Hey mate... the '64 shape came out late '63 and with some minor changes through to the 65 which was mainly superficial things like interior, taillights, front guards, and hood they finished up in '66.
That is awesome stuff right there. Your story is another story in itself. I remember all those places.. Miranda Fair, Castlereagh drags... all of it. Funny how small the world gets as you get older, and how BIG it seems when you are growing up ... I'd like to know more mate!? G
So where to next... The '90's was not a good time to own one of these cars. In fact, they were downright unpopular you almost could not give them away. Over the next six to eight years I wondered what I was going to do to keep it on the road. Spare parts were rare, to say the least, companies that supplied made parts were few and far between. The internet had yet to evolve. What spare parts available were for the popular GM and Ford performance cars such as GTS Holdens & GT Falcons. For the humble '64 Falcon Deluxe... zilch !!! Looking for them in car wrecking yards was also a complete waste of time as they had been crushed ten years before. In those first five years, we sure went some places 'Fiona' and I. She carried across the name from my '77 Ford and became 'Fiona' Falcon. It was an easy rhyme. Fiona & I, traveled the east coast almost from south to north and back again. Thousands of kilometers (miles), and all on regular servicing. The seats were a little rough, the two-speed transmission (Fordamatic) Yes you heard right !! ... a TWO-speed auto...!! was sluggish. If I counted reverse it was in fact a three-speed!!! A powerpack of an engine consisting of One Hundred and Seventy cubic inches of six-cylinder Pursuit power. It was more like Pursuit in name only . Sure was slow going up hills... a hill would appear in the distance and she would begin to winge & whine. I had to be content with at least 10kmh below the speed limit and that was on the flats. Sure taught me patience. All that and ....with a small size 1960s fuel tank of 45litres, that meant regular stops to make sure there was no running out. I had to adjust from doing the same trip in far less time from my '77 V8 Fairmont .. by adding four hours. After a good five years of classic motoring eventually, the original '64 engine started to show serious signs of fatigue. I had solved the cooling problem with a new radiator...So now it was rebuild time. I felt a new block was in order as the original was not worth rebuilding. Besides I could get more horsepower right!!! Except for the budget $$$ and availability of new internal and external parts. A new engine did at least mean it was an opportunity to change the valves to stainless for the change in unleaded fuels. Could I find just and engine and swap it over ?? The time sure were 'A Changin!!!' ... to quote Dylan !!! We did a lot more time on the highways until other signs of age started to weary, body and suspension as well as brakes & interior. I had held off ... but the sands of time kept on rolling in ... no longer could I slow it. The inevitable happened!!! I let the registration lapse and bought a modern car to get around in. Two years lapsed.... no rebuild. There she sat in the garage for almost 7 years. No photos of that period... I would be too ashamed to show them anyway. Back in Canberra early 2000's ... Fiona was a garage piece. Clean but confined to barracks !!! So enter a new car into the equation. I couldn't help myself and happened upon a homeless 1965 Falcon from a mate. How could I resist? He said the engine had been rebuilt but never started. and the body was clean. All I had to do was travel to Tasmania and bring it back and I could have it for free. What more could a car guy ask. Opportunity for a road trip...the prize was a car for free... and a great time on the road in the meantime..... So off we went ... three of us to collect an orphan 65 Falcon. An 18-hour drive over 1,132 kilometers away. What I was going to collect. A 1965 four-door XP sedan. Just outside Devonport, Tasmania. Winching the old girl onto the trailer. Fueling up before leaving Tasmania for Canberra. We had an 18hour return trip...between three drivers. Back in Canberra. The fabled new engine that had not been started !!! Didn't look so new !!! A relatively clean body and interior... All of a sudden I was the LUCKIEST man in the world !!! Two 60's cars. Was the '65 the answer...??? I wasn't so sure. 2003 So what next...???
