teenager fixing up her first car, needs help!!

Jumping in here as I hope to be the dad in this situation someday soon with my own daughter. The falcon is exactly the car I've picked for her.

Get something to fix that battery stay under the hood and toss those rubber straps. Do all the usual maintenance first and inspect all the fluids for stuff like bits of metal or anything funky. A magnet on the end of a stick can help you go through the oil you drain to pickup metal bits. Be sure to do all the filters including the fuel. The manual you ordered should have instructions on doing all of this and it shouldn't be too tough even for a beginner.

For the smell. Well. Personally I'd say order a new molded carpet and replace the existing carpet and padding. Take the carpet out when you order it to clean the seats, inspect the floor for holes to be patched. Then you can clean up any rust or problems with the floor manually. New carpet comes and install it to enjoy that new car smell for a while.

Also. I'll be subscribing to follow the progress of this one. Good luck!

 

That's a cool Falcon to build and drive. I drive a '60 Ranchero daily. I've updated mine some however.. has a 200 six from a Maverick, dual system master cylinder, OD transmission and a Maverick rear end.

I've gottem many of my parts from Rockauto.com including the floor pans and carpet.

 

Awesome thread Madiketch! I looked at your pics and see nothing seriously wrong with this car. You're gonna love it. How can I be sure? My 17 year old son Jesse and I have been working on a 62 Falcon 4 door just like yours. It's his first car too. His is red with a column shift three speed. Other than that, it's decked out exactly like yours.

Jesse started a thread for his build here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=594290

His thread is woefully out of date. I think you had a better starting point. The good thing about ours is practically no rust through. He has the Falcon on the road and drives it daily now. Loving every minute of it. I've got a bunch of current pics. I'll try to get him to update his post this weekend.

Be patient, take your time and enjoy the project. You and your dad will love this and always remember it.

One more thing. If anyone gives you grief about fixing up a four door, just let them know that four doors are for people who have friends.

 

I bought a 1986 chev silverado the guy must have been a chain smoker also ,the head liner was shot the cloth came loose from the backing so i knew i was going to change it when i pulled it the roof was brown now this is a white truck i ended up pulling the hole interior every thing was the same ,even behind the door panels the smoke will go every were even in the air ducts they smoke with the heater on. Its good to see a young person interested in cars but a girl its even better,and if that stuck nut or bolt won't move for you you'll learn about a cheater bar always try to use your head not your back.Hope you and your dad have as good time's as me and my son still do and he's probably as old as your dad. I'm not older than dirt I'm older than dust

 

Here is another idea on the smokers smell. Take a large glass bowl and fill it with distilled vinegar and close the doors. Let it sit for a few days. Good luck on the rebuild and nice "snap" on the rude post.
Dan

 

That's the smell of all old cars...enjoy it... It's called smoke patina. All the cool old cars have it. It's funny these days cup holders everywhere no ash trays to be found. My Dart no cupholders...but it has 6 ashtrays. It was considered good health to smoke back then. It relaxes you...keeps the weight off.

I'd go with the good cleaning dump all the ashtrays...clean them too. Maybe take it to a good detail shop if you dont' want to do it your self. I'd steam clean everything. Leave the windows down and let it air out. I'd bet it's not too bad after that. I wish you the best.

I drive a /6 Dart..some of the best upgrades I did was a Pertronix electronic ignition and put a 2 barrel Weber carb on it. Runs much better and is very reliable. I also put disk brakes on the front. You need to be able to stop. Then I went to 14" wheels and radial tires. I also put on a anti-sway bar on the front and rebuilt the front. Makes the old car drive pretty darn good. If it doesn't have seat belts you probably should at the minimum have a lap belt installed. I put lap belts in the back seat for my daughters. But that's what I'd do for my Daughters.

 

I know my wife puts a box of baking powder in the ice box, that's suppose to absorb odors?
May help.

 

Lifting the hood, when looking at the engine from the front of the car, does anyone know where the horn should be? It was moved to the front right, replaced with a cheap horn that just dangles around with wires amiss and works about 45% of the time I press it. It's a FIAMM and I'd just like to toss it and get a better horn but I've got to figure out where it is suppose to go first.

 

Madi,
Ignore the V-8.

When explaining right or left on'na car it's easier ta' say "driver's side or passenger's side".

Actually, right n' left positioning is determined by the direction when yer' sittin' in the driver's seat.

 

Unless yer' in the UK or Japan...


