some Falcon tech i've collected... http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod/diskbrakes.html http://webpages.charter.net/1bad6t/htlinks.html http://www.1bad6t.com/ http://www.fordfalcon2000.com/restoration/diskbrakes.htm check also the power steering info (manual box specs included) and the tilt column stuff. -rick
Alex , Go to Comet East car club site, There is an indebth article in the tech section by Mike Schnur that gives you step by step on how to and what to use along with pics. very,very good write up. You can also get a disc brake kit from Rod and Custom Motor Sports in Florence, SC for less than 400.00$ I have a friend that just bought this kit and is very happy with it. He said it was a direct bolt on with the v-8 Falcon-Mustang spindles. Butch Evans(Falconeer) Thomasville NC
Granada calipers will tend to wear out one side of your rotors,one of the compact ford sites showed how to make a bracket to use new dual piston mustang floating calipers , I remember driving a buddy's falcon V8, It had the Cobra kit the dealer sold, 4 BBl, cam, headers, I put my foot in it and I had to crank the steering wheel to keep it straight. .Too fast on a city street when an old (Younger then me now) lady backed out of the driveway, when the front end setteled down it pointed in the right direction and I missed hitting her.
Wow, keep it coming guys. Here's some more for you to clear up my haziness on. Right now i'm weighing my options as to whether i should A: upgrade to a 5 lug setup, B: 5 lug with discs, or C: revamp the stock 4 lugs and just buy aftermarket 14 or 15" wheels. Plans may later call for a V8 but not likely unless the motor goes, this will be a simple daily cruiser so i need something reliable and hopefully fairly easy to get parts for. Earlier stock Falcon v8 control arms will bolt directly into place? Along with the spindles and drum brakes? Is this the easiest swap? Will it work with the stock 1960 I6 steering components, minus tie rod ends? If i can get ahold of the steering arms from a V8 falcon will a Maverick spindle/disc brake set up bolt directly on? I think a lot of the confusion comes more from what will directly interchange, ie. the granada spindles and brakes bolt up to the later model 4 bolt ball joints but the steering system will not work directly (a lot of the articles i've found do not cover this). And which system/combination of components will not be yanking the wheel with bump steer. Thanks again guys this is great!!! Since the Falcons Done Right thread shows an obvious support here on the HAMB maybe we should do a full falcon tech posting kinda like what Scootermcrad did with the Hemi tech sections. Compose and compile this stuff in one place?
I'm all for the tech section on these cars, but isn't that covered in "Doing Falcons right"? I kinda thought the " Falcons done right" was the show, and the other was the nuts and bolts.... As for how to go with yours, that I can't tell you. On mine I'm doing a 170 inch six, Weber 32/36 carb, adapted a T50 five speed so I can keep up with Phoenix traffic, keeping the four lugs but going to scarebird disc brakes, found a set of pretty rare Tru-Spoke 14"X6" four lug wires, 185/75-14" narrow white wall tires, and a little bit of lowering and some fun paint. That's it. I want to be able to throw my bikes in the back and keep up with and stop with traffic plugged with hondas and hyndias safely.
I've checked the doing falcons right but most of the time it's simply mentioned what was done, ie. 5 lug conversion. I'm trying to get the in depth of what it really takes without buying and having to toss parts b/c they're the wrong fit. I don't want this to turn into another long term off the road project. Just want to keep it simple and be able to upgrade as time and money allow. Full plans are to keep the I6, repair the rust, body work and panel paint, lowered slightly, interior and drive it as much as possible. This will be my only running vehicle and the first running one i've owned in 3 years and i'd like to get it on the road as quickly as possible. The brakes need to be done for sure so i may just rebuild them and call it til i can figure out and afford the swap.
