I know we have a Classic forum, but it doesn't get the traffic:
Please don't snipe me on this! $9k 63 Falcon convertible- driver condition, and pictures reflect that. How does this look? I don't think the floors are rusty from the photos, and this is a Texas car. Small engine and 3/tree not a concern. Seems like a pretty good deal to me, but I'm a British car guy and not American, and this one is speaking to me. Especially color scheme.
Honestly, almost seems to good to be true. Especially, coming from some sort of classic auto dealer/seller site. I guess my first action would be to make sure that it is in fact a correct listing. I am no expert on those types of cars but it's hard to believe you could do poorly on that at that price if all is as stated.
Only one photo?
bgkast wrote: Only one photo?
There is a bunch more in descriptions
Nice find!
Driving a classic piece of American metal is great fun.
Enjoy!
Feedyurhed wrote: Honestly, almost seems to good to be true. Especially, coming from some sort of classic auto dealer/seller site. I guess my first action would be to make sure that it is in fact a correct listing. I am no expert on those types of cars but it's hard to believe you could do poorly on that at that price if all is as stated.
That's my thought, given that mustang convertibles in this condition go for more than twice/three times as much. Dealer has lots of good feedback, so maybe this is a buy and ship (and hide from wife!). I am having serious car withdrawal since selling the E36 M3, WRX wagon, and 69 Midget. We are a one car family, and this one needs a real good home.
That looks like "newish" paint... on a semi low value older car... that otherwise is not restored...
It might be a great car, but repaints on a car like that make me very suspicious. Hard to say what might be hiding under there. A careful pass over the car with a strong magnet would be a very nice thing to do.
I am not sure where those rust. It does not have the deadly cowl venting system of the Mustangs, maybe the lower doors? I have a 64 Corvair convertible that's lived in California. Believe me, they can and will rust. It was very clear by my car that it sat outside, near some trees / prevailing winds coming from the right.
And man, I do love that paint scheme. I never thought I'd like a yellow car.
That car makes me nervous. The drapes don't match the carpet if you know what I mean...
The overall shape of the car does not agree with the shinny paint presentation. If you look into the nooks and crannies, there is always a trace of what seems to be rust. Look in the door skin folds, the rust mark left by the tire iron in the trunk and the top of the A-post when the door is open. The top looks moldy; not a good omen that the car was stored in a dry environment. The bottom of the car looks quite tired. Likewise the interior; it's trashed.
What I see is a tired old car that has been tarted up for resale. If the body is sound enough that you can leave it alone and just work on mechanical stuff, then its no real risk.
As a restoration project, it's a bad bet because you are paying for new paint that will have to come off. If it needs to be restored, I assure you that 20k can go down the rabbit hole by the time the job is done. Ask yourself what kind of a Falcon you can get for 20k?
Also, if I look at the DS suspension strut/tower or whatever it is called, I see a star shaped feature. On Mustangs these shock towers were famous for fatigue cracking, so I would want to have a good look at that.
My guess is that the dealer got that car for $1000 and threw a mop and glow paint job on it and two bottles of Armour All and is looking to clear 5k on the sale.
Interesting perspective- it doesn't look like new paint to me- looks like it has the oldish patina, lots of orange peel, some scratches.... dunno. I'm going to ask for a picture with trunk carpet pulled back and see what that looks like. The top just looks dusty- am I just saying this because I like it and want it to be nicer than it is? Interior doesn't look that bad to me- door cards, new front seat? Thanks- I'm going to look closer and maybe ask for some clarification. I hate it when I fall in love with a car- get all nervous that someone else is going to nab it from under me.
It certainly meets the description of "daily" or 'driver" quality from where I'm sitting, which admittedly isn't right next to it. Only thing that's popping up on my radar on closer inspection is the right rear lower quarter- looks creased/repaired, or bad light.
"Daily" or "driver" means "not collector".
I have a car that fits that description.
It is fun. That is all.
If it was a collector, it would be at least 3X the price.
Comes down to what you are looking for.
The paint on the ID tag makes me nervous. Looks to me like a quick respray that wasn't done very carefully for a quick sale.
I agree on the "paint on the ID tag" but I don't think it's that recent of a paint job. It looks like it's at least a couple years old. That said a good inspection needs to be done to check for repaired body panels. If the panels were replaced then that's OK but if the repairs consisted of slapping bondo over the rust to hide it then RUN, RUN AWAY!
