1963 Ford Falcon Hardtop.

[MacDee]

Freddie is For Sale.



It is not restored, but it underwent a “three-week makeover” several years ago, in which I removed all the trim, neutralized and smoothed rust spots (it wasn’t rusted through anywhere…), sanded and primed it, then got a Maaco acrylic enamel paint job. The bumpers were re-chromed at the same time, and it has new reproduction seat covers so the interior looks really nice also.
It has a modified 200 six and a freshly-rebuilt C4 automatic trans with V8 clutch pack, Transgo shift kit, and a Hughes Performance torque converter. The engine has a rare Classic Inlines aluminum head and intake manifold, a 390 cfm Holley carb, Clay Smith 264-degree cam, and ceramic-coated headers.
It is not perfect, but is good enough to enjoy right away, and is completely roadworthy and reliable.
I’d let her go in a heartbeat for $12K, but all offers will be considered.
Contact Gary at 425-788-4136 if you are interested.

Some additional pictures available at:
http://s35.photobucket.com/user/grmacdee/slideshow/Freddie

[Bill Pierce]

Wow really nice car. You do know that you will have great regrets at a later date?

[Jeff W]

Gary, I feel like I have been with you and Freddie every step of the way. I wish I had the space to continue your good work. Freddie will make someone a unique and amazing car.

[ew1usnr]

Gary, Freddie will make someone a unique and amazing car.

In my opinion, Freddie is a collection of mechanical parts. He is not a demon that wants to destroy you. Park the car for six months, think about it, and then correct the remaining problems. He will be a nice little Falcon, with a jazzy motor.

[MacDee]

I see the Forum has been pretty quite, so I'll try to stir things up with an update on my attempts to sell Freddie.

My attempts to sell Freddie have been tentative, to say the least, but I have made some attempts. She has been listed here on the Rainier Falcons site, of course, but also in the Boeing employee’s classified ads, and in the Seattle Times NWAutos classified ads, both on-line and in print editions. There have been no “nibbles” from any of those listings.


I also have been parking the car at the end of our driveway on weekends with “For Sale” signs in her while we’ve been out working in the yard. She has attracted quite a bit of attention from this! Many people have stopped to look, but there are a couple of exchanges worthy of stories:


On one occasion, three girls stopped to look. One of them seemed really excited! As I approached, two of them seemed very young and one seemed a bit older. The older one approached, and introduced herself and her two daughters. The one that was exited was her oldest daughter who was just about to graduate from high school, and was going to need a car to commute to college. She, the daughter, really, really, REALLY liked Freddie! I showed them the car, explained its mechanical situation (freshly rebuilt modified engine and transmission, etc.). The mother explained what the car would be used for, if they bought it, and asked if I thought it could be reliable transportation for her daughter. I said, “Well, yeah, but it’s kind of a beast to drive.” She asked what I meant by that, and I offered to take them for a ride. We all piled in and I fired her up. “The first issue is that she’s pretty cold-blooded when you first start her up…” as I feathered the throttle for a few seconds until she would idle on her own. “Oh, that’s okay Mom, I can do that!” the daughter interjected. I explained that I had expected that the buyer of this car would probably need to be someone with some mechanical savvy because of its “unique character.” I told her about the Rainier Falcons and the technical expertise among its members. “I can learn from them!” proclaimed the daughter from the back seat. As we drove around the block, the mother told me her late father had been a mechanic, but that she had not inherited his mechanical aptitude. She had inherited his tools, however. “I’m sure the Rainier Falcons would like to get to know you,” I said. She may not have had “mechanical aptitude” but she seemed to know the right questions to ask. (“Are there any rust issues?” I pulled back the driver’s foot well carpet and showed her the ground beneath the car.) By the end of our conversation, the mother and I had pretty much agreed this wouldn’t be a good car for her daughter. “We’ll talk to her dad” the mom said as they departed. The daughter was still pleading passionately with her mother as they drove away.


On another occasion, an older guy (about my age) drove up and was looking at it. He had been at a garage sale down the street and saw it. He was on his cell phone talking to someone, and a few minutes later, his wife showed up. They really liked the car. I showed them the car, explained its modifications and its [challenging] history. He had done restoration work on an old Mustang in the past, so he seemed ideal to perhaps take Freddie to “the next level”. We discussed price, briefly, and he then proposed a trade. He has an antique tractor that he wanted to trade, plus some money, of course…. “I’m not really interested in taking on another project…” was all I could say. I think my wife is still hoping they’ll come through with a money-only offer, but I’m not holding my breath.


We'll probably re-list her on NWAutos, and I'll be taking her to some shows with For Sale signs in the windows. In short, I've still got her, and she's still for sale!

[Luva65wagon]

Gary - the one place I didn't see listed was the FCA newsletter. Have you considered there too?

[MacDee]

...the FCA newsletter. Have you considered there too?
It's a consideration. I'm still hoping to sell it to someone local. If I sold it through the FCA newsletter, it would be much more likely to be bought by someone... far away.

