Australian Ford history is so interestingly same but different to it US cousins. The bits they shared and didn't share makes for some pretty unique cars.
@@Flaming-Hedgehog My favourite part of the Aussie falcons was that each platform was more of an iteration of the previous. The X series Falcons were all virtually the same in terms of underpinnings aside from bodywork changes, safety changes and motor technology updates. The E series had X series underpinnings with new bodywork on top. The AU was the start of a new platform altogether, but the dimensions and even bolt placements were even quite similar to the E and X series. When the FG came out, they took the AU-BF platform and strengthened it with better materials to make it comply to modern crash safety standards. You can follow the iterations of diagrams that engineers had in the early 60s for things like the water pump design of the Ford Straight 6 (later Barra) up to 2016 (it hardly changed at all during that time as it was a solid, proven component)
@@Flaming-Hedgehog the XP Falcon used the Mercury Comet hood and front fenders with its own, locally designed grille to tie it all together. I think the parts came through Ford Canada (for trade tariff reasons).
@@Catfish4000 The Au tariff thing was (is) so screwed up. After WW2 importing from Au allies like the US was heavily taxed while cars from Axis powers (aka Japan) were not. "So who really won the war?" - James May. Then in 1985 Au had a complete incompetent underhanded corrupt moron in Senator John Button creating the whole rebadging farce creating the beginning of the end of car manufacture in Au. Now 'Stralians have some weird love for communist chinese cars. It's a very weird country.
My parents had the 1970 1/2 2-door Falcon/Torino. Blue exterior, blue interior, straight six. It was badged with both Falcon and Torino badges, I believe Falcon on the trunk lid, and Torino on the dash. It remained in the family until 1982, when my sister sold it for her new car.
Great video and coverage on the Falcon! The 70.5 falcon is a super oddball car. They only made about 26,000 total: that includes wagons, 4 doors, and sedans. Luckily they still share a fair bit of parts with the fairlane/torino/ranchero, but they still have parts unique to the car itself. The most notable difference of the 70.5 falcon is it's a post car with wing windows. I always have fun taking mine out on drives and having people try to figure out what it is, some ford guys even still think it's a Torino.
@@gunfighterzero Yup, myself as well way back before I took ownership and began building mine. My favorite moment was going down to an old Ford parts supplier/shop and comparing the original 70.5 Falcon sales brochure that I have against the 70 Torino brochure to show the main differences. When you see them side by side, that's when you notice that things aren't quite the same
@chazmister56 i just went and looked at a bunch of pics, its definitely different with that rear pilar.. looks like the fairlane was just a torino knockoff
@gunfighterzero Somewhat The biggest thing to look at between the 70 Torino and .5 Falcon is the rear quarter glass, two completely different shapes(ignoring the door posts) The fairlane does share the same bodyshape as the 70.5 quarterglass, however it's not a post car. Now what really makes it dizzying is the fact that the 1970 Torino Brougham actually shares the same rear quarter glass shape as the fairlane
I owned a 1971 Fairlane base model with the 250 six. No carpets, no radio, very plain vinyl/fabric seats. I have a hard time imagining a more stripped down version.
I maintained one of those for a old lady up to about 2000. 6cyl 3 on the tree 2dr radio delete car. Only option was adjustable rear view mirror! Rust bucket but interesting.
I had a 1970.5 Falcon. It was the most favorite car i've ever had. My brother bought it brand new, It had a 351 4V and a toploader four speed with a hurst shifter. It was all stock from the factory like that. It was a blast to drive.
My aunt bought a new dsrk green 70.5 Falcon from the Ford dealer in Sweetwater Tennesse. At 11 years old I was very confused as I knew that the Falcon had been discontinued and it looked just like a Torino. Thanks for the explanation. One of life's little mysteries solved after all these years
@paulbriggs3072 The Argentinian Falcon was made in Argentina. IIRC, first from parts or kits shipped from the USA, then gradually with more locally made parts. As OP said, the last produced look much like the 1960 model. Exterior lights changed from round to rectangular and the interior changed with more modern dashboards. Now, since it's been more than 25 years, I understand that argentine Ford Falcons can be imported into the USA. Vintage car admirers m ay be interested to know that the Kaiser Manhattan produced in Argentina as the Kaiser Carabela long after production stopped in the USA (with a more rugged manual transmission than in the USA and no automatic transmission available). 🇦🇷 🇺🇸
@@RobertJarecki You are very correct, it was made in the Pacheco factory here in Argentina. Even to this day you can still see lots of models on the streets, from different decades even, and in different condition, from beaten down to mint, there was even a taxi version and it was VERY popular up until the early 90s. It was also the used police car/model for years and it has dark history as well for being used to arrest people during the dictatorship of 1976, so many happy and sad memories attached to the Falcon, that car is embeded in our history
I went to the auto show in Boston the year these came out and I have a brochure for the '70 1/2 Falcon. The model that interests me the most was the two door version which was a sedan, something unavailable in the Fairlane or Torino. The B Pillar was at a fastback angle which was a throwback to two door sedans from decades earlier and looked really cool.
I owned one of these cars. I could get in the Upper 20s MPG when driving 55MPH. Mine was quite worn out, I never had to look at the gas gauge, when the fuel was low, the Oil Pressure light would come on when making any sharp turn. Look at the gas gauge and I was below a 1/4 tank. Pull in and fill up the gas tank and add 2+ quarts of oil. Still like the car and sometimes wish I had it back.
My understanding of the situation was that there WAS a 1970 Falcon (albeit produced through only mid-December of 1969) and that the 1970 1/2 Falcon was produced to comply with a government fleet contract for some station wagons that had been signed late in the year. Most of these wagons were for the National Park Service, painted a pale green. I owned a '65 Falcon Ranchero and at one time was a member of the Falcon Club of America; one of the members I knew had a 1970 1/2 wagon and that was what he told me.
Not sure if that was the reason, but indeed there was a 1970 Falcon, basically a refreshed 1969 and it's production was stopped so Ford could use those plants to build more Mavericks which were selling like hotcakes as Falcon sales waned.