Early V8 control arms, spindles, brakes etc will bolt right on your car. The tie rods will not mate up and it is best to get the steering linkage from the V8 as well. This is how my Falcon was done. I then found a set of stock 65 Mustang disc brakes for next to nothing from a guy upgrading to Wilwoods. You can also use all V8 64-6 Mustang stuff with the exception of the center drag link, which it too long. Some guys shorten these but you better know what you are doing before welding this piece. And Yes maverick stuff will work as well (with the same center link issues)
I changed my Wife's '63 over from 6cyl to V8, and changed the suspension to 5 lug. Its been some time since I did this, so I found out what stood the test of time and what did not. Rear suspension. - Maveric 8" on original 6cyl springs. One spring snapped, springs replaced with aftermarket, lowered, V8 springs. Lowering blocks. Front suspension.- Granada discs& spindles I got a rebuild kit fron PST, they matched the outher steering joints to the Granada spindles, and the inner to '64 Mustang. I used the Granada front springs ( cut down ), the lower controll arms came with the kit. The only original 6cyl Falcon parts I reused were the upper controll arms ( with new V8 Granada balljoints ) Steering was at first '64 Mustang. -Narrowed the centerlink to match the spacing of the Falcon boxsections ( dont try this if you cant weld... Fuck, dont do it anyway because that setup is garbage.) Massive bumpsteer... I did it that way because of the recommandation of others that did it that way, but it sucked... 2nd try.- I found a R&P that had almost exactly the right width, and put that in. Bumpsteer was gone, transformed the car. But because of space limitations it had uneven lock Left to Right. 3rd try.- The original ( rare & expensive ) steeringbox, pitman arm and centerlink out of a '65 Comet V8 ( same as Falcon ) Not as nice as the R&P, slightly more bumpsteer than the R&P( but a lot less than the Mustang setup ) A good all around setup, I'll stay with this one. The cut down front springs kept sagging untill I replaced them for lowered Aftermarket '64 Mustang ones. 1 1/8" swaybar in the front. 3/4" swaybar in the rear. Good shocks. Brake booster & boostermount out of a Torino ( needs modification to fit ) I dont drive this car very often, but when I do, I'm surprised and reminded at how nice it is...
So will the stock 65 centerlink and steering work on a 1960? Thanks Butch, I went there and the article says the stock 65 centerlink will work. This is why i'm so confused. I found a gentleman locally who has a stock pile of early to mid 60's falcon parts including I6 and V8 parts, spindles, steering, arms, rears and all. He also has a 65 Falcon 5 lug I6 parts car he is willing to torch out the whole front clip, suspension, steering and all as well as the rear end for me for a decent price. But it is an I6, did Ford have 2 suspension and ball joint designs for 65 as well? Should i have him torch it all out and buy it as a whole? Or should i simply piece together the V8 parts i need? So many damn options at least now i can narrow it to falcon only and keep things local. This is why i ask here b/c i'll stick to my strengths of welding and bodywork and leave the mechanical mastermind stuff to those who know better
So the stock 65 falcon centerlink that metalshapes used and the link that 69fury posted confirms is usable, are actually too long and won't allow me to set toe in?
As I understand it, you use the '65 center link AND the pitman arm, idler arm and outer tie rods....they work as a set as I understand it. I have a '63 Sprint V8 and and have '69 Torino GT disc brakes/spindles etc. to install. I found an NOS '65 center link and will use new control arms, ball joints etc. Ray
I'm sorry to have caused some confusion with this deal. I have just sent a P.M. to my buddy Ricky Racer over on the coast, as he has just gone through this deal with the center links. I want to clarify that my fuzzy thoughts were that the Mustang unit was the one that is too wide. Once again sorry, and as soon as Rickey gets back to me I'll post his findings too.
Great so i think i have this right. Looks like the '65 suspension and steering parts will interchange with the 1960 and upgrade it to larger drums and 5 lugs while allowing me to later upgrade to discs if i choose too. Does that seem like a good general consensus? Rather than trying to piece together parts from multiple sources The guy offered me the full front end with everything attached and the rear for $400 but depending on condition maybe less, allowing me to complete the conversion in one shot with all the parts from the same car.
