Poor babies.

[ew1usnr]

Dang. This is from an article in a Mustang magazine (so it is sort of related to Falcons). It says that its readers (presumably mostly Mustang owners) "can't conceive" of actually driving an old Mustang on a daily basis (the horror!). They point out in particular the "muscle-wrenching manual steering". The present Mustang enthusiasts sound a bit delicate. Sixteen-year old girls used to love driving those cars. Power steering in the original Falcons was considered to be so unnecessary that it was not even offered as an option. Power steering is nice, but for readers of a magazine devoted to vintage cars (Mustangs) to not even be able to conceive of driving a car without it, is surprising.

Quote:
"Automobiles have come a long way since 1965. Those creature comforts that used to be options, like air conditioning, cruise control, stereo sound, and even seatbelts, have become standard equipment today. As a result, we've become accustomed to them in our daily lives. This is probably why most of you can't conceive of driving a classic Mustang on a daily basis."

"Years ago, many of us drove our vintage Mustangs every day, which is probably why few of us are now driving them daily. We remember the really crummy four-wheel manual drum brakes that pulled in hard braking, muscle-wrenching manual steering, leaky Bendix power steering, uncomfortable bucket seats, no safety features, lap belts instead of three-point safety belts, road boom and wind noise, poor fuel economy, hit-and-miss performance, and occasional roadside assistance."

Read more: http://www.mustangandfords.com/project-vehicles/mump-0307-classic-ford-mustang/#ixzz2zx0GxuQB

[dhbfaster]

Yea...I've seen comments like that too and I'm always amazed because mine steers so easily (really- I'm amazed at that every time I have driven it)...and that nice big steering wheel helps make sure I don't eat too much.:D

[Wilbur]

I myself am always shocked when a Falcon enthusiast tells me he or she does not drive their Falcon as their main car.

Of course I can understand this if it's a nice or restored Falcon that you don't want dinged up, but that's what beater Falcons are for! I had a very nice Falcon (since sold, sadly) and a beater Falcon.

I cannot imagine somebody finding the steering of a manual steering Mustang being difficult, especially if it is a six cylinder car.

My worst car to steer was probably my MGB with the Chevy small block up front that was like steering a truck, no power steering, but it wasn't unmanageable, I barely noticed it.

Another bear of a car was my '23 T-Bucket, once you got going it was fine, as was the MGB V8, but parking the thing took some work, but nothing terrible.

[Luva65wagon]

I'd say it depends on many things. For me the issue has more to do with the length of my commute and the type of traffic. Much of it has to do with the lack of patience most drivers have today. They see an old car (whether it is going slower or not) and think they have to be in front of you no matter what. Even if they have to do stupid maneuvers to accomplish that goal.

For the most part, for me personally, Falcons are not being made any more - and people are driving, in general, more and more aggressive. I'd rather have them smack into the car I have full coverage on, or can be replaced with another of similar vintage. Simply a game of chance these days. Lowering the odds.

FWIW, I did build a car I don't mind driving (more often) now, but I will still only drive it on the days I don't have a lot of errands to run.

[Nathan289]

I'm a fair weather driver.. but when its nice I tool around the back roads.
My hardest decision is which one am I going to drive today.
I still won't drive them long distances or to appointments that are a specific time.

I just sold an old car and one of the lookie,loos actually insulted my wife by questioning if she even knew how to drive it. Then insulted her with a low ball offer.. she laughed at him. needless to say he called back 4 days after the car sold, wanting to buy it still. Too bad too sad.. it sold..

[Wilbur]

Well, I got bit, I just noticed last night that my NICE Falcon was hit some time in the last month or so, while it was parked on one of the few trips I made with it. It is the nice one so I very rarely drive it, but that still didn't help. Time to buy a British Ferret and drive that. :D

Years ago one of my ugliest Falcons was hit, I was stopped at a stop sign and some guy was speeding on the road I was waiting to cross, he drove his car into my Falcon bumper and dragged his car along the bumper, tearing up the entire driver's side of his car, he skidded, slammed on the brakes for a second, then gunned it and took off. He trashed the entire left side of his car from fender to rear quarter, he was doing about 30 to 40 mph.

