I have a buddy with a 64 fairlane, non-post car, nice driver, 351C, runs hard but needs traction help. Same engine ran 12.50s in a 67 fairlane. My experience with Gm A bodies tells me he needs tall, soft springs in the front, 90/10 shocks and no sway bar. Not so sure about a leaf rear. Set the pinion angle properly of course, traction bars, What Else? I know there is a HUGE Thunderbolt thread here. I've looked through it, and there's a lot of nice cars, but not the technical help i need. Devin
Last year at the HAMB drags my 1963 Fairlane was a solid 13.90 car. I have a solid .90 reaction time(I always have a hangover). I run a 235/60/15 tire, the biggest thing that I can fit uncut. I made 462.6 on the dyno. My car should be faster, I should be faster. At the 330 I was still spinning the tires. Traction sucks. I run ladder bars, but more tire would help more than anything, on mine. Less beer the night before would make for a better reaction time for me...
Unless you want to go to the expensive of a 4 link, try Cal Trac bars. Car Craft did an article using my friend's Nova and it was pulling his front wheels on the launch. Maybe try 6 cylinder springs and 90/10 shocks up front.
Try stock V-8 front springs,a true 90/10 shock,no sway bar on the front,Cal-Traks bars,leaf springs and shocks,1.36 to 60' with a 9" tire,347/C-4,4.56 gears,65 Falcon Ranchero,my buddies car!! ROY.
Thanks for the info. I didn't know about the cal-tracs before. I've searched all over the web and can't find a listing for a front spring for a 64. My Moog catalog skips from 61 to 66 for some reason. Unfortunately his springs were heated up so they are shot. I'd like to at least find a stock spec to start with. Any ideas? Devin
Mustang was a dressed-up falcon, compact chassis. This is a Fairlane, mid-sized chassis. I have a hard time believeing the springs are the same. I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time. devin
Stock front coils and shocks work fine for a slower car ( high 10's, low 11's). Remove the front sway bar links for complete front end rise, or ditch the sway bar completely. Limit front travel just before full shock extension so the nose weight is not on the shock at launch. Make sure the rear suspension is loose, does not bind at all. If it binds, figure out where and fix it. An adjustable rear shock is a good idea, available through Calvert Racing. Set shock at medium compression to start then change if needed. I highly recommend Cal Tracs as well. You can run a stock rear spring effectively on a slower car, but for anything hitting the tire hard, I'd opt for a Calvert Racing spring. I run stock springs, lower leaf removed and front tips clamped, but intend to change to a Calvert Mono over the winter. I run urethane bushings in the shackle end and the Calvert racing aluminum bushings in the front eye. The Caltrac bar is set in the lower hole with 0.062" freeplay to the spring. Tire sizes are limited because of the wheelwell. Relocate the rear differential back approximately 1.25" and there is room for a 255 60 15 drag radial. Extending the wheelbase slightly doesn't hurt either. Run a drag radial (the MT is very effective) and play with tire pressure to achieve best bite. Typically 16 - 18 pounds will be best. If it spins at the hit, lower launch RPM and make sure tire temp is OK. If it still spins, move the Caltrac bar to the top hole. I prefer not to do this though becuase it usually increases body seperation during stage and launch. My combo is pretty much as described above. 1.57 60' best so far. Video; http://www.youtube.com/user/2ton220?feature=mhee#p/a/u/1/F4fTTAwhLYM You can see the rear rise when I put it on the converter, but limited seperation after that. The nose picks up quickly at the hit then the car stays pretty level from there on. Very little wasted power so the car ET's well. Good luck.
The Jalopy Journal
