Technical Doing Falcons Right

[Ghostcruiser]

Originally Posted by falconizer_62

are you painting it outside? What color and kind of paint are you laying down?
I look forward to seeing it.

Why will you never put a remote door opening system on again? What were the problems you had? I was planning on shaving my door handles and putting some type of system on mine. it seems like you have information that could be quite valuable to me :-)

Yeah, I'll be painting it outside...shade-tree style, you know......it's a rat, so I'll be doing the obligatory suede black; I'm cheap, so I'm using Krylon enamel...I'll post pics...

The door popper deal...hmmm...all I can say, is DON"T skimp and buy cheap solenoids....spend the money, and buy screw actuators, or heavy-duty 40-pounders...my cheapo set won't hardly do squat; a couple of buddies over on TFFN said to swap them out for mid-70's Cadillac trunk solenoids, or use Ford starter solenoids (wired under the dash) to give my weenie versions some extra kick....that '62 door latch design is diabolical; there is no way to disable the lock function (believe me, I studied it for an hour), and it doesn't have the "button detent" the later models have (where you hold the button down while closing the door, to lock it)...it has to be locked separately with the key for security, every time....and besides, the damn latch lever actuates perpendicular (not parallel) with the door on the inside, and does not pull downwards to open....

Good luck, bro!
Rob

[moon.dog62]

falconizer , do you know that aussie falcons now have a factory turbo motor? they kind of embarass most v8's we have, wonder if that would fit?

[falconizer_62]

ghostcruiser,thanks for the heads up! Would it be possible to get rid of the locking mechanism altogether? With no door handles, it seems that if the doors are shut they are as good as locked. if the battery goes dead, or I have some other problems, I can unlock the rear window and roll it down and crawl in through the tailgate.

Originally Posted by moon.dog62

falconizer , do you know that aussie falcons now have a factory turbo motor? they kind of embarass most v8's we have, wonder if that would fit?

Oh yea, I know about those motors! They are awesome. They are hard to come by out of a wrecked car, and are quite expensive as of yet.
I am sure that it will fit though. Just about anything can be made to fit. It all depends on how much surgery you are willing to do...

[moon.dog62]

of course, i want to keep mine pre cross flow , later ,with a 2V head maybe a turbo.

[Ghostcruiser]

Originally Posted by falconizer_62

ghostcruiser,thanks for the heads up! Would it be possible to get rid of the locking mechanism altogether? With no door handles, it seems that if the doors are shut they are as good as locked. if the battery goes dead, or I have some other problems, I can unlock the rear window and roll it down and crawl in through the tailgate.

That's the problem, bro...I thought the same thing, but the locking cam is built in such a way, that if you cut or file it off or down, the star wheel WILL NOT engage and lock...it will just spin endlessly (i.e., the doors will not latch, and you WILL fall out at highway speeds!)...I'm tellin' ya, you need to take that sucker out and look at it: simple design, complicated as hell to bypass!

Oh, and I solved the "locked-out by dead battery" issue by replacing the front vent window with 1/4" plexiglass...I drilled a 3/4" hole in the edge, and put in a standard, 3-dollar file cabinet lock and key tumbler....now, all I have to do is open the vent window with the key, and I can access the interior handle...(make sure you leave the stock vent window lock in the "up" position!) I'll post a pic!
Rob

[Ghostcruiser]

Simple, but effective...



Rob

[falconizer_62]

Originally Posted by Ghostcruiser

Simple, but effective...

nice.
i have yet to dig out my door locks and examine them.
i was hoping that the door poppers and power windows were going to be rather painless... so far, nothing on this car has been easy.

i have seen shaved roundbodies out there, so it seems that it can be done. maybe, i'll go with a completely different latch system...
hmmmmm...

[falconizer_62]

Holy crap! It actually will turn now!
I went ahead and dove into the control arm issue not knowing what I was doing or what the result would be. It came out killer!
The front tires tuck nicely inside the fenders, and I can steer it even with it all the way aired down. There is no apparent binding either. I will have to weld them up proper, plate them and box them, and I also want to make them serviceable, so that I don't have to buy new arms when the bushings or ball joints wear out.

first, I Squared the arms by using some metal shims under them and set up a sawhorse with a laser level pointing straight down.

I took out 1 1/2 inches.

After I taped them I sprayed them with primer and just cut and ground away all the gray.





they actually lined up pretty well. It shouldn't be much of a problem to weld them up and brace them really solid.


For only taking out 1 1/2 inches, it sure sits back quite a bit farther!
Combine that with that Fatman dropped spindles, and everything is sitting really nice.




