With all this talk about Gassers, A/FX, etc. I went out and found me one to build, a 64 Falcon. I'm looking for any information or pictures on how to mount a straight axle. Specifically do you leave the shock towers for support or remove them? Thanks for any information.
check with crites industries they have a kit that will alow you to shave the shock towers and all kinds of fiberglass to help shave a few pounds depending on how far you want to go ! as far as frontend my friend set up his 427 ranchero back in the day with a solid axle out of a ford van which he had narrowed and leaf sprung up front ! cut the axle to length v'd both ends where it joined and put it in a furnace oven til red hot then welded it back together ! this was back in the 60's though ! i'm sure theres a more suitable axle without goin to that extreme !
Check the tech archives for info on this subject. Tingler posted a ton of data when he was assembling his Fairlane.
Here's the best shot I could find of my setup, it's when I cut my shock towers out, hence the sawzall. I cut 7" out of the econoline axle and mounted the springs right under the frame rails. I boxed the tops of the motor mounts for strength, but I still need to redo the shcok mounts for a shorter set of shocks. I've put 4500+ miles on this setup with no problems. I did everything myself and it cost me around $500, plus wheels and tires.
Thanks for the information so far. I am aware of Crites, which is actually about an hour away. Here is what I am starting with. Brought it home yesterday. The car is actually pretty solid. It was a 6 cylinder car, but that will not matter with what I am planning to do. Stopped at a friend's shop on the way home and added a 9" to the project. My plan is to build a decent car as cheap as possible. So far I have a $800.00 in the project.
I realize most guys just go for "the look", but MOST door slammer A/FX cars ran the stock front suspension. They had altered wheelbases; but were primarily super stockers that got hacked up to make match race money. Same with gassers. A very large number of them ran stock suspensions; they were gassers because they had engines that didn't come in the car, and other changes. So don't feel you have to put a straight axle in it to be period correct. It's a little new to try for the gasser class look, so an FX'er is probably the most realistic route to pursue. It is also worth noting that there were FX classes down to at least "C", so lightweight and small block do fit in. FX did require an engine the same make as the body.
My car looked about like yours when I started, I moved the rear axle forward 10 inches and the front forward 5 inches I am using a chrome moly axle I picked up at a swap meet.
That thing looks awesome for $800. Especially in Ohio. A buddy just got a '65 in similar shape for $1500. It ended up running and driving with only a battery and some gas, after at least a decade of not being touched. Keep us updated.
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