Projects 63 Falcon Build Thread - Stockcar for the Street

Hope you'll do a video with sound when you get time! I love 'em loud and obnoxious!

 

Just got back from the first shake down run. So far so good.

 

Been following this build for a while and I really dig it! I'm so glad you went this route instead of building a gasser!

 

man that is such a good looking car.

 

Awesome, its looking sweet! I think you have done a great job building this car

 

Thanks guys.

 

Seen this Trans Am Falcon run at Lime Rock Park this weekend the original owner driver was there. http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/MichaelEisenberg63Falcon77.html

 

Hey Nash , your little falcon looks awesome, sitting still looks fast, have fun ! Tintop

 

That car was at Watkins Glen yesterday it is awesome!! Great build now I have another build to dream about. That car you built looks Great!!

 

Very Cool!!

 

just subscribed your car is one of the best I've seen amazing build!!!

 

Looks Great!!! Good to see it out.
Thanks for the inspiration for me to keep plugging away on mine - it's in that ripped-to-pieces-why-did-I-start-this stage...

 

Top notch work!

I really like the way that you raised the hood, very tasteful.

It's a tough looking little car, for sure!

 

thanks guys. Dexter I know what you mean and I have been there. Keep after it. If anything this project has made me more realistic about what I take on. I have an OT project waiting in the wings that I need to get going on for which I can't seem to muster up the motivation.

 

I just stumbled across this pic while wasting some time on a wet day.

Thought it fitted the theme of this thread.

 

Fantastic falcon!!!!!!!

 

Probably a fun ride, but not the look I like. The roof and A pillars are hideous. The body is too highly modified, and lost most of it's original lines. Much like what Nascar has done to the look of cars running there.

 

Great thread on a great build, I just ran across it.
Subscribed!

 

Thanks Carl. I'm afraid I really don't have any updates other than installing a remote brake balance bar adjuster. - hardly worth a picture. I've been enjoying the car and attending some local cruises. One of these days I'll do something with the interior.

 

Hey Nash , just drive it and enjoy it tintop!

 

Hey Tintop! How is yours coming along?

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Up here in Oregon, winter is for upgrades. I drove my Falcon all summer unfinished, but it's back in the garage to make some changes during the rainy season!

 

Nash mine is coming along SLO-------W ! But thanks for asking !

 

Great build just read through the whole thread, got here from a link over on the pro-touring forum. How is the exhaust coming out the side body panel working out. I'm in the middle of putting a coyote in my 69 f-100 and I want to do something like that with the exhaust outlet. Nice thing is you didn't have to mess with ps or ac with your build.

 

Thanks 48. The exhaust is working fine. What's visible from the outside is a 4 inch opening which is actually a short piece of 4 inch tubing that spans the space between the inner and outer walls of the quarter panel. The actual exhaust is made of 3 inch tubbing the end of which "floats" inside if the 4 inch tube. This keeps the movement and vibration of the exhaust from damaging the bodywork. Good luck on your project.

 

So I've put about 500 miles on the car so far. The couple of times that I've really gotten on it I felt an unsettling knock coming from the rear. Turns out the rear axle is wrapping big time. The knock is the drive shaft hitting the frame cross member. There is plenty of clearance so the wrap is pretty severe. I now have a couple of good grooves on the drive shaft and some deformity in the rear leafs. I'm sure the fact that the leafs are in a reversed arch to begin with makes it easier for the axle to want to flip over. The car is too low for slapper bars or Cal Tracs so I'm working on something that will work on top of the leaf. If it works - great. If not, I'll have to start thinking about a 3 or 4 link. I hope it doesn't come to that.

 

Had a similar problem with my '63 when I got it on the road. My buddy was following me and when we got to our destination he told me my pinion was really rising under takeoff, and he could see my springs separating.
I ended up rebuilding the mounts on my ladder bars, and lowering the mounting points to get more leverage against the rear axle, and also be able to preload the pinion more when I go to the drag strip. It's stopped my problem, but I've got a lot more room underneath to work with.

 

I have to admit trying to account for all the forces at play on a leaf spring car under hard acceleration is giving me a headache. But it seems to me ladder bars would completely eliminate wrap. Before you made your corrections, was the axle slipping within the ladder bar mounts? Is that why you were still getting axle wrap with the ladder bars?

 

Yes, but my ladder bars were not set up with the mounting point low enough to keep the pinion from rising, and also didn't have a triangulated mount that would really lock up the axle, as I didn't want the ladder bars to bind the suspension. I had upper and lower mounts at the rear, but on the street I left the lower mounts disconnected to allow movement, and that movement also allowed the axle to twist on launch. The axle wasn't slipping, but no matter how tight it was clamped, it couldn't control the pinion rise under hard launches without both mounting points connected, but that also caused the bind.
I rebuilt the rear mounting points so the lower mount has an adjuster in the heim for length, and the top point is a slider. I already had a multi position bracket on the axle, so I simply lowered the whole assembly to it's lowest point to get the most advantage over the axle wrap. That stopped the pinion from trying to rise, but also keeps the suspension from binding.
This is what I had before, and with that lower link in place it held, but made the suspension bind on the street, so I left it out on the street.


This is what I have now. The upper mount slides inside the upper tube, and is about 20" long to keep it sliding smoothly.


I can now push down on the rear and get suspension travel, but the low mounting point stops the pinion rise. I can also adjust the lower attachment point to adjust tension or preload on the axle. I just swapped out those old leafs, and modified the ladder bars, so haven't got a lot of test time in yet to see how well it works, but it's better than before.

 

Thanks BB. Very nice set up. As I was thinking about the possible options I was wondering how those with ladder bars kept things from binding up. It makes sense that slide setup you have eliminates the problem (and a trip underneath the car whenever you want have fun). I wish I had the clearance for this. What I am working on will be along the same theory as the Cal Tracs bars in that they will limit the upward flex of the front of the spring. At least that's what I hope they will do. I will post pics and results soon. Happy New Year!