Yeah- that doesn't look like a new thing though- I mean, that paint doesn't look near new in any picture. Definitely worth a look for the rust though.
Did the VIN decode and says it was originally light blue with light blue interior.
Anywho, I'm going to talk with the wife tomorrow and maybe call them up. It would definitely not be anywhere near a show car if I got it... probably clean up the interior a little bit, sound deadening, do some suspension work to make it safe (rack and pinion, etc), A/C, then call it good.
VIN decode: BODY CODE - Body 76A = Convertible (Bench)
EXTERIOR COLOR - Color E = Light Blue Metallic
INTERIOR TRIM CODE - Trim 52A = Light Blue Crush Vinyl and Medium Blue Crush Vinyl
DATE OF MANUFACTURE - DATE G = July 17, 1962
A number signifying the date precedes the month code letter - e.g (26H =26 August)
A second-year code letter will be used if the model exceeds 12 months.
DISTRICT CODE (DSO) - District 62 = Houston
This number corresponds to where your vehicle was shipped to be sold.
REAR AXLE RATIO CODES - Axle Code 5 = 3.50:1 non locking differential
TRANSMISSION CODE - Trans 1 = 3 Speed manual Shift
ASSEMBLY PLANT CODE - CODE H = Lorain
ENGINE CODE - ENGINE CODE U = 170 Cu Inch Inline 6
Around these parts that is priced about 2-3K high.
That fresh undercoating on the undershots screams rust coverup to me. Door panels are rubbish AND poorly repaired. The seats are covered in 80's vintage JC Whitney reupholstery kits (I have the same ones in my car) which are worn the F out. The fact that the heel pad on the carpet is that askew leads me to believe it is probably a mustang carpet set someone thought was "good enough". The 15$ ebay chrome valve cover really tops it off. It looks like a TV show style fix up and flip to me.
The paint is polarizing. I strongly dislike it, yet others love it.
I see a car that has had a lot of unimportant cosmetic stuff done to it and still needs all the expensive mechanical work. Shocks, brakes, steering box..ect
jimbbski wrote: I agree on the "paint on the ID tag" but I don't think it's that recent of a paint job. It looks like it's at least a couple years old.
To me it looks recent but really low quality.
That car puts me in mind of this 23 Window Microbus post on the Classic forum. It turned out to be a rot-box when investigated.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/classic-cars/1963-23-window-bus-restoration/99409/page1/
The cars listed by this company are sub par. They are glossy and have a lot of pictures. However a close look at the pictures shows so many issues that you could never complain when a pile of junk shows up at your door.
Run away from this car. It will cost you an arm and a leg to make this look good. It would cost you exactly the same amount of money to do a Mustang. At the end of the day, the Falcon will never be worth what the Mustang will.
That dealer specializes in the non or lightly restored off classics. That being said, I would never buy something from them without putting eyes on it. They are rougher drivers.
It's not really my speed because I've basically already had that car and the 6 is gutless and you really couldn't do much to change that without a new motor.
Lot of buzz kill in this thread.
If you can have fun, what difference does it make what people think, or if it is investment quality?
For $9K, it's a decent deal. It is not a candidate for a restoration, but I think you knew that.
I have an early '60's car with much worse problems. Still puts a big smile on my face and on everyone around, and I wouldn't sell it for twice that price.
If it is speaking to you, and you understand what you are getting into, have a blast.
I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Bent grille. Tar patches where the floor seams are undoubtedly rotted. The photo of the hood/fender/cowl clearly shows a substandard paint job with lots of sanding marks.
That car is overpriced. I've seen better cars for that money in the Falcon club newsletter. If you want some of my back issues I can send them to you for the postage.
After buying this car, I'll never buy another car, especially a classic, via ebay again.
Looks decent enough, right? A driver, as so many in this thread are saying. Well, this thing was a lot rougher than it looked. I never could get it to run right and sold it for a significant loss. Shame on me for not being more careful, but seriously, be skeptical. It's not hard to make a car look good in pictures.
Assuming it's solid and reasonably sound mechanically, I'd still think it's not a very good price for the condition, especially this time of year.
I love those.....but I wouldn't buy that one. Too many issues & concerns for that price.
I know these early Falcons very well, as I ha restored three of them. They are bad rustlers, especially the convertibles.
They are simple and easy to work on. A driver quality V8 stick car is what you want. I saw a decent one recently for just a little more money.
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