Column-Shift Classic: Mint Green 1960 Ford Falcon Heads to a New Garage

Ford’s first compact car wasn’t built to turn heads or win drag races. When the Falcon debuted for 1960, it was a practical, low-cost runabout aimed at buyers who wanted simple transportation and modest fuel bills. Six decades later, examples like this two-door sedan still carry that no-nonsense charm, and this particular car — finished in what appears to be Ford’s Light Mint Green (paint code M-1373) — is now being offered for sale.

The Falcon is listed on Facebook Marketplace out of Corbin, Kentucky, with an asking price of $11,500 or best offer. Its exterior details are pure early-Sixties economy-car fare: slim whitewall tires mounted on green-painted wheels, round headlights flanking a wide grille, and just a thin strip of chrome to give the nose some character. The rear is equally straightforward, with large circular taillights and the Falcon name spelled out across the decklid.

Inside, there’s a black vinyl bench seat and an instrument panel that keeps every control exactly where a driver would expect to find it — no touchscreen, no digital menus, just knobs, gauges and a radio. The transmission is the real conversation piece: a three-speed manual shifted via a column-mounted lever, the arrangement old-timers fondly call “three on the tree.” Fewer and fewer drivers today have ever worked a column shift, making it a genuine piece of vintage motoring character.

Power comes from Ford’s 144-cubic-inch Mileage Maker inline-six, factory-rated at 90 horsepower. It was never going to win many traffic-light sprints, and that was never the mission. The seller reports 62,000 miles, single-owner history, and that the car runs and drives well, with new tires, a refreshed fuel system and new brake cylinders included in the listing.

There’s also a notable footnote in Ford history attached to this model: the Falcon’s platform and mechanicals underpinned the Mustang when it launched in April 1964. Some enthusiasts half-jokingly describe the earliest “1964½” Mustangs as reskinned Falcons, even though the Mustang wore its own bodywork. For a humble economy sedan, that’s a substantial legacy — and at this price, the next owner will have to decide whether to preserve this Falcon as-is or put their own stamp on it.