Bought myself a '62 Falcon

[PREMiERdrum]

Well, it's been a busy few months and I haven't been around here all that often, but I thought I'd catch you all up. We had our baby (well, my wife did most of the work) 7 weeks ago, and little Avery is doing great!

 

I've also been searching for a project over the last few months, now that the house is the way we want it. I've looked at several old Falcons, Comets, Fairlanes, Thunderbirds, and even a Corvair. Nothing really jumped out at me as what I was looking for.

 

So, Wednesday I'm going to look at a '62 Falcon sedan that's pretty much in original condition, save for 2 stupid things: The original front bench was pulled out and replaced with two late-model buckets, and the bumper was painted to match the rest of the car. The original 170 I6 is still there and running strong. Brakelines, master cylinder, wheel cylinders and rotors are all new.

 

I don't want to make it into some Concourse trailer queen, just want it to be a fun cruiser for local shows.

 

I'll add more pics tomorrow and impressions once I drive it. Right now I'm thinking of taking it to Rangoon Red, leaving the white roof and c-pillar. I'm also considering some white offset striping on the hood/deck on the drivers side.

 

I've attached the one pic I have so far...

Edited May 10, 2010 by PREMiERdrum

[Mark B. Morrow]

Congrats on all the good news! I love the '62-'63 Falcons.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Congrats on all the good news! I love the '62-'63 Falcons.

[PREMiERdrum]

Congrats on all the good news! I love the '62-'63 Falcons.

 

Thanks, Mark!

 

I looked at a 61 Falcon 2 door in powder blue that I really liked, but the workload on it was just more than I think I could handle (at least for my first "old" car). My other favorite that I looked at was a turquoise '64 Thunderbird that was in decent shape, but the interior was ripped to shreds and the rear quarters and hood were rusted thru. This '62 Falcon looks to be the most promising!

[jpd80]

Congrats PREMiERdrum, i hope you have many hours of pleasure with your new aquisition.

Good to see you had the good sense to pick a car line that's still in production....

[NickF1011]

Looks like a good project car! Keep us updated with your improvements as they come along.

[Mark B. Morrow]

Thanks, Mark!

 

I looked at a 61 Falcon 2 door in powder blue that I really liked, but the workload on it was just more than I think I could handle (at least for my first "old" car). My other favorite that I looked at was a turquoise '64 Thunderbird that was in decent shape, but the interior was ripped to shreds and the rear quarters and hood were rusted thru. This '62 Falcon looks to be the most promising!

 

 

The T-Bird wouldn't be a bad choice eithrt. I have a '66 Bird. The quarter repair panels are available and a '64 hood should be easy to find. I have a lot of T-bird parts and I haven't ever had to pay much for parts. The interior soft trim parts are also reproduced. The '64-'66 T-Birds were very well built cars and ride like a dream when they are set up right. The hardtops are still a bargain.

[NLPRacing]

Are you going to keep it original?

[PREMiERdrum]

Sealed the deal today... picking her up Sunday!

 

She started up with no effort, drove like a dream, and stopped pretty well. The interior was super clean (and I didn't hate the buckets as much as I thought I would) and all the lights work. A newer radio has been installed but the factory radio (working when pulled out 2 years ago) comes with the car.

 

The body is straight, some surface rust but nothing too bad. Small dent in the drivers door where he got backed into, but that's the only bit of damage. At some point, the front and rear bumpers were (poorly) painted to match the rest of the car, so that will drive me crazy until it's fixed.

 

As far as keeping it "original," I don't want to do anything too radical, but I'm planning on a few changes. I'd like to get the interior back to original, putting a bench back in front and the factory radio back in. On the outside, I'll probably repaint (the paint quality isn't the best as it is), and I'm planning doing a new color (pale blue or rangoon red) on the body and leaving the roof white. I'm planning to put new chrome bumpers front and back and I want to put all the factory badging and moulding (including the front fender darts).

 

I took some pictures today and I'll get them up here in the next few hours.

 

I haven't stopped smiling since I drove it!

 

Some pics I took today:

 

 

 

EDIT: Attaching some pics I took today.

Edited April 21, 2010 by PREMiERdrum

[Mark B. Morrow]

Congrats again PremierDrum. The Falcon looks pretty solid. The bumpers shouldn't be too hard to find unless yours are real straight for rechroming. IIRC there are some good plating companies in Ohio. With the Black interior you could go with any color. I really like the Dark Blue and Aqua they used in '62.

[PREMiERdrum]

Congrats again PremierDrum. The Falcon looks pretty solid. The bumpers shouldn't be too hard to find unless yours are real straight for rechroming. IIRC there are some good plating companies in Ohio. With the Black interior you could go with any color. I really like the Dark Blue and Aqua they used in '62.

