1962 Ford Falcon

jameswanser

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Thought I'd share some pictures and (hopefully) progress on this old car. First, a little history. This car's been in the family since the '60s, in one driveway or another. My mother drove this car in high school during the early '70s, and then went back to my grandfather after she married. My grandfather revamped the car in the early '80s with a new paintjob, wheels, interior, added A/C, and swapped the motor that currently sits in it.
My cousin drove the car for 2-3 years while she was in high school, then parked it back in my grandfather's barn, where it sat for over a decade.
I've had the car now for nearly a year in my garage, where it's been waiting while I find the time and money to work on it. After a decade in a barn, the car wasn't just dusty, it was caked in dirt. I washed off the worst of the dirt before I parked it last year. I gave it a quick wash yesterday after rolling into the driveway.
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HeX

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That it one great conditioned Falcon to build on. What are your plans for it. The right wheels will really make the difference. Is the paint salvageable with a detailed polish and waxing? Have you tried starting the engine yet?
 


jameswanser

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Not only was the car dirty after sitting for so long, the interior STINKS from a decade of rats and mice using the carpet as a toilet. I've vacuumed it out, and even put down some carpet shampoo powder to try and kill the stench. Not too bad now, but that carpet is faded, and likely will need to be replaced.
Lots of little things that need to be done.
First off, need to try starting the car. The battery is dead, of course, and after sitting for so long, the fuel's probably bad as well. I've located the drain plug for the fuel tank, so plan on draining the tank, refilling with new gas, changing the oil and filter, and possibly the plugs as well. Also, the rubber fuel lines are old, hard, and getting dry rotted. So, I've replaced a couple of them with new hose and spliced in a cheap fuel filter as well, at least until I know no crud is still in the fuel system.
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That it one great conditioned Falcon to build on. What are your plans for it. The right wheels will really make the difference. Is the paint salvageable with a detailed polish and waxing? Have you tried starting the engine yet?
It's likely going to need a respray at some point. There's at least one small burn spot (on the passenger side fender) as well as some small dents and dings, and the paint is
coming up/flaking in some spots. The car was painted around 1984-1985 or so, but for most part is ok.
The wheels are from a Toyota (Grandpa used some small wheel spacers so they'd fit)
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As for plans, I'd really like to get it road worthy, and just take it occasionally to some of the local car meets. Nothing competitive. The tires were new when parked, but one is flat from dry rot, and the others probably aren't road safe anymore. After changing the gas, oil and filter, I'll try to start it. It's got quite a bit of surface rust underneath, and will definitely need a new muffler and perhaps some exhaust piping before it'll pass inspection.
Bye the way, whoever installed the last muffler put it on backwards. The canister has an arrow stamped into it, and it points toward the front of the car.
The engine bay is actually black, but it's so covered in dust it's hard to tell.
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The original motor was a 144ci straight six, but my Grandpa swapped in the current motor which he pulled from a 1967 ford Fairmont. It's still a six cylinder, but it's a little larger now at 200ci (3.3 liter). Apparently, it's the same motor that was available in the 1967 Mustang, so it's not as hard to find engine parts as you might think. He also changed the transmission from the stock 3 speed column shift to a C4 automatic with floor shift.
With that engine swap, there seem to be quite a few extra vacuum lines and wiring all over the place. I need to clean up that engine bay a bit, and try to organize the wiring and extra hoses.
Oh, and here's another shot of the interior.
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HeX

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FYI, most of the engine bays were black back then. I believe it was for the sake of ease in the assembly plants. If you plan not to drive it often, you may want to consider setting the car up on jack stands when you park it for long periods so theres less weight wear on the tires.

Your Falcon reminds me of the one rebuilt on Overhaulin.

 

jameswanser

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Oh, that is nice. I might look for that episode. Looks like he upsized the wheels a bit, but it still looks classy. Ideally, once I get it roadworthy, I'll be driving it every few weekends and wouldn't have to worry about the tires just dry rotting. As for storing the car, yeah I think I'm going to put it up on stands once I get the new tires and if I think it'll be sitting for more than a few weeks at a time.
 

ImportFan1

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Man is she pretty clean for her age. Can't wait to see progress on it.
 

jameswanser

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yeah, but hover technology is a b***h to work on. It's always breaking down at the most inconvenient times.
 

jameswanser

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that's true. if you could attach the car to the Cat Butter engine (patent pending) it would float. then you'd only have to worry about propulsion. why hasn't this been built yet? Perhaps there are issues with getting the bread initially attached to the cat.
 

jameswanser

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I think I'll be draining the fuel tank tomorrow. Hopefully, the fuel won't look too bad (REALLY hoping no rust particles are in suspension in the fuel). Then, replacing the short piece of flexible line between the tank and the hardline.
 

jameswanser

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Well, I finally got the fuel tank drained this past weekend. I wasn't able to break loose the drain plug. It must be rusted in place, because all I managed to do was start rounding out the head. So, when I replaced the short piece of rubber line between the tank and the hard lines, I hooked up my brake bleeder vacuum and pulled the fuel out that way. I was the color of honey, but didn't seem sludgy. I'm hoping to change the oil this weekend, and try to start it up.
 

jameswanser

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Okay, didn't get around to changing the oil until today. Used a little starting fluid in the carb, and it turned over a couple of times (until fluid ran out). It's not getting fuel to the carb yet. May be because after 1-2 tries to start, the battery crapped out. It was dead when I got the car, and had only been on a trickle charger for a day or so. Likely has one of more bad cells. Going to try and start it again tomorrow, after charging overnight. I also put a couple gallons of fresh gas in the tank, and a few ounces of fuel system cleaner. Hope any gum or varnish still in the tank or lines will get dissolved.
 


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