Projects '63 Falcon, and '39 Chev gassers

One more off the winter list! I got the new leaf springs in today, and pulled the ladder bars for the reworking I've got planned. Amazing how the new leafs had 3" more arc, but settled down to about 2" above what the old saggy springs were. With no air in the rear shocks it's sitting very close to what I want, so just a small amount of air (maybe 25-30 lbs.) and it will be perfect. I bought some poly bushings for the new leafs from Energy Systems. They didn't have a set for a early Falcon, so got a set for a 4x4 Tahoe, and turned down the rear to fit my spring eyes. Had to also cut the width to fit my 2" wide springs. The rest the bushings in the kit will be a perfect fit to swap into my E100 straight axle once I trim the width in the lathe.
Had to drill out the mounting brackets up front to use 7"x9/16" NF bolts. The old bolts had a shoulder and I couldn't reuse them after having to cut one. The new bolts are same size all the way after drilling out the bracket, so larger and stronger.
I have all the adjusters and heims for the ladder bars so I can make both ends of them adjustable, instead of just the front, so that will allow for suspension height changes, and pinion angle differences. I'm still "engineering" some of this, so don't have it all worked out yet, but it will be better and stronger.

 

I used the ones for a Mustang and just cut off the big outside piece for the fronts and the backs were a match.

 

I didn't get anything in the Energy Systems kit that fit those big old front eyes, but I had a set leftover from a Camaro that fit perfectly in diameter. I just trimmed them down in my lathe to make them fit the 2" springs, and then cut off 1/4" from the big outside shoulder to fit into the perch.

 

Very good thread. Now I have to make up for the hour I spent reading it to go work on my sons Mustang so I can get it out of my garage so my Falcon can get started.

 

Thanks! Your Falcon looks like a great starter! Love the skinny slots! I have a grille like that and I'm thinking of swapping it into mine to replace the bent up '63 grille. Also have a '58 Ford grille that I contemplated bending a peak into, and see how it will look in mine. Either way my stock grille needs to go, as it's tweaked.

 

Got the ladder bars reworked today. Chopped off the old rear mount and box tube spacer between the top and bottom tubes. Then measured and cut the lower tube shorter to allow me to weld in a bung and install a solid heim and adjuster. The adjuster will allow me to set the ladder bars without removing them, where the old setup was fixed at one angle, so I couldn't raise or lower the ladder bars, or the car's rear suspension without binding.
On the top tube I put some heavy wall tubing in the lathe and turned it down to slide snug inside the upper tube. Then welded up a bracket that saddles the rear axle mount and bolts to it. After putting some grease on the inner tube, I slid it in with ease, and painted up the ladder bars. This inner tubing is about 18" long, so plenty of contact length.
Install was easy, as I could raise or lower the rear end, and just adjust the lower arm length until it lines up. Camera didn't focus well, but here's a pic:

 

Back on the Falcon today. Pulled the moon tank and grille to swap in my spare '61 grille. Took a lot of reworking to make the '61 grille fit the '63, and had to fabricate all new brackets to mount it up! I abandoned the turn signal lights in the '61 grille, and just mounted the lenses in the holes in the grille. I'm getting a pair of Richies tank brackets from my buddy who makes them, and I'll mount the tank lower and centered when it goes back on.

 

Got the "moon" tank re-installed on the new grille with the new brackets today. Used aluminum angle to support it, but I think I'll redo it with aluminum flat bar, as I don't like the bulk of the angle. Also pulled my headers and gave them a through cleaning and sanding, then shot a coat of high heat black on them. Considered something flashy like white or silver, but basic black won out.
Also found an old hand built, polished stainless Chevy bowtie, so added that to the grille for fun!

 

Pulled the tank brackets back off today, and did an upgrade. I drilled and cut out the small triangular insets on the brackets to make them more skeletonized. Then I cut down the aluminum mounts and reshaped them to make them less bulky. Finally added holes just for looks. After all, they are right out in front where everyone will see it!