 

Aqua with a white roof is my current 1st choice... I'm just planning on replacing the bumpers, I've found some that aren't too expensive. I'm just ready to get working on it!

[Deanh]

awesome.....5.0 coyote in the future?.....lol!

[Mark B. Morrow]

Aqua with a white roof is my current 1st choice... I'm just planning on replacing the bumpers, I've found some that aren't too expensive. I'm just ready to get working on it!

 

 

Here's something to keep you going till Sunday

 

http://www.falconclub.com/

 

http://falconparts.com/

 

http://tffn.net/

[PREMiERdrum]

Thanks Mark... I've been lurking on those sites for a few weeks now...

And, as you can see from the pics, I was driving the Mustang today, pink stripes and all. Love the looks I get when I drive her car.

[Tornado]

Sweet ride, I have always wanted a '64-'65. By the way, add some new wheels to the list too.

[retropia]

Nice! Parts should be easy to find. I like TBirds, but they are complex beasts, with lots of electrical things that need fixing. Falcons are simple, and a good choice for a first classic.

[ehaase]

My father had a 1962 Falcon wagon with a 3 speed manual. He kept it until late 1969 when he bought a 1970 Fairlane 500 wagon.

[PREMiERdrum]

OK... we picked the car up yesterday on our way home from Indy so I thought I should share my impressions.

 

-The car car handles much, much better than I was expecting. It also had no problem crusing along at 60-70mph on the freeway, which shocked me since it just has a 2spd auto.

 

-Visibility is better than anything else I've ever driven. I just read an old ad, in fact, that argued that the "compact" Falcon had more square inches of glass than several "large" cars of the day.

 

We've gotten our plan together and should have all the body and paint work done before the end of summer. First up will be getting the paint off of the bumpers, which will happen ASAP. Interior wise, I've been hunting for a factory front bench to put in it, and I'm planning on reinstalling the factory radio and putting the newer head unit in the glove box.

 

Overall, I'm in love! It was awesome getting waves and thumbs-up out on the road.

[danglin]

:happy feet: :happy feet: Looks like you found a Neat Project Car.

 

Looking forward to seeing the updates on your progress!!! :stats:

[PREMiERdrum]

OK, the project is underway!

 

 

Since my last update, the engine has stopped turning over when cranked. After charging the battery, trying to jump it, gassing the carb, nothing would help. Then I noticed that in just a few days, the positive battery cable started looking like this:

 

So, part one of this week's schedule will include replacing both the Solenoid and Coil, as it appears that the ignition system is drawing way too much current from the battery. If that doesn't work, I'm taking the generator to a local tractor shop that will rebuild it. Given the symptoms, I can't really think of what else the problem is? (It will crank and try to turn over, but never fully does, and on each subsequent attempt to start you can hear the starter getting weaker and weaker.

 

Step 2 of this week's schedule will include getting that awful paint off the bumpers. I have a commercial grade adhesive remover (to break the "seal" of the paint without damaging the chrome) and some plastic scraping tools. Judging by how easily the paint scrapes off without much effort, this shouldn't be too hard.

 

Also, here's an interesting comparison between the Falcon and our Mustang, considering one was the basis for another...

 

Oddly, aside from the Falcon's height, the cars are very similar in size, and when parked side by side, the wheels line up nearly perfectly.

 

 

Expect some updates later on this week!

 

In the meantime, here's what I got from the doorplate:

 

Style: 58A (Four door sedan)

Color: P (Silver Moss)

Trim: 11 (Gray)

Date: 07F (June 7th, 1962)

District: 33 (Detroit)

Axle: 1 (3.00:1

Trans: 3 (2 Sp. Fordomatic)

Edited May 10, 2010 by PREMiERdrum

[grbeck]

The T-Bird wouldn't be a bad choice eithrt. I have a '66 Bird. The quarter repair panels are available and a '64 hood should be easy to find. I have a lot of T-bird parts and I haven't ever had to pay much for parts. The interior soft trim parts are also reproduced. The '64-'66 T-Birds were very well built cars and ride like a dream when they are set up right. The hardtops are still a bargain.

 

The Thunderbirds are great cars and built like tanks, but it's my understanding that they can be complicated to restore - lots of power assists and other gadgets. Would love to have one of the 1965-66 models, as they have front disc brakes as standard. Judging by contemporary road tests, the brakes made a HUGE difference in the car's stopping ability. That alone would make the car more appealing to me than a contemporary Toronado or Riviera.

 

It was always amazing to me that GM didn't make front discs standard on the Toronado (and front-wheel-drive Eldorado) from day one. Cars weighing over two tons, combined with front-wheel drive and huge V-8s...both stopped by four-wheel drum brakes and bias-ply tires. Don't think so!

