As full-size cars were becoming increasingly larger and more expensive in the late 1950s, U.S. automakers began looking into offering more compact automobiles. The Rambler American by AMC was the first to join the market in 1958 but the "Big Three" also jumped on the bandwagon in 1959. While Chevy developed the rear-engined and rather unusual Corvair, Ford designed the more conventional Falcon.
Notably smaller and lighter than anything else in the company's lineup at the time and originally offered with economical inline-six engines, the Falcon became a hit. Ford moved a whopping 435,676 units in 1960 and sold 474,191 examples in 1961.
Sales dropped below the 300K mark starting in 1962, but the Falcon remained in production until 1970 when it was replaced by the Maverick. On top of that, the V8-powered Sprint model that was introduced in 1963 became the basis for the first-generation Mustang, which arrived in 1964 to kickstart the pony car segment.
But despite being one of the most important Fords produced in the early 1960s, the Falcon is not a highly sought-after classic nowadays. Overshadowed by the Mustangs, Fairlanes, and Thunderbirds of the era, many Falcons spend their retirement years in junkyards and barns and rarely get the attention they deserve. This 1966 wagon is one of those cars.
Not only it spent a whole lot of time in storage, but it was also parked after a relatively short time on the road. Specifically, the owner drove it for only 11 years until 1977. That's when the station wagon was parked in a wooden barn and left to sit until 2022. Yup, that's a whopping 45 years off the road.
Fortunately, when the owner decided to let the Falcon go, YouTube's "Drive Analog" jumped in to give it a second chance. And surprisingly enough, this wagon looks like the kind of classic that deserves one, because it soldiered on through more than four decades of sitting like a champ. While a few decades in a barn are enough to render most classic cars useless, this Falcon is still in one piece.
Not only that, but it's almost rust-free, it's complete, and the blue paint has a nice patina to it. Yup, this almost forgotten Ford Falcon is an unrestored survivor. And seeing it emerge into the light after almost five decades is downright amazing.
But it's not all good news, unfortunately. While the Falcon looks good inside and out, the engine is a different story because it's stuck. Our host tried every trick in the book to get the inline-six mill to spin, but he says things are quite bad. He doesn't give out any specific details, but it's safe to say that this powerplant won't fire up with a rebuild.
He's planning on doing that and he promised new footage that will also include the Falcon's first wash in 45 years, but until that happens, let's see it coming out of the barn in the video below.
This Falcon is part of the third-generation series that Ford produced from 1966 to 1970. The company offered a wide variety of inline-six and V8 engines over these five model years, but being a Futura wagon, this car packs a 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) six-cylinder rated at 120 horsepower and 190 pound-feet (258 Nm) of torque.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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