Technical pwr steering in a '63 Falcon?

I found a '63 Falcon in the local area recently that looks like it has some potential. 20 or so years ago these cars were a dime a dozen and i've literally owned dozens of these and cars built off the same platform comets, fairlanes, mavericks, mustangs, granadas, cougars,monarchs, versailles etc. and over the years owned all the parts that are highly sought after in those circles The Falcon is a six and I'd like to put a V-8 but the likelihood of finding a V8 parts car is slim to none.

 

I know this a site about hot rods and this is o/t. I just want a 40-50 year old daily driver again. I miss it.There has to be a ford guy or two on here with some (inexpensive) ideas

 

A '63 Falcon is not OT. I have not used the maverick steering components in one but I am sure that with a little finagling it can be dine. The maverick may even have a better steering ratio then the falcon.

 

I bought a mid-70s Maverick as a possible parts car for a '64 Comet I used to have and there wasn't much in the way of 'bolt-on' parts for the early cars. I did use the disc brakes/spindles, but none of the steering bits looked like they would be worth the effort, given the availability of most front end parts for the Falcon/Comet. The early steering boxes are a problem these days, but the Maverick uses a collapsible column/rag joint so modifying of the stock Falcon column would be needed or swap the Maverick column in (although there were issues there too, but I don't recall what they were).

Pretty much everything you need to convert a 6 car to a V8 can be bought new (everything in the steering except the center link and steering box is the same as early Mustang), although keep in mind that the 6 cars had much lighter bodies so the added weight/power of a V8 can cause issues with body flex and even structural cracking.

 

You might wanna try asking this in the "Doing Falcons Right" thread.

 

Tried putting '71 Maverick steering/spindle on my '64 Falcon years ago. If i remeber right had to modify inner fender to clear the box. Maverick box is little bigger i think. Bump steer was bad after it was all together. Steering geometry is different between Maverick and Falcon.

 

Yes the rear bolt for steering box is a little further back than on the Falcon box. Fitting the box wasn't that much of a problem. The linkage is where the big difference is. Center link inner tie rod attach area is not the same as the Falcon. When lower control arm pivot point is not close to inner tie rod mount area, this causes a bumpsteer problem. I used '71 Maverick box, linkage, idler, 5 bolt drums when putting my car tighter the first time. Had very bad bumpsteer when driven. Replaced all with parts off '64 v-8 Falcon. You could use the Maverick box to get the the safer column. Possibly use Falcon centerlink to keep geometry right. But I think the pitman arm is different than Falcon. Just something to think on.

 

Falcon V8 steering was upgraded to Mustang parts in 1965, except for a unique 65 only Falcon v8 center link
Maverick spindles on pre-65 Falcons will have bump steer. The fix is to swap in 65 Falcon/Mustang pieces. This is all covered in the Falcon threads.

 

Falcon parts are not rare.

Just over the bridge from me, there is a Falcon-only dismantler.

Whatever you are missing, he can probably provide. The rest come from the Mustang parts bins.

My daily is a road-race prepped 1960 Falcon.

 

That's DOWN and back.

http://dazecars.com/dazed/drop.html

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/doing-falcons-right.281142/

http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/V6-to-V8-Steering-Conversion-d19.htm

I would just source Falcon/Mustang parts.

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/63-Ford-Falc...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35dce42877&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vintage-1963...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c96bc801e&vxp=mtr

 

The '60-65 Falcon/Comet engine compartment/frame rails are about 1.5" narrower than the early Mustang and even more compared to most every other Ford car that used the Falcon-design front suspension (later Mustangs, Fairlanes, Torinos, '66-up Falcons/Comets, Montegos, Mavericks, etc etc... ). You have to have a late-'64-65 Falcon/Comet centerlink if you want to use the more common (and cheaper) early Mustang parts. Anything else will be too wide.

That narrow engine compartment is also why you need Falcon-specific headers unless you mod the shock towers or headers. And the slightly-wider 351W is a ***** to swap in......

 

And that is: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1965-V-8-MANUAL-STEERING-CENTER-LINK-17p769.htm

 

http://1bad6t.com/6cylto8swap.html

 

You might want to check this site out:http://fordfalcon2000.com/restoration/restoration.htm

 

The Lincoln Versailles rear axle is not an eligible swap candidate for a early, '60-'63, Falcon.

The stock axle is 56" wide.

The Lincoln Versailles axle is 58-1/2" wide.

There is not a chance in hell that you are going to get wheels in there with an extra 1-1/4" on each side.

If you were going for the g***er, stock-car look, it would work, as you would have to remove wheel wheel arch.

I am running a 1991 Ford Ranger 8.8 in my '60. It is 56-1/2" wide.

I could not mount my wheels, even with that axle, without making mini-tubs for the outer wheelhouses.

I am running 195/60-15's, on 15" x 7" wheels, with 4" of backspacing.

 

Maverick centerlink measures roughly 12 3/8 center at inner tie rod mount. pitman arm to idler 25 1/4. If I get a chance later, will measure Falcon centerlink.