I will probably end up making an adjustable strut Rod, so there won't be any binding as the airbag goes through its cycle.

...and there goes a whole Saturday

[pikesan99]

Falconizer is an inspiration to the Falcon owners and true home builders out there. You're really doing an amazing job with that wagon!
I'm lagging pretty far behind because I've shifted gears and doing stuff on my Roadster since I don't want to drive it to our annual Goodguys show looking exactly like it did last year.

But, I've been working on the Falcon and posting the progress in my blog:
http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/categ...alcon-project/
That's the link to all the blogs. The new ones are at the top, so start at the bottom if you'd like to take a look.

Finally, if anyone's looking for Falcon parts, please contact me. My dad's friend is looking to sell a warehouse full of 60's parts, mostly FALCON. He's been working for the last few months trying to catalog everything. Let me know.

[eric]

Falconizer, your a mad man dude!! great progress on your falcon dude!!

[Tiger II]

260 inch Pro-charged drag car coming along in Bellevue, WA.

[falconizer_62]

garbonzopyz, thanks for sharing. Looks like it's coming along nicely. What color is that? looks bitchin'. the comets have much nicer grills than their cheaper cousins...

[Muttley]

Originally Posted by Muttley

I really need to take/post some pics of my Comet, I've had it almost two months now.

So, a month and a half later I finally did:

[2tall]

OK folks, dumb question time.

As mentioned before, I'm fitting a UK spec 2 litre Pinto and autobox into my 60 wagon. The pinto sump has the deep section at the back which means that it will foul on this crossmember..



Looking at the crossmember and the way it is mountd it is bolted in with 3 bolts either side..



Now, I'm thinking that if I could just unbolt it and turn it through 180 degrees and bolt it in from the other side then it would probably clear the sump. It would also move the motor mounts forward which I need to do to move the motor forward.

It looks like a very simple solution. Anyone have any reasons why I can't do this? Am I just looking for a simple solution that isn't possible?

[sgtlethargic]

Originally Posted by 2tall

OK folks, dumb question time.

As mentioned before, I'm fitting a UK spec 2 litre Pinto and autobox into my 60 wagon. The pinto sump has the deep section at the back which means that it will foul on this crossmember..



Looking at the crossmember and the way it is mountd it is bolted in with 3 bolts either side..

...

Now, I'm thinking that if I could just unbolt it and turn it through 180 degrees and bolt it in from the other side then it would probably clear the sump. It would also move the motor mounts forward which I need to do to move the motor forward.

It looks like a very simple solution. Anyone have any reasons why I can't do this? Am I just looking for a simple solution that isn't possible?

That there's a strange crossmember, AKA "belly bar". Here's what the American 6-cyl Falcon ones look like. If one will help you, I'll give it to you if you pay the shipping. But, it might be better to make your own, or just not have one. I don't have one on my car.

Thanks,
Kurt

[Ghostcruiser]

I don't have one, either...I had to remove it to install the 302 V-8....I understand you can add the aftermarket Monte Carlo (?) bar across the upper portion of the engine bay for stability, once the engine is installed.
Rob

[fordsteel]

guess i'll jump in here with my new project a 60 falcon. Has mustang rear wheel openings and wells put in to fit bigger tires and a 9 inch rear



going to cut up this nice engine compartment to put a straight axle and a Y block 292 which im rebuilding now. Hopefully down the road a McCullouh supercharger

[ybu22z]

2tall,... is the sump fully symetrical - and is the base of the engine where the sump mates up all flat? If so... then simply dropping through 180deg would be easiest. If not symetric, but it would definately fit, have the sump cut and shut by cutting off the bowl and rotate it and re-weld: this moves the bowl and still leaves the sump bolt holes all fine and good. You will likely need to relocate the oil pickup to suit - lengthening or shorting the tube down to the pickup.

[falconizer_62]

tootall,
be careful not to step on that sway bar,you may snap it.
I would be interested to see photos of your idea. Flipping it backwards is free. Try it, and see where everything winds up. Remember though, if you move the motor forward, it moves the trans forward, and you will likely have a transmission mount to deal with, and need a longer drive shaft.
Fordsteel, dig the project! Nothing wrong with cutting up an engine bay in my opinion... love the Y-block idea. I don't think I've ever seen one in a falcon.

[falconizer_62]

speaking of cutting up an engine bay...
Here's what we did saturday morning, making room for the front airbags.




it's still pretty tight with the bag. better than cutting out too much!