Projects The barn find Falcon

They are already gone Jimmy, the way they were set up was an accident waiting to happen, along with the way the P/O set up the dual master cylinder.

 

Really nice project Mike, Rancheros are cool.

 

Almost forgot how cool these were/are. Love this factory color.

 

Mine is the stripped down never had a radio, no trim model that sold new for less than $2,000. My goal is for it to look like the ones pictured above. Some pictures of todays progress, shooting the interior color,. I was a little apprehensive about how much flattener to mix in the paint to get it between semi gloss and a satin finish, after a few tries I'm happy with the result.

The florescent lights don't show the sheen or the true color, in real life it looks like tanned and polished leather.

 

A little more progress, shot the interior, door jambs and the bed. This was all done in acrylic enamel, very forgiving and controllable. The exterior will be done in a urethane base/clear. The weather has not been cooperating this week so the exterior will have to wait for warmer dryer days.

 

That's looking real good...I think I got all the rust you didn't get plus mine lol

 

Sweet project, I do like the 64s

 

Thanks. It's really hard to find one of these cars that isn't rusty.

 

Very cool project, nicely done! And, is that a servicar I see in this pic?

 

Sporty 45 said:
"Very cool project, nicely done! And, is that a servicar I see in this pic?" Thanks.
Yes, it's an old police bike I've been working on. Cleaning up a restoration, the cosmetics were nicely done but the electrical needs work There are a few broken bolts and missing parts and it has a later model front suspension.
It's O/T by years so I won't say much about that project here.

 

A little progress, just a little more sanding to go.

 

Your going to have a real nice Ranchero when you're done, good job!

 

Just received my repop stock gas cap today. Eighty bucks (yikes) but all the originals are long gone or way more than that and the after market replacements just don't look right.

 

Got it painted, I'll have pictures later. Scored a nice set of factory bucket seats out of a 67 Fairlane today, I'm wondering if they are the same as the falcons.

 

The seats sit flat on the floor like the falcon bench did so I'm hoping I can make them work.

It's cramped in my paint room and the florescent lights make new paint look like crap, there are some dry spots in the clear so I'll have to sand and buff it.

 

A little update, brought it down to the shop to be cut and buffed.

 

Nice job.....I really like the color. Your body was really straight too. I have always liked the 65's. Friend had one in the 70's with a hipo 289 4 speed. Little truck was fast.

 

They are light weights, I think the one I had in 65 weighed around 2600.

 

Gorgeous car!! I like a lot of people had one years ago but, let go of it for some reason or another.
I keep thinking I will find one here I like that I can afford. One is deff on the list of cars that I want!!

 

Nice looking ride Mike. Really nice work. I'll look for it on the road after the snow melts.

 

Now that's a cool little truck! Keep the updates coming.

 

Finished up a F1 engine swap project for a friend so back to work on the Ranchero. Sanding out the dry spots and touch ups on the clear coat and buffing.

 

Almost have the paint buffed out and starting to clean up and install the bright work. The bumpers and bed trim have some rust so I bundled them up to go to the plating shop. One of the down sides of living in the sticks is I have to send them to a shop 200 miles away.
Injured my elbow on the F1 project so finishing up the buffing will have to wait, Doc drained the fluid off it and told me he sees this kind of injury on guys that lean on their elbows at the bar in a drunken stupor . I assured him it happened doing honest work, besides that with the chrome plating bill I'm facing I can't afford to get drunk in a bar.

 

The trim went to the chrome shop this week, they said 4 to 6 weeks. Meanwhile I started ,straightening out the electrical , it's a mess. This guy's web site has been a life saver, if he's on the HAMB, cudos to him.

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Cars/1964FordRanchero/WiringDiagrams.htm

 

Got the chrome trim back, they did a great job. Started fitting it up on the back of the car.

 

Almost four years since I last posted on this project, how time flies. It's back on the front burner now, I finished up a couple of projects and took one O/T car I built for Bonneville 2 years in a row with OK results but that took up a lot of time and money. It ain't cheap but I'm pretty much over that now, well maybe one more time next year. For now I'm going to finish up some old projects and this little car is a must do before I start any more.

 

Armed with a multimeter and a print out of Crazy Steve's post I ventured under the dash to figure out the steering column wires. They sound like a real mind bender but done step by step it works out.

 

Got the wiring figured out thanks to @Crazy Steve's how to but now have run into a problem with clearance fore the exhaust manifolds I want to use which are the High performance 289 manifolds, so do I beat up a set of headers, find a set of less sesirable manifolds that might fit and live with the tight clearances or cut the towers out and install a Mustang II type front suspension? Looking for pro's and cons.
The one big con is I have already rebuilt the stock front end and the cost of the aftermarket stuff, The pro's I can think of are better brakes, steering, appearance and clearance for what ever exhaust I choose. Any suggestions?

 

The only early Falcon headers that get consistent marks for good fit are the Dougs Tri-Ys built specifically for the Falcon/Comet, all the rest are usually re-labeled Mustang sets that can be made to fit, but not out of the box. Pretty much any rear-exit mid/late-60s 289/302 lo-po exhaust manifolds out of intermediates (Mustang, Fairlane, etc) will also fit. The 289 hi-po manifolds almost fit, interference at the steering box is the issue. I've seen three different solutions for these. One, some judicious grinding on both the steering box and the manifold; take as much off the box as possible as you don't want the manifold getting too thin. IIRC, this is what Ford did on the handful of hi-po Daytona Comets and 50 Canadian hi-po Falcons they built. Two, take a slight angle-cut on the manifold-to-head flange to tip the manifold towards the motor more. The problem here is the bolt holes in the manifold will need to be re-drilled also. I think a smaller cut along with grinding (option 1) may be better. Third, shift the motor slightly to the passenger side, along with a bit of grinding. If you can get 1/16" of clearance with any of these methods, consider that good.

One other tip. If you swap the upper shock mounts for early Mustang, that opens up more choices in front shocks. Make sure the carriage bolts that hold the mount on aren't damaged as they can pull though and allow the shock to beat the hell out of the hood.

 

Thanks Steve , I'll look in to the Doug's headers although headers on a street car are my second choice they would be a lot less work if the fit is good. Come to think of it I've seen tri Y headers in the 64 falcons before.