I do need to get more exposure than just my own neighborhood, though. I will be doing a few shows with the For Sale sign in it.

Funny story... A couple of years ago at the Kla Ha Ya Days show in Snohomish, another entrant approached me and told me he'd seen my car at the big Snohomish show the previous year. He said that he had wanted to meet me that day because he wanted to buy my car. In the meantime, he found a really beautiful '63 Sprint down in California and bought that... which was what he was showing.

Dang.

[MacDee]

Okay, so she is now listed in the FCA Newsletter. See the September issue.

She is also now listed on Cars-On-Line.com.
http://www.cars-on-line.com/86099.html

I had a guy come out to look at it a couple of weeks ago. He's looking for a Falcon, and signed up on this Forum. He actually contacted me by PM through the Forum. He came out and I took him for a ride. He really liked it, I think, but is considering some other prospects also, and is in the process of developing a place to put whatever he gets.

I showed Freddie (with For Sale signs) at a small show at Molbak's Garden Center (Woodinville) a few weeks ago. A couple of older gals stopped by and seemed really interested. They, also, said they had to do some "remodeling" on their property to have a place to keep it.

I took Freddie for a fairly long drive yesterday. She ran well, and gave me no anxious moments. A couple of minor issues came up that I'll have Randy Long address. There's oil leaking a bit from the base of the dipstick tube, and I think I'm hearing the RF wheel bearing (new) on LH bends.

She's still for sale...

[ew1usnr]

Okay, so she is now listed in the FCA Newsletter. Engine has rare Classic Inlines aluminum head.

I thought that it was interesting that the intake "headers" that lead from the carburetor to the intake manifold on your custom cylinder head appear to have...

5844

... a lot of similarity to the cylinder head on the slant-six for a Plymouth Valiant.

5845

I am being complimentary and not critical. Chrysler said that the slant-six layout created more room under the hood and that allowed their engineers to create longer intake paths which acted almost like intake headers that provided a ram effect to the cylinders.

[MacDee]

Yes! They are very similar!
Unfortunately, my engine isn't tilted over to make room for the intake manifold, so the manifold and carburetor are JAMMED tight against the right-side shock tower. I kid you not, you can measure the space between the coolant fitting going into the outboard side of the manifold and the right shock tower with a FEELER GAUGE! We also had to grind a notch in the right-side firewall brace to make some clearance for the secondary float bowl.

Back when I was pre-driving age, I had an older friend who had a Valiant with a slant six... and a four-barrel carburetor. Chrysler actually marketed a four-barrel manifold for the slant six back in the early sixties....

[Luva65wagon]

Okay, so she is now listed in the FCA Newsletter.

I was reading your ad last Friday. I'm debating putting my wagon in there too, before trying local lists, but may wait until late-Winter/early-Spring now. Might be too late in the season at this point to sell a classic car. People want instant gratification of their investment.

[MacDee]

The FCA newsletter ad got a response. A guy from Georgia wanted to come out here and drive it home! I'd never try that, but my mechanic would insist that she could make it! I sent him some more pictures (he has no internet access), and was scared off by the skanky door jambs and the price.

I'm pretty much done with this. I've contacted Memory Lane Motors about selling on consignment, and they say they'd be delighted to have her on the lot. However, they're thinking the asking price should be under $10K. "No one wants pay over a $10K for a 6-cylinder Falcon."

So... Last chance: I figure I would net about $7.5K selling through Memory Lane. For anyone willing to pay that before Christmas, she can be yours.

[doghows]

Gary if you do face book at all go to FFOG an list it there. I'd bet you get a good response from them. It stands for Ford Falcon Owners Group. It's a closed group but super easy to join and the have over ten thousand members world wide now. Not near the tech and help we get here but it might get you a good price for your car.
If I was rich and famous I'd buy your car, she's a beauty.

[Luva65wagon]

Gary,

Gene's son sold his car at Bobo's in Edmonds. They agree on a price you want for it and that's what you get if it sells. Don't know all the other details, but he was really pleased. I'm considering them after what his experience was.

http://www.bobosrodsandcustoms.com/

[MacDee]

Gene's son sold his car at Bobo's in Edmonds.

Yeah, one of the guys in the Woodinville Cruisers recently did a "swap" at Bobo's. He had a custom '48 Plymouth coupe, and essentially swapped it for a custom '53 Chebby that was on Bobo's lot.
I would guess it's about the same deal as Memory Lane. Memory Lane was recommended to me by Lance Lambert.

[Luva65wagon]

They are a dealer, but they didn't buy his car. They worked to determine the money he wanted to get and then spent a lot to detail it up to the max and then will try to sell it for more than you need to make some profit as well. I'm not sure what Memory Lane does.

[BadBird]

Does anyone know if that is their garage? I would love to take pictures of my car inside that. Larry

[Luva65wagon]

I'm told they do, but then you might head down the selling your car road again.

[MacDee]

Freddie is STILL For Sale, but not much longer...

I had been advertising it at $12k, but I have offered it to anyone on this Forum for $7500. That still stands, but it's gotta go by the end of this month. If no one wants it before then, I'm donating the car to charity.

