Lifelong Ford fan Arthur Paragalas restored this 1963 Falcon Futura, blending his family history with modern performance to create his dream build. Here’s his brief story.

First published in the August 2025 issue of Street Machine

“I grew up with Fords in the 70s, with my father having a red 1960 XK and two of my uncles both owning XLs.

“In fact, the bird on the bonnet of my 1963 Futura is originally from my father’s XK; I’d taken it off the car in 1980 when I was 10, as he was selling it, and I had a plan to one day have my own car to put it on top of.

“Well, here it is!

“My wife’s cousin used to import muscle cars and build carburettors, so she reached out to him in secret about six months before my 40th birthday to help her find me a 1960s Ford.

“He found a restoration-project, US-spec 1963 Ford Falcon Futura coupe. It was a rusted, roller shell with plenty of holes in the firewall; on the driver’s side you could see straight through to the floor!

“But upon inspection, we knew this car had a lot of potential. Through work, I came across Neil, who was the primary person involved in the restoration.

“I would go out on weekends when I could and spend time in his big shed doing bits and pieces as he converted the car to right-hand drive and prepared the bodywork for paint, which was done by my cousin Arthur in October 2012.

“Once the paint was finished, the car stayed in my shed under a cover for seven years.

“Then COVID happened and we couldn’t go anywhere, so the time was right to start working on all the running gear, with Neil’s help.

“It now runs a 425hp, 347ci stroker V8. We removed the front strut towers and added a Rod-Tech independent front end and XL Falcon gear to make it right-hand drive.

“Other trick bits include a Mustang Mach 1 C4 transmission, a 9in diff from Australian Rod & Custom, and 15×7 rims with whitewalls.”

Photos: Madilen Paragalas

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