The small car era in the 1960s was meant to give people an alternative to the big, V-8 powered cars of the prior decade. Many of these compact cars, like the Chevy II Nova, the Dodge Valiant and the Ford Falcon, often had smaller, inline 6-cylinder engines that were low on power, better on economy, and most importantly, dying to be swapped out.

One such favorite is the Ford Falcon, and with the narrow width of the 302 V-8 it was a bit easier to swap in between the shock towers than the 351 Windsor. The 302 was a compact engine, and the compact engine compartment made a great home for it.

When we came across this very clean, built ’62 Falcon on eBay, it immediately gained a few notches as one of our favorite classics. The four-door version, as with many other four-doors, don’t fare too well with the musclecar crowd, but the two-door, like this one we found on Craigslist, conjures up all sorts of ideas of what can (and has) been done to this predator.

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With a slightly massaged 302 backed by a five-speed transmission, it looks to have the right tools to get to where you want to go, and with modern conveniences like disc brakes it gives off just a little more confidence to push the go-stick a little more out on the road.

The seller states that he has a long list of parts and modifications to share, and over $8,000 invested, falling just $5k short of the asking price. Some of the custom features include shaved door handles, a fuel cell and fuel cutoff switches, as well as a trunk mounted battery.

So is it a good thing to share that you have $8k invested when you’re seeking more than that, or is this little bird bad ass enough to warrant such a price? Either way, it looks like a fun ride, but you can be the judge of that with the photos shown here.