Introduced in 1960, the compact Falcon was an important success for the Ford Motor Company, and in 1964 it received its first major redesign.
After a successful four-year run as the most popular of the Detroit compacts introduced in 1960. the Ford Falcon finally received a styling makeover for 1964. The unit-construction platform with 109.5-in wheelbase was retained, but the exterior sheet metal was entirely new. A Ford styling crew directed by vice president of design Eugene Bordinat borrowed some ideas from the prolific Mustang development program then under way, it appears, rather than from any production Ford models that year.
Although it looked larger, at 181.6 inches overall the new Falcon was only a half-inch longer and 1.6 inches wider than the previous generation. The ’63 model alignments carried forward largely unchanged: Falcon base model on the bottom, Futura with deluxe interior and exterior trim, and Futura Sprint as the top of the line.
The little 144 cubic-inch Falcon six was standard on base models, while the Futura received a larger 170 CID version. A 260 cubic-inch V8 was available on all models but standard on the Futura Sprint. With a two-barrel carburetor and 8.8:1 compression ratio, the V8 produced 164 hp on regular fuel. In Ford’s marketing assets for ’64, the Falcon was billed as “The Total Performance Compact.”
The instrument panel was new for ’64 as well, with a horizontal speedometer and a pair of nacelles for the fuel level and water temperature gauges. The Futura Sprint (above) was equipped with vinyl bucket seats, a center console, and a tachometer bolted to the top of the dash in hot-rodder fashion. The Sprint was available only as a convertible or two-door hardtop, though these body styles were also offered in regular Futura trim.
While they weren’t the biggest sellers in the Falcon lineup, a full range of two-door and four-door wagons was offered, including the fancy Futura Squire (below), which borrowed its wood-paneled motif from Ford’s popular Country Squire full-sized wagons. The volume leaders, not surprisingly, were the Falcon and Futura four-door sedans.
Despite the all-new exterior sheet metal, Falcon sales actually slipped, from nearly 350,000 in ’63 to not quite 319,000 in ’64, and a considerable decline from the Falcon’s half-million cars in ’62. The once-hot compact category was being squeezed by the intermediate-class cars from Detroit that soon followed, and by the growing popularity of imports—Volkswagen sold more than 250,000 Beetles in the USA that year. The Falcon would receive one more redesign in 1966, and a rebirth in 1970 as the Maverick.
Interesting that the slanted-forward front design foreshadowed the ‘65 Galaxie and Fairlane. A design test bed?
Always liked that generation Falcon.
“A Ford styling crew directed by vice president of design Eugene Bordinat borrowed some ideas from the prolific Mustang development program then under way, it appears, rather than from any production Ford models that year.” Interesting – I had always assumed that the Mustang borrowed some of its styling details from the Falcon. Turns out it was the other way around.
Besides the intermediate class, the Falcon local rivals like the Chevy II and Chrysler’s A-body Dart/Valiant received a V-8 as well and Chrysler menaged later to grab a good share of the compact sales for the remaining decade.
For me the 6-cyl engines were better suited. V8’s are good on the highway but are otherwise usually too heavy for compacts. I remember the torque and response of our ‘66 Valiant with the slant-6 and 3-on-the-tree trans – it was really fun to drive!