Great story so far. My Dad was similar in that he seemed to able to fix anything ( he kinda had to as money was really tight) but was not at all into Motorsport at all. I’ll follow your story with interest. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hey Bowlingball, I grew up in Berala ( you’d know it) and moved to Caringbah at about age 15 so perhaps all three of us have trod the same ground at some time. Love the H.A.M.B. for connecting people even if only electronically. My Dad only had Chevs that I can remember and he maintained them all as much as possible. I remember a 37, 54 Belair 4 door, and finally the 61 Belair that passed to me when he left us. He loved his cars but they always took a backseat to family and they always got used as they were intended. Cheers. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It seems that we have a Shire reunion on the H.A.M.B with bowlingball as well as 61 Cruiser. 61Cruiser, you're right these platforms are great for bringing people together. I was born in Caringbah Hospital in '64 but live in Sutherland, not far from the railway station. It must be such a great feeling to know you have a little piece of your Dad's history in having the Belair now. I am sure it puts a big smile on your face when you drive it. Fortunately, Dad was still alive when I purchased the XM and he did get to see and work on it before he left us. Perhaps that's why I am so reluctant to part company. I would have loved to had one of Dad's Chevs... a 60 Belair, 62 Impala, and the last one was the four-door pillarless '63. Here we are out with the neighbours who were a Dodge/Chrysler family. Dad's Chev in the middle. This photo was taken somewhere in the Shire from memory but I can't recall where? That's me ...the kid on the left in the fancy red & white Hawaiian board shorts. A slightly better shot here.... somewhere near Windsor where my Uncle lived.
We may have been closer than you think ... I started out as a pastry cook and worked for a few years at Cronulla pie shop! They all called me Billy Bankstown out there even though I only lived across the river at picnic point , I had Xm Panelvan s and fx utes and an FB wagon whilst I worked in the shire, I got outta cooking and into Helicopters by accident , I got offered a job as a shitkicker for a helicopter company and they had all the cool tools to fix cars that I couldn’t afford , and ended up turning spanners on choppers and life changed for me drastically, I had less time to build cars but better tools and mentors to do sheet metal and mechanicals, so the cars I’ve built in the last 20yrs were of better quality than those I pumped out as a young guy
Interesting thread.....I grew up in Rockdale, last street before the East-West runway at Mascot........lived there from 1960 to 1981 when got married and moved to Springwood in the Blue Mountains, then up here to Grafton in 1992........bought my 1st car a 1938 Ford Standard Sedan in 1969, aged 15, sold it after a couple of months and bought a 1940 Dodge Coupe as a budding hot rodder had to have either a coupe or roadster..so a coupe it was......pulled it apart and in 1971 bought a 4dr 1940 Dodge Sedan for parts, 6weeks rego, complete down to the hubcaps and owners manual......too good for parts so after attending the 1st ASRF Nats in it whilst still stock I installed a 318 Poly, auto etc and its been that way ever since........coming up 50 years ownership this September.....hers a pics of me taking it for its 1st run around Rockdale after the 318 was installed.the other pic is of the 1940 Dodge coupe I pulled apart........... a more recent pic taken a yrear or so ago........Andy Douglas
Hey, they were the best pies in Cronulla, we'd always grab one or two when heading home after surfing all morning at Elouera. Funny thing about the "Billy Bankstown" moniker, our family friends lived there and they surfed as much as us and also went to Castlereagh with us and they copped that nickname all of the time. They've been active in drag racing since then right up until today. The Shire also had many notable Castlereagh stars in the day ..... Georgette Bros, Warren Armour, John Crazy Taylor, Moore Bros, Big Joe Fitzpatrick, Gilmour & Reichel, Denis Walford, Spray Chief Morrie Allen, Sean Brown, Tim Nielsen amongst others that my memory is struggling with. Unfortunately several of them are now passed and they were some of my closest friends. We probably have even more Shire drag racers today.
Hey mate ... welcome to the reunion... Rockdale... My Father grew up in Kogarah and later on in life after an apprenticeship with Qantas as an engine fitter retired and drove a coach for Kogarah Coaches. The world just seems to be getting smaller. Wow, I think it's amazing that you have owned the 40 Dodge for 50 Years... there I was thinking that 26 Years for my Coupe was a feat!!! Your 50 years make mine pale into insignificance... Looks great by the way... love those Bronze colours on old hot rods. I haven't got to my Hot Rod/Custom yet but it's getting closer with each installment here. I would love to know more.... Oh, this might create a bit of a divide here... but I have to say it GO SHARKS !!!!
Best pies ever... I remember our school introducing beach fitness at High School and we ran up and down those sand dunes at Eloura week after week but always enjoyed the dip in the water afterwards... Loving this conversation....
