Well.... For years I was into Falcons, hence the name FalconMan. I have not purchased a falcon for several years since I have been focusing my energy on my hot rods. I use to buy them all the time, but they just seemed to be harder to find of late. Well, last weekend I was at a show and an older guy came up and wanted to know if I wanted one... perked my interest slightly, but 99 times out of a hundred its a 4-door. He said it was a sprint, but it was not. This time it was a 64 hardtop, bucket seat, 6 cyl car (no motor). 72k actual miles. Been sitting in his shed since '79. One owner car. Not sure what I will do with it yet..... Pretty solid car except for the rear quarters. Good seats, glass, and trim. Doors are solid and shut like new. Smells of mice ..... It is amazing how many cars are still buried under crap.....
Nice car to put a stout 302 in along with some suspension work. Then go piss off some big blocks. Bithchen! Just don't make it a gasser, it's too nice.
I wouldn't 'gasser' it either, however there's a look that only a mid 60s Ford can pull off with great appeal, nearly sex appeal. The days of Super Stock and F/X were an absolutely perfect time for Ford in the looks dept. The Thunder Bolt blister hood, as-cast 5 spoke mags, "snakes" showing under the front, does it get any better for a 60s Ford? Even with a small Ford engine the look is there, and there's that mystique that makes everyone wonder which twin has the Toni. Decades ago, late 70s I think, couldn't find the address for a 67 Camaro that me and my pal wanted to buy. It was just beginning to get dark and we heard a deep growl around the block that just screamed "race car". We found it, a 64-5 Falcon H.T., dark blue, 'bolt hood, Torque Thrust littles in the front, blue steel wheels in the rear and stuffed with a 10" slick. We yelled up from the sidewalk if we could come up and see it better. "...yeah, c'mon in..." On either the dash board or the cowl, I can't remember, there was a tag that said something like "race" or "competition only" and I asked if that was real. He assured us it was and was actually looking to sell it for $4500. The engine was a Cleveland variant of some kind and it sounded really tough. It might as well have been $45,000 as we were looking at cars for under a grand. Was it real, a genuine FoMoCo race car? Don't know to this day but it still haunts my memory whenever I see another, and you found a clean sheet of paper to build one. Those pretty much the only Falcon I like.
I vote mild custom. Shaved, lowered a little with skirts, 300 six with twin carbs. What a find - congrats! Since you respect it, I'm sure it'll be cool no matter what you do with it.
I'll bet it cleans up pretty good. I used to see a black HT like that around with a set of Cragars....skinnies in the frt. It was a good combo.
Shed, canoe, car all vintage cool. Love to detail that car out, lower the nose, unpolished 5 spokes w/redline tires., get rumming-drive it! Then after a while nice paint ect.
I hope the "smells of mice" doesn't mean all the nice interior will have to be replaced! My Falcon was in a barn sleeping for 20 yrs., all closed up, but the mice found their way into every corner. They even found their way up the pillars and into the headliner, where they nested. Then they ate their way out by making a few holes to exit the headliner! I couldn't get rid of the mice smell until I stripped every ounce of interior out, and cleaned the bare metal. Then I painted it all with brushed on Rustoleum and replaced the headliner, door panels, and all the seats. It's a shame when it all looks so good, but smells so bad!
grab it....the black/red combo is sooo 60's....my first convert in 1977 was a 64 with a 260 in it and I waited about 30yrs to get a 1 owner Sprint convert - that funny it was a bench seat car.... have pics of my 2 yr old nephew in the first and my great nephew in the second....have to scan em some time....
Great find and great job with the old man. You should see if he had any pics from new, or possibly some paperwork.
I tried to buy the canoe.... but no go... he built it from scratch 50 years ago.... I cleaned the car up a bit last night. Body looks decent. Floors appear to be solid considering this is a Minnesota car. The interior will have to be gutted due to the mouse piss. Looks like they were in the headliner. The car is dying for as mustang IFS, 5.0HO, T5, 8 inch rear .....
Man, I love those cars. I remember one time when I was just a kid - maybe 8 or 9, I went with my dad out to a farm in SE Ohio to look at one of those cars. He always liked em too. He bought it - it was also in a barn, except it had a high perf 289 with a 4-speed and it was red on red. I remember it had no exhaust on it when we drove it home, it was loud as hell. Unfortunately he didn't keep it for very long, I don't remember why. The car really wasn't all that old at the time, maybe 15 years or so.
I would be torn between a mild hot rod, slight rake, steel wheels with dog dish caps, and big and littles--------or this: