Features Doing Falcons Right

At some point I believe all Mustangs got the modified geometry. From what I've run across I believe the later Falcons and such still benefit from a change? As far as I know anything early enough to be HAMB friendly still benefits from the modification.

I read up way more than necessary before drilling those four half inch holes in my car. It is so simple a change but a rather unnerving one at the same time.

 

The Shelby Drop is Only performed on 1694-1970 Mustangs, Falcons etc. the 64-66 cars (and early Falcons) you drop down 1" and back 1/8", The 67-70 cars are straight down 1". This is perpendicular to the existing holes. In 1973 Ford revised the front suspension geometry to something similar to the drop.
Interesting side note, on the early race cars Klaus Arning, Ford's own suspension engineer who came up with this drop, went down 1.75", but it put a lot of stress on the upper Ball joints and caused failures so they stopped doing it. Some companies still do that, but with a wedge kit or modified upper arm.
By the way, the Shelby drop will only lower the car about 1/4" - it is about improving the camber curve, not lowering the car - you need shorter springs for that.

 

More drop on the control arm than 1" is overkill on the street. 1-3/4" is great for really high speed cornering, faster than is responsible on the street. That said, if you have a Falcon, Ranchero, Comet, or Mustang, and you have not done this, you are missing out. It is practically free, and makes a world of difference.

 

I can take a 270º off-ramp, at 75, in my '60 Falcon, dug in, like it is on rails. It has ALL new suspension, Shelby GT350 spec coils, a 1" front bar, 6-leaf springs in the rear, and KYB's all round. It has a warmed-up 144, so I run out of engine long before I get anywhere near breaking a tire loose in a corner. It has power discs, if the light is not green. I only have to slow down to stop my wife screaming. Road-racer handling, 32mpg.

 

Gimpy , got photos of your '60 you can share ?


.

 

Very nice work!

 

I'll shoot some more today, when the light gets good. Dynamat, carpet padding, and ditching the road draft tube are on-deck. Trimming the back seat frame to clear the modified tunnel, too, if there is time. It's an ugly runner, for now. Cosmetics will come when I get my finaces untied.

 

Not much to look at, for now, but man, does it go. I am going to put 1" back in the front, since high-centering on the T5 case, in the grocery store parking lot is, well, embarrassing. Probably not good for the transmission, either.

 

Very nice indeed gimpy. What is a road draft tube?

 

Prior to the modern PCV, or positive crankcase ventilation system, many engines had their crankcases vented via a tube that ran down toward the ground. The idea was that the air movement over the end of the tube, while driving, the "road draft", would suck the aerosolized oil, and excess pressure out of the crankcase. This, of course, means that said oil ends up on the chassis and ground, and your old car smells like oil, all of the time. Also, as only one end of that system has a filter, in the event that conditions cause the flow to be inverted, that tube simply draws in unfiltered air, from near the ground.

Since I do not own where I park, oil on the concrete is not acceptable. The wife does not like the smell, either.

I am converting to a modern-style, closed PCV system.

 

Love it!

Revernd Paul

 

Thanks Gimpy , What a neat looking thing! My daily driver is a well sunburnt '53 F100 , so I'm familiar with the "goes better than it looks" deal !
Thanks for posting.


.

 

Gimpy rocks. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I have never encountered one.

 

Got a little more done over the weekend . Few tidy up jobs under the hood , new wires , fitted a set of early CalCustom valve covers and knocked up a shield above the fan .
I also built a pair of tail pipes.
On thursday it was wifeys birthday so I snuck the seats out and shot them 'round to the local upholstery guy . The fabric the inserts are made of had all fallen apart in the California sun . I picked out a period looking fabric and he will redo the inserts in the factory pleated pattern .

[/URL][/IMG]

[/URL][/IMG]



.

 

I am finishing welding on the roof. I got one side done yesterday, 4 more pillars today. I got primer, paint , I got the roof sanded down , the drip rails stripped out, and the hood sandblasted. Ready to start some body work and get some color on this thing

 

Looking good!

 

Did you chop it Falconizer?

 

No chop. The original one was rusted out so I got one from a donor and replaced it to stock height. I tried a slight chop in photoshop, and it looked better stock so that's back where it went. All done today

 

Gorgeous! Love the grill

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Good
Nice job

 

Here's a few pics of my old Falcon, '63 Sprint..

 

Very Nice ! I like that .



.

 

Thanks. It's closer to you than to me, lol, sold it to a fellow in Australia.. I miss the car!

 

Very nice andrewntx! I dig the wheels and stance

 

Gimpy,

Did you use blocks in the rear with the 6 leaf springs? Did you make up your own spring pack?

I like your ride.

 

Thanks man, back in 2008 when I dropped it, a lot of test fitting wheels and getting the backspace right. I like Falcons low.... I have seen your wagon sketches on the net, that's a great color combo and I love wagons... Keep up the great work! Your wagon will look perfect with this stance and color scheme!!

 

Ive been debating this lately since the inside of my cowl has tons of leafs and surface rust on it, it looks good man!

 

Thanks!

The rear leafs are 6-leaf, standard eye, with 2" drop, via the arch of the spring. They were built by ESPO. I am running 2" blocks on top of those, but will be pulling them, in favor of 1" blocks, or no blocks, at-all.

As I am running an S10 T5, the lowest point in the chassis is the bottom of the transmission case. We have some absurd speed bumps out here in Northern California, as well as some crazy drainage transitions. I have gotten stuck, by high-centering, twice now. It is just too low to be practical. Sucks, because I really like the stance.

I am going to try to see if I can get by, by putting it up 1" all around. I hope that does the trick. If not, up 2" in the back, so I can use the trunk, too.

 

Anybody have any trouble with the ignition switch not turning? I tried starting my bird today and the key is stuck in one place, this is the first time its happened and cant find any sources or anything to fix it

 

Try pulling it back out, just a little.