Looks like you put on a few pounds since then
What color was it?
I like the FORD stripes on the rocker.
Looks like you put on a few pounds since then
What color was it?
I like the FORD stripes on the rocker.
Jeff Watson
Seattle, WA
'63 Tudor Wagon (170 - 3 spd.)
Hello, Jeff.
My 1963 Falcon Fordor Wagon was a beige color and it had little cows heads molded into the upholstery. I bought the racing stripe decal from JC Whitney. My car had a 170 Special engine and a Fordomatic transmission. Gosh, that car was nice. I used to fold the back seat down and pretend that I was driving a two-seater. It was fun to drive with all with the windows and the tailgate window down. Open air all around!
When I graduated high school I was 5' 8" and weighed 115 lbs. I joined the Navy and they told me that I was at the minimum weight for my height. The Navy fed me well and I gained 30 pounds by the time that I finished my hitch!
I sold my blue Futura sport sedan in 1986. I waited 26 years and in 2012 I saw my black Futura hardtop for sale and my mind snapped.
Last edited by ew1usnr; November 1st, 2014 at 09:16 PM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
Yea! That's it. I liked the little cow heads. That was a really unique touch.
I stopped to get some gas on my way to work this past Friday morning. While there, a guy in a pickup said “Nice Falcon”. He smiled and told me that his grandmother had a Falcon convertible. When he was five years old she would let him sit in her lap when she drove her car. That was a nice story and it is nice that he remembers having good times with his grandmother. Then another guy stopped as he was pulling in and said that he liked my Falcon and that he has a 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix. I didn't know what they looked like so I googled an image later. It is a nice looking car, but too large for my taste. I like the lady in the background who is wearing the 1963-style elbow-length white gloves.
1963 Pontiac Grand Prix.jpg
I drove my Falcon to work again this morning and was surprised to see a buddy's 1970 Mustang in the parking lot.
F James' 1970 Mustang 006.jpg
LS James' 1970 Mustang 002.jpg
The car had not been running for some time and I like to think that my Falcon and my other friend's 1967 Fairlane provided some of the inspiration for him to get the Mustang going.
R James' 1970 Mustang 003.jpg
He said that I will need to re-take the pictures when he has the car painted. I told him that having the car painted in primer makes him look like a bad a**. He liked that.
Last edited by ew1usnr; November 3rd, 2014 at 07:51 PM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
This morning I went an Insty Tune & Lube “Cruise In” that they have the second Saturday of each month. I met a guy who has a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix. That was interesting after having talked to a guy last week about a 1963 Grand Prix.
1964 Grand Prix.JPG
I left there to visit a Mustang show at a local Ford Dealer. There were a lot of cars there.
Mustangs.JPG
This 1970 Mercury Cyclone was nice:
1970 Cyclone.JPG
While I was at the Mustang show this guy and his wife showed up with their 1964 Falcon. I chatted with the Falcon guy and he said that there was an all Chevrolet show going on about eight miles down the road.
Falcon FQ.JPG
I drove to the "BCCC OPEN BENEFIT CAR SHOW 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM Hosted by the Tampa Bay Classic Chevy Club" and the first cars that I saw were a 1966(?) Falcon and a Galaxie. They had all kinds of cars there.
1966 Falcon.JPG
It was a fun day.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
The temperature this morning was 59 degrees and there was a heavy overcast with a slight rain. I took I-275 south to I-4 and drove east at 65 mph to visit Dinosaur World in Plant City. It is a tourist attraction that is alongside I-4 about 20 miles east of Tampa.
See: http://dinosaurworld.com/florida/
The park had not opened yet when I got there and I took this picture at the front gate.
Dinosaur World Entance.JPG
Shortly there after, a girl showed up and unlocked the gate. I didn't actually go into the park. I just wanted to take pictures at the front gate and in the parking lot.
Triceratops.JPG
Brontosauri.JPG
There is also a winery near there that is famous for their blueberry wine. See: http://keelandcurleywinery.com/ Going home I took I-4 west and then I-75 north. The Falcon ran great.