He only dinged and scraped my flimsy Falcon bumper, luckily, had he t-boned me I'd have been a hurtin' unit. I figure he was drunk or on drugs and that's why he sped away, it was daylight. One day I'll post a photo of my ugly Falcon, or maybe I can find it in my albums, if I find it I'll post it.

An elderly woman backed into it another day, in a park lot, the quarter pushed in, then popped out when she pulled away. I was going to have her insurance pay for it but the car is so ugly and she only left a small dent, and she was about 900 years old, and I had things to do.

I recall another time with that particular car I was at Barnes & Nobles with their big picture windows, sitting looking out the window and reading. A car pulled up too close alongside my Falcon, a woman walked up to the passenger door of the car that pulled in, looked at her door and my car, there was too little room, decided "%$@# him" and opened the car door into my door, got in, and they drove away.

Another time, with my other beater Falcon, I was at the gym, and I saw a woman park near my Falcon, and I heard a *BANG*, she had let her long heavy SUV door swing, fall open with gravity and punch into my Falcon door, she didn't even look up to see what happened while she sifted through her purse, didn't care. I walked out and had something to say about that.

The sad thing is that even my brutal Falcons are too nice to let these kinds of people destroy, I need another Falcon, what I need is, does anybody remember me when I drove around in a '65 four door Falcon that had a tree fall onto the roof? The rear half of the roof was crushed but the front compartment was fine and I used to drive that car everywhere. THAT is what I need now!! I LUVED that car!!!!!!! It became a donor for my one Falcon I found at a junkyard, though.

I need a total rat, a total beater like that one, and there is one on craigslist now, it looks AWFUL but he wants $1500 for it, seems a bit high for a total rat but in today's money maybe that's not really that much. I need another beater... a super beater!!! :-)

There, I just took some new photos of my beautiful Ugly and loaded them, THIS CAR IS TOO NICE TO DRIVE. Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite Falcons.

[ew1usnr]

"Rat Rods" are trendy now. I've watched on car shows where they spray clear coat over rust to "preserve the patina".

I would make it a point to park it next to new Corvettes and BMWs just out of general principle.


In this instance, I pulled in first and the BMW and Mercedes parked next to me.
3922

[Wilbur]

"Rat Rods" are trendy now. I've watched on car shows where they spray clear coat over rust to "preserve the patina".

I would make it a point to park it next to new Corvettes and BMWs just out of general principle.


In this instance, I pulled in first and the BMW and Mercedes parked next to me.
3922


Then I was trendy about 16 years ago when I first bought the car and I bought it for that very reason, I liked the "patina" of the car. Ironically I too thought about having the car sprayed to preserve the rust and level of patina so it would go no further. Unfortunately the roof has gotten worse since I bought it 16 years ago.

I wanted to take it a step further and rig it so that after I pull into a parking lot like that for U-Village with all their fancy cars, one side of the bumper would fall off and hit the pavement, a tire would pop (or an airbag would instantly deflate giving the appearance of a tire popping and car corner dropping), maybe a headlight would fall out and dangle from its wires, and maybe some smoke for added effect, or that "dying sound" a motor makes when it "diesels" or runs on after switching off the ignition, that 3 to 5 second drawn out last gasp.

Of course the bumper would pull back up and latch, the bag inflates, etc. when it came time to leave.

I always liked the dim headlights that barely glow on this mummy at night when I start it up in some parking lot, and the way they burn brightly, intensely when I rev it a few times upon start up.

This car for me is a non stop amusement park ride, the sounds, the handling, the speed (it's no slouch with a 200 ci in a 2300 pound car), the looks.

The headliner is torn in many places, I stitched it back together with thread so it looks like Frankenstein scars.

It's a funny car, that's for sure!

Seeing your Falcon next to that BMW makes realize how compact these cars were, no wonder they were so light. I have been a fan of Falcons now for over 30 years, I will never tire of them. I regret selling my super cherry '64 Falcon, but I only regret it somewhat because I have no garage and the car was hit and vandalized many times.

I even turned down a woman who wanted to buy the car for her 16 year old daughter, I very politely, respectfully explained to the mother that this would be like selling the car to the devil, and I was not interested. The car went to a person who put it in his private museum. There are pics of the car on the internet, posted by the original owner before me, I'll find them and post the link, the care was nothing short of amazing, even had the original window stickers.