 

Thanks Gimpy, speed, crazy,& jeff I really appreciate the links and advice. I should probably say although I seem like a complete newb with these questions the fact is that I have been there and done that on Falcons and all their decendants and as I said at the beginning they number into the hundreds including: '64 vert (with a zillion hours just in the floor pans alone) I stuffed in a '69 351W mach 1 4v I used '63-5 falcon/comet motor mounts (which were already rare 15+ years ago let alone now Gimpy)and a maverick under pan crossmember and cut and welded a set of fox body 302 block hugger headers to fit I had no interference issues even with the 65 comet power steering linkage/Box and a 66 mustang collar to eliminate the shift lever. I used the Granada/monarch disc brakes/spindles there is a 3/16" height difference of the granada spindle also hoses must be relocated. I bought a pricey tie rod end to mate the p/s to gran spindles. and used Monarch hd sway bar. 65 Mustang pedals bolt onto the stock pedal bracket and I crossed a 66 falcon trans mount with the stock(leaf spring) modifed to clear the linkages. I installed a Lincoln Versaille 9" (58.5")the spring pads are exactly the same width apart (43")but vers has a larger centre pin the vers e-brake wont work if you bolt directly to the springs so I made 1" lowering blocks and put larger dowels on top and drilled the bottom the size of falc pin this set up allowed me to use the 14" x7" painted magnums w 225/60's with no rub. Spring plates must be notched and drilled forbigger U bolts. I used the '68 mustang dual master cyl. and fluid block from a 4whl drum maverick. Wired in the "duraspark" box and gm 1 wire alt. Depending on what year and also the year of engine (which side w/p exits) with slight mods to the rad support you can use either a V8 mustang or a maverick rad. etc etc etc............ that all being said I even had a Maverick steering setup once but I never tried it on a falcon nor collected any imperical data on it so I just wanted to put it out there and see if anyone ever had any success

 

Motor mounts aren't rare.

They are reproduced:

http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/MOUNTS-c65.htm

 

For the uninitiated considering 6 to 8 swaps on an earlier Falcon, the metal is not just thinner.

The transmission tunnel is smaller, too. This will limit your transmission choices, without cutting.

The original transmission was tiny.

Shown here, next to a T56.

 

Hey Gimpy thanks again I guess it was about time someone started reproducing that **** a Comet guy I`m talking to up here wants $200. for a used centrelink and only scoffed when I asked about mounts lol the problem I have with buying the repro stuff is the killer duty on shipping I once f*?ked with Epay and got burned severely anyway I`m actually still flirting wth 6 banger power ..........I just wanted a cheap P/s setup .........yeah the ****** thing ****s a C-4 from a mustang II fits great but once again unobtainium....theres a maverick 3 spd on Clist though I think the 200 bell is the same as small block and I could keep the shifter stock.....fact is building too much power into a car that can only take tiny rubber is down right irresponsible ..........ask me about the telephone pole I had to replace on hwy 7

 

I can get 275-HP out of a 200-6. No need for a V8.

 

I have a 1963 1/2 Falcon Ranchero. Original factory V8 4 speed. Mustang lower control arms are a direct replacement. Tie rods are a direct replacement. Center link is one big difference as mentioned before because the frame rails are 1.5 inches narrower. Also the steering arm off the steering box is a one of a kind for a V8. If you can find one you will probably need to have it rebuilt. Also direct fit headers are a must!!!!! I tried to use Mustang headers and after beating them to death the still did not fit right. I bought ****** headers for a 1963 Falcon with a V8 and it was literally a drop in. Also when selecting a transmission one must remember that the shifter mounting point for a 4 speed in a Falcon is at the forward position on the tail shaft. There were 3 mounting positions on T10s for Ford products. Front was for Falcons, Center was for Fairlanes and Comets and the end was for Galaxies.
Good luck on your project.

 

Remember that there's two different steering linkages for the early Falcons/Comets; 63-early 64, and late 64-65. None of the parts interchange IIRC, and the early Falcon/Comet parts are specific to those only and are expensive...

 

None swap individually, but you can swap them, if you swap ALL of them.

My '60, with 6-cylinder spindles, has 1965 V8 steering. I ran a tapered reamer in the tie rod holes on the spindles.

Only the center link was expensive.

 

The '64-65 stuff is reasonably priced as it's shared (some) with Mustang. The '63-64 bits aren't inexpensive..... LOL. Used to own a early '64 Comet.... never did find a new idler arm for it...

 

Fuzzy it can be done I put a 351 in a 64 my headers were originally fox body 302 shorties yes they looked like frankenstein when finished but they still had better flow the trick was to keep them as tight to the block as possible utilizing the two `` valleys`` in the shock tower and of course keep the plugs accessible the drivers ended up as a shortie with the collector angled back a bit and the p*** side ended up flowing back and down the firewall pan.........yeah I had the regular tailshaft toploader and the shifter ended up pretty far back not enough for me to go through the h***le of shortening everything I know it sounds silly but I took a 69 guess-a-gear shifter cut the handle and spun it around that did the trick.........Gimpy which steering box and pitman arm did you use

 

Stock steering box. '65 pitman.

 

So your 1960 Falcon had the 1"sector? I ***ume because there is an 1 1/8th sector on both rag joint and death spear boxes as well and my 63(yes I went for it) sports some anemic little thing that cant even be the 1" so I won`t be throwing a V8 pitman arm on that box.....damn! some good news is 4 bolt upper control arms so I can use these maverick spindles......... youre right these are a different animal than the `64-5`s that i`ve had mostly ....275 horse from a 200? jayzuz that must be fun!.........do you know if the dimensional differences between a c-4 and the 2spd autos they ran in the early cars are enough to worry about? the cruise o matics were almost identical to the c-4 so it wasnt a problem in the 64`s but yeah this ****** tunnel is tiny