This world is getting smaller ...... Born and bred in Caringbah but moved over to Carlton in '78 when we got married, lived there until '04 and then moved back to Caringbah. With your father being at QANTAS, good friend and ex drag racer Warren Ferrington was a welder there in the 70's & 80's ..... he also lived in Bexley. My wife is an ex QANTAS employee and both of our daughters are working there now. My wife and daughters are huge SHARKIES fans too and also coach/compete in their Netball association. Come on ...... what else can we relate to ???? We've also taken this thread off course a little from its original intent.
Ahhh your right.... we are off track a little. But good conversations to have. I'll be back on track in a little bit for the next installment !!!
Haha closer again Dad was a flight engineer for Qantas and my father-in-law a welder at Qantas, at the same time as Warren and I think Warren may have the mounds for 1 piece A model front fender and running boards I bought many years ago at bexley.
Sorry OzMerc memory lane reply’s to your thread, hope we haven’t taken it too far off track My 2 XM vans at picnic point circa 1991
In the early 2000's the Coupe was in hibernation as I mentioned a few posts back. The 65 Sedan was going to be the 'get out of jail' free card. Supposedly very little work and I would be back on the road with a car that was similar in retro cool factor. However, this was not to be and I agonised over getting the car back into running condition and the more I did...the more I had to do. After six months I reassembled the interior cleaned up the car inside and out and moved it on. I began to rely on the modern car and when the time came to move interstate this time the coupe would move on the back of a transporter truck. It was not ideal ... I now must reveal that I put the coupe on the market to sell. The ad had been circulating for about a month before I had any inquiries. When I look back on the condition of the body & interior... I can see why there were no serious takers. After three months I canceled the ad and decided not to sell. In the end, it was the best thing ever as these model Early Falcon started to increase in price. About a year later I was re-invigorated the get some work done and get driving again. The going was slow as my work was very demanding on my time. It took me away on work trips for weeks and months at a time. I continued to use the modern car but kept working on the coupe when I could. This would be a full restoration and to this day it still has not had the body restored at all. Still, the interior was looking very worn and of course, the paint also left a lot to be desired, 2008. The photo above (taken by my daughter) doesn't actually give justice to how tired the upholstery and condition of the bench seat were...After another two years, I managed to get enough work done to start driving again... by now it was 2011, and had just reached 15 years of ownership. All of a sudden people began to notice more when we were out on the road driving here and there or even just going to work. Out on the road again with new fuel tank, exhaust system... However regular maintenance was the key to keeping this girl on the road. Getting to the bottom of fuel issues resulted in fitting a new tank and sender unit. Interior before replacement.... Yes, you are not seeing things... that is Zebra print door cards in the front and a homemade cover for the back seat. This short term fix was designed to hide the fact that all of the door cards were water affected and had shrunk and warped way way way out of shape. The chrome trim was almost completely rusted away. The packing in the driver's seat was so worn that I had to pack it out with a towel just to sit at the right height. The original 1960s seat belts were so discoloured and frayed there was a possibility that at the next change of state registration they would not pass them. The short term Zebra print stayed in there for 6 years There were no kick panels to speak of as they had become so brittle and snapped that I replaced them with zebra print-covered MDF wood. The hood lining was original and although reasonably in place was stained and torn in each of the four corners.... fifteen years of ownership was starting to show the signs of age. Although the Coupe did stand up well among her peers 2011.