I did the 5 bolt drum swap on my 63 Ranchero. I used 65-6 Mustang inner tie rods, idler arm and pitman arm. I got a 65 Falcon, Comet center link and used the spindles and drums from a 67 Mustang. Used the outer tie rod ends from the same 67 Mustang. As far as control arms go, I got a suspension kit from a Mustang supplier for the lower control arms and changed the upper ball joints. I may have used the upper control arms from a 65 Mustang. I put in a dual master cylinder from a 70 Maverick and put a F-series brake light switch on the brake pedal. I put a 75 Comet 8" in the back on the stock springs. I had a couple parts cars so I added one leaf on each side and then put lowering blocks on it to get the back down. I still have a 200 6 in it with a toploader overdrive behind it. I put 3.55 gears in the 8" and can roll down the interstate with ease and pull about 25 mpg with a tired motor.
Alex, Use the ctr. link from a 65v-8 Falcon or Comet.If it was me i would by new uca.& lca , idler arm, pitman arm,tie rod ends. By them from a Mustang vender, they are cneaper and are the same as the Falcon & Comet. Your stock rear end is 56" wide from out side of drum to drum. The 63 v-8 rear would be the same width. The next closest 8" will be from a 70s Comet or Maverick (56 1/2" wide) 64&65 V-8 rear will be to wide (57 1/4 to 57 1/2 " wide) The Mav.-Comet rear is a direct bolt in except for the shock plates. Use shock plates & U bolts from a 67-70 Mustang. About 20.00to 25.00$ from a Mustang Vender. Even if you don't Put a v-8 in right a way this will be a very good up grade. When & if you do put in the V-8 do not change the front springs. use the 6 cyl springs so it wll sit right. Lot of people make this mistake and wonder why there car sits so high in front . Hope this helps: Butch Evans (Falconeer) Thomasville NC I have 3 Falcons that staeted out as 6 cyl. All are now 5.0 v-8s 2 5 speeds 1 C4 auto. Here is my link: http://public.fotki.com/falconeer/
Butch thanks for the info! The only reason i'm not looking to buy all new right now is i can't afford it, i ran the numbers and while the rebuild kit is good adding in the center link, tie rod ends, spindles, brakes, and other miscellaneous parts plus the rear puts me well over what i could pay for the 65 falcon parts. I just wanted to make sure the 65 parts will all fit and work before i drop $400 on em.
it's a great upgrade. you can't go wrong. I'd recommend going ahead and swapping out the master for a dual reseqior mustang unit as well. 67ish come as a disc/drum combo--bolts on. for a few bucks more you can buy the adapter kit to put power on the breakes or retrofit the master from a geo metro.
ok this is keeping me up at night now haha i understand the 60-63 falcon suspensions were either I6 or V8 specific. Was 65 also I6 and V8 specific? The parts car i've found is a stock I6 now i'm concerned the centerlink and other components won't work.
Yes, you need a 65 Falcon or Comet V8 center link and components. All the I6 stuff is different. On my swap I used parts from different years as I had the Mustang parts cars readily available.
The V8 falcon was introduced in '63 So there was no '62 or earlyer Factory V8 Falcon. '63 '64 65 were V8 or 6cyl specific. And the suspension parts of those years fit all 3 of those years. Earler Facons ( not sure when the switch over was ) had different attachment points on the front of the lower reaction arms ( the round bars bolted to the lower control arm, and I believe different attachment points for the rear springs. Another tell tale sign was that the pass side inner fender was dimpled for the gen on a V8 ( 6cyls had that too ), but the '62 and earlyer did not.
Not to be in sales mode but we do sell a 5 lug conversion that would fit your existing 4 lug 1960 spindles; they run $195 for the brackets and bearing spacers. It will clear the stock 14" drum rims too. The rest of your suspension would remain stock.
Anyone have a photos to show the difference between the 65 I6 and V8 center link? Looks like i'm gonna purchase the 65 parts anyways and upgrade to the V8 steering later as money allows. This will at least get me on the road for now. And the suspension parts will stay the same.
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