Projects 61 Falcon - Father Son Project

I don't want to be the safety police but I'd consider replacing that solid steering shaft (I saw a barely wrecked one in the junkyard that had the steering wheel pushed way back) and installing shoulder belts (I had a Juliano's mount welded to the B-pillar).

 

I did mine along with a Borgeson power steering upgrade.

It required a bunch of fab. The bottom u-joint is half-way into the firewall.

 

Thanks for the replies! Shoulder belts are a for sure thing. Getting a collapsable column is a good idea, but we will see how the budget goes.

 

Does the shaft connect with the steering box now? If not, how do you steer it? Definitely with a young driver you will want a collapsible column for your peace of mind. Check with Rebel Wire for the harness as they are an Alliance Member on here and can build you the harness you want and need. They also have excellent tech service and will help you through the re-wiring of the car for safety and reliability.

 

The inner shaft does connect with the steering box, thankfully. Its the tube that goes over the inner shaft, and is also inside the actual column that has been pulled out. Im sure there is a keyway of some sort at the Bottom that interfaces with the shift linkage. I just hope I dont have to pull the column to get it back together.

 

Great looking car. I used to have a '61 Ranchero the same color. Can't really help with the steering column questions but I used an automatic column that came from a friend's parts pile who was really into '60 to '63 Comets.

 

That is the strangest thing. So the inner tube that functions as the connection between the shift lever, and the arm at the bottom of the column is not in there?

That's not an easy thing to remove. I am not even sure how to get it out, much less get it back in.

 

gimpyshotrods - ya, you're exactly right! I have a feeling I will need to pull the column to get it back in. That way I have access to both ends of the column

 

Great to see so many jumping in to help the Boy sort out his "new" ride! Like War Horse mentioned, the REBEL WIRE kits are very good, inexpensive, and have great tech support. They're the kits my brother uses.

That front suspension info Gimpy posted is really good! We've got the reamer he mentioned...let's do it!

 

Just as a heads-up, if power steering is anything you are considering, just know that it cannot be used with any shifter that is on the column. Manual or automatic, the shifter arm area has to get cut off.

This is where the rag joint ends up (I reworked all of this to have u-joints):

That tube extends from the lower column mount over the bottom u-joint, and has plugs in it to access the set screws and nuts.

 

Thanks for the heads up! We thought about Power Steering, but right now its out of the budget. Thats really good info though, for when we get that far.

 

I have pushed the 6-cylinder Falcon platform pretty far. I have made, and un-done the mistakes, so you do not have to.

 

Yeah Mike, since you're having wiring issues and it's all out, I agree now would be a good time to replace it with a new REBEL WIRE kit. If you decide to go that route, Gavin's "uncles" will be happy to get one sent your way!

 

This appears to be a much later 200.

There should be a part number on the integral intake manifold that starts with a letter, followed by a number.

The letter indicates the decade, and the number the year, for example: E6 would be 1966, and D0 would be 1980.

This looks like an late head.

Also, directly below the carburetor you find the block part number. Post that too.

Early and late parts interchange, but require machining to get them to work properly.

 

I have a last-revision head (E0) on a 1966 block, it required removing 0.120" from the head deck to correct the compression.

 

Every picture of a Ford shift tube from that era appears to have, at both ends, rectangles of metal welded onto the tube, similar to what a woodruff key does, but permanently attached.

The lower one would go through the shift arm. what keeps it all together, I don't know. I have yet to find that diagram.

 

This is big Comet/Fairlane, but the Falcon is probably similar:


It appears that the shift tube is held in and down by the cup on the top of the column. It goes through a spring, then through the arm, with the "key" in the correct place, and is held in position by the lower flange insulator.

Shift arm detail, showing "key" slot:


Shift tube detail, bottom shown on right:

 

You are missing the fasteners that hold the column bell to the top of the column tube. I have some.

This weekend, when I head to the shop, I will chop the top off of my scrap 3-speed column and send it to you.

That way, you can take it apart, which will show you where all of the fasteners belong, and how it goes together.

I will try to round up the hardware that goes under the steering wheel, if I still have spares.

 

WOW! Thank you so much! I really appreciate everyones help! And I know my boy will too!


I will get numbers off the engine the next time I am over there. I do know that it is a newer 200ci.

 

1: Gear position indicator. This goes in the notch in the column bell. Flat side towards the big end.
2: Gear shift safety detent: This keeps you from accidentally putting it into gear. Works in conjunction with the shifter handle.
3: Turn signal mechanism: The round stock part has a threaded hole in it. That is where the turn signal stalk screws in. The notch goes on the actual turn signal switch. This is the cancel mechanism, too.
4: What's left of your turn signal switch (wires cut off).

 

1: Turn signal mechanism round stock bit goes in this hole (last).
2: Where the fasteners go that anchor this to the top of the column.
3: Where the turn signal switch gets screwed own.

For the center, there should be a tapered spacer that sits in there, and a spring that goes on top of it.

 

1: The tip of the turn signal mechanism goes in that small hole.
2: There are square plates that the retention screws go into that go here. Barely put the screws in, when you tighten, they will slip into cutouts in the column tube (look for them, line them up), and lock this on (bell goes on first.
3: This is where the shifter safety detent plate goes.
4: This cutout is where the turn signal wiring gets run. While it is apart, you might want to put a piece of twine or cord through the column tube, to where the wiring is supposed to come out.

 

That would be so great! He would love that. Lets do it! Thanks so much!

 

This helps a ton. Thank you very much. When I pulled the original harness out, I pulled a 12 gauge wire thru the column just like you said.

 

Last, but not least, your clear shift indicator plate is broken. It is missing the tabs that it attaches with.

It should look like this:


It attaches here (position 1):

Numbers and letters should be backwards when you attach it.

 

The turn signal switch has the aforementioned bullet connections on it. Keeping it unmodified helps with future replecements.

 

Thanks!

Im happy to be able to get the factory style turn signal switch working!

 

This one remaining screw has the thread pitch of everything that you are missing. You just need to match that pitch, and figure out the length of whatever else you need:

 

Really nice, I'm love'n it. GR8 project.

 

Really with the big steering wheel and the hefty young lad that you have he would not need power steering. My 5'6" wife does not have any trouble turning hers to parallel park.