Projects 1962 Falcon Futura - Should she stay, or should she go?

Hi Guys-

I am looking for some much needed advice:

I have a 1962 Ford Falcon Futura with a 144 straight-6 with a 2-speed Ford-O-Matic. She has been my daily driver (4 miles round-trip to the office) for over a year now and I love her dearly!

My dilemma:

I have about $1500 into her for various repairs so far-
New battery
New alternator
New drum brakes
Multiple electrical gremlins
And now she's at my buddy's shop again because the starter just took a crap.

On top of this, she has the original 144ci engine (I really would love for her to have some muscle) and the rebuilt tranny is on its way out.

My question:

Do I sell her and try and find another 62-64 Falcon that has a beefier set up? Or do I spend the money and have my buddy soup up the 144 or drop a 289 in her? He thinks it will cost about $2500 to do either one.

I bought her as a daily driver/project car that I could learn to wrench on, but that hasn't really happened so far. (She's been lowered and without having a lift, I haven't really had the guts to do much to her myself). But I do have a friend who is willing to work on her for fairly cheap...

So what do you guys think? Should she stay or should she go?

I appreciate any and all advice at this point. Thanks in advance!

Hopefully you can see from the photos that she's pretty clean. Very little rust and pretty good interior. I add can some under the hood pics once I get her back from the shop.

 

Looks like a pretty nice car,if you like it go ahead and spend the money to make it better.

There is a good possibility if you sold it you couldn't replace it for the same amount of money. HRP

 

That's a really nice car. I would certainly spend the money to keep it running for myself. It will be really hard to replace.

 

Thanks, HRP -

I am pretty attached to her... If i keep her, should I have the 144 souped-up or put a 289 in her? I'm thinking if I'm going to drop that kind of cash, I should do her up right. (But I am a total amature at this classic car thing).

 

Look at it this way: It has cost you about $125 a month to get back and forth to work, plus whatever cruising and other driving you have done with the Falcon. That's a trivial amount of money for transportation, in my opinion.

The car is probably still worth what you paid for it, and maybe even a little more.

If you had bought a new (or newer) econobox, the depreciation would have been more than what you have spent on the Falcon.

On the other hand, it sounds like you really aren't into working on old cars, as lack of a lift is a pretty feeble excuse. If that's true, maybe you need a different hobby, or at least come to grips with the fact that driving an old car requires a maintenance budget in the same order of magnitude as payments on a new car.

There is no free lunch.

 

I agree with HRP!

 

Bette: is there a vocational/trade school in your area? There might be courses you can take on automotive repair. One step at a time. I had a '62 Falcon back in the day, fairly easy to repair. I vote on keeping the Falcon and make whatever enhancements you want on your own schedule.

 

I vote for selling it and just spend the money on an already done 63 1/2 Sprint. You can find them reasonably priced and would be already updated, You asked for it, . (one like this, Easy search found this one.) http://www.autotraderclassics.com/c...69DB04601C8AE4E634CA95F?conversationId=153861

 

I agree that you will have a difficult time selling yours for what you have into it. plus, will cost more to get car with more of what you want. but, if you locate one that already has the V8, etc that you want ,if it is done properly, will save you a lot of grief. then maybe you will get an interest in doing some stuff by yourself. have your buddy check out whatever is is that you might buy. be sure to place a For Sale ad here, check other For Sale ads here and place a Wanted Ad here.

 

Swap in a later 200/250 six with a C3 or C4 behind it (or go whole hog and do a T5 conversion). Way more zip than what you have now, cheaper/easier than a V8 conversion. The wiring on those is super-simple, get a diagram and spend some time tracing. Great entry-level car, yours looks pretty nice, like was said you'll be hard-pressed to replace it.

 

You asked so I will tell you. Finding a straight little car that original for that kind of cash is hard to do. I say keep it.

I am old enough now to have seen dozens of people ruin their cars by screwing with them too much. Some cars are meant to be hot rodded and some should just be cleaned up and run as is. Rebuild the factory drivetrain as cost effectively as you can and fix a few things and let it ride.