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Welcome, I'll throw in my 2 cents, having owned several Falcons, including a '62 fordor. I'm working on a '64 wagon in about the same shape. First off let me say this; the Ford Falcon and Mercury Comets were some of the best cars built. Simple, easy to maintain and economical to operate, nobody else came close to the mileage that Falcons got! If the rodents have been through the car, they have probably been EVERYWHERE !!! Your headliner is suspect and you may have to replace it, probably from the smell. I would look at all the electrical stuff, they may have eaten some of the insulation, but there may be some ground issues. If you take the large bulkhead connector apart under the hood by the master cylinder, do it carefully, soak it down with penetrant and pry easily, and let it soak several days, sometimes the connectors stick and will break off. Cold start? Yeah, I firmly believe the electronic cars don't do any better than one of these cars, coldest weather, it doesn't matter!! As far as parts, mechanical stuff is easy, a lot of the Mustang items work. Body stuff is pretty much '60 to '63 with some '64 and 5 items working too. I was a Ford parts counter man for a long time, I'll be glad to help you on that. Because of their good quality, a lot of these cars have survived, parts aren't a problem. The I.D. plate should be on the glove box door, if not it is also stamped on the inner fender well, generally on the left, but sometimes the right, it shows up with no problem. I saved the exhaust for the last, the manifolds had a tendency to crack and break after several years of driving. I would recommend to pull the head; it's an easy job, I had the one off my '64 in less than an hour and I'm not a fast mechanic. The reason to pull it, the bolt holes are not "blind", the threads are exposed and a lot of the bolts will break off, so you will have drill and tap them. Not as hard as it sounds. Your manifold sometimes can be repaired, but let me give a strong word of advice, do not use a gasket between the head and manifold, they didn't come with one new and those nice shiny bright gaskets cause more harm than good. They hold moisture which will rust the gasket and the manifold out and they are soft, when you draw down the manifold it will cause the manifold to buckle and can break it. Those gaskets tear up more stuff than fix. I know that probably opened up a can of worms, but trust me on that one. The head may have to be trued up on the manifold surface. Which brings up another question, what kind of condition is the engine in? You probably haven't ran it very much, but now would be the time to look at spark plug condition and blow by, which by the way if the car still has the down draft tube by the distributor, it can be replaced with a P.C.V. system. Hope I haven't overwhelmed you, these are a favorite subject of mine, I have driven some of these Falcons many, many miles. And getting started learning about cars, a Falcon is a great choice. Feel free to ask questions. Have fun!! What is the weather like, it's going to be about 50 here, s/central Ks. Good day for some Falcon stuff to get done!! Mike.

 

My first car was a '61 Falcon, (two door, Dag. 4spd,6cyl.) my grandad clowned it cause he drove L.T.D.'s! Still have it stashed for my stepdaughter! Yours is beautiful, really complete! Maybe someone mentioned it in all these posts but a "Motors Repair Manual" from that era was great when getting my 61 Special going. Lots of basic one-two that reads really easy. trouble shooting and rebuilding are laid out in steps. Enjoy the process, it's really the reward in the long run.

 

Smoke smell? After cleaning as much as you can, more to get rid of any mouse residue, use Febreeze!
I bought a used Dodge Magnum wagon, that belonged to a cigar smoker. What a smell! Spraying Febreze on all the surfaces 3-4 times over a couple weeks completely eliminated the smell.

 

Another thing to remember as you get deeper into your first project car. Ford, and the other manufacturers don't think about things the same way us DIYer's do... They designed the car to easy and QUICK to build. You have to look at some things that "Won't come apart" in that way. There HAS to be an easy solution, but you may not be looking at the problem correctly, or have the right tool in your toolbox.

Beware of people that try to "help" by suggesting you just cut something apart to get to what's under it. I've seen that so many times in 15 years of teaching auto shop and fabrication. Invite them to watch from across the garage...

 

Another thing to remember as you get deeper into your first project car. Ford, and the other manufacturers don't think about things the same way us DIYer's do... They designed the car to be easy and QUICK to build. You have to look at some things that "Won't come apart" in that way. There HAS to be an easy solution, but you may not be looking at the problem correctly, or have the right tool in your toolbox.

Beware of people that try to "help" by suggesting you just cut something apart to get to what's under it. I've seen that so many times in 15 years of teaching auto shop and fabrication. Invite them to watch from across the garage...

 

Best post on this thread and most girls would want the radio fixed first.<label for="rb_iconid_10"></label>

 

Just wanted to say, even though it was my suggestion, don't be too quick to pull the headliner out. I don't wanna be responsible for you pulling your car apart uneccesarily. I just hate the idea of mouse excrement and the related dust. But maybe the edges on each side can be loosened, and any trapped junk blown out with compressed air. Then spray an anti-bacterial like Lysol or somethin' in there.