The first generation of Falcons, we called old lady cars, mostly because of the white or blue hair seen behind the wheel many times. That Torino based Falcon I recognized as a Torino back then. I didn't know t was a Falcon. Thanks Ed.
What’s interesting is the Ford Ranchero was originally based on the Fairlane body, then reintroduced a few years later on the Falcon platform, then in 67 brought back again on the Fairlane platform and then was on the Torino (basically Fairlane with a different name) platform.
That’s because, in 1967, the Falcon was upsized to a shortened version of the midsized Fairlane chassis , making it about 70% Fairlane at that point. From then out, moving it the that actual Fairlane chassis was easy.
We had a 1961 Falcon station wagon for many years. The bill of sale turned up a few years ago: $2,800, loaded. *** *** “Loaded” in this case meant AM radio, heater, seat belts (lap only) and Ford-O-Matic transmission.
What's really strange is the 2 door 1970 1/2 Falcon was the only full-pillared 2 door in that series, all the Fairlane/Torino 2 doors were hardtop coupes. Yet, it was the least necessary since the Maverick coupe was already on the market!
I think Lee started in the early 50's.He was responsible for the 56 for 56 program.which is a new 56 ford for $56 a month.The program was a big sales success.He continued to move upward until Hank the Duece fired him in the 70;s
Too bad I can’t add a pic: I owned an Army Green 70½ Falcon. I bought it with an inline 6, and I replaced that with a Ford 302 which I rebuilt in an engine class (class paid for by the US Army). It had a column shift with the 6, and installed a floor shifter with the V8.
The irony is the US Army (And other branches,plus other US Government agencies) bought a whole bunch of these '70 1/2 Falcons as Staff/M.P./Fleet cars. A very common sight On Post.
The XA Falcon, while Aussie-designed and built, was first penned in a Detroit studio rented along with Chrysler Australia. This is why the VH Valiant and the XA Falcon looked quite similar. They must have been peering over their office dividers at their competition. Chrysler then had to change the window line of the Valiant to differentiate it from the Falcon. Aussie cars have always managed to straddle the line between European compacts and American barges.
"Torino ... styled by the wind" said a 1970 TV ad as sand blew off an emerging car (one of my all-time faves, aided by hidden headlights). Stripped-down Falcon seemed awkward at introduction, and the buying public clearly agreed.
Ed, these are great! Always interesting. Whenever you mention the Big Three bringing out compacts, you mention them in response to the new European autos gaining popularity in the States. Actually, the popular Rambler lines from AMC were selling very well compared to VW or Renault. Rambler and Ambassador were Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" for 1963. Also, Studebaker had the Lark in the compact mix
My family had a Falcon and then a Maverick. The Falcon was a far superior car to the Maverick in every way. Headroom, build quality, interior room, accessibility, trunk space, engine room, a glove box... The Maverick and the Pinto was why my family ditched brand loyalty to Ford and no descendants of my parents have ever owned a Ford.
You should really look into the history of the Ford Falcon in Australia. It could be said we really picked it up and ran with it, for 56 years I think? They were a right hand drive version of the original Falcon from the US, but as time went by we re-designed and re-engineered them for local conditions/market. I'm not even a Ford guy technically, but the story of the Falcon in Aus is a success by any metric I think. I wish they were still being made.
As a Canadian who laments the disappearance of the unique Aussie vehicles (our own oddballs having gone away long ago), I too wish the Falcon (and the various Holdens, too) were still around.
It's ridiculous that the Barra 6 was never adopted elsewhere, like in the U.S. Turbo versions put most V8's of the last two decades to shame and the motor still had much more to give.
@ yeah agree on that. I think one of the last performance Falcons had a turbo barra and was the fastest Aussie performance ever, or pretty close to it.
@@erroneouscode Barra 6 used the same lasts in the Broadmeadows casting house as the 250 Thriftpower Six did in 1970 with the XY. Ford Australia changed the top of the engine loads but that block, was still the same underneath.
It looks like Ford Australia was the beneficiary of the 70,5, namely the XA model Ford Falcon, coming out in March 1972, in sedan, wagon, and coupe. The looks are far too similar to be coincidence!
The 64/65 Falcon was available as a two door sedan, two door hard top, two door convertible, two door station wagon, two door sedan delivery, four door sedan, and a four door station wagon. You could get the car with a 170 cubic inch I6, 200 cid I6, 260 cid V8, 289 V8, three speed manual trans, 4 speed manual trans, two speed automatic trans, 3 speed automatic trans. You could get a front bench seat which allowed a total of six people or front buckets making it a five seater. The car was dirt cheap as well, base models could be purchased for $1,800 about $18K in today's money. It was one of the best auto values to ever come out of Detroit.
The 1970.5 US Falcon lived on in Australia as the Ford Falcon XA (1972) then XB followed by the XC Falcon through to about 1975. The lines are pretty much the same even the brochure we got here copies the US one!! Our Falcons became a part of the landscape until about 2007 with the BF Falcon (legendary BARRA 6cyl motor). The BF even had an Off-Road version (RTV) with a locking rear diff. After the BF the name was dropped. Our lineup even included a Panel Van and Utility ! Google Falcon XB Panel van or utility. Such a solid and dependable cars! Sadly missed.
The bodywork used for the 1966-69 Falcon served as the basis for the 1969-70 Mustang. The "1970-1/2" Falcon sold to 1971. After that the Falcon was renamed Torino for 1972 and switched to the former Fairlane body fully redesigned this year and the Torino itself was renamed Gran Torino. To add a new layer of luxury for the medium-price market at Ford Division in 1975, a notch below the Thunderbird to battle the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford introduced a companion to the Torino and Gran Torino called Elite, which like the Thunderbird, sold only as a coupe. For the remainder of the 1974 model year while officially slated for 1975, those first cars were called Gran Torino Elite. Then the carryover 1976 model was abbreviated in name to just plain Ford Elite. Ranamed LTD II for 1977-78, once the Mustang was redesigned for 1979 the Elite returned, switched over to the Fairmont tooling as the Futura.
