Cleaning up Vikingblu

[Vikingblu]

I am looking to repair or replace my 1963 Futura 6cyl auto, radiator. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[doghows]

Replace it with what? V-8 swap or a bigger six or stock? Many ways you can go. I put a EFI 5.0 in mine. Patrick has a built 302 with EFI , and I think Kenny has a bigger 200 six in his. Let us know what your thinking and we can give you some tips.

[Nathan289]

Doghows,

Repair/replace radiator... though i think adding a v8 would be better too

[doghows]

My bad, that's what I get for not waking up before I read this stuff...

You could go stock but I upgraded to an aluminum champion radiator. Very affordable and works great...

This is probably a more appropriate response..

[MacDee]

I had a leaky 2-row radiator in my 6-cyl, so I went on-line and found a radiator supplier in Lynnwood, I believe (can't remember the name), that offered shipping. I ordered a "stock replacement" radiator and received a spanking new 3-row radiator. It was a tight fit between fan and bulkhead, but it went in! As I recall it was $100~ish.
It had a crappy pet-cock that eventually needed to be replaced... at a cost of about $65.

[Luva65wagon]

...but after seeing a second Champion on Gene's spring a leak at the mini-regional I'm a bit skeptical of them (this was his second from them). So I'm in shopping mode at the moment too.

[Vikingblu]

Thank you for the suggestions.

[Vikingblu]

My bad, that's what I get for not waking up before I read this stuff...

Actually, I've had that dream,,,,,,V8,C4, 4 wheel discs,,,,,
I definitely have to alleviate the 58-61 mph shimmy first.

[ew1usnr]

"Actually, I've had that dream,,,,,,V8,C4, 4 wheel discs,,,,,"

Here is another view:
You have a beautiful car and you can enjoy it just as it is. A 50-year old economy car will not, and should not be expected to, match the interstate-highway performance of new cars (my opinion). Keep it at 60-65 mph and your Falcon will be happy to take you anywhere you want to go. The drum brakes are fine if they are in good repair, you don't tail gate, and you keep your speed down. The 170 "Special Six" is a reliable engine that provides adequate power (Ford called it "Thriftpower"), and good fuel economy. The spark plugs are all easy to reach and the manual-choke, one-barrel carburetor is as simple as it can be and is easy to re-build if that is ever necessary.

There is nothing wrong with a Ford-O-Matic two-speed automatic. It does just shift one time and it seems a little odd until you just accept it. It was Ford's first automatic transmission. It was introduced in 1951 and was simplified and given an aluminum case in 1959. The gear ratios are the same as in a three-speed manual, except that the torque multiplication of the torque converter takes the place of the manual first gear. The first gear in a 1963 manual transmission was not synchronized, meaning you could not downshift into first while the car was moving. This meant that people spent most of their time shifting between second and third while moving, and the two-speed Ford-O-Matic did the same. People back then would not have noticed much performance difference between the Ford-O-Matic and the standard three-speed that they were used to. The Ford-O-Matic provided the safety feature of locking the transmission in "Park" in addition to having the parking brake, and it also made it impossible to accidently start the car while in gear and having the car lurch forward. The Ford-O-Matic was a popular option in its day and in about half the Falcons sold, people paid extra money to have a Ford-O-Matic.

"Fordomatic Drive features simplified design, light-weight cast aluminum construction, vacuum-controlled throttle valve for smoothness, minimum servicing. Torque converter in combination with compound planetary gear set. Gear ratios (no 1): Low 1.82, Direct 1.00, Reverse 1.73, Converter (Stall) 2.4. In “D: range gives brisk, smooth starts in low. Effective engine braking in “L” position. Air-cooled with 144 Six. Air and liquid cooled with 170. Selector lever and quadrant on steering column, sequence P-R-N-D-L."

Gear ratios:
Fordomatic Transmission gear ratios: 4.37*, 1.82, 1 (1963 Sixes)
3-speed manual transmission: 3.29, 1.83, 1 (1963)

*1st and torque converter. The 1963 Fordomatic has a torque converter multiplication of 2.40 (sixes) or 2.05 (V-8) when the turbine is stalled providing a maximum overall reduction of 4.37 or 3.73 when the throttle is hit hard. Stall is an operating condition where the turbine is stationary and the engine throttle is wide open, making the rotational speed of the impeller as high as possible. Stall can be approximated to when a vehicle moves from rest. Maximum torque multiplication occurs instantaneously as the vehicle begins to move.

FM leaves em behind.jpg

Fordomatic Adverisement.jpg

Fordomatic Information Brocure.jpg

[Vikingblu]

Interesting facts. Thank you for sharing.

Back in 1977 my dad purchased this car for $1700.00 with new paint, top and carpet. About a year later the paint faded. I compounded the paint back to an nice luster. Well a year later it faded again. Grrr. About that time my oldest brother had returned from the Air Force and was chomping at the bit to work on a car. So we convinced dad to R&R the motor, chrome and paint.
My brother swapped the tired 170 with a shortblock from an exchange service, and had the head rebuilt . Dad and I pulled all of the chrome and trim, he said he knew a guy that would re chrome all the bits.
I spent two months stripping the faded paint, with a longboard and 80 grit by hand, (once down to the original paint I switched to 180) and refinishing the the body, with Ditzler acrylic laquer. 1 gallon of color and one gallon of clear. The trunk, doorjambs and underhood are still original paint. Wet sanded the clear with 600 and compounded. (34 years ago).
Dad and I reinstalled the new chrome and trim. I bought a new grille and HL surrounds from Ford for dads birthday. (I still have the original grille).

Around that same time I had purchased a 63.5 Raven Sprint project, driver, which included 8 or 9 wire hubcaps.
We cleaned them all and selected the best 4 caps and installed them. Dad preferred the wires over the smooth type. I still have those and the other four wires too.
In recent years during the nice summer days, we would take the Futura to Burgermaster in Kirkland on Saturday evenings, for burgers and shakes.
Car does need some attention , minor in nature, but should be reliable for many years to come.