 

I reaalllly hated building a car while going to high school. Always doing something kept me out of a lot of trouble. I learned way more than I ever thought I would have. Enjoy the build, it'll be a life long memory.

 

After seeing the photos and reading through your thread, I would say you got a deal. This will be a learning experience that you can be prowd of. You don't mention much of your dads involvement. You sound like you can take the bull by the horns. "Come on Dad, we got work to do" The smoke smell, get a big spray bottle of FEBREZE extra strength. Put the car out in the sun one day, spray the heck out of the interior, roll up all the windows, and take a days break from any inside work. Don't forget to spray any items that you have removed and plan on reinstalling. A mild solution of bleach to clean the small items works also. After a day of sitting closed up, open her up and air it out. Best of luck. I will be following this thread.

 

HELLO!! Are you still with us??? Hope you didn't sit in the closed up car all day with the Fabeize. Ha Ha

 

It's really not fun when it's not driving and it's your only ride :/ I'm learning that the hard way. I forgot I posted this and now I'm back because there are more issues than I bargained for. Well, none that surprised me but certainly more than I thought I was getting into. Looks like we're going to have to do some major re-wiring...

 

Still here! I'm just not much of a computer person when school is out. Been playing with it, I'll get an update in on the current state of the falcon

 

Good to see your still with us Madiketch! I have thought about you a few time over the last few months while working on my wagon, wondering how your getting on with your first car. Be sure to check in every now and then and let us know how your doing with it.

 

Use Simple Green to wash everything you can possibly get to in the interior except upholstery. Use a good upholstery cleaner to do all the fabrics. Use carpet cleaner on the floors. Once you are done, set the car out in the sun with a whole box of dryer sheets laid out all over the interior.

That is what I was told to do to get rid of smoke smell by a car detailer friend.

Welcome to the world of old cars. Get rid of the mouse crap first, it can make you sick as others have mentioned.

Enjoy,

SPark

 

For cleaning upholstery I find liquid laundry detergent works about as well as anything, and everybody has some (no need to buy a bottle of upholstery cleaner and only use one cap full).

I use a half pail of warm water with a dash of soap, scrub it into the seats and carpets with a scrub brush then vacuum with a wet or dry vac. Then leave the windows and doors open and let the car dry out.

For cleaning dash boards, steering wheel etc I use a microfibre cleaning cloth and a Tupperware bowl of warm water with a shot of Spray Nine in it. Squeeze out the cloth and wipe everything down with the damp rag.

 

Cool project, Listen to what Rusty says above... he's on top of it.

Just to get stuff up and going maybe you should venture to a junk yard and start grabbing stuff.. Wiring harness, horn, even seats, etc. It will take some time to take the harness out, but you may have more salvageable stuff from that harness that you can use into your current wiring.

 

I just have to say I am impressed with your taking on this project. My first car was a 65 Mustang coupe and I ended up doing a lot of work on it while I was in high school/college. Old cars can be frustrating at times but hopefully satisfying in the end. I actually found an a/c unit and console from a 62 Falcon and used them in my car since they are from the same "family". Good luck!

 

major rewire huh? There's a bunch of ways to approach it. Easiest is just do a wire at a time, if it still has all original factory wiring. Don't rip out the whole harness at once. Pick one wire trace it from fuse block to where it terminates. Take new wire of same or a bit heavier gauge to handle the amperage and run it the same way. You'll need to get some tools; wire cutters, strippers, and crimpers. Wire of course, heat shrink tubing, and terminals. Also, get a wiring diagram for your car.
If somebody has cut into the wires and really made a mess of it. You can use the wiring diagram and run the new wire back to how the factory did. Or, you may want to get a new harness from an aftermarket company. There are several to choose from. I've had real good luck with Rebel Wire, great customer service. You'll still need to have the tools and terminals and stuff.
Either way, you'll learn a bunch about your car and keeping it in shape.
Oh yeah, and make sure the battery is not hooked up when you do your work
Take some time and plan out ahead what you need to do and it should not take much time at all. Wiring does not get much simpler than a Falcon. Good luck with it, have fun, and keep us up dated.

 

Very cool, my girlfriends dream car is a 60-62 falcon 4door

 

Madikech, you might let us in on what it is doing that might require a "Major rewiring". It might just be simple Falcon stuff that we all have had to deal with at one point of another. A very nice thing about these cars is their basic simplicity, and the wiring systems are no different. I have enclosed a factory wiring diagram of the typical Falcon system that I doctored a bit with colored pens to help trace stuff for you. Click out it a couple of time and print it out and it will help.