1960 Falcon

[Walther]

What will your ground clearance be under the center crossmember with your new plan? Sounds like it will be really low.

About 4.5". Measured using home-made shock simulators.

[Walther]

I received the frame pieces from Autoweldchassis.com I cut and spliced the pieces in to the existing chassis. As a result, the long frame rails are now 2 inches higher when compared to the cross-member. so- theoretically- the geometry of the chassis is now finally correct. Just have to finish weld the pieces and start fitting the engine.

before....


after....

[JRANGER]

very cool build, this will be awesome

[Walther]

With all the changes/corrections I had to make to the frame and cross-member, it was time to lower the body back down over the chassis. It finally fit like I originally hoped. I had to notch the cowl slightly to clear a servo on the back of the intake. It would have fit anyway but I was looking towards the future of possibly having to pull the engine when the body is welded permanently in place. The notch in the cowl will get filled and wont be visible once the hood is closed. The engine actually sits a little low, but it is mocked-up in position on 2x4s at the moment. Once I fabricate the engine "stands" and install the new BMR adjustable poly engine mounts, I'll be able to fine tune the position. I've met my objective of being able to close a stock hood over the engine.

[LowFast]

Do you have the headers/exhaust manifolds installed? The Falcon engine bay even without shock towers is very tight with the OHC engine configuration. Then introduce the steering shaft, it all becomes a very tight maze.

[Walther]

Do you have the headers/exhaust manifolds installed? The Falcon engine bay even without shock towers is very tight with the OHC engine configuration. Then introduce the steering shaft, it all becomes a very tight maze.

Yes. The engine was shipped with factory manifolds and resonators installed. They cut the exhaust aft of the resonators. Its still all bolted to the engine and everything appears to fit with ample clearances. Please note that I will be fabricating a new firewall which most likely will be further back than the original location by a few inches. I'll also be using a Flaming River steering column, Wilwood Tandem master cylinders and pedal assembly, and my seating position will be moved further back as well. So a lot of the clearance issues you mentioned will either not be a problem or can be worked around. I have two new issues I didn't anticipate. ONE- there is no way the factory oil filter and oil cooler are going to work. I'll have to remote mount both. SECOND- The shifter location on the MT82 Gertrag will be too far towards the rear. I have some ideas on how to resolve that, including either shortening the assembly or fabricating a "remote" shifter location similar to the one I had in my Panoz GTRA racecar. I'll figure that out when the time comes. Also, I'll have to have a custom, shortened driveshaft made. Yet another hit to the budget.

[LowFast]

How much do you need to move the shifter forward? Mine was a bit too far back on the TR3650 so I bought an MGW aftermarket unit which allows adjustment to the position and I got the extra few inches needed for it to fall right into place.

[Walther]

How much do you need to move the shifter forward? Mine was a bit too far back on the TR3650 so I bought an MGW aftermarket unit which allows adjustment to the position and I got the extra few inches needed for it to fall right into place.

I'm not really sure at this point until I get further along. It "seems" currently that the shifter will be just forward of my hips when seated and I'll have to reach back to grab the knob. But I don't have the seats, the seating position, seat distance from the pedals, steering column length etc, figured out yet. I'm not too familiar with the TR3650. This transmission uses a shifter that is bolted to the transmission AND the floor. Different than what I'm used to. The aftermarket seems to be all over it already, offering different "fixes". I don't think its going to be too big of an obstacle, I just haven't really delved into it yet.

I just clipped this off the internet. Close, but mine mounts to the transmission with what looks like a cast-aluminum rod. It would be difficult to section and shorten.

[LowFast]

TR3650 is also remote mount. I am using Blowfish Racing bracket/driveshaft loop to remove floor mount requirement. They make a bracket for your trans as well.

[Walther]

TR3650 is also remote mount. I am using Blowfish Racing bracket/driveshaft loop to remove floor mount requirement. They make a bracket for your trans as well.

I actually emailed them a few weeks ago. The bracket is trick, but it doesn't resolve my distance issue.

[LowFast]

If you end only needing an inch or two to get it to a confortable distance an aftermarket shifter could get you there. You could also use an angled soft handle to gain alittle more than that. The real reason for the blowfish bracket is more positive higher rpm shift engagement and fewer missed shifts. The body mounted shifter is a terrible idea from Ford.

[1360]

Wow, that is all I can say!!

[nitroracer]

I'm going to enjoy watching this Falcon come together.

[rustomatic]

Many packaging (and weight displacement) problems can be alleviated by just moving the engine and trans further back. At this point, you can put the seat and pedals wherever you want; so long as everything goes back (more is better--mine's about a foot), no single element will be weird. It took me nearly no time to get used to driving from the (slightly behind but mostly ahead of the) B-pillar in mine.

It's funny how I made almost exactly the same notch in my cowl to clear my (Chevy) truck intake; it seems to really help in exhausting engine bay heat while driving; I have no hope of stock wipers ever happening again, however. A guy who races his Fairlane here locally used a hole saw to make a bunch of vents in his cowl, and he seemed to think it really helped air flow over the car (through the engine bay) much more effectively . . .

Attachment 147951

[Walther]

The shifter location is the issue with moving the engine further rearward. The unique design of the shifter makes it difficult if not impossible to shorten. If I could shorten it (move it forward) by 8-10" I would do exactly what you're suggesting. The next issue moving the engine further back would put the firewall too close to the back of the dash. In these cars, the dash is metal and welded into the unibody. I think I'd be opening a can of worms. I'll post pics when I get to my PC. Can't seem to do it from my phone. And THANK YOU for commenting. Advice is always welcomed.

[Walther]

The transmission mount was much easier to fabricate than I thought it would be.

[Walther]

With all the major components in place (Engine, trans, suspension, etc.) I've begun fabricating the roll cage. These are some in-progress photos. It will be a street car that occasionally will see track day events and sanctioned hill climbs, so I'm fabricating a full roll cage from bumper to bumper to stiffen it up. I can't tell you how much easier it is to fabricate a roll cage when you can lift the body on and off.

[LowFast]

Simple is usually the best solution. One question though,or something to consider. With how you have it in a saddle would you be able to take it off once the body/floor is on if you ever need to drop the transmission?

[Jetfixr320]

Simple is usually the best solution. One question though,or something to consider. With how you have it in a saddle would you be able to take it off once the body/floor is on if you ever need to drop the transmission?

I was thinking the same thing.

[Walther]

I was thinking the same thing.

To be determined. I think so. may have to adjust my design.