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Post by 1946austin on Feb 5, 2013 11:05:08 GMT -5
Gathering pieces for my latest gasser project, a '63 Falcon. Picked up the 454 Chevy last Sunday, and already have the Edelbrock Performer heads, and Weiand tunnel ram, with twin 600 Holleys, and the Econoline straight axle. Last night I scored a Super T10 four speed on the local CL, complete with linkage! Still need to score on a 9" Ford rearend, but I do have a lead to a narrowed 9", if it's not too narrow to allow the tires to hang out a little when installed. Once I get everything together, and finish the home remodel, I'll hit it hard!
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Post by Kustomizer on Feb 7, 2013 20:13:59 GMT -5
Pictures as you go!!!
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Post by 1946austin on Feb 25, 2013 21:06:58 GMT -5
Yep! Going out tomorrow to look at a rearend. I have a 9" Ford housing and axles, but no 3rd member. With the cost of 9" third members in a trac loc, I'm going to look at an 8.8" Ford rearend. I can get a complete 8.8" right down to the brake drums or calipers in a good 3.73 posi for much less than a 9" 3rd member. The 8.8" is as strong as a 12 bolt GM and cheaper than the 12 bolt too.
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 5, 2013 11:45:20 GMT -5
Got over to the steel place today, and picked up 1.25", 1.5" round tube, plus 1"x3" square tube. Then when I got home I started disassembling the Falcon. Pain in the rear with all the various bolt points. Unlike a GM where I could take the whole front clip off with about 8 bolts; there must be 18 on each fender of the Falcon! And hidden in every weird place you could imagine, including the interior kick panels! Got the fenders, hood, and bumper off, and all loaded in the trailer to store. Then got the HF bender out and began making up the supports to go from the firewall to the frame on each side. They're just laying in there for now. I need to chop out the shock towers a bit to allow them to set properly, and then trim them to length and weld them to the frame and firewall. Also need to make up some plates to spread the load on the firewall end. Once the braces are in there solid I will start cutting out the inner fenderwells. Did a little measuring today, and was surprised to find the 454 is almost exactly the same length as the 170ci six! I would hve thought the six would have been longer, and I may have to do some relocating on the radiator, or change to a short water pump to make it fit well and have room for a fan. The entire front frame will get an additonal 1"x3" box welded to the bottom, which will also run under the floors and become the frame connector to the rear frame section. Then more box tubing to tie out to the rocker areas. It will add a lot of weight to the build, but also make the chassis more ridgid.
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 11, 2013 10:25:43 GMT -5
Little more demolition done. Strippped the inner fenderwells and all the suspension. Then removed all the suspension mounts. Got the firewall braces tacked in, and need to weld all those old suspension holes shut before beginning the frame reinforcement and front axle installation.
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Post by Kustomizer on Mar 15, 2013 22:35:01 GMT -5
Making progress, looks like a fun project!
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 19, 2013 9:41:39 GMT -5
Moved to the rear now, as I have the straight axle mocked up, but not welded in. Just clamped with C clamps. Need to set the rearend height and then I can do the front axle and get kingpin angle right. Once it's ready to weld in I'll add boxing and gusseting to the side of the frame to support the outboard mounting points My homemade mockup BBC engine. I needed something to bolt the fenderwell headers to, so built this with correct flange angles and spacing. I can bolt the header flanges to the 2x6's and check fitment. The 8.8" Ford is sitting on it's new perches, but nothing tacked in. Need to go pick up the spring plates so I can set pinion angle and tack it in.
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 21, 2013 9:45:27 GMT -5
Got the rearend mounted, but need to wait to weld the perches until the engine/trans is set. Decided to get the 1.25" tubing out of the way by cutting it up and building the ladder bars:
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 28, 2013 10:04:34 GMT -5
Got the fenderwell headers yesterday, so was able to proceed with fab work. The Tri 5 BBC headers were too close to the tires, so the engine needed 2.5" setback. Sawzall on the firewall made quick work, and the setback gave me good tire clearance, plus more room up front for a radiator. The headers fit the Falcon body perfectly, and even match the contours of the firewall and floors. Once I had the engine and headers looking good, I went through and finished fabbing the suspension mounts. Not really old school, but installed a Camaro tilt column to allow me to get rid of the scarey Falcon column and adjust wheel angle to fit my seating. Today I'm fabbing up the steering box, and then I can finally drop in the real engine to check clearances again and fab motor mounts.
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Post by 1946austin on Mar 29, 2013 20:06:37 GMT -5
Steering box is in, pitman arm reversed, and 454 Chevy is sitting on it's new mounts. Still need to fab crossmember and install the trans before I can remove the hoist.
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Post by 1946austin on Apr 11, 2013 19:18:26 GMT -5
Lots happening since the last post. The drivetrain is basically done with installation. The driveline turned out to be 50" joint to joint, and by chance that's identical to 1st gen Camaros, so just needed conversion joints at each end to go to the 8.8" Ford flange, and the Super T10 yoke in front. Got the engine mounts welded in, and set the engine back a couple inches into the firewall, so had to build a new firewall and trans tunnel. Ladder bars mounted up too! Got my old steering wheel mounted to the Camaro column, and checked seat location. Looks like it's great, but need to build up the rear mounts a inch or so. Got the front sheetmetal all tacked together with plates, and built a framework to span the front grille area, plus a couple supports. Once I see where the tilt hinges I will probably have to add a little more tube to make it all work. Picked up a full set of ET Classic 5 spokes at the swap meet, so just waiting for my Hurst slicks to get built and I can radius the rear wheelwells! These flares from the front wheelwells of a old Mercedes sedan will finish off the radius later: Test fitted a spare fender, and I need to cut the bottom a bit to clear the 3.5" collectors. New triple pass radiator mounted up today also!
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Post by 1946austin on Apr 17, 2013 15:33:31 GMT -5
Hurst will have my 10" cheater slicks ready tomorrow, and I got the front tilt completed yesterday. Should have my steering arm ready to pick up tomorrow, and then I can weld up my drag link! Got the driveline yesterday, and put it in also. The Ranger tailgate cables work great to hold the frontend when opening!
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Post by 1946austin on May 12, 2013 11:02:25 GMT -5
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Post by 1946austin on May 14, 2013 10:48:01 GMT -5
Engine out yesterday, and all the metal cleaned up, and ground smooth. Brushed on a coat of paint everwhere. Starting engine teardown today, and rebuild with the Edelbrock heads, Comp cam, Pete Jackson gear drive, ARP stud kit, Weiand tunnel ram, etc.
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Post by 1946austin on May 17, 2013 22:01:07 GMT -5
The 464 BBC is out, and assembled! At least as far as it can go before dropping it back in. Then the tunnel ram, and accessories will go back on after that.
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