At this point, you may have figured out that I am not a pro or semi-pro care restorer. My passion for cars has been purely from a 'motoring enthusiast. My father was an engineering Mechanic. He was an absolute wiz with diagnosis, problem-solving, and then repairing almost anything electrical or mechanical. ME on the other hand I have to think through things for hours or even days and research, research, research before I can give something a go-to fix and or repair it. Dad taught me how to maintain a car and maintain it well. He also had been through the racing stage and found it super expensive. As the pit crew mechanic, he saw the damage that was done by pushing a car beyond that which it was built to cope with. He wasn't a build from scratch kind of guy and wasn't into 'Kustom' cars. I really am a simple kind of guy who now loves historical cars and what they represent, but it certainly has not always been the case. I do love however to drive them. I was an illegal street machine race, I have tried strip drag racing and have done off-road racing as well, for a short time. These days it is all about cool cruising and enjoying the car scene and many of the aspects connected with it. So now we enter the phase where I was with someone who did not like the car scene. Someone who was not interested in spending time searching for parts and restoring something to its former glory. So naturally, I spent less and less time in the garage with more and more time elsewhere. The reason we were together was never about cars ... and for a while that was ok.. but in the end, it was the one thing that drove (pardon the pun) apart. What a world of difference it makes when you meet someone who shares the same interests as you and is balanced about it. As one chapter closed another one opened. This happened.... Someone who thought it was just the bee's knees to have an old car and drive it every day. There is that zebra print again... Someone who had her own children but was happy to go to the Drive-In during winter time... Someone who loved the car scene as a part of many things we did together... That person who embraces your past relationships...even if it is a 1964 Falcon Coupe So by now, this is 2012. And this is the point where things really start to get interesting.... In a very short time, we would grow our classic car collection from one to four. Well... you know how it goes... one thing leads to another and for a little while you want to save them all... and at the same time, you want to relive your past cars ...that for some reason or another you let go of !! I began to realise my thoughts of owning a '32 Roadster were starting to become a possibility. She had similar realisations but for a very different car of her own. I was thinking of something like this.... Actually owned by a mate of mine..... but time would need to roll by. She was in the 1950s and a British car... Me?? well as you can see above ... I was focused on the '30s and Roadster or Coupe with that Flathead mill !!! So where does this take us..... WELL !!!!! I needed to get the coupe fixed up a little if we were going to be heading out ...cruising and getting into the scene. While it wasn't a complete rebuild for the falcon I ended up being a pretty good refresh of most everything else. The coupe was leaking oil and looking sad on the interior.... OK, I decided... It was time to refresh the driveline (including brakes) to pass the state registration. Then the interior and a new set of boots !!!!
Four more years of thinking and considering came and went. Then the youngest kid... left home and went to University. The driving restoration went on..... another change of state another set of state regulations for yearly registration... I was sure getting tired of jumping through these hoops.... So I retained the previous state and went to an alternative address... Meanwhile we kept cruising up and down the east coast... Then !!! All of a Sudden... my wife bought her classic car a 1959 MGA Roadster. That was at least two years of looking. Which I can't show here as it's not H.A.M.B worthy and potentially 'Off Topic' (at least I don't think it is) and the Mods will get me again. Shame as it sure is a beautiful example. So now we were 1:1 for classic cars... the search for the next car (which had to be older than the previous one) began in earnest. Having bought a 70s car in the 80s ... and a 60s car in the 90s ... it would have made sense to buy a 50,s car in the 2000's. But...there weren't too many 50's cars that caught my attention. I considered a 50's Shoebox Ford but they are hard to come by, particularly a good one at a reasonable price. My thoughts kept defaulting back to the 32 Roadster/Coupe again and again... Either way, work had to continue on the Coupe and now we had the added upkeep of the MGA.
It was time to pull out the 55-year-old interior, rust convert the floor and doors, and prepare it for the upholstery guy to fit out with the new interior. My plan was to keep it fairly original with a bit of a non-standard twist. At this time I also started to chase new rims and the plan there was to increase diameter to 15"... so that I could have a better range of quality tyres to choose from. Driver's seat loooking tired. The floor wasn't too bad, but still needed a rust converter A good wire brush and vacuum then apply the converter. Amazingly I was still driving to and from work with this interior Inside the doors got the treatment as well. With almost everything out she was ready for fit-out.
Cool stuff.....really like you guys catching up where you had lived and most likely crossed paths....learning a little about that down under place !
Excellent.... I feel the international aspect of our interest in historic motoring is the amazing part. Some things are universal !!!
A gathering of parts for the partial refresh.... New lowered coils... 1 1/2" 'l do !! A refreshed Falcon Bonet Mount !!!
A complete new scrub of all the old dust and dirt on the instrument cluster. Plenty of dust... 55 years worth. This was the cluster hi-Beam indicator lens which was supposed to be Lt-Blue.... All clean and new LED lights in place.... It was difficult to drive at night previously as the incandescent bulbs were so yellow and dull !!! Yowser !!!! New LEDs work a treat.
Dang what a thread! I’m not sure what I’m enjoying more, the tale of a car guy, or the interactions with the past places. I’m seeing it all in my mind.
The Jalopy Journal
