My family was travelling from Albany to Syracuse for the NY State Fair in 1960 when our Chevrolet 210 failed to make the hill approaching the Amsterdam exit on the NYS Thruway. Towed into the local Ford dealer, they pulled the head, and found one piston partially disintegrated. We drove home is a brand-new 1960 Falcon that would serve us for 5-1/2 years. It was the car my brother and I both learned to drive on.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

It's interesting how bare-boned the early versions of US compacts (Corvair, Valiant, Falcon) were and how quickly the Big Three realized they had to make them sportier and plusher (Monza, Mustang, Barracuda) to satisfy the youth market.

@youtubecarspottersguide1

5 ай бұрын

yes the monza coupe started the bucket seat Sporty compac craze and one the first cars of the 60s to offer a 4 speed

Excellent. Comprehensive. This was really grand. You covered the Falcon globally. This was appreciated and will be appreciated by many. It is interesting how long the South American version ran with update to the 1960's model for decades. The Australian version diveraged and never looked back. The Australian version has a long history. It is a legend there. They could have sold that one in the United States, but it would have competed against Taurus and Fusion. I know they had consdidered bringing it to the United States when GM brought Holden to the United States. It became unprofitable for anyone to build cars in Australia. GM left( Holden), Ford left and Toyota too. Everyone imports there now. That is a tragedy actually. Thank you for the video and the exstensive effort.

@herbertcourtesie2459

5 ай бұрын

To think that the Falcon models would find acceptance for 50+ years may surprise a modern auto fan, this report shows the reason. In Argentina, a corporation partially Ford-owned continued Falcon production until mid 90s., where the Falcon enjoyed not only acceptance, but admiration compared to European style cars with less power and the Falcon´s durability, during a long economic recession in Argentina.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

It is a shame they never brought the Australian Falcon here. I lusted ofter them for years, but perhaps I'm a bit abnormal.

@OLDS98

5 ай бұрын

@@herbertcourtesie2459 This in indeed true. A testimony to its acceptance and staying power. We stated.

@OLDS98

5 ай бұрын

@@thehopelesscarguy It would have been an interesting situation with Holden( GM) and Ford if they had. GM and Ford would have had something to challenge the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. They did in Australia. You are not abnormal. I liked the Holden Caprice and Statesman and Calais. They did bring the Caprice here but it was sold directly to police fleets. Then Americans bought them and you see them all over You Tube and on the streets.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

@@OLDS98 I thought the G8 and the SS would have done better. And I don't think the issue was the looks, considering what they were sold along side. I suspect the failure was in marketing.

Great cars, I had a 64 & 69... Both of them were $500 cars and drove them for years👍

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Nice.

We had a 1961 4 dr with the 170 and 2 speed Ford o Matic. Red. Same year I was born in. Had that car till the mid 70's. Vacuum wipers sucked going up hill. Tube radio that took about 30 seconds to warm up and work but did have a rear speaker. Hose to fill the gas tank from the rear went through trunk. It cracked and let fumes in one time. Transmission had a rear pump and if the battery failed could be put in low gear and pushed to start the car. Think Dad traded it in on the 72 Montego we had after that. Oh, the memories. Thanks so much for posting this vid.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

I never realized how long the foreign versions of the Falcon were actually built...

@Low760

5 ай бұрын

Yeah, 2014 is a long time. And yet ford us didn't want to share platforms. Or do you mean the Argentine version that was an xp that ran till the 90s?

Those Aussie Falcons from the mid-‘90s through the end of production were great looking cars. Too bad they never made it to America like Holden’s rebadged GM cars (Pontiac GTO & G8, Chevy SS & Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle). Thanks for the video, HCG. 👍👍👍

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Totally agree

@Low760

5 ай бұрын

Given the xd Falcon was a Grenada from Europe with xc running gear. The EA was great.

My 63 has a 302 t5 swap it's pretty quick because it's super light. The Argentinians love their falcons lot's of videos of them racing and messing around online.

Great video. We love our '64 Futura 2 door hardtop and our '68 sports coupe (original 302/4 barrel).

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Very cool

In "69, I bought a '67, Falcon, coupe, 3 on the tree, 6, for $1200, had 28K miles on it, I drove it for ten years. Driving a Nissan Frontier SV 2024 now, kind of getting to really like it.