It is not restored, but it underwent a “three-week makeover” several years ago, in which I removed all the trim, neutralized and smoothed rust spots (it wasn’t rusted through anywhere…), sanded and primed it, then got a Maaco acrylic enamel paint job. The bumpers were re-chromed at the same time, and it has new reproduction seat covers so the interior looks really nice also.
It has a modified 200 six and a freshly-rebuilt C4 automatic trans with V8 clutch pack, Transgo shift kit, and a Hughes Performance torque converter. The engine has a rare Classic Inlines aluminum head and intake manifold, a 390 cfm Holley carb, Clay Smith 264-degree cam, and ceramic-coated headers.
It is not perfect, but is good enough to enjoy right away, and is completely roadworthy and reliable.
TO FORUM MEMBERS ONLY: $7500.
Contact Gary at 425-788-4136 if you are interested.

Some additional pictures available at:
http://s35.photobucket.com/user/grmacdee/slideshow/Freddie

[Gitanesteel]

Bummer that it might have to be donated. There's no way I could convince my wife that another Falcon is in order - no matter how much I might like it. Good luck.

[BadBird]

Gary, this is sad and I am sorry you are having so much trouble. I hope you have taken a bunch of time looking at the donation issues. I had a friend who was going to do that and after finding he was only going to get a tax write off of about $700 on a $4500 car, he changed his mind.
My advice would be to try to sell the car at the $7500 or higher price. Although I don't have to put up with your frustration it would be the only way to get any where near that amount of money.
And yes Roger, you are correct about me going to the show room to take pictures of my car. Don't want to sell my car, at least for a few more years. Larry

[Luva65wagon]

Makes me want to add another car to my collection... just to keep it in the family - so to speak. But until I sell my wagon it would be hard to do. I've always wanted a round-body hardtop more than any of the Falcons, but reentered the Falcon world (post high-school) with the wagon in '97 and never felt the feel of that desire again until I got the Ranchero. There is something about looking over the hood of a round-body Falcon...

I would tend to agree with Larry about trying to sell it to anyone, not just the club, at a lower cost before making a donation of it. I/we don't know the urgency behind this path, of course, but seems going down to $9999 is better than a donation.

[dhbfaster]

Gary,
What will they do with it if you donate it? Not much in tax savings.
The ffog on Facebook rcomended by a Steve below has to have the most falcon people on it. Did you ever try it? Someone else could post something up for you. I have to think someone would love it and you would get more,than the tax savings. Besides...makes me sad to see it go to anyone except a falcon lover!

[Luva65wagon]

Just letting everyone here know, if interested, I worked out a deal with Gary and Freddie came home with me today. As I told Gary and Debra, "I need a new project like I need a hole in my head," but it's going to be a fun one for me. This will really push me to get the wagon sold, so it's going to get some prep for that as soon as the Ranchero is out of the garage.

As I told Gary via PM, it was an interesting drive. I'll be posting progress updates on it (as they come) in Freddie's old threads instituted by Gary.

Here it is:

6078

[ew1usnr]

Just letting everyone here know, if interested, I worked out a deal with Gary and Freddie came home with me today.

Yaaaay! Freddie gets to stay "in the family"!

It really is a beautiful car.

[Bill Pierce]

Good to hear he went to a good home. Love what has been done to the motor on that one.

[Jeff W]

I too am very thankful. I just didn't have the room or time and it was killing me to see it leave the family. Please do keep us updated... maybe it's own thread:3g:

[BadBird]

Did I just see a "Used Cars" sign when I drove past your place Roger? :WHATTHE: Really nice that you could get this car. It will be exactly what you have been wanting. Keep us informed. Larry

[dhbfaster]

OMG you did it. I was really sad about that car and I even talked to a guy up here about it...he was interested if it wouldn't have been such high transport cost. Now this car has gone to heaven! [BOW]:rocker::banana:
On behalf of falcon lovers everywhere...thank you Roger.
Take your time...hopefully when I finally get back I will be able to participate on this one a little.

[Luva65wagon]

Well, thanks. Not sure I want to be the place where Falcons go when they die (or are killing their previous owners), but I just couldn't see a car we all worked on, at one time or the other, go away. I do have some priorities in front of it yet to do, but I'm hoping I can figure out what other qualified mechanics couldn't. I have some suspicions based upon my one drive so far, so we'll see.

I will say it was a pretty sad day for Gary and Debra, but I know it was also a day of relief. For me I don't like it when anyone fades away from the club for any reason. That happens far too often. Let's all make an effort to keep in touch with them - even though they may no longer be club members in that sense. They've been here from the beginning.

[Gitanesteel]

Congrats Roger. Wish I could convince my wife to let me get another Falcon (65 2 dr wagon ;) ). It was pulling teeth to let her buy mine and bring it back to the family last summer. To her, cars are just transportation.

[SmithKid]

Knowing this cars history of having lots of gremlins (both cured and existing) I can't think of a person better suited to be it's new owner! Congrats Roger.