GLOCESTER The rear wall of Ray Chevalier’s garage is lined with awards for his powder blue 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon Future Sport Coupe.

He said he does not know how many he’s won, but said his granddaughter once claimed to have counted 250.

“It’s what I do,” he said of his love for Ford Falcons and the work he puts into restoring them. “Others play golf, I do this.”

In addition to his 1963 1/2 Falcon, Chevalier owns an immaculate Rangoon Red 1965 Ford Falcon Ranchero Deluxe car-like pickup, which he bought as a gift to himself last year after a bout of ill health.

He said the Ranchero is registered with the prestigious Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), which accepts vehicles that are at least 25 years old and in close to original condition.

“(The Ranchero) is exactly the way it was on the showroom floor,” Chevalier said, complete with bill of sale and other documentation.

“It drives like a brand new automobile,” he said, adding that he does “not go too far with it.”

He said the vehicle, which he has worked on, including adding a $200 gas cap, has won numerous awards that he keeps inside his house. They include three major awards from the AACA: National First Prize Junior, National First Prize Senior and Grand National Prize.

At the same time, he said when it was introduced, the “Ranchero was a plain Jane automobile,” likening it to the ranch house of the same era.

“It was the working man’s family’s chance to buy new house and a new car,” he said of the 6-cylinder, standard 3-speed transmission vehicle.

Chevalier also has a 1963 Ford Falcon convertible in a temporary garage. He said he had converted the engine from six cylinders to eight, but it remains a work in progress that “needs about $500 and a coat of paint.”

The Ford Falcon was the first of the down-sized cars to emerge from Detroit in the early 1960s. As cars got longer, heavier and more expensive in the 1950s, smaller imports from Europe began to gain sales as Americans looked for second, cheaper and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The 1960 model year Falcon was introduced in October 1959 as the “New-Size Ford” with fuel consumption rated at 30 miles to the gallon. It was a great success, selling 500,000 in its first 12 months. Chrysler countered with the (Plymouth) Valiant and General Motors with the Chevrolet Corvair.

The Falcon was initially offered as two- and four-door sedans or station wagons along with the Ranchero pickup. Ford later added convertible and hardtop versions and better trim levels with the Futura model. But the car was soon overshadowed by the hugely successful Ford Mustang, which was based on the same platform and introduced in 1964.

The Falcon was increasingly seen as dowdy by comparison, and production ceased in 1970. Ford of Australia still markets a Ford Falcon sedan and wagon and a Ranchero-style UTE model — “It’s the workhorse you never want to get out of.”

Chevalier, who is the northeast regional director of the Falcon Club of America, has owned his 1963 1/2 Falcon for more than 20 years, ever since he bought it from his brother-in-law for a nominal sum.

“It was not too much to look at,” he said, noting that the car had been in his wife’s family for many years.

“It was my mother-in-law’s car,” he said. “It’s been in the family since the early 1970s.”

“My wife bought it for me for my birthday 22 years ago for $500,” he said. “It wasn’t road worthy.”

But in its day, “it had all the goodies,” including carpeting, a console, padded dashboard, backup lights and optional bucket seats. Chevalier also pointed out the lack of window post that gave the two-door coupe its sporty look.

Chevalier said he restored it along with help from Rounds Auto Body in Scituate and started showing it, with it winning many Best of Shows and at least one Best of New England.

He said the car’s biggest achievement was being the representative 1963 1/2 Ford Falcon Future Sport Coupe at Ford’s 100th anniversary celebration in Dearborn, Mich., in 2003.

He also said the car had been used by a diecast company as the model for its 1/18 scale model cars. “They came and took 500 photographs,” he said of the modeling company and displaying the diecast model of the car.

He said the car has 270,000 miles on the clock, noting he had driven it as far as Bennington, Vt., Kansas City and Charlotte, N.C.

And despite its perfect appearance, Chevalier said it needed restoration, pointing out small scratch marks and other defects invisible to the amateur eye.

Auto Biography is a new feature that tells an interesting story about a car and its driver. If you think you have a newsworthy story to tell about your car, write to Auto Biography, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St. Providence RI 02902 or e-mail projocars@projo.com. Be sure to put “Auto Biography” in the subject field.

The car doesn’t have to be a classic or expensive, but it should be somehow unique. The driver must be willing to be interviewed by a reporter about what makes this car special and to be photographed with the car.

You can see aslideshowofRayChevalier’s19631/2FordFalconFutureSportCoupeandhisRangoonRed1965FordFalconRancheroDeluxeat projocars.com

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