The first Australian Foulcan, the XK suffered from front suspension failures because ford Australia never properly tested them to ensure they could cope with tough Aussie conditions. It took them years to get over that.

Thank you for sharing.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching.

In my US preschool/kindergarten in the late sixties, the school used sky blue late-sixties Falcon station wagons instead of school buses to pick up and drop off students.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

That's a bit different.

@colibri1

5 ай бұрын

@@thehopelesscarguy It was a small school and they would go right to our houses to pick us up so they didn't need full-size buses.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

@@colibri1 I worked for a school district that had a 66 Chevy C10 wagon "bus". Yellow, black stripe and lettering. But by the time I was working there in 90s it had the seats taken out and was being used by kitchen staff to transport supplies between schools.

Congrats on 10K. Hoping for far more for you.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Thanks, to you and everyone that made it happen.

63-64 futura sprints my fav and aus falcon XR, xt, xy, xa xb xc series lot of 4dr muscle cars , cool how long the 60-63 body stampings lived on in south America like the vw bug a basic car just update as needed

The first car I remember my mom driving was a '62 Falcon.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

I hope it went well.

the US version was made from 1960-1970 though the Mustang is based off of it and Knew some of the foreign versions were made for ages longer such as Australia. in the US the Grand Sport name was a General Motors thing mainly for Chevrolet and Buick

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Yep.

Awesome video!

@thehopelesscarguy

4 ай бұрын

Thanks.

For those that like simplicity!

I love the '64.

@thehopelesscarguy

4 ай бұрын

A good year.

Thorough yet concise doco on one of Ford's most successful models. It's a pity they never mass produced the Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase 4. A four door sedan with 351 Cleveland V8 that could exceed 148 mph. Talk about pushing the limits of a small block.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Closest I ever saw to that was a friends 351C powered 73 Torino police car.

@arnbo88

5 ай бұрын

I met someone who drove up in an original Bathurst Falcon XYGTHO Phase 3 still with the Alan Moffat's racing decals on it. Ford Australia listed this motor @300hp to satisfy insurance companies. Real estimates run closer to 375hp for the street version. The few Phase 4 motors produced would have exceeded this and some were installed in police cars. Here's a video explaining a chase from 50 years ago. kzread.info/dash/bejne/n4l81MWCl8m3cdo.htmlsi=_pmxMM3gFG33FddR @@thehopelesscarguy

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

@@arnbo88 Thanks.

No. 1982 the xe Falcon had updated REAR suspension. We had the 4.1 from a lot earlier but the xd 2 gained an alloy head.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Thanks.

👍👍👍👍

This was a nice history of the Ford Falcon. I never knew its story extended to 2016 abroad. I thought by 1970 the Falcon had been replaced by the Maverick. I have one question about the 1963 Falcon sedan. My grandparents purchased one new in the spring of 1963. But they were happy to tell people it was a 1963 1/2 model containing some improvements . I was a young kid so I don't know what made the '63 1/2 different from the '63. I do know my grandmother complained it was underpowered small six cylinder. The rear end saged with two adults and three kids in it. You did not mention the 1963 1/2, so I ask what was the difference ?

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

There are some Falcon or Ford guys who would probably know better than I, but the big change was the roof on the coupe. Aside from that, for the most part it was just available trim, such the addition of the Sprint package.

You forgot Argentina. They made the 1st generation Falcon, with a 1st gen Comet front clip, that was exported to Cuba.

@asparagusjones1775

5 ай бұрын

Wow!!! You didn't even watch the video.

@danielulz1640

5 ай бұрын

​@@asparagusjones1775 I DID watch the video! There was no mention of the Falcons exported to Cuba, which was a very big deal at the time since the US had a trade imbargo with Cuba. The cars looked like 61-63 Comet wagons, Falcon bodies with Comet front clips.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

I did not forget Argentina, but I didn't mention any place Falcons were exported to.

Should have covered the 70s fairmont and Grenada in the u.s as well as the 4cyl version of the 6.

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Perhaps in a different video.

5:58. Thats a American ford taurus. Thare is a falcon race car in that game though

Too bad some of the Aussie cars weren't available in North America

@thehopelesscarguy

5 ай бұрын

Agreed.