I promise you, the more you screw with that car, the more disappointed you'll be with it in the long run. Find something else to hot rod later.

The quirky-ness is what makes that car cool. Some RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses, a pair of Converse All-Stars and a confident grin are all you need to load the chick's in that thing.

 

I appreciate the straight talk, guys!

And yes, not having a lift IS a pretty feeble excuse. Ha!

I have been looking around and have found a few Falcons with what I want and for much less than $21k - like this '62 (I don't like the red and I think she would look better lowered.) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1962-ford-falcon.959878/ (btw, I really don't like the body style of the Sprint - I really dig the '62 round body and the '64 straight body has been growing on me...)

And thanks for pointing out the $125/mo car payment - she's a screamin deal if I look at it that way.

 

drop a 302 in her and roll with it.

 

If it was mine, I'd go this route.. then upgrade the brakes and do a 5 lug swap at the same time. A Maverick rear end works well if you swap the gears to something like 3.25.

 

Thanks Fordor Ron - but this chick is the only one that needs to be loaded in this thing!
(That's my husband in the first 2 photos and my 13 year old son in the other. )

 

Don't waste your time or money hopping up that feeble 144, swap in a bigger 6 or a V8. Little to no return on your $2500, forget the 144.

$1500 in repairs to keep a car that's over 50 years old in good running order is nothing, especially if you're paying someone else to do the labor. Most of the things listed are common wear items that need periodic replacement or attention, quite often neglected for too long so they seem to hit you pretty much all at once.

Keep it.

 

Go with @Crazy Steve and get a later six. People take them out of Mustangs all the time, so finding one shouldn't be too difficult. It's a sweet little car. I'm looking for one like that myself.

 

Keep that car, learn as you go, keep a cell phone and a AAA card and you can survive any daily driver disaster. You like the car, your commute is short, it's a no brainer. When you have your buddy work on it, be there, look over his shoulder, and ask questions.

 

Keep it... Up grade to a newer 200 in 6 cyl engine, (direct bolt in) maybe a little warmed over...
up grade to 65 "V8" steering.... and enjoy the ride...

LW

 

I drive a lightly tweaked 144, backed by a T5.

I would not have it any other way for a daily driver.

If you try to run a 250, you won't be able to close the hood, after you did all the work to move the radiator forward to clear the water pump.

If you really want more power, find someone who just took a 200 out of a mid-60's Mustang, toss a 1980-on 200/250 head, milled 0.070", and you will have a peppy daily driver, that bolts on and in, for small money.

 

The 144 can make 40 extra hp with two bolt-ons, and get 32-mpg.

 

Dizzy and ???????
LW

 

Weber 32/36.

My '60 does 75, easily, with the T5. It will about do that in 4th (1:1), but it is a little noisy.

 

You can get the carb, used, from a VW shop, cheap.

The distributor (and module, Duraspark II), at your local U-Pull-It yard, and then have it machined to fit the 144, cheap.

 

Either way, I think some safety issues should be addressed.

 

Sell yours and buy this one and you will only have to come up with 20 grand.

 

Trade it to me for my jeep and then at least one of us will be happy.

I would not personally throw money at the 144, if I decided to stay with the 6 I would look for a good running 200 backed by a 3 or 4 speed. I had a stock 200 inch 6 and a 3 speed in an econoline for a while and was very happy with it for getting around in. I was actually impressed with how the 200 ran and what it would haul and I am not easily impressed.

otherwise 2500 to drop a 289 in I would be all over that even a stock SBF made one of those little cars scoot right along and as I recall the original V-8 for them was a 260.
Anyway keep it or I'll work a trade with you if you just want something different.

 

Keep the car. Then do the big 6-all the umph you need, better trans, and stays close to KISS principle.

 

KISS principle?

 

Doh! I just looked it up on Wikipedia - Great advice - just never heard the acronym before. Thanks!