Projects 61 Falcon - Father Son Project

I picked up this Falcon from a buddy. Its going to be a father/son project for me and my 13 year old boy. It will end up being his when he is old enough, and in the meantime, its helping to keep him off his iPad.

The first order of business is to clean up some wiring. Is 12 gauge a decent size for most of the under dash wiring?

 

Awesome! Great Father/Son project! As for the wiring size, sorry I can't help you. I'm sure someone will help you. I'll research it and make sure you have a answer or two..... Good Luck!

Being old fashioned, I went to my book shelves and found rather quickly from Frank Oddo's book the following:

Headlights, taillights, parking lights, Turn lights, Heater, Dash instruments, Radio & Ignition 16 gauge.

Hope this helps

 

It really depend on what the circuit is feeding, but for everything except maybe the heater motor, 12 -14 gauge should be sufficient.

 

Thanks! The ignition circuit is a mess. Some has spliced in some 8 gauge and some tiny speaker wire. I already got a new switch, and want to run all new wires. Thats the first step...

 

Saving the institution of hotrodding, one car and one kid at a time, good on you.
I'm a Chevy guy but I think the first generation Falcon, especially the post cars have so much potential without breaking the bank, being a uni-body car and having somewhat of a front suspension design similar to the Chevy II, there is a lot of room for improvement.
Hopefully your son won't be influenced by the current trend of building a pseudo gasser with a straight axle and the cartoonish nose high stance.
Will be following this one.

 

Thanks for the reply! I actual asked him the style he wanted, and his first reaction was to make it stock. Since then he has sent me a couple pics of Bellflower customs that he really likes.

 

Good project, but you'll need the iPad to update us on the HAMB, or just look up Falcon stuff.

 

Harness parts are available for these.

 

This will get you off the switch, and on your way: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-fa...-1964-IGNITION-SWITCH-WIRE-HARNESSES-p383.htm

$20.

If you don't already have this, you should get one: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1963-SHOP-MANUALS-213p870.htm

It has the wiring diagram in it.

 

Nothing wrong with an early Falcon. Take a lot of pics of son with his accomplishments.

 

Also, Ford used bullet connectors that are not the same size as the ones that you will find in an auto parts store.

They can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/372564805963?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648

 

Thanks guys!

gomphshotrods - I got that pigtail when I got the ignition switch, so that will be a big help. And ordering that book is a great idea!

 

Depending on when in 1961 production it was made, it may have the 1960 through mid 1961 super-tiny upper ball joints (3-rivets/bolts, $107/ea).

Ford took those out of the design for a reason. You can too. It would require the tapered holes in the spindles to be reamed a bit, but that is pretty easy. One the reaming is done, you can use a whole replacement upper control arms ($73/ea for the complete arm) from the Mustang parts bins. They go right in. They have 4-bolt rivets/bolts.

Alternately, you can get a pair of later 6-cylinder spindles from someone doing a V8 suspension swap. I think I paid $20 for mine.

In any case, Google "Shelby Drop". It is an upper control arm relocation, that, for the cost of a drill bit.

It changes the camber curve on body roll, tipping the inner tire towards better grip, rather than away from it. It makes a noticeable difference in handling. That, and a decent set of radials, can keep your kid from stacking it in a corner.

 

Great info! Thanks!

 

++ on the Shelby drop. The early Mustang was based on the Falcon and as the GT350 was really just a hot rodded Mustang everything applies. I did all of it to my '62 Ranchero back in the day and it was one of the few vehicles I wish I still had. Disc brakes are a must.

 

Very cool! Great that you are doing this with your son and that he is interested. I have been fortunate enough to do the same with a couple boys as well.

 

I ran the Scarebird 4-lug setup for a few years, until I doubled my horsepower. They worked well.

Easy install. Not a whole lot of coin. A vast improvement over the factory drums.