Winery.JPG
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
I had today off for Veteran's day and and the Florida state parks also had free admission today. So we added another 100 miles to the odometer and visited Weeki Wachee Springs. It used to be a famous privately owned tourist attraction, but it was a casualty to Disney World. The State bought it in 2001 to protect the natural and historical resource and now they operate it as a State Park. See: http://www.floridastateparks.org/weekiwachee/
01-DCP_6031.JPG
It is a natural spring that has a viewing area with glass windows that let you see an underwater mermaid show. There are not many places where you can see a similar show.
02-DCP_6032.JPG
05-DCP_6035.JPG
On the way back home we stopped by Salt Spring State park. It was my first time there. They have a nature trail that leads back to several springs.
12-DCP_6042.JPG
Happy Veterans Day!
13-DCP_6043.JPG
Last edited by ew1usnr; November 11th, 2014 at 06:37 PM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
There is an area in Tampa with a concentration of Middle Eastern grocery stores and restaurants. I was driving though there on my way home from work and a young guy about fourteen years old in the back seat of an SUV on my left said "Nice car!" as I stopped at traffic light. I said "Thanks" and noticed that they were a Muslim family as I coasted a car length past to stop. A couple of women in the car wore head scarves. I stopped and thought about it and then backed up and motioned to the kid to roll his window down. Then I briefly explained before the light changed that it was a 1963 Ford Falcon and it had been the compact car of its time. The girl in the front passenger's seat looked about eighteen and must have been the kid's older sister. I said good bye when the light changed and she gave me the most wonderful big, beautiful, beaming smile as I drove away. It had made her happy that someone had taken the time to chat with her younger brother. That was nice.
Last edited by ew1usnr; December 13th, 2015 at 04:39 AM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
Happy 2016.
I keep track of how many miles I drive the Falcon each year and noted the following:
Miles in 2015: 4,305
Miles in 2014: 4,280
Miles in 2013: 3,999
Miles in 2012: 291 (I bought the car mid-year and had a lot of things to fix).
Yaaay! A new distance record. I will try to break the 5000 mile mark in 2016.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
My wife and I drove The Wonder Falcon on a 195-mile round trip from Tampa to Kissimmee today to visit Gatorland.
It was HOT today. It was a record-breaking 85-degrees! Christmas is next week!
IMG_0657 (2).jpg
IMG_0658 (2).jpg
We drove on highways going there but we drove back on Interstate-4. That was the longest distance that I have driven the Falcon on an Interstate so far. We held it at 70 mph for about 80 miles and the Falcon performed like a champ. Yaaay! An older guy driving a new BMW convertible honked and waved at us.
IMG_0661 (2).jpg
IMG_0673 (2).jpg
IMG_0668 (2).jpg
Last edited by ew1usnr; December 21st, 2016 at 05:01 AM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
My wife and I drove The Wonder Falcon from Tampa to Orlando yesterday on a 219-mile round trip to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom.
IMG_0689.jpg
IMG_0690.jpg
We drove there and back on Highways 60 and 27 at mostly 55 - 60 mph. I filled the car with 10 gallons of gas when we got back near the house and found that the Falcon had gotten 21.7 miles per gallon on the trip!!!
Whoohoo! That is my best gas mileage to date. I have hit around 19.5 a few times before, but never above twenty. This is with a 260 V-8, an Autolite 2100 two-barrel carburetor, and a Ford-O-Matic two-speed automatic with a 3.25 differential.
IMG_0692.jpg
IMG_0697.jpg
Last edited by ew1usnr; December 21st, 2016 at 05:19 AM.
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
Dennis,
You're having way too much fun! Good to see they give those 'gators plenty of birds to eat.
85 degrees in December... I think we may have a white Christmas instead.
snow.jpg
Roger Moore
63 "Flarechero"
powered by: 347ci stroker | Tremec T5 | 8" 3:45 TracLoc rear
I guess those of us in the cold, snowy northwest and live vicariously through you. Nice to see the Falcon is running so well.
My wife and I went to Gatorland back in 1992 - loved it
Scott Zimmerman
'65 Falcon Futura 2 door hardtop, 289 V8
Woohoo! I drove The Wonder Falcon 6,118 miles in 2016 without a single breakdown.
The Falcon is my daily driver and it makes the trips to and from work fun.
Miles in 2015: 4,305
Miles in 2014: 4,280
Miles in 2013: 3,999
Miles in 2012: 291
Dennis Pierson
Tampa, FL
"The Wonder Falcon"
'63 Futura Hardtop (260, Ford-O-Matic, bench seat)
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