Edited May 10, 2010 by grbeck

[grbeck]

Step 2 of this week's schedule will include getting that awful paint off the bumpers. I have a commercial grade adhesive remover (to break the "seal" of the paint without damaging the chrome) and some plastic scraping tools. Judging by how easily the paint scrapes off without much effort, this shouldn't be too hard.

 

My grandmother had one of these - a black 1962 sedan with a gray interior. It had the slotted wheelcovers, and the interior was pretty nice, as I remember it. I do remember that the front end squeaked regularly, which small Fords of that era did regularly.

 

The first Falcons are honest, handsome cars, and the 1962-63 versions are the best looking of that generation.

 

Are you having the bumpers rechromed? It may just be best to get new bumpers. Rechroming now costs a fortune.

[PREMiERdrum]

My grandmother had one of these - a black 1962 sedan with a gray interior. It had the slotted wheelcovers, and the interior was pretty nice, as I remember it. I do remember that the front end squeaked regularly, which small Fords of that era did regularly.

 

The first Falcons are honest, handsome cars, and the 1962-63 versions are the best looking of that generation.

 

Are you having the bumpers rechromed? It may just be best to get new bumpers. Rechroming now costs a fortune.

 

Stripping them of the paint is a short-term thing for now, when I'm ready to paint (later this year or early next) I'll revisit the bumpers. I'd much rather see rusty chrome bumpers than rusty painted bumpers with chrome showing through. This little detail has bugged me since day one! :shades:

 

In the next few weeks (after it's running again), I'm planning to turn my attention to the wheels and interior. I have the original factory "FORD" hubcaps so all I really want are a decent set of steelies.

 

I'm also searching for a front bench, and I'm planning to put the factory radio back in the dash (I have the unit), and moving the newer head unit to the glove box.

[Mark B. Morrow]

The Thunderbirds are great cars and built like tanks, but it's my understanding that they can be complicated to restore - lots of power assists and other gadgets. Would love to have one of the 1965-66 models, as they have front disc brakes as standard. Judging by contemporary road tests, the brakes made a HUGE difference in the car's stopping ability. That alone would make the car more appealing to me than a contemporary Toronado or Riviera.

 

It was always amazing to me that GM didn't make front discs standard on the Toronado (and front-wheel-drive Eldorado) from day one. Cars weighing over two tons, combined with front-wheel drive and huge V-8s...both stopped by four-wheel drum brakes and bias-ply tires. Don't think so!

 

 

The disc Brakes on the '65-'66 T-birds were amazingly overengineered. My car has 107k showing on the odometer and it still had the original rivited ball joints at 98k. the rotors have been cut a few times but still have lots left. I bought a set of rebuilt calipers when I had the ball joints and front springs replaced. I kept my cores because I figured I might need a set in the future and the cost of shipping them back to Oregon was a good part of the core charge.

 

The Toronados had unique finned brake drums on the early models. I suspect they didn't go to discs right away because GM's early disc set up used very large calipers that would not fit under the offset Toronado wheels. My '67 Pontiac Grand Prix had disc brakes and required a special wheel to clear the calipers. I had a hell of a time finding wheels with the right offset to fit both the discs and the special Disc Brake wheelcovers tor that car. I tried to use a set of 15" Pontiac Rally II wheels that looked great on the back but would not clear the brakes on the front. The discs make a difference the T-bird and Grand Prix really stop well compared to other big cars of that era.

[grbeck]

The disc Brakes on the '65-'66 T-birds were amazingly overengineered. My car has 107k showing on the odometer and it still had the original rivited ball joints at 98k. the rotors have been cut a few times but still have lots left. I bought a set of rebuilt calipers when I had the ball joints and front springs replaced. I kept my cores because I figured I might need a set in the future and the cost of shipping them back to Oregon was a good part of the core charge.

 

The Toronados had unique finned brake drums on the early models. I suspect they didn't go to discs right away because GM's early disc set up used very large calipers that would not fit under the offset Toronado wheels. My '67 Pontiac Grand Prix had disc brakes and required a special wheel to clear the calipers. I had a hell of a time finding wheels with the right offset to fit both the discs and the special Disc Brake wheelcovers tor that car. I tried to use a set of 15" Pontiac Rally II wheels that looked great on the back but would not clear the brakes on the front. The discs make a difference the T-bird and Grand Prix really stop well compared to other big cars of that era.

 

Thunderbirds - and Lincoln Continentals, too - were overbuilt in general, from what I've seen and read. The car was heavy because when testing revealed weaknesses in the structure, Ford simply beefed it up with more metal. The result was a car that was heavy for its size, but built like a tank.