As a kid I used to ride my bike all over the subu to b I lived in and checked out all the old cars. I knew Falcon ended in 69. I was also aware of the history of the Torino. Imagine my shock seeing a Torino with a Falcon badge. I think the only thing more shocking was the first time I saw a suicide door Thunderbird. I thought someone had slipped me acid.
Ed, you produce my favorite youtube videos. I think your theory is underestimating the fact that Falcon and Fairlane shared wagon bodies since the '66 model year. It doesn't seem logical that Ford would go out of their way to produce a wagon with a defunct model name when they have gone out of their way to disguise the duplication the four previous years. I would like to add some empirical information. I could tell you I'm a car guy but, it was the summer of my kindergarten year and because an accident totaled our '66 Mustang, we were forced by circumstance to buy a new Fairlane in haste. we all hated it. it was an AM and heater car, rubber floors and all, or none in this circumstance. A week or two later, I saw our insurance agent down the block. He pulled up in a white 4 door Fairlane just like ours. I walked down to talk to him about it. The thing is, I could read a little. I got up to the car and it said FALCON. I knew about model designations. I pressed the guy like he was in on a conspiracy. (I was dinosaur level crazy about cars) "we have the same car, it's Fairlane". "yeah? mine's a Falcon." "that's not a Falcon, there is a Falcon right across the street. looks nothing like this" "I don't know what to tell you kid, that's what they give me to drive. I'm just out here trying to make a buck". i studied the car the whole time he was selling my neighbor insurance. here are the list of noted differences. fleet car had no radio, dog dish instead of full covers and no drip molding or vinyl door guards. that was it. which brings me to my theory, since I have thought about the 70.5 for years. I think it was pre regulation fleet purchase contracts. I think Ford assumed they could fill the orders until the contracts were satisfied, (second to last "one car, one color" Taurus comes to mind) and then the regulation became a reality. I think Ford, in an effort to quell disputes on delivering 1970 Mavericks in lieu of Falcons, gave the contracts an upgrade by simple rebadging. The contract called for 1970 Falcons, and they delivered. All specs would have been upgraded (and several downgraded with the Maverick choice) except fuel consumption which could still be lied about at this point. Everybody was happy except a haggard insurance salesman and a mouthy tricycle motor.
Someone needs to check the Marti reports for these to see if someone checked the boxes and got a 70 1/2 Falcon with a 429 and a 4spd. Assuming it wasn’t used up at a track somewhere or wrapped around an immovable object it would likely be one of the rarest cars from North America.
I knew about the nameplate/platform switching but was unaware you could get the big iron under the hood. I wonder how many folks were paying attention and ordered a Cobra killer for significantly less money?
There are not many American Falcons I like. The Australian Falcons on the other hand were often fantastic. That is coming from me, a due hard Chevy man. I think had I been born in Australia I would be on the other side. The offerings from Ford very frequently quite handily looked much better.
4:48 imagine the stories of the factory workers putting the 429 cobra jets in these so called "economy" Fords "wait a second... what engine did you say was going in this car?"
In the US, when Fiat introduced the refreshed 131 in 1978 1/2, they rechristened it the Brava (most everywhere else it was still the 131 Mirafiori) and also introduced the more premium SuperBrava (the Super Mirafiori almost everywhere else). In 1979, they dropped the base Brava and renamed the SuperBrava….the Brava (nice and confusing). So you have a model in the 1978 1/2 Brava lasting six months but the nameplate living on as well as a nameplate in the SuperBrava only lasting six months but the model living on in Fiat’s odd marketing swap. My family did buy a new 1978 1/2 SuperBrava back in 1978 and it ended up being my first regular driver till our family traded it in in 1984 for a Honda Accord
This explains a lot. I had a '69 Falcon 4 door as my college car. Doing much of my own maintenance and upkeep I was often frustrated by parts that actually belonged to 1970 Fords. I always called mine a "69 and a half" but it seems it was more likely Ford was just using what they had handy for the last model year.
There is one near where I live. It's gold and beautiful. When I saw it a year ago, I couldn't figure out what the hell it was. The guy explained and my mind was blown.
I got one of these around 1980 without a motor or transmission. I put 390 & C6 from a 69' LTD in that 70 1/2 Falcon in the late summer of 80'. It was an ugly 4 door, but man did that thing go! :)
As to the 70.5 Falcon, I grew up in Grosse Ile, Michigan and have motor oil in my blood. I do not remember this car at all, but from what I can see from this video this was a "stripper" or very basic car aimed at the basic market. After Studebaker shut down in 1966, they had nowhere to turn so this became the "catholic old woman" car~
My father ordered a Falcon station wagon at the end of 1969. By that time, production had ceased and he wasn't interested in what was on the lot. Not to worry he was told. There will be a Falcon wagon in a few months, stripped of all the options you didn't want. He was not happy with what was delivered, but in 1970 no American Automotive company sold a compact wagon anyway--save for the AMC Hornet, but calling that a station wagon was something of an exaggeration.
The Hornet Sportabout wagon didn't come on the market until September 1970 as a 1971 model. AMC did not have enough money to redesign a fuel tank with a side filler to allow a larger tailgate that opened at a more practical bumper level, which is why it appears 'odd'. Otherwise, you are correct, there were no compact U.S. station wagons on the market for the 1970 model year.
The Maverick went on sale in April (!) 1969 (not the autumn of ‘69) as a 1970 model. This blew everyone’s minds because suddenly you could sort of time travel and buy a car from 8 months in the future. And from the next decade too! I remember this clearly because my parents bought a Maverick when they first came out.
We had a 1970 Ford Fairlane 500. It was a 2-door with green exterior and black vinyl interior. I can't remember the engine in it, but I think it was an 8-cylinder, automatic trans. Nice car, wish we still had it...
