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THE SONOMA COUNTY FALCONS FOR FUN!!!
CHAPTER OF THE FCA

1964 FORD FALCON FUTURA CONVERTIBLE
Tom Verna - Los Altos, California

When my daughter, Kimberly, was 12, I gave her a book of collectible cars to research what kind of car she wanted to drive when she turned 16. Her first choice was a 1964 Ferrari, which was way out of our price range. She came back a couple days later with a suggestion of a 1964/5 Falcon convertible. Perfect choice, I said. 

The proverbial "before" picture---Wow!

She and I bought this 64 Falcon Futura convertible from Al Aiello during the summer of 2002. Al had rescued the car from a barn in the Sierras and done a bit of work on it before deciding it needed a new home. Alex Gerrits had replaced the left quarter panel so the body was pretty straight, and most importantly rust-free. When we bought the car it had no interior and needed a serious rebuild on the entire drive train. (Picture attached). 

Check out the Radio/CD Player!

We started with a complete disassembly of the interior and rebuilt everything from behind the dash to the back of the trunk, finding only two small spots of rust in the floor pans. A thorough cleaning, metal prep and POR-15 put a stop to any further rust concerns. New carpets over sound deadening pads and a new interior featuring bucket seats from a ’68 Mustang and custom upholstery by Dave Brown finished off the interior in time for Fun Ford Sunday in September. (Picture attached). 

That's one sharp looking Falcon Convertible that looks ready for some fun!

The following winter, I located a 200 ci six that a kid in SoCal wanted to sell. He said he had rebuilt the motor and installed a shaved, hi-compression head with a Offenhauser three-carb set-up. Sounded interesting and with a little negotiation, I was able to buy the motor pretty cheap. After tearing the motor down, I found it needed to be bored and rebuilt. New pistons, a new crank and a Comp Cam along with all the bearings and seals brought the cost of the motor up to about $1000. Kim and I assembled the engine and it fired up on the very first crank. Sounded pretty tough with a dual-outlet header, too.  

A rebuilt C-4 transmission replaced the original Ford-O-Matic and an 8” rear end with 4-lug axles replaced the old Dana-style 7-1/4”. Of course this dictated a new drive shaft. New springs, shocks and a disk brake kit for the front end completed the undercarriage. 14” x 7” Eagle Alloy rims and BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires stick the Falcon to the ground. A shakedown cruise to Santa Barbara revealed no serious problems and an average of 25 mpg. 

As Kim will start driving this year (2005), we decided to hold off on major body work or paint until she has some more experience. We’ll fix both new and old dents and give it a nice paint job at the same time. For now, it’s a really nice daily driver that she can proudly drive to school or she and her friends can use to cruise to the beach. (Picture attached). 

Tom Verna

Los Altos, CA

Tom--You and your daughter did a great job on this Falcon and I'm so glad it was saved and will bring enjoyment for many years to come!  AA---Sonoma County Falcons.

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