Well my middle son and I decided to tackle something new. We decided to mini tub my 65 Fairlane. Neither one of us have done this before, but no better way to learn than just jump right in. I performed the surgery on the passenger side and my son performed the surgery on the drivers side. The attached pictures are of the car before surgery and after with the tubs removed. Hopefully we'll have it buttoned back up by the end of next weekend.
Your just going over to the frame rail and not moving the springs right? I did that job on my 64 sedan 10 years ago man, it was tedious !
Looks like you guys are doing a nice clean job on it so far. Are you planning to widen the stock wheel tubs with a strip of sheet metal down the center?That always makes for a nice clean,almost invisible look. Scott Posted using two Dixie cups and a medium length piece of string.
Speedyb: yes, we are only going over to the frame rail. No moving of springs. Newbedonnie: How did you get my original post to show up in your reply? Powrshftr: Yes we plan on using 20 gage sheet metal to fill in the new gap. The plan is to make new piece roughly 1 inch wider than the hole. Role two beads and then punch a bunch of holes near the edges. Then weld in the new strip from the bottom. Seam seal it all when done. I have attached a picture of what I was trying to explain.
Looks like you guys didn't just fall off the turnip truck! That's really gonna make a nice job. What's the rest of that Fairlane gonna be like?(Engine,trans,etc...) Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The current temporary plan is to run one of my 289's. Probably will be the one with the tunnel ram set up. The picture in my sig. I have a freshly built C4 waiting to go into something. While we are up front, I'm trying to decide if I want to trim the strut towers or not. Makes sense to do it now rather than later. We are going to leave the car with manual steering. Real mans power steering...... arm strong! hahaha I have Maverick spindle/disc brake set up to put on. I currently have a 8.8 out of a Explorer. However not sure that I am going to use it or look for a 9". We are going to run Cal-traks as well. Once the mini tubs are finished, the car is going to be getting sub frame connectors and a 8 pt cage. We want to keep both the front and rear bench seats for now. We'll see how long that lasts. Looks like we are going to run Weld Pro Star's for wheels. 15x3.5 for the fronts and 15x8 for the rears. I'm in the process of looking for a fiberglass hood that is not a tear drop. Long term plans are quite a bit different. I want to do the Standing Mile. I want to go over 200 mph. There's a different parts list for this. Below is a link to my car. It has pictures from the day I bought it, to current condition. I update it as we go along. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sre...67857&authkey=Gv1sRgCLv1q4jSg7TNGw&feat=email
8.8 should be stoudt enough with the right guts. Just look how hard the 5.0 guys run with them. Trim the towers now while you can...lots more header room. If your set on the tunnel ram then forget the Tear Drop but I love then esp on 65's. I would also consider some Rocket or similar wheels for the older look. I call the 65's Lunchbox style ( like shoebox fords ) lol...Looking forward to the build...
As the car is square like a "lunchbox" is why I don't like the tear drop hoods on them. The round tear drop looks out of place to me. I have a boss style hood scoop for this car. Hence the reason I am looking for a fiberglass hood. As for the wheels, not totally set on the Weld Pro Stars. I also like Rod lites and sport mags. I have attached a picture of the sport mag I like.
Take alook ar Darrell Drokes 65 T-Bolt in the thunderbolt thread...Hood looks Great. Those wheels look pretty good but more a 90's look to me...I wonder if Crites could make you a flat hood. I seem to recall seeing a 65 with a Mercury Cyclone type hood somewhere. Flat in the middle with the 2 hood openings up front. No matter what I'm sure the car will be great. Not many " Lunchboxes " around
Been getting side tracked with work, snow, etc. So it has been slow going. However here a few pic's from this morning. Have the passenger tub back in and now I get to see exactly how much more room I actually gained.
That's gonna be pretty much invisible when you get the strip welded in and ground down. Nice clean job you're doing. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I asked the guys over on the photoshop thread to add some Rocket wheels to my car. I think I like them.
A little progress was made. Driver side tube 95% complete. Grind down a few more welds and seam seal it. Then is should be good to go. Time to tackle the passenger side.
Any update on progress of this little project? What size rear tires are you expecting to fit on the 15x8's? 275/60R15?
It's been slow going. Ran out of gas on the welder and didn't get a new tank until this last Tuesday. My son that has been helping just acquired a 79 F150 with a 300 six cylinder and that has taken some of our time. Hopefully will have it buttoned up this weekend and I'll post some more pictures.
Glad to hear you guys are still at it! That car is really going to be something when you guys get it back on its feet again. Can't wait to see it.Really love the strong,crisp lines of the 65's....wish there were more of them around! Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well, I would think its safe to say that we are 99.5% done. A little more grinding on a few spot welds and then seam seal it. But we are going to hold off on the seam sealer until we get done with both the subframe connectors and the roll cage. After that we will have a seam sealing party!
Nice work!Looks factory.You seriously won't even be able to tell once it's seam sealed and painted Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Nothing really new has happened. It is back on all fours. Hopefully this weekend I'll get it over to the shop to do the sub frame connectors and cage.
Sorry Powrshftr for the delay. Nothing has been done to the Fairlane. I put it on the trailer and took it to someone to see if they would help me with both the sub frame connectors and roll cage. Seems like we played cat and mouse and now I get no response. So we off loaded back into the garage today. I think I've done enough research to know what direction I am going with for the connectors. However, my welds aren't pretty enough for a tech guy when it comes to the cage. I'll tackle that when I get there. Either way here is a picture of the ol gal before we pushed her off the trailer.
Man I love that car! Your timing is pretty good,as I just picked up a pair of subframe connectors from Crites today and they are absolutely perfect! Simple,strong,and well constructed.I can't say enough about them. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!