Some car companies, including Ford, did 1/2 year models or trim versions in the 1960's. The initial Ford Mustang was actually a 1964 1/2 model (or a 1964 for registration purposes) initially for sale in April 1964 and connected to the opening day of the 1964-65 New York World's fair. Ford also did sub-models or trim packages in April 1963, including with the Falcon and in other years too. I owned in 1973-74, my first car, a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura 2 door hardtop coupe (it looked like including in white color in the picture of a white one in your video). There were 3 (and an half ?) versions of the Falcon, 1960-63, 1964-1965, 1966- early 1970 and the 1970 1/2 the topic of this video. I think the 1970 1/2 Falcon was to cover a price point vs. competitors GM, Chrysler (Plymouth) and AMC. The Torino was a replacement for the Fairlane in the North American Market. It is interesting that the North American Falcons and later the Torino had their body designs become those sold as Falcons in Australia.
There were a few "half year" models with Ford, but in-house they were never officially called that; it was one year or the next on the books. Except for this 70 1/2 Falcon which was it's official designation at Ford.
😮! Man! the Falcons at the begining, like the white one, is a " Thin C Pillar " !, those where the first exported to Argentina with a 4 cylinder engine and some 2300 cc displacement, an extra rare item among collectors. Later on the whole car include engine was produced locally. Q: Wasn' t the Falcon started in late 50's?
A: Sort of. Since the first model year of Falcon was 1960, the car would have debuted in late 1959, and of course didn't get engineered and designed overnight, so would have been in progress from around 1957-58...
There was a transition Torino as well.Torino front sheetmetal and Galaxie 500 from the fenders back.The Starsky and Hutch fastback design wasnt ready.We had one back in the day.
I’ve never seen one of those. How many were sold? Maverick had just model maybe Ford should made it a full line from the start Thanks for these shorts 🌲👍
Ford USA should have taken guidance from Ford Australia. The Australian Falcon XA, XB, XC, XD, XE, XF etc. were great cars and well suited for the compact US market.
Ed the Maverick actually debuted on April 17, 1969, 5 years to the day after the Mustang as a 1970 model and was billed as the car of the 70's at 60's prices.
When I was a kid my dad bought one of these brand new, It was a 2 door six cylinder with a three speed on the column. I had no idea it was made for only six months. He kept it a couple of years and traded it in on another not so common Ford, a '72 Galaxie 500.
I had all but forgotten about this weird Falcon. The first one I ever encountered (indeed it may have been the last) was parked at the aircraft carrier quay in Yokosuka Japan in late 1971. How and why it was there I have no idea to this day.
My grandfather bought one of these new in medium blue metallic- he traded in a 1962 Falcon on it, I guess he was waiting for them to come back. My family all worked at FoMoCo so he got it cheap with A Plan.
2:20 Bizarre that for this 1970 1/2 Falcon, Ford actually added vent windows back, to the Fairlane/Torino body, whose last year of vent windows was 1967. I'm guessing someone calculated they could save money by eliminating flow thru ventilation, which apparently makes vent windows required. And that all the extra design cost and stocking extra parts made this chicanery still worthwhile
Lol, no joke, my 1st car was a 69 falcon handed down from my dad with the 200ci strait six automatic. Column shifter, 2 door, green with black top. Drove it till 1990, wish i till had it.😅
We definitely had no stop in our falcons in Australia. It was the xy at the time.
Australian Ford history is so interestingly same but different to it US cousins. The bits they shared and didn't share makes for some pretty unique cars.
@@Flaming-Hedgehog My favourite part of the Aussie falcons was that each platform was more of an iteration of the previous. The X series Falcons were all virtually the same in terms of underpinnings aside from bodywork changes, safety changes and motor technology updates. The E series had X series underpinnings with new bodywork on top. The AU was the start of a new platform altogether, but the dimensions and even bolt placements were even quite similar to the E and X series. When the FG came out, they took the AU-BF platform and strengthened it with better materials to make it comply to modern crash safety standards. You can follow the iterations of diagrams that engineers had in the early 60s for things like the water pump design of the Ford Straight 6 (later Barra) up to 2016 (it hardly changed at all during that time as it was a solid, proven component)
The XYs were a damn good car .
@@Flaming-Hedgehog the XP Falcon used the Mercury Comet hood and front fenders with its own, locally designed grille to tie it all together. I think the parts came through Ford Canada (for trade tariff reasons).
@@Catfish4000 The Au tariff thing was (is) so screwed up. After WW2 importing from Au allies like the US was heavily taxed while cars from Axis powers (aka Japan) were not. "So who really won the war?" - James May.
Then in 1985 Au had a complete incompetent underhanded corrupt moron in Senator John Button creating the whole rebadging farce creating the beginning of the end of car manufacture in Au. Now 'Stralians have some weird love for communist chinese cars. It's a very weird country.
Who else loves these short form Ed videos? They are fantastic!
Me, for one!
I don't discriminate - I love ALL of Ed's videos! 😂👍
Yep
One of the most brutal muscle cars resulted from that 6 month Falcon.A number of 429SCJ Falcons were kitted out lighter stripped down rocketships
I knew a guy who had one. A real sleeper.
My parents had the 1970 1/2 2-door Falcon/Torino. Blue exterior, blue interior, straight six. It was badged with both Falcon and Torino badges, I believe Falcon on the trunk lid, and Torino on the dash. It remained in the family until 1982, when my sister sold it for her new car.
Great video and coverage on the Falcon!
The 70.5 falcon is a super oddball car. They only made about 26,000 total: that includes wagons, 4 doors, and sedans. Luckily they still share a fair bit of parts with the fairlane/torino/ranchero, but they still have parts unique to the car itself. The most notable difference of the 70.5 falcon is it's a post car with wing windows. I always have fun taking mine out on drives and having people try to figure out what it is, some ford guys even still think it's a Torino.
Interesting... i always just assumed it was a rebadged torino too
@@gunfighterzero Yup, myself as well way back before I took ownership and began building mine. My favorite moment was going down to an old Ford parts supplier/shop and comparing the original 70.5 Falcon sales brochure that I have against the 70 Torino brochure to show the main differences. When you see them side by side, that's when you notice that things aren't quite the same
@chazmister56 i just went and looked at a bunch of pics, its definitely different with that rear pilar.. looks like the fairlane was just a torino knockoff
@gunfighterzero Somewhat
The biggest thing to look at between the 70 Torino and .5 Falcon is the rear quarter glass, two completely different shapes(ignoring the door posts)
The fairlane does share the same bodyshape as the 70.5 quarterglass, however it's not a post car. Now what really makes it dizzying is the fact that the 1970 Torino Brougham actually shares the same rear quarter glass shape as the fairlane
I wish the 70.5 Falcon had continued as it's prettier than Maverick.
