1963 Falcon Phase 2

[Karl Buchka]

I assume that you're working with a forged spindle. Looks like you could chamfer those two cut pieces a bit more to make sure you get good penetration on the weld.

That spacer you've got for the tie rod looks a little sketchy. Have you considered bracing that back toward the center of the spindle?

[craig510]

Originally Posted by Karl Buchka

I assume that you're working with a forged spindle. Looks like you could chamfer those two cut pieces a bit more to make sure you get good penetration on the weld.

That spacer you've got for the tie rod looks a little sketchy. Have you considered bracing that back toward the center of the spindle?

I will definitely chamfer for good penetration. I'll have one of the pros at work tig it and may add some fish plates. I think the tie rod spacer will be ok. Bear and tcp sell kits that are very similar.

[craig510]

Making painfully slow progress.

Upper Control arm mounts:

[craig510]

I actually got the car done in time for the Pleasanton Goodguys in March. I was still assembling on Saturday so I only got 3 runs in on Sunday. The car has so much more grip and better manners, I have some more tweeks to do but at least its back on the road.



The I did more mockup and took more measurements than I would like to think about to get it all to fit.

Rear fit better with no spacers, but the rim was making contact with the leaf, and my old 225's rubbed on both inner and outer fender wells. These wheels have about an inch more front space and back space than the old wheels. This puts them .400" more front space after removing the wheel spacer in the rear.

I spent several hours under the car with a square, plumb bob and string pulled taught to get all of the chassis suspension pick up points to use as a baseline.


I had picked up some extra spindles at a swap meet last August that were earmarked for this project. They were another set of 1968 mustang drum spindles so my big brake package would bolt up. A bunch of time on SolidWorks and I got the geometry back where I wanted and the ball joints to tuck inside the wheel to allow for 6.19” of backspace. The mockup can be seen in the earlier posts.

Then I started cutting and making parts:

Tires stuffed up in the fender:


Adjustable upper and lower arms:






I built some trick strut rods too, but they don't have enough clearance at the rod ends, so I had to put the stock ones back in. The mods to make them fit are in the works.


Hubcentric ring for the Rotor and wheels.


Spindles cut, fixtured, chamferd and ready to weld:



My buddy Bill welded them up for me. It took about an hour each.


I ground the welds smooth and painted them black for a stock look.

I'll post more about the mini-tub next time.

-Craig

[FETorino]

The Falcon looks great. I wish I had your time and ingenuity, this is a great owner build.

[GrabberGT]

Subscribed.

Really cool stuff. I was considering posting an update thread on my Ford here but that would be like me trying out for a pro football team. Just not gonna happen. You home builders are way out of my league.

[coolwelder62]

Wow!!!!! What an awesome build thread.!!!I really Dig this DIY Stuff.