Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Falcon Courier

I know I said I wouldn't be doing any big three cars this week; unfortunately, this Falcon is an exception to that rule, but I think this example definitely falls right in line withe coolness and quirky factor of the Tercel and that Rambler wagon I blogged earlier. In its own right, this compact Ford line is pretty cool; I quite like the simplicity of their styling, and despite being the basis for the Mustang, the Falcons aren't anywhere near as common, especially in the rust belt.
In the 1960s, American cars (or any car for that matter) was known for being able to get decent gas mileage and get out of its own way; in 1960, Ford changed that, with the introduction of its compact Falcon lineup. Obviously, there were two doors, and fours, and convertibles, and wagons, but there was also this nifty little panel van called the Courier. In its heyday, and probably even now if its driven well, it was capable of achieving 30 MPG highway-- a feat the "compact" Ranger pickup and contemporary Focus even has trouble of earning. Like its contemporary "equivalent", the Falcon only earned that 30 MPG figure with its base engine; 85 horses puttering through the rear wheels isn't exactly bragging rights. These could also be had with a 170 cube six that put down a hair over a hundred horse, or if you cared about the V8, you got a 260. Or if you really wanted to go to town, a wide variety of Ford's V8 family is easily swappable-- anything from 260s to 427s will fit. I think I'd like mine with a hopped up 289 with a bit of suspension work.
As with nearly all the "street driven" classics in this state, this poor Courier seemed to have suffered from our hellish winters. Gone is any notion of factory fresh paint; while not a rustbucket, age has definitely gotten the better of this poor panel wagon. I will say this though; aside from the paint being as dull as a parking lot full of beige four-cylinder Camries on Wal-Mart hubcaps, the car looked pretty good. All the trim was intact, the badges were all there, and none of the chrome was missing, though a replate is definitely in order. As it stands, I think I'd just hope up the engine and leave it at that. There's just something about this clean, uncluttered design I just love. There has never been another production Ford "truck" that looked so clean, with little effort. I think the Falcon Courier is my favorite Ford truck this side of a 1953-1956 F-100