Got the headers back on also, and exhaust buttoned up.

 

Looks very cool! It's amazing what the small details do for Hot Rod parts! Nice work.

 

Thanks Joe! Amazing how much time these little details take, but worth it when they work out.

 

Finally turned up a good useable rear bumper to replace the pretzel I straightened on the back of the Falcon. It needed replating, but that's exactly what I was looking for, as it fit the budget, and I planned to paint it anyway. Found it on the local CL, and after buffing out the scratches, and dings, plus a little work on the edge with a sledge and anvil, it came out much better. Has that "fiberglass" look with paint on it.

 

Looks great, and probably fits much better than most of the fiberglass bumpers would.

 

Thanks Baron! Yeah, and I didn't want less weight in the back anyway!

 

Rear bumper fits nice and looks good

 

Thanks wade57! Another thing off my winter list!

 

We had our monthly 1st Sunday breakfast this morning. Didn't take the Falcon, as it's hard to get out of the backyard. Drove my red Austin instead. The Sun was out, although only 28 degrees and slick! But we had a great turnout anyway!

 

Hey man, just ran through the whole thread! Nice job, and you put it together quick! One of my Muncies is gonna get the welded ear trick at some point.
28 degrees is a welcome change from sub zero I'm sure! Glad to see ya driving 'em

 

Thanks Chevy57dude! We're at a balmy 502 degrees today! I spent the day screwing around with the coilovers on the back of my Austin gasser. Need to soften them up, but can't find 3" ID springs for them.

Also built up a new shift handle for the Falcon. Wanted to replace the factory type round shift handle, but the shifter has a weird reverse lockout, and comes up at a 45 degree angle for a 2nd gen Camaro it came from.
Dug up an old Hurst shifter from my parts bin and welded a 45 degree mount on it, and it works great. Ignore the line lock button on the back side. It got turned around during install, and isn't staying on that side.

 

This car is too awesome

 

Thanks enloe!

 

Nice progress on the car, I seem to never get back to the small details once they hit the road.

 

Thanks Phil! That's what winters are for! I drive them all I can, and save the details for winter! I'm thinking of doing the roller paint job like your Henry, if I can get it fairly straight first!

 

Awesome build, what size straight axle did you use.

 

I'm sure envious! My winter list seems to keep getting bigger!
I haven't checked off anything as yet!

 

Thanks! That's a late 60's Econoline axle. All original, except for the leaf springs, which are trailer springs off Fleabay.

 

My winter list keeps going up and down! I think I'm almost done, then I get to working on a friend's Nova project, and bang; something else pops into my head I should do!

 

After doing all the mechanical things I needed to do, and not coming up with any more excuses, I finally have to address the body. I started stripping paint on several places today so I can pound out some dings and get things straighter. Nothing really big, except that it's all big to me since I dislike body work!
I started with the worst, which was the passenger door. It had been punched in below the mirror sometime, and slide hammered out. Unfortunately what looked like a somewhat decent repair proved to be ugly. Not too much filler, but the door skin has a big bow that is probably 3/8" deep when I put a straight edge across it. Might explain why some dork put a sheetmetal screw through the side trim to pull it in tight! I thought the clips were bad (and they were!) but the screw hid the fact the door wasn't pulled out properly.
I don't have the fancy tools, so I tack welded 1/4" all thread rod to a few strategic places, and then put a 2"x4" across the door with spacer blocks at each end. Then cranked the nuts down until the door was within 1/8" of being true. Cut the studs off and ground the welds smooth. Now it's just welding the old dent puller holes and some filler to get it better.
I've probably got two weeks work, but a good bodyman could finish in a day or two! I REALLY dislike sanding, and body work in general!

 

I hope you go with the same color. It suits it!

 

Haven't decided yet. Gone back and forth on colors, but I'm pretty sure it wont stay the color it is.