I owned a 1971 Fairlane base model with the 250 six. No carpets, no radio, very plain vinyl/fabric seats. I have a hard time imagining a more stripped down version.
I maintained one of those for a old lady up to about 2000. 6cyl 3 on the tree 2dr radio delete car. Only option was adjustable rear view mirror! Rust bucket but interesting.
These little holiday bon bons are so delightful. Hartelijk dank!
Yep
visited Holland as a U.S. Army kid 1st grader -- we lived in Mainz, ex-French Zone West Germany
I had a 1970.5 Falcon. It was the most favorite car i've ever had. My brother bought it brand new, It had a 351 4V and a toploader four speed with a hurst shifter. It was all stock from the factory like that. It was a blast to drive.
No what YOU had was a 1970.5 Torino. Just because it is named Falcon there is nothing difference between. it and a Torino.
Nice
A stripped-down Fairlane "falcon" with a 429 cobra jet sounds like a lot of fun. That picture you showed was quite a good-looking car too.
My aunt bought a new dsrk green 70.5 Falcon from the Ford dealer in Sweetwater Tennesse. At 11 years old I was very confused as I knew that the Falcon had been discontinued and it looked just like a Torino. Thanks for the explanation. One of life's little mysteries solved after all these years
Crazy! in Argentina the FALCON was sold until 1991! and pretty much looked the same as the 1960s model, same chasis
Wow! Wonder where they were made.
@paulbriggs3072 The Argentinian Falcon was made in Argentina. IIRC, first from parts or kits shipped from the USA, then gradually with more locally made parts.
As OP said, the last produced look much like the 1960 model. Exterior lights changed from round to rectangular and the interior changed with more modern dashboards.
Now, since it's been more than 25 years, I understand that argentine Ford Falcons can be imported into the USA.
Vintage car admirers m ay be interested to know that the Kaiser Manhattan produced in Argentina as the Kaiser Carabela long after production stopped in the USA (with a more rugged manual transmission than in the USA and no automatic transmission available).
🇦🇷 🇺🇸
@@RobertJarecki You are very correct, it was made in the Pacheco factory here in Argentina. Even to this day you can still see lots of models on the streets, from different decades even, and in different condition, from beaten down to mint, there was even a taxi version and it was VERY popular up until the early 90s. It was also the used police car/model for years and it has dark history as well for being used to arrest people during the dictatorship of 1976, so many happy and sad memories attached to the Falcon, that car is embeded in our history
@@paulbriggs3072 Pacheco factory in Buenos Aires, Argentina
So we have the American Falcon, The Argentinian Falcon, And The Australian Falcon. So many Falcons 😂
Had a 6 cyl. wagon for several years. Loved that car! Beautiful lines and very practical. Still regret selling it.
I went to the auto show in Boston the year these came out and I have a brochure for the '70 1/2 Falcon. The model that interests me the most was the two door version which was a sedan, something unavailable in the Fairlane or Torino. The B Pillar was at a fastback angle which was a throwback to two door sedans from decades earlier and looked really cool.
I owned one of these cars. I could get in the Upper 20s MPG when driving 55MPH. Mine was quite worn out, I never had to look at the gas gauge, when the fuel was low, the Oil Pressure light would come on when making any sharp turn. Look at the gas gauge and I was below a 1/4 tank. Pull in and fill up the gas tank and add 2+ quarts of oil. Still like the car and sometimes wish I had it back.
My understanding of the situation was that there WAS a 1970 Falcon (albeit produced through only mid-December of 1969) and that the 1970 1/2 Falcon was produced to comply with a government fleet contract for some station wagons that had been signed late in the year. Most of these wagons were for the National Park Service, painted a pale green. I owned a '65 Falcon Ranchero and at one time was a member of the Falcon Club of America; one of the members I knew had a 1970 1/2 wagon and that was what he told me.
Not sure if that was the reason, but indeed there was a 1970 Falcon, basically a refreshed 1969 and it's production was stopped so Ford could use those plants to build more Mavericks which were selling like hotcakes as Falcon sales waned.
US Military also had these '70 1/2 Falcon 4drs as Staff Cars.
@@DrOlds7298 Now that you mention it I remember those.
The first generation of Falcons, we called old lady cars, mostly because of the white or blue hair seen behind the wheel many times.
That Torino based Falcon I recognized as a Torino back then. I didn't know t was a Falcon.
Thanks Ed.
What’s interesting is the Ford Ranchero was originally based on the Fairlane body, then reintroduced a few years later on the Falcon platform, then in 67 brought back again on the Fairlane platform and then was on the Torino (basically Fairlane with a different name) platform.
That’s because, in 1967, the Falcon was upsized to a shortened version of the midsized Fairlane chassis , making it about 70% Fairlane at that point. From then out, moving it the that actual Fairlane chassis was easy.
70.5 Falcon was a great-looking car, especially the 2-door
We had a 1961 Falcon station wagon for many years. The bill of sale turned up a few years ago: $2,800, loaded. ***
*** “Loaded” in this case meant AM radio, heater, seat belts (lap only) and Ford-O-Matic transmission.
That's nearly $30,000 in today's money.
What's really strange is the 2 door 1970 1/2 Falcon was the only full-pillared 2 door in that series, all the Fairlane/Torino 2 doors were hardtop coupes. Yet, it was the least necessary since the Maverick coupe was already on the market!
Lee Iacocca was with Ford long before this. He was instrumental in bringing the Mustang to market. Really enjoy your videos. Thanks.
I think Lee started in the early 50's.He was responsible for the 56 for 56 program.which is a new 56 ford for $56 a month.The program was a big sales success.He continued to move upward until Hank the Duece fired him in the 70;s
Yeah, I tripped over that too. Iacocca superintended the makeover of the original Falcon into the Mustang...
@@fishinmusician-h3i...and of course he landed right side up at Chrysler. Quite a career.
