002 (12:45 pm)
...yet another example of 'our government at work', LOL? I live in Chicago, the phrase 'lost in the mail' should actually be a legitimized excuse for as often as it actually occurs here.
#13 of 133 Where I come from Chicken Delight delivered via VW Beetle by andys120 Jul 17, 2002 (1:30 pm)
Each was painted yellow and sported a huge chicken head on the roof. Quite a sight to be sure.
#14 of 133 I had a '60 Sedan... by bolivar Jul 17, 2002 (9:49 pm)
...as a first car. It really wasn't much of a car. The turn signal lever resided on the floorboards. You had to pick it up and poke it back in if you wanted to signal your intentions. Maybe that's why I still don't signal my turns much.   At that time I barely knew to put gas in it. I did think that after driving it and getting it hot in Oklahoma's summer, that red OIL light coming on at idle didn't seem to be a good thing.   I traded it on a 64 Impala, from a lot run on the side by a couple of my co-workers. One of them later asked me about the OIL light.... I said it always went off when I drove it. They put crank bearings in it and sold it.   I've got a nephew that got a hair about a Falcon a while back. He tried to drive it to some Falcon gathering in Denver. It turned a bearing......   So, from my history the bottom end of that 6 cylinder is weak....
#15 of 133 They went to 7 main bearings in 62 by carnut4 Jul 18, 2002 (12:08 am)
so, the Falcon sixes after that were much, much better. Especially the later 200 inch version. Made a huge difference on the highway in smoothness.
#16 of 133 by speedshift Jul 18, 2002 (11:16 am)
The 200 is the first seven bearing engine and that came in 1965 IIRC. That's why the "1964 1/2" Mustang six is the 170.   I have to say that the 144 in my Falcon soldiered on for quite a while. I don't know how many miles it had on it but it was over 100k and it was a hard 100k--85 horsepower trying to drag all that weight around and 3.89 gears so it was screaming on the freeway.   I sold it to a friend and immediately the steering wheel came off while she was driving it. A few months later it blew a head gasket and that was the end.
#17 of 133 Speedshift-That;s what I thought by carnut4 Jul 18, 2002 (11:37 am)
I looked in "Standard Catalog of American Cars-1946-1975" and they talk about 1962 Falcon engines as having seven main bearings. This may be an error, since I've seen a few other minor mistakes in there about other cars. I remember my Dad's 69 Mustang with the 7main 200 six, and it was way smooth on the highway for a small six. So, is the book wrong? I was surprised that it said the 144 and 170 went to seven mains in 62. But, the 200 is really the same engine, with a bigger bore and stroke, so I figured it was possible. Anyway, what's the accurate info source?
#18 of 133 One more memory by carnut4 Jul 18, 2002 (11:48 am)
Back in 1968, my sister's college boyfriend [now her husband of many years] had a 60 Comet, which was basically a Falcon with those funky rear fins. Anyway, all the hardware was the same. It had a 170 and 3-speed. One day she was driving it, and the gearshift lever came right out as she was shifting into second. Had to be towed. That was fun. After that, he got a 61 Rambler American with the flathead six that also left her stranded one day. Seemed like he always had a bunch of marginal little heaps in those days.
#19 of 133 by speedshift Jul 18, 2002 (1:38 pm)
The best source is a factory shop manual but since I don't have one I'll have to rely on that other infallible source, my memory .   I also consulted Fix Your Ford, 1969 edition (sounds like a play on the old joke Fix Or Repair Daily) and the basic idea is that the 144 lasted from 1960-65, the 170 from 1961-67(?) (I'm at the office doing this from memory) and the 200 from 1965-up. However my recollection is that the 144 was dropped when the 200 came out so I don't think there was any overlap in '65.   For some reason this reminds me that the 153 four was standard in the Nova through around 1968. That must have been a sweet combination .   Yes, it's all the same family from the 144 to the 250 and IIRC they all had the same 3.5" bore--the block was a seriously thinwall casting that couldn't be opened up much. The 250 had a real "long arm" as they used to say, but the upside to that is that the block is very light for its displacement.   When I had the Falcon I hungered for a 200 and the fully synchronized three speed that bolted to it so I did a fair amount of research into those engines then. I probably would have traded my grandmother for a 250.

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