Projects 61 Falcon - Father Son Project

Thanks for the reply!

Do you know how much larger will the tunnel need to be?
And how much power will the stock rear end take? If it matters, it has a a limited slip, or whatever ford used in 61.

The goal isn’t to have a fast car, since it’s my sons first car. The goal is to have a car that can cruise at freeway speeds and be reliable, have A/C, etc.

I****ume at some point a 5 lug conversion will be necessary, along with disc brakes.

 

The earliest Falcons used the 2.66 3-speed manual, and a 2-speed automatic.

Both were fairly small.

Here is a 2.66 3-speed next to a T56 6-speed.


Even a T5 dwarfs the original bell housing.


The T5 case required some shaving to get it in.

My Falcon has AC, heat, a nice sound system, and handles the freeway, and traversing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with ease.

It has a 200 6-cylinder.

 

Our good buddy dropped of the motor and transmissions this weekend. Yes, 2 transmissions!

One of the transmissions is the C4 that was bolted to the 302, and****umably from the same car. The other is a 96 AOD, which will likely be the one we use, since it only has 30K miles. The C4 is unknown condition...

PICS:

 

I haven't updates this post in a long time. We have been driving and enjoying the Falcon. Today we finally had time to work on the door panels and rear side panels. I 3D printed an inner door pull/armrest. I hope to get the passenger one done this week...

 

My son really wants to do turquoise carpet, which I think would look amazing until it got dirty. I personally think he should do black carpet, but we will see what he decides.

 

Can't be worse than black! We need to talk OT 240 stuff some time.

 

Where's a good place to get carpet for Falcons?

 

I got the carpets for my '61 two door Falcon at Auto Custom Carpets at https://www.accmats.com/
They were molded and fit well and still look great after about 4 years of mild use.

The car is looking great. Good to see the progress.
Thanks

 

Its crazy how fast the time has gone by, but the Falcon finally got some much needed attention today.

We got the carb dialed in finally, and the vacuum lines ran correctly. Then we set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC, (Somehow it was at zero ! ). The car has SO much more pep now, not at all fast, but not a total dog anymore.

We went ahead and ordered a wiper motor from Newport Engineering as the vacuum motor is really finicky. We also ordered a kit to put power locks on it, since my son will be driving it to work, and power locks are real nice for a daily driver.

 

Glad to see new updates. Keep em coming.

 

Please let us know the outcome of the wiper motor. I am contemplating one for my Buick.



Ben

Aug 1, 2024
I did install the Newport. Fit like a glove and works great.

Ben

 

I used a Newport in my avatar. Bolted right in, worked like a charm. Didn’t get the intermittent option though. Later, I wished I had. The knobs are pretty funky is their only drawback.

 

The 302 would be nice but the 200 should be more than adequate for your boy now. I had an OT ‘70 Maverick with the 200 but with a C4 automatic. When it was running right it was fast enough to get into trouble with. I was thinking about swapping a 302 in it since there were plenty of V8 Mavericks in the wrecking yards then with everything I needed to get it done. I wasn’t too crazy about the car in the first place so I decided to get something else.
I don’t know about the availability of carburetors these days but you should be running a Carter YF/YFA.

​

The carburetor you have is probably the original one your car had with the 144 or 170 which might not have enough CFMs for a 200.

 

Thats a REALLY interesting thought. Ive never thought about the carb being too small.

If im going to put a new carb on this motor, I will likely go with a 2 bbl so it can breath even better.

Whats the best option for a 2bbl on the 200??

 

My son just installed a new wiper motor. We went with the one from Newport Engineering. It was pricey, but I see why everyone recommends it.

Its a pretty easy install for someone that fits under the dash! LOL

 

Not sure about a 2-bbl. The manifold is made for only 1-bbl carbs unless there is some adapter for it. Even then you’re still limited to the small manifold opening.

 

Hi Everyone! Its been a while since Ive updated this thread. My son has his drivers license now (passed the test first time, driving my 04 Yukon XL), and its time to get the falcon dialed to be his daily driver. I have a feeling that the timing chain has stretched, because I still cant get a stable idle, and the timing jumps around a bit, so thats first on the list. I****ume there is a YouTube video that shows the process.

The Newport wiper motor worked out great. My son installed remote door locks. He installed them pretty much by himself from start to finish. I just had to show him the best place to drill the hole for the door jam wire loom. The only other update is that I 3D printed a dual gauge pod for the steering column.

 

That's a slick gage pod!

 

Time for a long overdue update! I cant believe it’s been over a year since the last post. Other than putting in a radio, we haven’t done a lot on the falcon. It’s running and driving and my son takes it work. But we are getting ready to do a 5 lug, disc brake conversion. The goal is to get it ready for a new drivetrain.

Here are a couple pics of the radio install. We wanted to keep the original radio in the dash, even though it’s not working. We used a little Bluetooth receiver from Amazon in a 3d printed “ash tray”.

 

I like the 3-point belts and the inline six. Nice Falcon.

 

For the 5 lug disc brake conversion, it seems the best bang for the buck is the Grenada / Mustang parts. Are there any kits that are a better option for the money? And will 15” wheels work with those kits?