@@stevetournay6103 Lee Iacocca got the last laugh over Henry Ford the 2nd with his massive success at Chrysler
Mustangs before about 72 were simply Falcons in drag.
Too bad I can’t add a pic: I owned an Army Green 70½ Falcon. I bought it with an inline 6, and I replaced that with a Ford 302 which I rebuilt in an engine class (class paid for by the US Army). It had a column shift with the 6, and installed a floor shifter with the V8.
The irony is the US Army (And other branches,plus other US Government agencies) bought a whole bunch of these '70 1/2 Falcons as Staff/M.P./Fleet cars. A very common sight On Post.
Thank you Ed. It continues to get interesting every video.
Reworked as the XA Falcon in Australia in ‘72-‘73
Interesting that the 70.5 looks like the xa Falcon in Australia...
The XA Falcon, while Aussie-designed and built, was first penned in a Detroit studio rented along with Chrysler Australia. This is why the VH Valiant and the XA Falcon looked quite similar. They must have been peering over their office dividers at their competition. Chrysler then had to change the window line of the Valiant to differentiate it from the Falcon.
Aussie cars have always managed to straddle the line between European compacts and American barges.
Main difference is, the XA looks good.
Interesting how it 70.5 has XY looking doors and handles.
ALERT! Lineup gap! LOL. Ed, I love this stuff. please carry on.
"Torino ... styled by the wind" said a 1970 TV ad as sand blew off an emerging car (one of my all-time faves, aided by hidden headlights). Stripped-down Falcon seemed awkward at introduction, and the buying public clearly agreed.
Curious how many people actually went nuts and bought this with that V8 Cobra ram air option.
According to one article i read only 42 had the 429 ram air
Thank you Edward.
Ed, these are great! Always interesting. Whenever you mention the Big Three bringing out compacts, you mention them in response to the new European autos gaining popularity in the States. Actually, the popular Rambler lines from AMC were selling very well compared to VW or Renault. Rambler and Ambassador were Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" for 1963. Also, Studebaker had the Lark in the compact mix
My family had a Falcon and then a Maverick. The Falcon was a far superior car to the Maverick in every way. Headroom, build quality, interior room, accessibility, trunk space, engine room, a glove box... The Maverick and the Pinto was why my family ditched brand loyalty to Ford and no descendants of my parents have ever owned a Ford.
You should really look into the history of the Ford Falcon in Australia. It could be said we really picked it up and ran with it, for 56 years I think?
They were a right hand drive version of the original Falcon from the US, but as time went by we re-designed and re-engineered them for local conditions/market.
I'm not even a Ford guy technically, but the story of the Falcon in Aus is a success by any metric I think. I wish they were still being made.
As a Canadian who laments the disappearance of the unique Aussie vehicles (our own oddballs having gone away long ago), I too wish the Falcon (and the various Holdens, too) were still around.
@@stevetournay6103 thanks brother!
It's ridiculous that the Barra 6 was never adopted elsewhere, like in the U.S. Turbo versions put most V8's of the last two decades to shame and the motor still had much more to give.
@ yeah agree on that. I think one of the last performance Falcons had a turbo barra and was the fastest Aussie performance ever, or pretty close to it.
@@erroneouscode Barra 6 used the same lasts in the Broadmeadows casting house as the 250 Thriftpower Six did in 1970 with the XY.
Ford Australia changed the top of the engine loads but that block, was still the same underneath.
It looks like Ford Australia was the beneficiary of the 70,5, namely the XA model Ford Falcon, coming out in March 1972, in sedan, wagon, and coupe. The looks are far too similar to be coincidence!
I find it funny that Ford kept making the Torino based Falcon in Australia as the xa and later xb model up to the 80's.
While they may have looked similar, the Aussie Falcons had much more in common with the earlier Falcons than the Torino line.
The xa was the first totally Australian design and while looking like a Torino that's where the similarity ends.
The 64/65 Falcon was available as a two door sedan, two door hard top, two door convertible, two door station wagon, two door sedan delivery, four door sedan, and a four door station wagon. You could get the car with a 170 cubic inch I6, 200 cid I6, 260 cid V8, 289 V8, three speed manual trans, 4 speed manual trans, two speed automatic trans, 3 speed automatic trans. You could get a front bench seat which allowed a total of six people or front buckets making it a five seater. The car was dirt cheap as well, base models could be purchased for $1,800 about $18K in today's money. It was one of the best auto values to ever come out of Detroit.
It was also the basis for the Ranchero for those years.
The 1970.5 US Falcon lived on in Australia as the Ford Falcon XA (1972) then XB followed by the XC Falcon through to about 1975. The lines are pretty much the same even the brochure we got here copies the US one!! Our Falcons became a part of the landscape until about 2007 with the BF Falcon (legendary BARRA 6cyl motor). The BF even had an Off-Road version (RTV) with a locking rear diff. After the BF the name was dropped. Our lineup even included a Panel Van and Utility ! Google Falcon XB Panel van or utility. Such a solid and dependable cars! Sadly missed.
The bodywork used for the 1966-69 Falcon served as the basis for the 1969-70 Mustang. The "1970-1/2" Falcon sold to 1971. After that the Falcon was renamed Torino for 1972 and switched to the former Fairlane body fully redesigned this year and the Torino itself was renamed Gran Torino. To add a new layer of luxury for the medium-price market at Ford Division in 1975, a notch below the Thunderbird to battle the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford introduced a companion to the Torino and Gran Torino called Elite, which like the Thunderbird, sold only as a coupe. For the remainder of the 1974 model year while officially slated for 1975, those first cars were called Gran Torino Elite. Then the carryover 1976 model was abbreviated in name to just plain Ford Elite. Ranamed LTD II for 1977-78, once the Mustang was redesigned for 1979 the Elite returned, switched over to the Fairmont tooling as the Futura.
As a kid I used to ride my bike all over the subu to b I lived in and checked out all the old cars. I knew Falcon ended in 69. I was also aware of the history of the Torino. Imagine my shock seeing a Torino with a Falcon badge. I think the only thing more shocking was the first time I saw a suicide door Thunderbird. I thought someone had slipped me acid.