[Luva65wagon]

Today I drove my wagon to work so I'd have a Falcon at the meeting. The Ranchero is done and down on the ground, but I hadn't driven the wagon far since the new changes I made to it. I think my experience today driving it in fits well with this thread...

Currently my commute it about 15 miles each way. About 5 of those miles is currently "under construction" with one-lane roads and flaggers. In about 5 different places. Not all the same construction. Snohomish county has gotten road-fixing-happy! Even with my new car, this is a pain. Lots of sitting and waiting your turn. One 5-mile stretch coming up from Bothell to Lake City is a long climb from lake-level to where it finally levels off at 145th St. One road is totally closed to both directions of traffic and diverts all the traffic to Lake City Way.

With all of this traffic, the long climb of stop-and-go, an alternator deciding it want's to start internally squealing (not the belt), the heat, the clutch smell, the squeal, the smell, the heat... OMG I was shaking by the time I made it to work today. It was sort of a shake-out drive and traffic is usually not too bad, but today was by far the worst traffic day I've been in for a very long time. Suffice it to say this thread was on my mind the entire time. All I could say is that in 1965 the worst traffic might have been in LA, but this car was not made to deal with this type of traffic. Maybe it would have been OK with an automatic, but this wagon is heavy for a 8.5" clutch! What were they thinking?

In fact, the reason I did all the recent work on this wagon (exchanged the crank, clutch, transmission, mounts, ignition, carburetor) was all part of a hope that the chatter this car has always had since I bought it in 1997 - would finally be gone. Previous attempts have never made any improvement and I was hoping this would finally make it go away. No change, at all. Maybe it is due for a V8 or an automagic. Maybe I put the V8 in the wrong car.

:doh:

[Wilbur]

Luv, that's why I stopped driving British MG's, to avoid the headache that driving in heavy traffic creates for those temperamental little cars, and that's why I began driving Falcons, it was on a friend's advice.

I poked fun at the ugly cars called Falcons!! My friend poked fun at me for having to fix my MG's (I have five over the course of a few years, often two at a time) constantly. I fixed those MG's in the gutters of New York City, on the open roads of New Jersey, in the bitter cold of Northeast winters...

I have a hunch it's not exaggeration to say I was sometimes fixing my MG once a week, and with an electrical problem, not even the British auto repair shop could solve the problem!! I learned to work on auto electrics because of those MG's when one caught fire and I had to rewire the car.

Finally I relented and bought one of these ugly Falcons and ALL MY PROBLEMS MAGICALLY VANISHED.

I drove that '62 Falcon six cylinder three on the tree two door sedan everywhere, I drove it through the heaviest stop and go traffic in midtown midday New York City with zero issues, I drove it throughout Brooklyn, Queens, and the city, never a problem, traffic could pile up for hours and I'd just sit there in my Falcon as it silently idled away, waiting patiently.

I was now hooked, and I never looked back at my MG's, I miss them, but Falcons are more fun, less trouble.

I can imagine, though, how a heavy Falcon wagon with a small clutch on that big hill approaching Lake City towards 145th can be brutal if traffic is stop and go.

Nevertheless, you're about one hundred million light years ahead of the game with a Falcon vs a British MG when it comes to traffic.

Falcons are still my favorite car, not that I would kick an early Porsche 911, or a 30's Bentley, or an original Shelby Cobra to the curb if it dropped in my lap, but you could not trade me those cars or a new or used Ferrari for my Falcons, though I admit I may falter a bit if it's a 50's Ferrari Barchetta!! :D Overall though, if I had to choose one over ANY car on earth, I choose my Falcon.

[ew1usnr]

I fixed those MG's in the gutters of New York City, on the open roads of New Jersey, in the bitter cold of Northeast winters...
Overall though, if I had to choose one over ANY car on earth, I choose my Falcon.

Hello, Wilbur. My wife and I just came back from a 9-day vacation to Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Manhattan. We flew, we didn't drive The Wonder Falcon. Maybe next time?

