Nothing finer than pulling a silk purse out of a sow's ear, as the saying goes. Earlier this morning, I headed to Dolton, IL to look at a '61 Studebaker Lark. Knew that I was heading into the 'hood, so I brought my wife (raised in Cabrini, she can handle herself right fine, thank you) for backup. After an hour and a half drive, I called him for confirm of location. Told me he was waiting at the storage lot I'd just passed. OK, I was right there. Pulled in, and he entered the code and I followed him in. Wife never said a word, but turns out she was terrified right there. Me, I'm too trusting. ANYway, he pulls up to a locker, and gets out. One BIG brother he was. And out the passenger door, one more big brother. Now I ain't prejudiced at all, but I did give a bit of pause right there. See, I'm white, farm-raised, and carrying about 3 grand in cash. And with all that, he was a straight up car guy who'd bought the Studie for a project and ran into financial difficulties. Sadly, the Lark was more than I wanted to tackle, especially seeing as I had NO car, my SDV having died on Monday last. So. Found a McDonalds and had a second breakfast whilst I reviewed a few Craigslist ads I'd luckily brought along. Introduced my lovely wife to a McGriddle, also known as breakfast crack. Because once you have one, you will crave another. She ordered one, then went back for another! I warned her... Looking through what I'd brought, the most promising was also a '61, but a Falcon more-door this time. Pics looked good, the only catch was the thing was in Mendota, which is a 2 hour drive from where we were. 2 hrs at 80 mph, that is. So I called, talked to Alex, who gave a promising picture of a likeable car. So, off we went. No need to describe the trip, except to say we went from wondering if we'd survive, to wondering where the Hell we were!! Thankfully my intelligent wife thought to bring the GPS. Finally arrived at the farm where said Falcon resided. Alex showed up moments later. Turns out he was shopping. He opens up the barn, and invites me to look the car over while he retrieves the keys. And it was SHINY!! Complete and no rust to speak of at all. Decent tires and all four dog dishes. Alex connected the battery, ground on the starter for a bit, and it fired up as soon as the carby bowl filled up. Rough at first, but quickly smoothed out. Hmmm, this *might* be the car!! Looked it over again in the light, still looked good. There was a bit of rust out in the floors, and bubbling on one quarter, but my budget is $3000, NOT $20K!! Yet the interior was looking good, the dash unblemished AND uncut. Rear seat looks near new. And the trunk was the same, right down to original mat and side covers for the troughs on each side. Spare is bolted down with all tools. Time for a drive. It HAS been awhile since I've driven an early compact, but it came back quickly. And there were no surprises at all. Steering was relatively light and sure, alignment seemed spot-on, and the brakes didn't even pull after the initial rust was wiped clean. The trans even shifted good and firm enough, just as I would like. The flat spots on the tires were smoothing out as I pulled back into the drive. Time to conference with SWMBO. And she LIKES it!! Thinks it looks 'cute'!! She even states that she'd drive this one. I ask, "Go for it?" "Yes!" OK!! Being part Bohemian, ex-car salesman, yada yada, I walk over to Alex and say, "Make it $2200, cash, now, and I'll take it home." (asking was $2450). A moment's hesitation, and hands were shook. The drive home was fair uneventful, just making mental lists of what needs doing, (tune up, fix massive air leak, etc.). Nothing major, nothing to cause buyer's remorse, just stuff that needs doing. And, the above has been taken care of already. I LOVE how simple this car is, after about a decade of fiddling with foreign luxury cars. Not to make this story any longer, enjoy the (unclean) pics. Cosmo
alright - time to weld up rear doors, chop 'n" channel, plug in a flathead --oops thought you you said '31-just kidding. cool little ride that you can go out an enjoy.
I picked up a 63 Ranchero last fall. It's a lot of fun to cruise in! and the gas mileage rocks! The best of both worlds!
Look at the bright side, there will be no "exhibition of speed" tickets in your future, eh? IMNSHO those early Falcons look killer with skirts.
Congratulations on the new Falcon. Even your "unclean" pictures reflect how clean your new ride actually is. Thankfully, the previous owners kept it original and retained all the trim, didn't cut the dash or worse, rattle can primer or flat black over perfectly good paint.
Me too....Got 6 of them and President of the Falcon Club in the State of Ohio...WELCOME to the family... Also Co-Hosts of the 2012 Falcon Nationals in Louisville, Ky. July 12-14... Great story, I have owned both cars, and I am looking at another Studebaker today myself!
Here in Texas, I never have to fear for my safety when going into areas that give me the willies.. Here, we have concealed carry...just like American Express to me. I hope one day the PEOPLE will take their rights back from the government who enjoys taking them away. Nice score on the falcon.
Nice lookin Falcon! So clearly I wasn't the only one out driving an old Ford in the snow this weekend What are the plans for it?
Plans?!?! Driver/resto/mild custom. Guys, this car is SOOO unmolested it still has perfect rear seat/floor/parcel shelf. Trunk still has mat and side fillers. Spare is bias ply, all tools are there. Only rust is front floors, and that is not bad. Under the hood the electrical has all been replaced, including the harness. All stock, well-done. Brakes recently done. Engine has either been re-gasketed or rebuilt. Either way, it runs great. Radio works, speaker blown. I'm really very pleased. Cosmo
Ive got a Merc 352 FE that (with a shoe horn) would look sweet under the hood hahaha!! Sweet little cruiser though! Have fun with it!!
I had seen that little Falcon listed on Craigslist for quite a while. Glad you got it, I thought about grabbing it many times but have too many projects as is.
Nice Falcon, and cool story. I have several friends in the Mendota area....a very nice RURAL farming community.... Cheers...... and good luck on you new find.
Great score on the Falcon. Make sure you undercoat that baby if you're going to subject it to Illinois salty roads. Carnuba wax to protect her coat of paint, too. She'll give you many happy miles, and you can fix ANYTHING on that car simply & easily...except unibody rust which it doesn't appear to have. Enjoy!
It doesn't have rust underneath. I work at a dealership, and have already discussed the undercoat needs with the detail guy. Up on a rack, and spray, spray, spray!! Cosmo
cool score! the 1st 'real' car that i ever owned/& drove was a 62?falcon 4dr w/ a 4 speed from a 66 mustang,man was that thing a blast.my dad made me sell it 'cause it was gonna fall a part-sold to friend who drove it from South Dakota to Idiho then to Texas before pulling the motor & tranny for his coupe,her name was Martha!'cause it looked like an old lady's car,{i was 14-1984}paid $75.oo for it. [can't remember the actual year damn near 28yr ago]