I kinda want a '70.5 Falcon now. I'm weird that way.
They should have kept the Falcon and gotten rid of the Mavereek and Grenada. That coupe version looks better than the XA/B/C coupes
Ed, you produce my favorite youtube videos. I think your theory is underestimating the fact that Falcon and Fairlane shared wagon bodies since the '66 model year. It doesn't seem logical that Ford would go out of their way to produce a wagon with a defunct model name when they have gone out of their way to disguise the duplication the four previous years. I would like to add some empirical information. I could tell you I'm a car guy but, it was the summer of my kindergarten year and because an accident totaled our '66 Mustang, we were forced by circumstance to buy a new Fairlane in haste. we all hated it. it was an AM and heater car, rubber floors and all, or none in this circumstance. A week or two later, I saw our insurance agent down the block. He pulled up in a white 4 door Fairlane just like ours. I walked down to talk to him about it. The thing is, I could read a little. I got up to the car and it said FALCON. I knew about model designations. I pressed the guy like he was in on a conspiracy. (I was dinosaur level crazy about cars) "we have the same car, it's Fairlane". "yeah? mine's a Falcon." "that's not a Falcon, there is a Falcon right across the street. looks nothing like this" "I don't know what to tell you kid, that's what they give me to drive. I'm just out here trying to make a buck". i studied the car the whole time he was selling my neighbor insurance. here are the list of noted differences. fleet car had no radio, dog dish instead of full covers and no drip molding or vinyl door guards. that was it. which brings me to my theory, since I have thought about the 70.5 for years. I think it was pre regulation fleet purchase contracts. I think Ford assumed they could fill the orders until the contracts were satisfied, (second to last "one car, one color" Taurus comes to mind) and then the regulation became a reality. I think Ford, in an effort to quell disputes on delivering 1970 Mavericks in lieu of Falcons, gave the contracts an upgrade by simple rebadging. The contract called for 1970 Falcons, and they delivered. All specs would have been upgraded (and several downgraded with the Maverick choice) except fuel consumption which could still be lied about at this point. Everybody was happy except a haggard insurance salesman and a mouthy tricycle motor.
Someone needs to check the Marti reports for these to see if someone checked the boxes and got a 70 1/2 Falcon with a 429 and a 4spd. Assuming it wasn’t used up at a track somewhere or wrapped around an immovable object it would likely be one of the rarest cars from North America.
There was one 4 sale from a dealer of collecter cars maybe 10 years ago, white, 429, 4-speed…….truly the coolest sleeper
Man you do such good research on these videos! Keep up the great work I love this!
The falcon lived on in Australia untill 2015 with several redesigns and upgrades and was a much better car than the American replacement cars
Fascinating Ed. I had many Falcons back in the day. So simple and good.....😊
Thank you for your videos. Love them here in the states. Merry Christmas Ed.
The front of the 70 1/2 reminded me of the first Gen Toyota Celica
...which in turn had a rear section very similar to the Mustang in the respective fastback versions
I knew about the nameplate/platform switching but was unaware you could get the big iron under the hood. I wonder how many folks were paying attention and ordered a Cobra killer for significantly less money?
There are not many American Falcons I like. The Australian Falcons on the other hand were often fantastic. That is coming from me, a due hard Chevy man. I think had I been born in Australia I would be on the other side. The offerings from Ford very frequently quite handily looked much better.
The "Falcon" name is something that Ford has not exploited in the United States. The Ford Probe really should have been the Falcon, in my opinion.
4:48 imagine the stories of the factory workers putting the 429 cobra jets in these so called "economy" Fords
"wait a second... what engine did you say was going in this car?"
Growing up in the 70’s in Australia, dad had the Fairmont XC wagon v8 ,which was the so called luxury version of the Aussie XC Falcon .
Thank you Ed
The 1960s Falcon war built until 1991 with various modifications in Argentinia.
Fun fact - The '70.5 Falcon was the only 2 door sedan offered in the new '70 Torino line, while the Torino offered two different 2 door hardtops.
In the US, when Fiat introduced the refreshed 131 in 1978 1/2, they rechristened it the Brava (most everywhere else it was still the 131 Mirafiori) and also introduced the more premium SuperBrava (the Super Mirafiori almost everywhere else). In 1979, they dropped the base Brava and renamed the SuperBrava….the Brava (nice and confusing). So you have a model in the 1978 1/2 Brava lasting six months but the nameplate living on as well as a nameplate in the SuperBrava only lasting six months but the model living on in Fiat’s odd marketing swap. My family did buy a new 1978 1/2 SuperBrava back in 1978 and it ended up being my first regular driver till our family traded it in in 1984 for a Honda Accord
This explains a lot. I had a '69 Falcon 4 door as my college car. Doing much of my own maintenance and upkeep I was often frustrated by parts that actually belonged to 1970 Fords. I always called mine a "69 and a half" but it seems it was more likely Ford was just using what they had handy for the last model year.
My grandfather briefly owned a white 67 4 door Falcon back in 1969
There is one near where I live. It's gold and beautiful. When I saw it a year ago, I couldn't figure out what the hell it was. The guy explained and my mind was blown.
I got one of these around 1980 without a motor or transmission. I put 390 & C6 from a 69' LTD in that 70 1/2 Falcon in the late summer of 80'. It was an ugly 4 door, but man did that thing go! :)
Great job Ed!
As to the 70.5 Falcon, I grew up in Grosse Ile, Michigan and have motor oil in my blood. I do not remember this car at all, but from what I can see from this video this was a "stripper" or very basic car aimed at the basic market. After Studebaker shut down in 1966, they had nowhere to turn so this became the "catholic old woman" car~
Love this series. Groetjes uit Groningen.
I remember seeing a few of these when I was a kid. I was always confused by them
Those chrome reverse rims with baby moon hub caps at 3:08 are really eye catching. 👍👍
My father ordered a Falcon station wagon at the end of 1969. By that time, production had ceased and he wasn't interested in what was on the lot. Not to worry he was told. There will be a Falcon wagon in a few months, stripped of all the options you didn't want. He was not happy with what was delivered, but in 1970 no American Automotive company sold a compact wagon anyway--save for the AMC Hornet, but calling that a station wagon was something of an exaggeration.
