The Falcon is a Super Hero whose time is due. If you can't wait for that winged avenger, today's Ford Falcon may just have to suffice, that is if its price is sufficiently super.

Well, very obviously 65% of you land lubbers don't see the value in a non-functional boat atop an even less practical Jeep. That was the number that sank yesterday's , a result that made me cancel today's planned, convertible-submarine. Instead, here's a Ford Falcon.

You all know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, right? No, not the Vivid Video one with Ron Jeremy as Papa bear, but the original story where something being too hot didn't force Goldilocks to get all naked. Why would you even think of that? In the actual fable, the tow-headed home invader was stymied by her inability to find a happy medium in damn-near everything she tried.

I bring this up because it's an apt parable to how many restored cars end up - either they are dutifully true to their original intent, and hence suffer from performance and safety challenges, or they are re-crafted as mere shells of their former self sitting atop modern mechanicals which trades competence for character. Today's tastefully restored threads the needle between those extremes, and would have made for Goldilocks' perfect getaway car, had the Bears not returned home and eaten her.

The first thing I'd like to point out about this car is its boxy mini-Fairlane/kinda-Mustang styling. Man, I'd almost forgotten this generation of Falcon even existed. You certainly don't see to many of them around any more. That's one plus, as it's not the presently more ubiquitous Mustang, nor is it the seemingly more common Chevy Nova both of which still show up in numbers at car shows and even on the street.

Another cool thing about the Falcon is that, as it shared many of its parts with the 'Stang, what fits that pony will also fit the bird. In this case, that's a much later fuel-injected 5.0 and a T-5 gearbox.

Now, you know how engines made horsepower back in the sixties, right? They were all lumpy cams, huge thirsty carbs, and timing set to make idling a shake and bake affair. Here, with the modern mill, the power is dolled out by the ECU and everything is kept tidy and in control until necessary. It's still a pushrod 302, just like grandma made, so it fits under the Falcon's hood without any fuss.

The original 302 available in '68 was 200-bhp 2bbl affair, and while a floor shifter was offered for the manual, it only had 4-gears with which to play. This one should be pretty entertaining.

If you're going to go, you eventually might want to stop - say to take in a view or to marvel at that Jeep-boat for sale in someone's driveway. The original Falcon's brakes were four-wheel drums, which means you need to begin planning stopping a week in advance, and can only have a couple of good runs in before the brakes turn to red hot mush. Here those have been given the heave-ho and replaced with discs all around.

What else is new here? Well, there's the paint, which looks pretty damn good, and the interior, including the carpet and seat covers, all of which makes this Falcon look like it's showroom fresh.

So you see what I mean about this Ford being not too wild and not too plain. Of course that achievement comes at a price, and in this case that's $13,500, or just about the point of entry for a Nissan Versa Note. Yes, I know, that's comparing apples and orange-painted Falcons.

Still, what do you think about this Falcon for that kind of cash? Does its presentation make it seem worth that? Or, does that price have you thinking about flipping it the bird?

You decide!

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