It is a 24-mile round trip for my drive to work, and I work 7:30 - 4:30 so as to avoid the worst of the morning and afternoon rush. I have a choice of three parallel 45 mph speed limit routes that are all about the same distance and that allows me to avoid the streets where there is construction, The roads are level with either four or six lanes with light to moderate traffic, and I LOVE driving my Falcon to work. I ordered a lot of parts off e-bay to put this car back to its original configuration and repaired/replaced almost everything on it, but now it runs marvelously and just like the Ford engineers intended it to. It starts instantly, idles smoothly, runs cool and quiet, tracks straight, steers easily, stops quickly, and accelerates nicely and without hesitation. My Ford-O-Matic transmission performs wonderfully in traffic and the suspension provides a smooth and comfortable ride. The car is so much fun to drive that it turns my routine morning and afternoon commutes into joy rides.

Plus, a mid-twenty year old girl at work told me that my car was "bitchin'". Wow! That was the first time that anyone said that a car of mine was "bitchin'"!

[Wilbur]

Dennis, here is the old post of my beater Falcon, in these photos you can see the car is rougher than it appears in some of the photos where I stood 10 or more feet away from the car. As rough as this car looks, I'm fine with it and the car is a lot of fun to drive. :rocker:


Well, I got bit, I just noticed last night that my NICE Falcon was hit some time in the last month or so, while it was parked on one of the few trips I made with it. It is the nice one so I very rarely drive it, but that still didn't help. Time to buy a British Ferret and drive that. :D

Years ago one of my ugliest Falcons was hit, I was stopped at a stop sign and some guy was speeding on the road I was waiting to cross, he drove his car into my Falcon bumper and dragged his car along the bumper, tearing up the entire driver's side of his car, he skidded, slammed on the brakes for a second, then gunned it and took off. He trashed the entire left side of his car from fender to rear quarter, he was doing about 30 to 40 mph.

He only dinged and scraped my flimsy Falcon bumper, luckily, had he t-boned me I'd have been a hurtin' unit. I figure he was drunk or on drugs and that's why he sped away, it was daylight. One day I'll post a photo of my ugly Falcon, or maybe I can find it in my albums, if I find it I'll post it.

An elderly woman backed into it another day, in a park lot, the quarter pushed in, then popped out when she pulled away. I was going to have her insurance pay for it but the car is so ugly and she only left a small dent, and she was about 900 years old, and I had things to do.

I recall another time with that particular car I was at Barnes & Nobles with their big picture windows, sitting looking out the window and reading. A car pulled up too close alongside my Falcon, a woman walked up to the passenger door of the car that pulled in, looked at her door and my car, there was too little room, decided "%$@# him" and opened the car door into my door, got in, and they drove away.

Another time, with my other beater Falcon, I was at the gym, and I saw a woman park near my Falcon, and I heard a *BANG*, she had let her long heavy SUV door swing, fall open with gravity and punch into my Falcon door, she didn't even look up to see what happened while she sifted through her purse, didn't care. I walked out and had something to say about that.

The sad thing is that even my brutal Falcons are too nice to let these kinds of people destroy, I need another Falcon, what I need is, does anybody remember me when I drove around in a '65 four door Falcon that had a tree fall onto the roof? The rear half of the roof was crushed but the front compartment was fine and I used to drive that car everywhere. THAT is what I need now!! I LUVED that car!!!!!!! It became a donor for my one Falcon I found at a junkyard, though.

I need a total rat, a total beater like that one, and there is one on craigslist now, it looks AWFUL but he wants $1500 for it, seems a bit high for a total rat but in today's money maybe that's not really that much. I need another beater... a super beater!!! :-)

There, I just took some new photos of my beautiful Ugly and loaded them, THIS CAR IS TOO NICE TO DRIVE. Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite Falcons.

[Wilbur]

Dang, the close up photos of my beater Falcon did not carry over like I thought they would when I did the "quote" option. Anyway, the photos are farther down in this thread, in the reply I posted a long time ago, just scroll down the page and you'll see the close up photos of my beater Falcon and that it's not as nice as it appears in some other photos.

Some ten years ago I had the chance to buy this car's exact twin, Raven Black, Futura with all the chrome trim, inline six, red interior, but at the time I had three Raven Black sixty four Falcons, though now I wish I had bought that car...