The Hornet Sportabout wagon didn't come on the market until September 1970 as a 1971 model. AMC did not have enough money to redesign a fuel tank with a side filler to allow a larger tailgate that opened at a more practical bumper level, which is why it appears 'odd'. Otherwise, you are correct, there were no compact U.S. station wagons on the market for the 1970 model year.
Had a Falcon 1970 1/2 station wagon ,color was butterscotch,351 Cleveland 2 barrel automatic, limited slip, no A/C, got good milage, great car!😊
Which was a very good car, very good body style.I'm not sure why it went the way it wait a minute
The Maverick went on sale in April (!) 1969 (not the autumn of ‘69) as a 1970 model. This blew everyone’s minds because suddenly you could sort of time travel and buy a car from 8 months in the future. And from the next decade too! I remember this clearly because my parents bought a Maverick when they first came out.
We had a 1970 Ford Fairlane 500. It was a 2-door with green exterior and black vinyl interior. I can't remember the engine in it, but I think it was an 8-cylinder, automatic trans. Nice car, wish we still had it...
Some car companies, including Ford, did 1/2 year models or trim versions in the 1960's. The initial Ford Mustang was actually a 1964 1/2 model (or a 1964 for registration purposes) initially for sale in April 1964 and connected to the opening day of the 1964-65 New York World's fair. Ford also did sub-models or trim packages in April 1963, including with the Falcon and in other years too. I owned in 1973-74, my first car, a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura 2 door hardtop coupe (it looked like including in white color in the picture of a white one in your video). There were 3 (and an half ?) versions of the Falcon, 1960-63, 1964-1965, 1966- early 1970 and the 1970 1/2 the topic of this video. I think the 1970 1/2 Falcon was to cover a price point vs. competitors GM, Chrysler (Plymouth) and AMC. The Torino was a replacement for the Fairlane in the North American Market. It is interesting that the North American Falcons and later the Torino had their body designs become those sold as Falcons in Australia.
There were a few "half year" models with Ford, but in-house they were never officially called that; it was one year or the next on the books. Except for this 70 1/2 Falcon which was it's official designation at Ford.
😮! Man! the Falcons at the begining, like the white one, is a " Thin C Pillar " !, those where the first exported to Argentina with a 4 cylinder engine and some 2300 cc displacement, an extra rare item among collectors.
Later on the whole car include engine was produced locally.
Q: Wasn' t the Falcon started in late 50's?
A: Sort of. Since the first model year of Falcon was 1960, the car would have debuted in late 1959, and of course didn't get engineered and designed overnight, so would have been in progress from around 1957-58...
There was a transition Torino as well.Torino front sheetmetal and Galaxie 500 from the fenders back.The Starsky and Hutch fastback design wasnt ready.We had one back in the day.
Thank you! Today i learn something new! :)
I had a 70.5 falcon sedan with the 6 cyl. and "3 on the tree" shifter. solid car, maybe a little underpowered for the times
Ford advertised it as a 1970.5. I’m sure it was sold and titled as a 1970.
It really was just the Torino with a Falcon badge, a messy marketing fix made on the hop.
The rear end of the 70 1/2 sedan is classic Australian XA-XB-XC, including wagon & 2door
Loving these.
IIRC, the 429 SCJ was available and some were equipped with one..
I’ve never seen one of those. How many were sold? Maverick had just model maybe Ford should made it a full line from the start Thanks for these shorts 🌲👍
I think the maverick got a larger size increase than the falcon down the road, it turned into a small pickup lmao
And as a compact SUV in England in the early 2000's.
@letsanum Ford Australia had Maverick as its version of a Nissan Patrol GQ model in return for a rebadged version of Falcon Ute as Nissan Ute .
How very strange! Did this actually make any money for Ford?
Australian here, Falcon as an economy car is funny.
My old man bought one of these 70 1/2's and I learned to drive in it. It didn't hold up well to a 16 year old driver.
Thanks, Ed!!!
Ford just had a lot of Falcon emblems sitting around and rather than trashing them, they put them on the Torino.
Ford USA should have taken guidance from Ford Australia. The Australian Falcon XA, XB, XC, XD, XE, XF etc. were great cars and well suited for the compact US market.
Wow. Never knew this. Thanks.
Ed the Maverick actually debuted on April 17, 1969, 5 years to the day after the Mustang as a 1970 model and was billed as the car of the 70's at 60's prices.
I owned a few Falcons of various years and styles. They were great cars.
When I was a kid my dad bought one of these brand new, It was a 2 door six cylinder with a three speed on the column. I had no idea it was made for only six months. He kept it a couple of years and traded it in on another not so common Ford, a '72 Galaxie 500.
Thank You Ed!
I had all but forgotten about this weird Falcon. The first one I ever encountered (indeed it may have been the last) was parked at the aircraft carrier quay in Yokosuka Japan in late 1971. How and why it was there I have no idea to this day.
My grandfather bought one of these new in medium blue metallic- he traded in a 1962 Falcon on it,
I guess he was waiting for them to come back. My family all worked at FoMoCo so he got it cheap with A Plan.
2:20 Bizarre that for this 1970 1/2 Falcon, Ford actually added vent windows back, to the Fairlane/Torino body, whose last year of vent windows was 1967. I'm guessing someone calculated they could save money by eliminating flow thru ventilation, which apparently makes vent windows required. And that all the extra design cost and stocking extra parts made this chicanery still worthwhile
Very interesting. Thank you.
I love my Car. Liquid Lunch, 6 Months, Re-Badged, now Torino, and the Sticker on the back of Glove Box Lid sez Fairlane.....
Cool...didn't even know those existed🤔
I remember when I was growing up we had two different falcons and A rambler station wagon, one at a time of course.
Lol, no joke, my 1st car was a 69 falcon handed down from my dad with the 200ci strait six automatic. Column shifter, 2 door, green with black top. Drove it till 1990, wish i till had it.😅