 

You'll need different sizes at different places. Generally speaking, you want #10 for the generator/alternator output to the battery, same for the power feed to the main harness and light switch. #12 is good for the headlights, #14 for everything else. The factories used the smallest wire they could get away with, not always as big as it should be. Also be aware that these cars don't have central fuse panels, fuses are scattered around and mostly in-line with the device. Lighting fuses are on the light switch. For a in-depth look at wiring, look here: Wiring 101 | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
You also should take a look at this thread: Features - Falcons done right? | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com) Tons of info here. If you don't have a factory manual for the car, get one; it'll save hours of time.

Early falcons are great 'starter' cars, they're simple and have a pretty deep parts well. Looks like you got a nice one! Good luck!

 

You will never go wrong with larger wire if there is room for it.

When I wired my Buick, I used one size larger for almost all.

Ben

 

My son and I had a chance to work on the Falcon a bit today (I keep it at work). We took out the front seats, and vacuumed at the years of junk out of the doors and off the floor.

I noticed today that someone took the steering column apart. The gear selector lever doesn’t move the trans linkage. I need to figure out how to get it back together, and see what’s missing. For sure the horn button is gone and the turn signal stock. There is a chrome aftermarket turn signal switch I found in the trunk.

We started sorting thru the wiring, it’s not as bad as I thought, but there was an alarm installed at some point, so who knows how hacked it will end up being.

 

If you're up to the task and can spend the money and time, consider rewiring it: that stuff is 60 years old and you might wind up chasing problems.
Falcons are fairly inexpensive to build (assuming it's as good as it looks), and there are a lot of upgrades and modifications that won't break the bank. I hope he can stay motivated and interested, as this is a great project for the two of you. In the end, he'll have a cool little driver that none of his friends will have!! And maybe this will ignite an interest/hobby that will stick with him.

 

If you have the steering wheel off, post a picture of what is in there. Things might be missing.

The turn signal switch is easy: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1962-TURN-SIGNAL-SWITCHES-126p302.htm

If the cam is outright missing: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1962-TURN-SIGNAL-CAMS-p278.htm

As is the lever: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-fa...0-1962-TURN-SIGNAL-LEVERS-ALL-CHROME-p396.htm

As for the horn, it could just be the contact: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-fa...-1964-HORN-CONTACTS-WITH-ISOLATORS-85p285.htm

If the mechanical portion of the horn is missing: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1963-HORN-RINGS-85p304.htm
And: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1965-HORN-BUTTON-SPRINGS-85p305.htm
And: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-fa...3-HORN-RING-PLASTIC-INSERTS-FALCON-85p291.htm

 

Assuming that it is an automatic, the lever just plugs into the column, and a pin holds it in. If the pin in missing, you can temporarily use a bolt and nut. You need to pull the shifter towards the wheel to move it.

If it is a manual, the levers would best be in the manual position before putting the shifter in. There are two levers on the lower column in the engine compartment. Put both in the center of their travel. It is possible to get them out-of-sequence, and when that happens, the lever will not move. I had that happen a few times before I swapped out my transmission.

 

Thanks gimpyshotrods! The car is an automatic trans. I will get more pics the next time I'm in the warehouse, but the actual column lever is there, its the whole tube that runs down towards the steering box thats been removed. I assume it has a keyway or something that has to line up with the shift linkage.

 

Oh dear. That's weird.

You mean that the column sleeve is gone?

That which the shifter goes into is buried deep within the column. It is unlikely it was taken out.

Can you post a picture of what you have, both by the steering wheel, and by the steering box?

 

Sure! I will get pics in the next couple days. Thanks!!

 

Yes that is very weird. Please post the pictures so I can see what you have. My wife's '62 Falcon steering wheel is currently off so we can compare fairly easily what you have going on.

 

Thanks! I hope to get pics tomorrow.

 

ok! Time for some pics of whats going on, and what I actually have.

Here is what is in the car. I need to figure out how to get this tube/sleeve back in and hooked up to the shift linkage.


Here are the only the random parts that I have...



Also, I pulled the harness out of the car. Which is a good thing, because the hot headlight wire was melted into the connector. Im glad I found this now. There are SO many extra wires. I am going to sort thru this mess and get it all repaired. It will be a good example for my son on patience... LOL



Here are a few random pics to show some of the car:

The floors are nice...

And the engine is rebuilt. It fires right up with a jumper wire, and a big screwdriver...