Hot Rods Ryan's Falcon - Young Gun's Straight Axle Build

When my Brother, his daughter Megan and I went to Meltdown 8 this summer we had Megan's boyfriend - Ryan - tag along and lend us his truck to help tow the Prefect. Well, not too surprising, the vintage bug bit Ryan hard. Well it just so happens my brother has had this beautifully preserved 63 Falcon street racer from the 70's that has been sitting in the shop for the last 10+ years. I had thought on building it but my Scout starting chewing up money and a 49 Austin truck came into the picture (but I digress) ...

Ryan is very serious about this vintage stuff so he and my brother swung a really good deal for the Falcon. Ryan then picked up a rebuilt and warmed over 429 / C6 locally and ordered a 10 point cage and sub frame connectors from Jegs and a complete leaf spring 4" drop straight axle kit with a Vega box and disc brakes from Speedway - which showed up this week.

The car will be race only but we are trying to keep a lot of the stock pieces intact - just in case. The interior panels are very good and the dash and gauge cluster is perfect. Seats will be fiberglass race units. We are even considering keeping the back seat in place if possible. The rest of this car is pretty remarkable. There are a couple of rust spots in the uni-body that are easy fixes but for the most part this thing is very straight and very solid

Today, 4 of us descended on the shop and started the build. By the end of day one, we have the front springs and axle mocked in, sub-frame connectors in place and we found a heavy duty 9" diff from a Bronco that is the perfect width and the existing spring pads lines up with the rear spring perfectly. The plan is use Cal-Tracs or a Slide-a-Link system. Anywhere we welded mounts or connections we added reinforcements to the frame. By end of day tomorrow we should have the front assembled and the rear end and springs mocked up. We are also planning to have the cage started.

Still a long way from done but we started with a solid car that was half disassembled so we have a great start for this kid's race car project ... Ryan is pretty happy about it !!



Scott welding in the sub frame connectors
View attachment 3700339
Pumped up car owner - Ryan

10 Point cage resting on the bender we won't need to use
View attachment 3700344

 

This is going to be a cool build.

 

Looks like a good start, looking forward to see this progress

 

Good you got another youngblood in the hobby.Sounds like a good project.

 

yes, you can tell by his eyes that he has that crazy hot rod/race car blood flowing in his veins - Cool project

 

Sounds like he got bit HARD! Good thing he was't allergic. 429 in a Falcon; I don't think Ford ever intended that to happen. There's a plainer looking 63 post, other than the standout paint job, running over at Bremerton Raceway with a 460/C6/9". Name escapes me, but it's fast. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

The name of that Falcon is "WILDTHING". Black with multicolored side stripes, and low to the ground; 60-63 style post car

 

Be following this one ford power

 

Like Falcon's and 429's. So it should be a good combination. A set of P-51 heads will be your best upgrade. Here's my old Falcon.

 

Nice car! Keep it simple and fast. Great to see this one going racing.

 

Like that particular look of the rear wheel well radiuses

 

Whether on the strip or dirt track they look fast , keep up the good work young man !

 

Way cool to see a young fella getting into this hobby, good for him. Those early Falcons make badass racecars. That one looks solid & well on it's way. Always handy to have a seasoned mentor around too. Good luck with it, it'll be fun watching this one develop.

 

There are plans to tie together the sub-frame connectors, cage plates, down bars, cross members and pretty much anything else that will add structure. Much in the same way the radial cars do it. In the end it will be a uni-body car with a frame (ish). The car will not be back halved. The plan is to run 28x10 slicks or Pie Crusts

We haven't seen the 429 yet so we are taking Ryan's word (who took the seller's word) it's in good shape. For now the plan is to leave it the way it is unless there are some obvious updates we would recommend - like swapping a stock intake for alloy... The plan is to build fender-well headers but Plan-B is a set of Crites frame headers. What we don't know is what to do for mounts. I'm hoping there is a swap kit or aftermarket for the application. I'm promoting an engine plate but we are not afraid to build mounts either. Just cheaper and easier to buy what exists.

Ryan is excited about this build. I had the talk with him about posting a picture of the look and stance and to write a plan that includes guidelines, goals, maybe an option or 2 and a budget - then stick to it !! We also told him before he buys anything to come ask us old guys about it. We have stuff stashed away that he will need. (Fuel pump, regulator, fittings, carbs etc) Paul and I have promised to not sway the build in our direction unless it's a safety issue or it's taking Ryan down a (costly & frustrating) path he won't enjoy. Unfortunately there will be a lot of folks and young (tuner car) friends who don't get it and will criticize choices like the straight axle vs. a Mustang II front...

