Projects 61 Falcon - Father Son Project

I used rubber when I installed front disc brakes on my 66"M-word".
Close the gap between the steering wheel and hub by.......sliding the steering 'tube' up to close the gap.
BUT.....too close and the horn will blow all-the-time. Gotta work with it.
6sally6

 

Thanks! I got some Dorman hoses coming. A few buddies have used them with good success.

 

I took my son to the local Pick-A-Part yesterday. It was his first time junkin'. He got a brake booster for the Falcon... 1 step closer...

We would have gotten a master cylinder too, but all the reservoirs had been removed, so I didn't trust them. A new master is only $80 and worth the peace of mind...

 

His hands look way too clean. Did you let him do any of the work?

What booster? Is that a Geo; a Saturn?

Some of the self-serve junkyards have big sales on holiday weekends. This coming weekend is a holiday weekend.

 

Ya, he got dirty, but not as dirty as he should have! LOL. I should have had him do the work under the dash ,but it was really hard to see to take the cotter pin out.

The booster if from a 91 Geo Metro. It looks like a good option for the falcon

 

From his face you can tell he is proud.

 

That is the go-to one for an early Falcon.

 

We're planning on starting the power brake conversion tomorrow. Can I just "T" into the vacuum line to the valve cover to get Vacuum for the booster?

 

That should work. I assume that valve cover vacuum is connected directly to the intake manifold. I think if you can T off right at the manifold would be best.

 

Well... Today my son learned whats its like to work on a car ALL day and get nearly nothing done... LOL

Im going to need some input on the brakes, but first the fun stuff...

The trunk emblem finally got installed correctly and it turned out really great.



Also, we got the oil pressure sender installed and the little motor has a solid 40 psi of oil pressure...


NOW THE BRAKES....

Someone in past rounded off the brake hard lines. It took PB Blaster, heat and vise grips to get them to break loose. I need to figure out if I am going to replace the hard lines, or just put them back together with vice grips. I have never been successful at making double flares...

We ended up getting the Geo Booster mounted, it took a long time, because we had limited tools, but after about 3 hours it was a really nice fit. It looks Factory in my opinion.



I wanted to see how the shoes and brake hardware are, so we jacked the front drivers wheel up, and the drum was 100% frozen. It took a solid hour to get it off... Here are some pics of what we found...



I already have new wheel cylinders and hoses. The shoes look ok, but like I said, the rotor was locked on. Do I trust these shoes, or replace? Also the springs that hold the shoes to the backing plates got stretched a little. I can probably get them to work if needed.

Im leaning towards just putting new shoes and hardware on, but please let me know if thats really necessary. Money is a consideration, but safety is more important...

Also, are the drums supposed to be separate from the hubs, or are they supposed to come apart? Again, trying to decide if I should get new drums...

 

Maybe the flare tool you've used is the issue? Using a tubing cutter, then the deburring file that's on it?

I'd go with new lines and a flare nut wrench for the fittings shouldn't be much. It's probably not needed for installing them, but they're better for loosening.

 

A key to successful double-flaring is: Don't crank down on the second (double) flare! Let the assembly process/flare nut complete the forming.
Also, don't depend on a tube cutter, after you cut it, file it square (remove about 1/32" to get rid of the work-hardened area) by putting it in your flaring clamp (backwards, so to can use the flat side of the clamp as a guide) then deburr/chamfer the I.D.
Grab some tubing and practice, I think you'll find a new skillset.
Also, if you have any doubt about ANY of the parts... replace them. After all, it's your kid's life at stake.
Good luck.

 

No "240"....... you can't do that......the valve cover end is basically open to atmosphere so slim to nil vacuum.
Go direct to intake.

 

Thanks for the input!! Very helpful!

 

I don't understand the problem of flaring brake lines. I have a snap on flaring tool that I've had for decades and it has always worked fine.

 

Not all flaring tools are created equal. I've had a number of them over the years where I could not get a flare to seal to save my life.

I have a Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool now, and now I cannot remember to put the nut on first to save my life.

 

I hoping to work on the Falcon later today. Does anyone know the torque specs for the front wheel bearings?

 

Nevermind, found my answer!

 

We got a ton done on the Falcon today. Brakes are installed and initial brake bleed is done, seats and console are in, oil pressure gauge is wired correctly, all the vacuum lines are done, and a few other odds and ends are wrapped up.

The next step is to adjust the shoes, put the wheels on, final bleed the brakes, and fix a taillight bulb socket. Then we should be ready for a test drive!!

One thing I noticed for anyone doing the Geo power brake setup. We had to adjust the pedal linkage to be as short as possible. We were running into an issue where the master didnt retract far enough when the brake pedal came back up after being pressed. This caused issues with bleeding the brakes, and no doubt would have caused issues braking.

 

Back when I ran that setup, I installed a return spring. I have moved on to other equipment, but still run the return spring.

I have a mechanical brake light switch, and like to run it on a hair-trigger. My brake lights are on even before braking action begins. I got rear-ended in the Falcon once. Not giving anyone any leeway to do it again.

 

Good info! A return spring is a great idea. We have the brake light switch setup the same way. The light comes on as soon as the pedal barely starts to move.

Im going to 3d print a 1mm and a 2mm spacer to put between the booster and firewall in case we need to get the booster farther from the pedal. I don't think we will, but it's an easy thing to make.

 

If you take a good look at the bolt that anchors the pushrod to the pedal you will see that it looks a little weird.

It is an eccentric. You can make pedal position/pushrod position adjustments there.

 

Ya, I saw that eccentric bolt. We ended up using the bolt from the Metro because it seemed like a better fit, but we may swap back to the stock bolt.

 

We had a GREAT time at the shop yesterday. The Falcon moved under its own power for the first time since 2011. It only went a few feet, but my boy was SO stoked. He also got to help us pull the body off of a 66 Chevelle, and he got his first ride in my buddies 31 Ford Hot Rod Truck. He really learned a ton. We're down to a punch list on the Falcon, and hopefully can get most of it done this weekend. Then we can bring it home to finish.

 

Use NiCopp brake line. It bends and flares like a dream, even with the cheap tools.

Nice progress!

 

Timing Question:
What should the timing be set to as a starting point? And I assume I time it with the 2 vacuum lines removed from the distributor.


Another interesting turn of events... My son got offered a free 4.3 v6 and a 4L60 from an 03 Chevy truck... It has 200k so I'm sure they both need to be gone thru, but he is contemplating the swap. I told him to wait until we can drive the car like it is for a while before he decides.

 

If I had to go through a 200K motor, I'd just put the same effort into a 5.0 or 302 Ford engine. Of course I wouldn't put any GM in a Ford but that's just me

 

Ya I completely understand that. I lean towards a 302 or 351 myself.

 

We got thru the punch list on the Falcon today and took it for a test drive. All in all, it went REALLY great! The little 200 has decent power. It stops ok, the rear tires lock up before the front, so I may need an adjustable prop valve. The temp gauge does not work, but the gauge set we bought has one that isn’t hooked up, so we will do that next. Also, a slight leak at the upper radiator hose, but that’s a simple fix.

One more day, and it should be ready to come home! It’s been about 5 months since we bought it, and now it’s driving. Not too bad after sitting for 11 years. My boy is Super stoked!

 

I did notice that it takes one pump before the brakes really work when it first starts. There may still be a bit of air in the system, even though we bled a whole quart thru it.