Me and the ole lady just got her a 62 2 door falcon. she has wanted one for ever and i found one on craigslist today and it turned out to be real nice. bit of rust on the fenders aboce the head lights and some on the qtrs behind the wheel wells. But even the weather striping was perfect. the interior is nice as hell too. it has a 144? and a auto in it. Im ignorent when it comes to this era ford. Is this a good motor? are the autos junk? what little things should i try to change to make this a nice daily for her. it needs all new brakes and a new master. i want to convert it to a dual line system if possible. Is there a master that will bolt up? Is there any where i can get front fenders for one of these little buddys? or even patch panels. here is a pic of it off of craigs list. i pick it up sunday and ill more pics of it. its so cute hahaha Thanks Bryan
Thanks Bryan[/quote] Below is an "after" picture of one of my customers cars. Gets much "attention" while cruising. Thanks, Gary in N.Y. P.S. Only "drawback" (just kiddin'), it's powered by a 460 Ford!!
The 144 and auto are durable, just not real powerful. I had a '60 with a 144 and a 3 speed. It was the sport coupe with buckets and console. Because the car is 40 some years old, there's room for lots of surprises. As far as mods go, there never was much for those engines. The intake is part of the head. To have dual exhaust, you have to mod the exhaust manifold. If your plan is a daily driver, it will be fine.
You will be able to get some info on the HAMB but for Falcon specific info try: http://fordsix.com/forum/ and http://tffn.net/phpBB2/index.php?sid=bf3c19f29630e8b24928b4991df83f21 There is also the Falcon Club of America which has lots of info and a monthly magazine for a very nominal yearly fee. http://www.falconclub.com/ Powerband -
I second the reccomendation to go over to www.tffn.net I recently sold my 62 2 dr wagon. Fun little car. Dog slow, but easy to work on and fun. I'll own another one some day.
The later 200 inlines drop right in and have a lot more power and still economical. Go to www.classicinlines.com lots of good parts.
Most everything from 62 & 63 interchange. 64 & 65 mechanicals will interchange as well as early Mustang. The 144 is guttless but they work. You probably have a 170 in that. The trans will work too, but not worth rebuilding. 200 and c4 is a really good swap. You can buy patch panels, but most of what I've seen are poor quality. I'd get her up on a lift and check for rust in the innerstructure. These cars tend to rust in the floors, rockers and rails. I'd want to know what I have before spending a bunch of money on it. If it's too far gone, move on.
there is a tight 62/63 falcon wagon that cruises around here. Wish I had a pic. cut springs and some wide whites and thats all it needed to look cool as f**k...
Thats the thing the guy had it up on jack stands for me and the carpet is taken out. the floor and under body is flawless. the thing sat for the 20 years or so and the guy did a good job of storing it. it doesnt have that normal crust that a car that sat does. even the gas tank is brand new looking but he said its orig. I would not have got it if it was rotted. a few body patches aint nothing. but i would like to find at least new fron fenders for it cause there both rusty and dented as hell. And as far as the 144 goes the guy said the orig motor had a knock when he bought the car back in like 74 so he bought a 144 and put it in. The guy has a huge collection of cars all over metro detroit in garages of houses he rents out. next to the falcon was a mint 25k mile 67 tornado. he said that had been sitting since 91 and you could eat off the motor in that car it was flawless. he has two guys fighting over that right now and there around 8k and i think the cars worth it. But as far as the falcon goes if it gets a new motor one day it will get a v8 and it will prob be a chevy motor cause i hate ford motors. but we both dig it with the inline. Thanks for your help guys
Powerband beat me to it with the good websites, definately check those out. Mustang suspension parts interchange. You're lookin' for a '67 Mustang drum/drum master for the dual resivoir swap. I'm getting ready to do this on both my Ranchero, and the Falcon I just bought for my wife. You can also swap in Granada spindles if you want disc brakes. The 144, 2 spd, work, but you'll top out at about 65 on the freeway. The Ford-O-Matic and C4, actually have the same final drive, so if your 2 spd. works I'd stick with it.
find yourself a 70's maverick donor car! you'll get a 250/c4, 8" rear that will bolt right in, and disc brakes. not to mention all the little stuff to fill in the details, master cylinder, etc. or you can ditch the c4 for a t5 manual tranny, which is what i did. it jams along the freeway all day at 85+. you should see the looks you get when you blow by all the SUVs in one of these shitboxs! i set mine up with a 3x1 intake setup, using holley 1bbl carbs, looks bitchin. spend a couple of hours at the two links powerband posted and you'll know it all in no time.
I think they still had the 13" wheels, If it's still got bias plys on it, I have a set of 13" port-a-walls for it.
You can get headers from Clifford for that motor. Make sure he has them in stock before giving credit card info, or you will be waiting a while. Also, early model Rangers, have a dual pot master cyl that will bolt right in, you may have to make an aluminum spacer to get the pedal to the right place like I did.
I recently ran into a friend from High school. He has been into falcons and Rancheros since then. I told him I have always wanted a falcon, but with a small block Chevy. He wasn't too happy about that, especially after I told him I would put 350 badges on it just to piss off the Ford Guys. No sense of humor... Slonaker
i've been looking for one of these and reading. no first hand experience so ya might want to dig yourself. word is the motors are good but slow, auto is pretty bad but 3spd is alright. folks talk about changing the gears to help and/or dropping in a new trans. if the valve covers are blue it's a 144, red/orange it's a 170. they have a 3x1 intake for it but you'd have to mod the head as the manifold is part of it. instead, some cats swap on australian 2v heads which have a seperate intake. that's what i can gather though.
A few thoughts: - Install 6-cylinder 200 engine: same block as 144/170 so it's a bolt-in -- cheap, easy to find, good power - 1967 Mustang master cylinder bolts in as upgrade to original brakes, available over the parts counter - early 4-lug 14" Mustang wheels can be used as updgrade to original 13" wheels
Hey DirtyT, you beat me to that Falcon! I live in Ferndale and I called soon as a I saw it, the day after it was posted, and someone already had a deposit on it. I'm glad to see someone has it who hopefully isn't going to make it cheesy, that was quite a deal you got, good luck with the project. By the way, you probably know this, but early Mustang suspension is interchangeable and they make all kinds of cool stuff for early Stangs to make them ride and handle great.
The big block sixes fit in with minor mods, and make tons more torque than the small sixes...I know a guy with a 300 in his early falcon. The SBF from a late model mustang is a nice bolt in, especially if you keep the T5. A 8" or 9" is a nice swap.
just curious, what'd you pay for it? you can PM me if it's more comfortable. the only reason I'm asking is because last night I went to look at a 64 4 door for my girl and I need to know if the guy is in the right ballpark on the price. thanks
the 70s mav idea is good but easier would be the monarch and granada. disc ft brakes and the rt width r/e along withe a good 3 speed auto and a 200/250 eng. remember this when you change all of this you will have to change the steering also, diff size. the tffn has lots of good info. good luck. jim.
Mav and granada carry the same fornt spindles. Mav rear is 3/4" narrower than the Granada, so it fits the Falcon a smidge better.
The Jalopy Journal