 

This looks like a load of fun.I`ll saddle up and go along for the ride.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

If the 429 your going to look at is a 1972 engine I would stay clear. The D2VE heads have around a 100 cc combustion chamber and really don't mix well for any performance use.
Look for a 68-71 429-460.

 

Unless there is something seriously wrong with the engine - the 429 is a done deal. We are familiar with the Ford. This is a purchase Ryan made on his own and we respect that. I'm hoping it's a decent long block that we can upgrade with a good hydraulic roller cam and a decent intake / carb combo. Guess we'll just have to see what it is and go from there

 

Another thing I'd steer away from is a roller cam, especially a hyd roller in a 429-460. I would suggest you join one of the 429-460 forums and get some build advice.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...429-460.com/&usg=AOvVaw2NfJaj7ewbQBtR6DqJwcG-


http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...460ford.com/&usg=AOvVaw1g86Wd6puymDfxf3viSJyZ

 

I like this^^^^^^^.
Let 'em hang out a little like the old days.

 

Go on 429- 460 .com and contact rpmcomprandy for one of his custom ground flat tappet cams. The price is reasonable and will make gobs of power.
I am putting parts together to build 429 Gasser motor with 440 Mopar rods and 460 pistons. I have a 429 Cobra Jet block and crank. They can be made to make stupid power with the right parts. The stock block and crank will take a ton of power and rpm's.
Another shot of the Falcon.

 

I missed the shop work today but the guys got the front and back hoops of the cage installed with the required floor plates. Shock towers are history and the front spindles are mocked in.

 

For now the power levels of the 429 will likely be governed by how much Ryan is able to spend. We have more than a few BBF guys in our area who make solid and dependable combinations. We also use one of the best engine builders in Brazier Race and Machine. My guess is this will be a bolt on build to get it running. Still... with a healthy 429 with a good cam, intake, carb and headers should put this lightweight into the low 13's / high 12's ... All of which is speculation until Ryan brings it to the shop... which should be soon as mocking up the engine and trans could easily be the next step.

 

Hi,
I am the owner/driver of the car.
Just updating the build.
We got the motor and trans to the shop and I found out that I actually have the d0ve heads which is going to save me some money. As well as today we pretty much finished the cage minus the door bars which will be last as well we got the engine in the engine bay just to see clearance issues etc.
We have come to the conclusion that the motor will actually be moved back about 4 inches, we are cutting out the firewall and moving it back and making it as part of the mid-plate that will also be put in.
We will be putting in a removable tunnel to help with ease of removal of the trans if ever needed.

 

Looks like you are making good head way!!!
Those DOVE heads should plant your ass firmly in the seat.

 

"Head Way" SaltFlats is so clever!!


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Just can't slip pass you Gammz your to sharp.
Did you try a fresh set of plug in the pie hauler yet?

 

Not yet. Soon very soon.


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I am letting Ryan take over on the updates. It's his car, his money being spent and it should be in his own words. In a weird way, posting updates here is incentive to a actually doing something worth posting.

This build is pretty straight forward. Pieces and parts are readily available as packages and kits. The big block will make it different. Of course up here anything like this is different... It's great learning experience for Ryan, and a good reminder and practice for me.

The cage is in and the serious welding is done - for now. The focus will be getting the engine and transmission in place. I was very happy to see that Ryan had his own opinions on what should be done and how it to do it. The mid plate had him spooked a bit as did the 4" set back. In reality we just wanted to add a 4" box into the firewall for engine and rad clearance. It was not to make a radical set back. The cage was installed 4" farther back than designed which provides room to move the seat back. This will still provide very good leg room even with the 4" firewall adjustment.

I wish we had a picture when we threw a seat on the floor and had Ryan test fit. There are certain points in a build that should be remembered... first time pulled out of the field, first engine test fit, first seat test fit (with mandatory Vroom Vroom noises) first time on 4 wheels, first engine fire ... you get the idea

Of course it's not officially a project until you bleed on it and set yourself on fire... maybe that's just me

 

It's been a while since I've updated because progress has been slow but today it picked up again, the stock firewall is gone and the 4" box was made, the engine is almost done being put in, just need to weld in the side mounts, the car is actually coming together quite well I think, and quick which is what I want for it to be ready to race this spring

 

Yea get it done we need more FOMOCO powered cars.